Chapter 20
Ozzy woke up and stretched before looking to see that Fizz was sound asleep beside him and he smiled at the jester, who stirred as if sensing that the larger being was watching him. He opened his eyes sleepily and smiled up at him. "Morning, Ozzy," he said, snuggling closer to the larger being.
Smiling, Ozzy pulled him closer to him. "Morning, Froggie," he said, nuzzling his forehead against the jester's forehead, making Fizz giggle sleepily as they cuddled before hearing small footsteps running towards their room, making them both smile as they knew who it was.
Sure enough, Oliver came in and he looked surprised to see his dad and papa were awake, but that expression switched to a happy one before the boy ran towards the bed and leapt up on the bed, impressing the two adults at how far he could leap. "Morning, Dad! Morning, Papa!" The boy said.
"Good morning, Noodle," Fizz said with a smile as Oliver leapt towards him and the jester caught him, falling back against Ozzy, who caught both of them, chuckling.
"Well, well, look what I caught," the larger being said playfully. "My favorite jester and my adorable son."
He gave both of them a boop on the nose, which made Oliver giggle and Fizz scrunch up his face cutely. The jester then reached for the paper on the side table and sat up to read it. "Alright, let's see," he said as Oliver rested his head against his papa's shoulder, to which Fizz smiled and held the boy while he looked at the paper. "What's on the big guy's agenda today?"
Ozzy smiled and didn't say a word as he watched them before Fizz noticed the paper was blank. "That's odd," he said. "Did I mix up the papers again?"
Oliver looked confused and shook his head. "You never mix up the papers with Dad's schedule, Papa," he signed. "You're very careful."
"Thank you, Noodle," the jester said, smiling at his son.
Ozzy heard his phone buzz and he answered it, smiling as he nodded after a minute. "Thank you," he said to the person before looking at Fizz. "You were right, Froggie."
Fizz turned to him in confusion. "I was?" He asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "About what?"
"Letting the workers and managers handle some of the stuff and I handle the meetings or in case emergencies arise," Ozzy said, smiling. "That way, we've got more family time to spend with Noodle."
Fizz's jaw dropped and Oliver looked happy as a clam. "Whoa, what made you take my advice?" The jester asked curiously. "I know how important it is for you to be present at work."
"Yes, but now that we have Oliver, I need to focus more on him and you," the larger being said before looking a bit sad. "I nearly missed going to Oliver's school for the science fair two weeks ago because I was at work and though I made it in time, I still felt guilty that you two were waiting for me."
"But you did show up, Dad," Oliver signed, smiling. "You kept your promise."
"Yes, but I almost couldn't, Noodle, and that made me very dissapointed in myself. So for the past two weeks, I've been meeting with the managers and workers and delegating more responsibilities to them and we discussed the work load. Turns out, merging a couple of departments to work together boosted work morale and saved time too."
"They all felt that the changes were making things better?" Fizz asked.
"They did. Even the managers have said that they can see everyone is happier and production has gone up too. We actually had a twenty-five percent increase in production this week alone."
"Wow," the jester said in surprise. "So...you'll be handling meetings and emergencies?"
"Yes," Ozzy said with a nod. "So I will occasionally be gone in the mornings or afternoons for a few hours at best and I'll be at the club on the nights you work, Froggie, but other than that, most of my time will be dedicated to you and Noodle."
Oliver began jumping around on the bed, happy at the news while Fizz smiled up at the larger being, feeling touched that he had gone and done that. "So...is that why today's schedule is blank?" He asked.
"Yup," The larger being said. "Plus it's Valentine's Day. I figured we'd take a family day and perhaps take Oliver to the chocolate/candy shop that opened just last month."
The boy flopped down on the bed before looking curious. "You mean the store?" He signed curiously.
"It's like the store, but they specialize in candy and chocolate," Fizz explained. "Remember how Uncle Lucifer's bakers bring out those large carts of desserts when we go have dinner with him and your cousin Charlie?"
The boy nodded. "Okay, now imagine those large carts of desserts along every wall and reaching the ceiling, the shelves filled with all kinds of candy and chocolate, way more than what the stores carry," the jester continued. "They even have different flavors and even fruit dipped in chocolate."
Oliver's eyes widened. "Like the chocolate cherries?" He asked.
"Just like those," Ozzy said with a smile. "We'll go there after breakfast."
The boy raced to his room to get ready for the day while Fizz and Ozzy got up and got ready at a leisurely pace, Fizz feeling Ozzy scoop him up suddenly and hug him, to which the jester giggled and hugged him back. "You're the best, big guy," he said.
"Anything for you and Oliver, Fizzyfrog," the larger being said, nuzzling their foreheads together, making Fizz smile.
Angel poked his head into the room from the open door and he smiled. "Hey, you two know you've got a hyper kid running around and telling everyone that you two are taking him to a candy shop?" He asked.
Fizz chuckled. "Once he learned there would be fruit with chocolate like the chocolate-covered cherries, he was hooked," he said jokingly.
"We better go make sure he doesn't run out of energy before we head out," Ozzy said.
Angel laughed. "Kids never run out of energy, big guy," he said.
A yelp of surprise caught their attention and the three quickly headed out to see what had happened and came upon the amusing sight of Oliver tangled up in a box of aerial silks that Ozzy had ordered for the club. Fizz chuckled as he realized what had happened and the servants were looking apologetic. The jester gently helped his son out of the box and Ozzy and Angel worked together to get the boy untangled, the spider being making quick work of folding the silks carefully and neatly before placing them in the box again.
Ozzy lifted his son to sit on his left shoulder and lifted up Fizz to sit on his right shoulder. "Alright, breakfast time," he said, allowing the servants to go back to their duties.
