The Chocolate Magic Café, page 2
part #1 of Chocolate Magic Series
Magda took the crumpled leaflet and smoothed it out.
“Does she want to have the truffles loose to sell herself or does she want little boxes already wrapped?” Branston didn’t know but said he was off for there after he finished his coffee. “Tell her I’ll drive over in the morning with samples, and she can decide what would be best,“ said Magda.
“About eleven thirty is best” he suggested. “The riders have all gone off on the guided tours.”
“And you would be one of the guides?” Rula asked as she answered her cell phone. Branston didn’t get the chance to answer because Rula stood up and said that the hotel needed her urgently. Then she remembered that Magda had come with her and wouldn’t have a ride home.
“My truck is down the street,” Sam offered. “Not elegant, but it will get you home.”
“Thanks, Sam,” Rula answered for Magda and left at a run.
“Wonder what that was about,” Branston said and told them he was off to the ranch.
Magda smiled and told him to behave himself.
“No chance of anything else with Merle. She’s a tyrant.” He waved the enormous Stetson and put it on his head as he walked through the door.
“I wouldn’t mind just having another look at the stable,” Sam said. “Do you mind?”
“No. I would like another look myself.”
They walked back down toward Mikey’s climbing shop and were just about to turn down the alleyway when Sam suddenly grabbed her by the arm.
“Pretend you are enjoying this. I will owe you big time,” he hissed into her hair and pressed her back against the wall before wrapping her in his arms and taking her lips with his own. He was doing a very good imitation of somebody being passionate with a girlfriend.
Magda put her arms around his neck to prevent herself slipping onto the ground and started to giggle against his lips. It had the effect of making him deepen the kiss, which suddenly turned from a desperate maneuver on his part and curiosity on hers, to something very different.
Gradually Sam reduced the pressure on her mouth and glanced cautiously sideways before releasing her from his grip.
“Come on, you two,” Mikey called out. “You’re putting off my customers.”
“Has Loretta gone?” Sam asked before releasing Magda completely. Mikey laughed out loud and told him she had crossed the street and disappeared.
“Now I need to know why I have been pushed against the wall and kissed in full view of everybody . . . and who is this Loretta?” She sounded annoyed, but in fact, was feeling just a bit shaken. The kiss had done something unexpected to her, and she hoped it didn’t show.
“You don’t know?” Mikey was amazed. “The men are all terrified of her.”
“I was having a perfectly innocent drink and watching the world go by one evening, and she just walked up and ran her hand up my leg and . . .” Sam explained without actually explaining.
“She really does that?” Magda asked.
“Oh yes,” Mikey answered. “I have been known to put up the closed sign and hide.”
“I guess some guys are flattered and take what’s on offer,” Sam pondered, “but I am not afraid to admit that I don’t know how to get rid of the woman.”
“I have never known you be frightened of anything before.” Magda smiled. “Just give me a call. Other women aren’t frightened. I only caught a glimpse of her but the words ‘older’ and ‘tart’ do spring to mind.” She laughed. “Whatever happened to the teenager who had girls hanging on his every word?” He grinned.
“I was a bit of a hit when I played basketball.” Then thought to himself that the one girl he asked out when she was fifteen had turned him down. He took her hand.
“I owe you, Magda. Let’s look at this chocolate shop.” They walked down to the stable and stopped to look. “Those doors should be sandblasted. I am betting there is some really nice wood underneath all the years of weathering.”
She opened the doors and they went inside.
“I wanted to take another look at this floor.” He dropped on his knee and took out a small knife to scrape at the surface. Then he looked up at Magda. “These are fantastic. I thought maybe they would be. Look. This is not local stone. It had to be imported, expensive, and it’s beautifully laid. It will give you an amazing floor when the cleaning is done.”
Magda dropped down beside him and scraped at the soil.
“How can you tell?” she asked. He scratched at more of the stone and revealed a very neat join that hadn’t moved despite almost a hundred years of horses’ hooves.
“It is the sort of stone that slices into slabs like slate does. We can polish it. It will look superb and it is original. I think you might have a little gem here, Magda.”
“Wow,” she said and visualized it as a gleaming kitchen. He took a few more measurements and photos and they locked up.
The truck was behind the buildings out of the way, and she managed to climb into the cab despite the heels.
“For the work and the lift, would you like a coffee?” she asked and he followed her up the path. Truth to tell, they had always been comfortable together, and the banter had become their normal conversation over the years. The door opened into the big kitchen that was her workplace, and the five hundred truffles were as she left them. He saw them and smiled but then was drawn like a magnet to the two pieces of edible art that were under glass domes.
“Is this what food in heaven might look like?” he asked and it was not done for effect. He was almost drooling.
3
“You spotted my prototypes,” she said and lifted the cover from the first cheesecake.
“I have never, ever, in my life seen cheesecake like that,” he told her. “It is a work of art.” The cheesecake base was fairly normal with chocolate and vanilla flavoring but it was the decoration that took away his breath.
