RP: Opening Day

[shh_eloise]

Date: March 19, 2005
Characters: Eloise Midgen, Viktor Krum, Marietta Edgecombe, Horace Slughorn, Roger Davies, Marcus Flint, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Katie Bell, Cedric Diggory, Su Li, Caradoc Dearborn, Ron Weasley, Eleanor Branstone, Anyone else
Location: Just Desserts
Status: Public
Summary: The grand opening of Just Desserts
Completion:

Comments

[shh_marietta]

Marietta needed to have some fun. She enjoyed her work but she really did not want to spend every minute thinking about Floo Regulation. Sometimes she just wanted to be silly and indulge herself. She'd seen flyers for a new chocolate shop on the other side of town from the Ministry. She really, really wanted some good chocolate. She'd not had any since she left Paris and returned to England a few months ago.

That was enough to motivate Marietta to walk west on River Road until she found the shop called Just Desserts. Entering, she found a dark-haired witch in yellow robes keeping an eye on the chocolates, which looked and smelled delicious.

[shh_eloise]

After Viktor Krum had stopped by the shop, there had been a few other people who had ventured in for free samples and some had even purchased chocolate. Well, traded odd items for the chocolate but such was the way of the world these days.

Eloise was putting out a fresh batch of samples (dark chocolate with a light taste of strawberries) when another customer entered. She looked up with a smile to greet the young woman. "Hello. Welcome to Just Desserts."

[shh_marietta]

"Hello," Marietta said to the young woman who greeted her. "Lovely shop you've got here. This is just what this town needs, a good chocolate shop."

[shh_eloise]

"Thank you," she said. "I'm Eloise Midgen, should you need any help. Are you looking for anything in particular or just browsing?"

She motioned to the sample trays. "I've set out fresh samples of various fudges, and I also have coffee and tea available. Complimentary for the grand opening, of course."

[shh_marietta]

"I'm Marietta Edgecombe. It's nice to meet you." The other woman looked vaguely familiar. "Hogwarts, I assume? Mid-90s?"

"Thank you. Some tea would be wonderful," said Marietta, still shivering a bit from the ugly weather outside. "I'm really just browsing. I'd love to try some samples. Do you have a favourite?"

[shh_eloise]

"It's nice to meet you, too, Marietta," she said, not recognizing the other woman. "I went to Hogwarts until my sixth year, and, yes, it was the 90s."

She smiled. "Tea it is, then." She went over and flicked her wand, watching as the kettle poured. "A favorite fudge? Goodness, that would be as difficult to choose as favorite sex---color," she said, managing to catch herself before she blurted out 'sexual position' to a customer. Careful, Lola.

"I love the white chocolate the most, mostly because it took me weeks to get it ideal. Do you fruits, nuts, creams, or just whole chocolate?"

[shh_marietta]

Marietta's eyebrows went up slightly as Eloise spoke to her. She could have sworn a syllable that sounded like "sex" had come from the other woman's mouth, but perhaps she was mistaken. "I enjoy a good white chocolate some times, but I like a slightly dark, sweet chocolate best. I suppose I'm partial to fruit fillings." She leaned toward Eloise conspiratorially. "Though, really, my favourite sweet is Turkish delight. Right now I have to go to Plymouth to get it."

[shh_eloise]

"Dark and sweet with fruit filling," she repeated thoughtfully. "Turkish delight? I could speak to my contact about ordering that for you, if you'd like. I have packages arriving all the time with fresh sweets."

She considered Marietta's interests and finally walked behind the counter to get three different chocolate sweets from the display. She set them on a tray and levitated it behind her. "I'd suggest trying this one first," she said, handing over a dark chocolate cup that was filled with sweet cherry filling. The other two choices were similar, though one had strawberry vanilla cream and the other had peach filling.

[shh_marietta]

"Oh, could you?" Marietta had told Horace Slughorn that she could get him Turkish Delight if he wanted any, but in reality that would have meant making extra trips to Plymouth herself. "That would be wonderful. I'd be in your debt. I could--" She leaned closer, speaking more softly so others wouldn't hear -- "I could offer an extra ration of Floo powder, or perhaps a few ounces of Soot-eating Potion?" Marietta knew how to trade favours when necessary. "Though I suppose first you'll need your Floo connected, won't you?"

A small tray bearing sweets followed Eloise as she moved back toward Marietta, who cooed over her choices and tasted the dark chocolate cup as suggested. "Oh. My. God." Her eyes widened. "This is astonishing. Truly. You're brilliant."

[shh_eloise]

"I'll ask my supplier when I owl him this week," she said. "I'm sure it's possible, but I'll have to find out the details and availability. It might have to just be once a month, as are a few other sweets like that." She smiled. "That's a great trade, Marietta, but it might be too much just for me carrying a new treat."

She grinned when Marietta tried the chocolate cup. "I'm glad you like it. I enjoy working on the cups because it takes patience and focus to make them, though not nearly so much as truffles."

[shh_marietta]

"That would be wonderful, Eloise, really," Marietta gushed. "I could pay you in advance, with Muggle money, if that would help. It's no trouble about the Soot-eating Potion. I can give you a small phial if you don't feel comfortable accepting more. Even a small amount goes a long way."

Nodding as she continued eating the chocolates, Marietta finally said, "You're quite talented, Eloise. Really. I'll make sure my co-workers at the Ministry know about your shop."

[shh_eloise]

"No need," she said. "I'll find out what my supplier says, and then I'll owl you with details. Depending on the deal he can make me and his connections, I'll be able to figure out the specifics. Thank you for the potion."

"Thank you. Word of mouth is really the best advertising. Did you want to get anything to take home with you?"

[shh_marietta]

"You're quite welcome. You know the old saying, you scratch my back, and so on." Well, at least Marietta knew it; the saying had been handed down through the Edgecombe family, from her Muggle ancestor the baron banker, for more than two hundred years.

Marietta considered her options. "I'd like a small tin of mixed chocolates, if that's possible. If I eat too much I'll turn into a toad," she frowned, looking down at her slightly pudgy figure. She'd never been one of those thin little girls like Cho, but she liked food too much to do anything serious about it. Not that she wanted to be stick-thin, but she thought she was lumpy in the wrong places. "I don't mean literally; I'm just struggling with my weight, as usual. Not your problem, of course, and these chocolates are too good to resist. How much do I owe you?"

[shh_eloise]

"Lovey, you don't have to tell me about struggling with weight," Eloise said with a laugh. She was much larger than Marietta, but had come to terms with that years ago.

"The thing to remember is that there's nothing wrong with being whatever size we're meant to be and to be happy with what you have. Confidence is key, after all. Besides, I just think of it as there being more of me to love." She winked and began to gather up a tin of chocolates for Marietta.

Once she finished, she quoted the price and Marietta took care of the tab. "It was nice to meet you, Marietta," Eloise said with a grin. "I hope to see you again some time."

[shh_marietta]

Eloise had the kind of easy self-confidence Marietta wished for but never quite achieved. Marietta knew that, given her financial situation and social status, she ought to feel better about herself than she did. "You do seem quite lovable, or at least likeable," she said, winking back at Eloise. "Good on you."

"It was very nice to meet you too, Eloise," Marietta said as she made to leave. "I hope we meet again too. Maybe for lunch some time? That would be fun. Congratulations again and thank you for the wonderful sweets."

[shh_eloise]

"It was nice to meet you, too, Marietta," Eloise said. "Lunch one day would be brilliant. Well, maybe dinner depending on whether I find an employee or two. But, yes, definitely owl me, lovey. Have a good day."