Angel smiled. "I'll hold down the fort and watch over the Queives today," he said.
After breakfast, the family headed out and Oliver was excited as he sat on his father's left shoulder, Fizz sitting on the larger being's right shoulder. "You're going to love this place, Noodle," the jester said. "I've heard good things about it."
Ozzy nodded as they entered the shop and the owner smiled as she saw them. "Welcome," she said. "Feel free to look around."
Oliver's eyes widened in awe at seeing all the candies and chocolates. Some were decorated and looked very fancy, making him wonder why anyone would eat it because it looked so neat. There was even one working making candy and stretching the sticky mixture out like taffy.
Noticing Oliver's interest in watching the worker make the candy, Ozzy lifted the boy up so that he could see everything. The worker smiled, but kept working, soon rolling the candy out into long strips and then taking one strip and twisting it around a stick, making a colorful lollipop in the end. The worker repeated the process for the rest of the strips and soon put a tray of colorful lollipops out to display.
Another worker was mixing chocolate and Oliver watched curiously as the worker mixed the chocolate carefully before pouring some of it into a mold and placing it in a freezer, taking another mold out to show that the chocolate had hardened into little squares. The worker took some of the melted chocolate and drizzled the melted chocolate carefully over the prepared chocolates before setting them out for people to buy.
A third worker was dipping fruit into bowls of melted chocolate and caramel. Oliver watched as the worker made them and set them out on the sale shelves too. Another worker was working on making some of the chocolates look very fancy with sprinkles and sprigs of mint. The boy was in awe as he watched. "They look too good to eat, Dad," the boy signed to Ozzy.
"They do, don't they?" The rooster being said with a chuckle. "The workers here have a special talent in doing these chocolates and candies to look delicious."
The boy looked curious then. "I know chocolate and candies are meant to be eaten, but does it ever get frustrating for them that all their hard work just gets eaten?" The boy asked. "They put so much work into it that it kind of seems unfair that they must work so hard to make so much."
The worker making the chocolates fancy smiled. "Actually, little one, it's always a pleasure for us to see people enjoy our work, be it just looking and commenting on it or trying it," he said. "For us creators, seeing someone show interest in trying our creations is wonderful and seeing someone enjoy our creations is our reward."
Another worker nodded. "We especially love seeing someone watch us work because we are proud of our craft," she said.
"I can see why everyone was talking about this shop," Ozzy said. "I've been hearing the reviews and listening to people speak highly of this place and I can say I'm not dissapointed. This shop's reputation is well earned."
The workers perked up at the praise and the shop owner was tickled pink that the larger being thought so highly of her store and how the little boy was watching with fascination. She quickly slipped a note to the manager and he took it before nodding and at once filling an order of three boxes for each of the three visitors with one of each candy and chocolate, including the chocolate-covered fruit.
Once the order was complete, the owner went over and she presented the boxes to the three. "Please take these as a thank you for visiting and for speaking so highly of our shop," she said. "It's always refreshing to see people enjoy what we have to offer and watching people be amazed by our work."
"Thank you," Fizz said in surprise and Oliver signed 'thank you' as well.
Ozzy smiled at the shop owner before pulling out some cash and handing it to her. "Please take this as a thank you for being so nice to my partner and our son," he said. "I insist."
The owner was surprised, but she smiled in gratefulness. "Thank you so much," she said, having not expected such a reward. "We'll be open all year round."
Ozzy smiled before feeling Oliver tug gently on his hand and he looked down at his son. "Yes, Noodle?" He asked.
"Can we get some sweets for Uncle Angel?" He asked.
"Of course we can," the larger being said.
"Let's get him a big box like these," Fizz said, gesturing to their boxes of sweets.
The workers quickly put together a box and the owner didn't charge them, saying what Ozzy had donated was more than enough. The three walked home and Oliver was eager to tell his class about his trip to the candy/chocolate store and he was eager to give Angel the box of sweets too.
"I'm glad you planned this out, Ozzy," Fizz said, smiling. "Oliver's going to be bouncing off the walls tonight."
"Good thing it's not a school night," Ozzy said with a chuckle.
When they returned, they surprised Angel Dust with the box of sweets and the spider being was so surprised that tears filled his eyes. "I...No one's ever given me anything like this for Valentine's Day," he admitted.
"Your former boss never did?" Fizz asked in surprise.
"Nah. Whatever the fans sent in, he kept for himself," Angel said sadly.
"Well, that entire box is for you and you only," Ozzy said. "When we were getting our boxes, Oliver wanted you to have a box too and Fizz and I agreed that you deserved a box of sweets too."
Oliver hugged his uncle, who hugged him back before hugging Ozzy and Fizz. "Thank you," he said. "You guys are really the best."
Just then, a message came to Ozzy's phone and he smiled before sending a reply and nodding. "Vox was asking how you were doing," he said.
Angel looked up at him. "Does Val know...?" He trailed off.
"Nope."
The spider being was relieved to hear that and smiled. "Well, let's put the sweets aside for now," he said. "I heard what is for dinner and I don't want to spoil my appetite."
Oliver nodded as he knew his dad was making steak and pasta with some of his favorite vegetables. Fizz grinned. "Ozzy's cooking is always worth waiting for," he said.
"Sounds like my cue to get started on it," the larger being said.
"I'll help," Oliver said with a smile.
"I'll help too," Angel said.
"Then I'll take the Queives for a walk and come back to set the table," Fizz said.
"Sounds good to me," Ozzy said with a smile.
The atmosphere was definitely making it one of the best Valentine's Day celebrations yet.
A friend of mine suggested this one. :)
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! :)
Please leave a review, but no flames!
GoldGuardian2418