It was quite a deep cheesecake. The entire top surface was covered with chocolate items of almost every sort. There were shards of chocolate standing straight up, lattice work pieces which had been made and then broken, truffles of course, medallions of white chocolate mixed with milk and dark fingers. Everything was pushed into the cheesecake topping which covered it completely. The effect was an edible city skyline. It was finished with grated chocolate and wisps of spun sugar dripped from item to item to crown the effect.
Magda peeled away the transparent plastic that she had used to support the sides.
“Apart from Rula, nobody has seen them. What do you think?”
“I am actually speechless. How long did it take to make?” Sam asked and gasped as she took a knife and sliced through the cheesecake. She placed a piece onto a plate and handed it to him with a fork.
“It’s a crime to eat it,” he said, and then took a forkful and did just that. “Absolute perfection,” he murmured. Magda ate some herself, and she had to admit that she was pleased with the result.
“I am just trying it out to see if they would sell as special orders but because of the time to make each one, they would cost a lot.”
“You could sell by the portion in the café though,” he added, as he demolished the entire piece.
“I hadn’t thought of that. Good idea.” She handed him a coffee and led the way into the living room. There was a loud meow from the bedroom.
“Oh Lordy,” she said. “Their ladyships are not pleased at being locked away. Whatever you do, don’t let them into the kitchen. My five hundred truffles would be wasted, and I have to deliver them first thing in the morning.” She opened the bedroom door, and Abigail and Crystal trod their elegant and slightly huffy way into the room. “Meet Abigail, the darker one, and Crystal is the lighter one. Crystal is a bit cautious about meeting people, but Abigail loves everybody.”
Then, just to prove her wrong, as cats often do, Crystal went over to Sam and jumped onto his knee purring loudly and rubbing her head on his chin.
“The little hussy,” Magda said.
“This little lady is a pleasure, and thanks again for helping me out with Loretta.” The memory of the kiss that he had used to escape the man-eater did something to his insides and he pushed it to one side.
“Not a problem,” she said. “What is the timescale for this work?”
“If you have planning permission, we can start immediately.” She went and found the paperwork that showed her aunt had applied for and been granted, planning permission to convert the stable into a workplace. “I’ll do the basic ground plan tonight, and the foundations can start as soon as we can book the men to do it.”
“That is just wonderful. I thought it would take weeks.” Magda took the papers back. “I have so much work on hand that I have no time, but you wouldn’t need me to do anything.”
Sam was agreeing with that when her cell phone rang. It was a very upset Rula on the other end.
“Slow down, Rula. What has happened?”
“The hotel was phoning because the police were searching for me. My mom had an accident. She was run over.”
“Oh no.” Magda gasped and put her phone on speaker.
“Her legs are broken and she’s in shock. I have to go and see what she needs,” Rula told them.
“Just go. We can manage here, and the hotel will cover for you,” Magda said.
“Is there anything we can do?” Sam asked, but Rula said she would call when she had seen how her mom was doing.
“Don’t kill each other, you two,” she added. “Sorry I can’t help you to box up, Magda.”
“Don’t worry. Just go and drive carefully yourself,” Magda said. “Give your mom a hug from me.” She hung up and looked at Sam.
“Lord, I hope she is all right.”
He nodded. “Will you manage whatever Rula was going to do?”
“I’ll just stay up until it’s done,” she answered with a shrug. “I guess when it’s your job, that’s what you do. In the end I’ll have to take on someone to help, but I am such a perfectionist about the stock.“ She lifted her hands and made the "what can you do" gesture.
“I can hold the boxes and carry them for you,” he offered. “Don’t suppose I’d be a lot of use though.”
“Actually, that would be a help,” she said and shook her head at her own foolishness. “Whatever am I doing letting Sam Barnes help in the kitchen?” she added. “The cats will have to go back in the bedroom.” She picked up Abigail and called to Crystal who sat on Sam’s knee and refused to move. “You little madam,” she added. Sam picked up Crystal and brought her over.
“Well I never did,” Magda said. “She normally scratches anybody who tries to pick her up. You are definitely very favored.” She put Abigail in the bedroom and then took Crystal from him. He looked into the bedroom as the cats climbed onto the bed and stretched themselves out.
“Magda Caraganic,” Sam said, “there is a modern side to you after all. You have been keeping that very quiet.”
She had the grace to look a bit embarrassed.
“Okay, okay. I stayed in a hotel and loved the room so much, that I copied it.” He laughed out loud and pushed aside, very firmly, the thought of Magda in that very modern and hotel chic bed.
“Let’s do the packages and then I can go and draw the plans.” He suddenly became very businesslike.
They washed their hands, and she told him which boxes were to have which truffles. He watched her for a few moments and then did the same thing himself. The boxes were already labelled, and she kept an eye on him in case things got mixed up, but Sam was quite meticulous and the job was soon finished.
“That was a real godsend. Thanks,” she said. “I’ll put them in the trunk of the car, and I can just drive off tomorrow.”
“Lead on, Boss,” he said and picked up the first two packages. Then he paused. “Remember little Katie Welling?”
“Yes, of course,” Magda replied as she steadied the packages in the trunk.
