The Grim Reaper’s Mate

Famous

It took awhile for my order to be imported, but in the meantime my orange nougat chocolates, toffee chocolates, caramel chocolates, and mallow chocolates were flying off the shelves every day as soon as the doors opened. Every morning there were lines at the door. We even had to start opening three hours earlier to give plenty of time for all of our customers to come shop. Other candies sold to the children who were delighted to go with their mothers and fathers to the candy shop, but the adults bought up the chocolates almost before the children could, and I began to chat with the children after school in the afternoons about what kinds of chocolates they would like. The boys wanted chocolates shaped like bugs and frogs. The girls wanted chocolate tiaras and baby bottles for their dollies. David was able to procure some special-made molds by a member of his 'family' who moonlights as a kitchen gadget manufacturer.

Very soon, I was able to make chocolate tiaras painted with edible golden coloring and frogs filled with nougat that had fly-shaped candies hidden inside. Finally, there were chocolates that the adults were not interested in buying that delighted the children. I procured more animal-shaped molds.

Before I knew it, I was being interviewed by the newspaper journalists about my amazing chocolate shop. David was a good sport about it all and didn't seem to mind at all that the 'Candy Man' had been replaced by the 'Chocolate Lady'. In fact, he told me his boss was quite impressed with my chocolates and that his daughter was begging him for some every day. David left each day at the same time with a box full of confections to deliver to his boss for his daughter. In turn, his boss paid him handsomely and stopped giving him as dangerous of work since his daughter would lose her favorite delivery guy if David 'expired'.

We revamped the shop and created sections for jungle animals, water animals, sky animals, and forest animals, as the children called the different areas. Our regular candies even reflected those areas with candies like lollipops that looked like vines, gummies in the shape of bugs, rock candy caves with chocolate bats in our sky area, and sour powdered hard candy mushrooms for our forest area. Pictures were soon on the front page of the paper along with high praise for not just the creativity but the flavor of our creations.

I was accidentally famous. I didn't seek it out. It just came to me in the form of the talent that strange man bestowed on me during his enigmatic appearance. I haven't seen him again. I kind of hope I don't see him again. I get the feeling in the pit of my stomach that I owe him something, and it makes me uncomfortable if I dwell on it too long. I'm also attracted to him. A complete stranger. That makes me even more uncomfortable and is very unlike myself. I haven't told David about the man, and we have a platonic working relationship that I'm satisfied with.

Today I was working on a new creation: a solid milk chocolate cake with white chocolate 'frosting', pieced together to look like a cake with the ability to remove individually made slices without compromising the structure. I filled the middle of the chocolate slices with nougats of varying flavors, smiling in satisfaction as I looked at my first completed slice. Perfection. The bell over the door jingled, and I heard David greet our customer.

"Is this you?" A nasal, snobby voice asked.

"Yes. That article is about our shop. I'm pleased to welcome a new customer," David answered politely.

"But you're not the creator? You just sell them. I'd like to speak to the chocolatier," the annoying voice said. He didn't sound demanding, but he also sounded kind of irritating. I paused in my work and peeked around the curtain into the shop. The customer looked like a mob member with his slicked hair, sunglasses indoors, and perfectly pressed suit. David was sizing him up with pursed lips.

"This is my shop. I own it and run it. The chocolatier is my employee. If you need anything, I will help you," David said firmly. This is what I admire about him. Nothing and nobody intimidates him. He's like trying to take down an armored tank. The only time I've ever seen him vulnerable is that night that he spared my life, and that was only because I had caught him off guard. We didn't discuss that night and didn't pursue a romantic relationship afterward. He'd joke that I'm 'off limits' and 'out of his league', and I know to take the hint that he's not interested, even though sometimes I see him giving me an admiring look from afar. That's okay. I honestly don't know how I feel about pursuing romance with my father's killer, even if I understand that my father deserved the retribution from David's boss.

"I see..." the other man sneered. "Well then, my employer wishes for your employee to cater a party in the upper level of the city. He wants the most spectacular chocolate presentation you can create for his wife's society party. Spare no expense. He will pay whatever you request. That is what he ordered me to tell you."

"A society party? We're just a humble candy shop..."

"Who is the talk of Divenia. You have not premiered with anyone else yet. My employer wishes to be the first to procure a contract with you, as it would please the madam, and he lives to please her," the man answered shortly. He didn't seem like a nice person. I don't think I want to get involved with these people. We don't need the money. I have plenty hidden away in my room. David knows that. We can operate for twenty years and not need to use a dime of his money or whatever the shop makes. Probably longer if we slowed down on ordering the chocolate, but cocoa is expensive to procure. I should have appreciated the goodies served at my father's dinners better. I had no idea what went into them. The time, money, and passion...upper class people don't know how to appreciate that. They only throw money at working class people, use them for their services, and then find something minuscule to complain about so they don't have to pay the full amount. It's so disgusting.

I paused and looked at my cake slice. I could add golden flowers to it...and candied pearls...and a swirl of nougat to look like whipped cream... I could make each slice a masterpiece...

I threw back the curtain and marched out. This customer, he was one of my people. The kind of people I loathe. The kind of people that need to be put in their place. The kind of people who need to be taught that having money doesn't make you better than everyone else. We all end up at the mercy of the Grim Reaper in the end. In the end, we're the same. Money does not buy more breath once it's time to die.

"I'll take the job," I told him confidently.