“She is a great artist but struggles to make enough at it to live. If you wanted a trainee, I’m sure she would be interested.”
“She must be twenty-one or so now,” Magda added as they went back for more boxes. He told her that Katie’s dad was his foreman on building sites.
“He’ll be really interested to have a go at this new building of yours.”
“She might be what I need,” Magda said thoughtfully. “Would you mind sounding her out for me.”
“I’ll call her in the morning.” He hesitated as he stood at the door. “Or now maybe.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Katie, it’s Sam and I don’t want your dad; I need to speak to you.” He told the girl where he was and wondered if she was interested in being a trainee truffle maker. Then he handed his phone to Magda.
“I adore your rose-cream truffles—eat far too many of them,” Katie said. “What were you looking for?” Magda outlined the job and said that they could meet up the next afternoon. They made arrangements and she handed Sam his phone back. They were standing in the doorway to the house.
“You are being extraordinarily helpful, Sam,” she said, “but thanks anyway.” She laughed. “It probably won’t last.”
“I enjoyed it.” He put one arm against the doorjamb behind her head.
She waved a finger in his face. “Back off, Barnes. The help was great, but there is no Loretta the tart hitting on you now.”
He threw his hands in the air and grinned at her. “Can’t blame a man for trying,” he said. “I’ll call you tomorrow about the plans and the foundations.” He strode away to his truck and swung into the seat like a cowboy onto his horse. He waved a hand as the truck roared away into the dusk of the early evening. Magda stood at the door until the beat of her heart settled back into its normal steady pattern, then she closed the door and went inside.
The cats were released into the living room, and Magda made a coffee and then sat with the two fluffy Birmans.
“What a little villain you were,” she said as she ran a hand over Crystal’s soft coat. “Sidling up to the man. His head is big enough to start with.”
She pulled out her phone to look at the photos of the stable and talked to the two cats about what she had in mind for the new café. Crystal lifted a paw and knocked the cell phone out of her hand. “Still being a villain,” Magda grumbled as she retrieved the phone.
She opened the photo gallery and flicked through the shots she had taken at the stable. Crystal swiped with her paw and knocked the phone onto the ground again.
“You little minx,” Magda told her, but Crystal jumped down and put her paw on the cell phone. Magda pushed the cat to one side and picked up the phone that was showing a picture of those lovely, huge double doors. She looked at the shot and wondered what the wood would look like when sandblasted.
Crystal actually stuck her head in the way and appeared to be looking at the picture.
“Crystal, you are starting to be a pain,” Magda told her and moved the phone above the cat to look at it more closely and then she gasped and looked again.
4
Magda found a magnifying glass and then pored over the photo of the double doors in detail. At the bottom, and with the magnification making it a bit clearer, was the pale, hazy outline of a—mostly white with darker patches—cat. It was almost invisible, and at a casual glance, could even have been a mark on the wood. If she had not seen the ghost cat earlier in the day, she wouldn’t have given it a second glance. It was the same cat that had walked through the wall. She sat back.
“Well, Crystal, did you really know what you were doing there?” Then she spoke to herself, “Don’t be ridiculous Magda. It was sheer coincidence.” Then she phoned Sam.
“This sounds crazy,” she started.
“Nothing new there, then,” he answered in a joking voice but listened to the tale of Crystal and the photo. “Do you want me to drive back over?” he asked because he knew it was not like Magda to call and confide. “I’ll come anyway,” he added.
She sat back and breathed a sigh of relief. The man could be annoying, but he was there when you needed him. It set her to wondering how Rula and her mom were doing. It was a two-hour drive, and her friend would have reached the hospital by now. Rula would have been her first call under normal circumstances.
She had made more coffee and had been pacing around the kitchen when she heard Sam’s truck and opened the door to let him in. He came inside and spontaneously gave her a hug before pulling out his cell phone.
“Look,” he said, “it’s on my phone as well.”
“What?” Magda said and flicked on her own phone. They both opened up the photos and found the one of the doors. Side by side, the two pictures were almost the same, but Sam had clicked the camera just seconds after Magda, and the image of the cat was in a slightly different place. They looked at each other.
“It seems unbelievable,” Magda said.
“But evidence on film,” he answered. “It is the same cat. We all saw it, and now we have actual proof.”
“What do we do about it?” Magda wondered as they sat side by side with coffee and gazed at the photos. “Maybe there is nothing we can do but learn to get used to having a ghost around.”
“I had been thinking that you should meet the people in the main house. She did say when I was working there that papers and things had been left in the house. She might be able to throw some light on what the place was like when the cat was alive.”
“You think that if we knew about the place, we might be able to set the cat free?” She laid her hand on his arm. “That sounds even crazier than I did before.”
“You hear these stories about stuff like that. I never really believed it but that was before I saw a ghost,” Sam said. He added that he had another reason. “I was going to suggest that you might like to see what they did with the house. You would be quite amazed.” Having seen the modern bedroom, he thought that maybe Magda would like some of the effects that Jennifer Cartland had incorporated into the design.
