Just a Spoonful of Sugar, Chapter 13
Chapter 13.
Chapter 13: A Confectioner’s Conscience
As Bill listened to the sounds that were coming through the line, he began to ponder what was now happening at the factory and if the person who had entered the office had been Willy.
Before he could inquire, the sound of the teenager’s voice once again filled his ear. “Bill?” A pause. “Willy just came in, I’m going to put him on.”
“Thank you, Charlie,” he said as he heard the sounds of the phone switching hands.
When he heard Willy saying ‘hello’ on the other end of the line, he cleared his throat and began to speak.
“Willy? It’s Bill Peterson.”
“Hello Bill,” Willy’s voice emerged and his immediate suspicion was that his long time friend was exhausted. After several moments of silence passed, the voice suddenly changed from a dull hum to an almost forced cheerfulness. “Of what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
“I don’t know, maybe you can tell me,” Bill said firmly, all the while trying to maintain a serious tone with his friend. It somehow had proven quite difficult when Willy was talking in such a strange manner.
“Tell you what?” Willy asked, thus bringing him back to the present moment.
“I’m trying to find someone, and Charlie and I figured that you held the key to unlock the mystery of the past few days,” Bill said. When Willy did not respond, he took a deep breath and spoke, this time his voice resigned. “How are you?”
These three words seemed to puncture the chocolatier’s overconfident responses. Within seconds, his dejected words soon emerged. “Not so great.”
Between the cadence of Willy’s voice and the silence that ensued, Bill could distinctly make out the sounds of the door closing in the distance. This left him to conclude that Charlie had excused himself from the room so as to give them some privacy.
After several moments had passed, he took a deep breath, but released it as he began to drum his fingers across the desk. “I figured as much,” emerged between the tapping sounds.
“You know me well,” Willy said.
“Perhaps, but I also know that the birds have been twittering about and one even told me that there is a young woman who has become quite obsessed with you. It would seem that you have become quite the ‘ladies man’, if you will.”
“Please don’t go and tell me that the media has somehow managed to find out about this fiasco,” Willy moaned. “I have been trying to do what I can to keep it under wraps.”
“Understandably so, but this time I didn’t find out this information from the media. Instead, I found it out through someone who seems to care a great deal about your well being,” Bill said honestly.
“My well being?” Willy asked, his words dully repeating the same ones that the candy seller had spoken.
“Of course,” Bill said. “You have a number of fans that you never even realized you had. At any rate, there is someone who told me about what has been happening with you. Based entirely on what Charlie said before you came in, I can fully understand you freaking out about it. Of course, from what I have been able to ascertain, you have opted to trying to take the law into your own hands.”
“I tried, yes, but…” His voice trailed.
“…You grabbed the wrong one, right?” Bill finished for him.
“Charlie told you?” Willy asked.
“He told me a little bit, but the rest I figured out on my own,” Bill said. “Willy, we’ve been friends for a really long time, and you know that I have never lied to you about anything. Right at this moment, I can only hope that you will bestow that very same courtesy on me.”
When the chocolatier said nothing, the candy seller continued speaking. “I called your office to let you know what I heard about the situation. Then when Charlie told me that you had brought a girl there, I started to wonder if it was the same girl as the one who works for me here at the shop. The reason I’m asking is because according to her roommate, she disappeared yesterday after I sent her home.” As he spoke, he could hear the sounds of Willy’s breathing becoming more ragged.
When the confectioner said nothing in response to this, Bill eventually spoke, his single word, a final attempt at getting his friend’s attention. “Willy?”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps now is the time for you to trust me enough to tell me what specifically is going on. After all, I’m starting to think that you mistook the girl who works for me to be Belinda.”
“How could you know?” The chocolatier asked weakly.
“Because Belinda came by the shop looking for Marshmallow Round candies earlier today. Instead, of taking her candy and leaving, she tried to ‘innocently’ ask me about the precise whereabouts of her roommate. The girl who works here seemed to believe that something horrible was happening to you and was concerned. In fact, I found a letter that she had written to you that would confirm that. I’m guessing that she would have delivered it had she not been so worried that she left the shop without it.”
“She was worried?” Willy whispered.
“Yes,” Bill affirmed as he unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud.
~~~
Dear Mr. Wonka,
Perhaps you do not wish to hear from me, but there is something very important I must tell you. My name is Tamara Jenkins, and I’m not writing to alarm or frighten you. I’m writing because I am worried about you and hope that you are well.
I live with a woman named Belinda and I found out only moments ago that she has been sending you letters and gifts. When I discovered the extent of what she was doing, I tried to talk her out of it, but she would not listen. Instead, she began to accuse me of being jealous or trying to rain on her parade, if you will.
The truth is, her actions are frightening to me, and yet, I feel helpless in trying to contend with them. Living under the same roof with someone who does this sort of thing reminds me of my own life and why I live here in town instead of back home with my family.
Please, Sir, do be careful. I know that I am but a face in the crowd, but no one deserves to be treated this way, and for what it’s worth, I know just how you must be feeling.
Sincerely Yours,
Tamara Jenkins
~~~
When Willy said nothing for several moments, Bill took a deep breath and spoke, his question breaking into the chocolatier’s disquieting thoughts. “The girl that you have there is Tamara Jenkins, correct?”
When Willy did not respond, Bill knew that his assertion had hit the virtual nail on the head. He was now fully aware of what had happened, Willy had gotten scared and mistook Tamara for Belinda.
Eventually, the candy seller inhaled sharply and spoke, his voice now etched in impatience. “Willy, is Tamara the girl you have at the factory?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “But right now she’s very sick and has spent much of the day sleeping.”
“Why is she sick?” Bill asked.
“I didn’t do anything, I thought she was Belinda, and in the letters, Belinda said that she loved turkey and peppers,” he confessed. “I didn’t believe her when she said that she was allergic to them, and I watched her eat some and didn’t stop her. Then she had this terrible reaction to them this morning when she woke up.”
“There’s a card in her purse that says that she is highly allergic to pork products, olives, and peppers. I have her allergy medicine here. I should probably bring it by and drop it off in your mailbox once I leave here. I’d bring her purse as well, but with all this insanity, I don’t trust leaving her other stuff there.”
“We can probably come by and pick that up when she’s healthy again,” Willy said softly. “Right now, everything is such a mess.”
“You can say that again,” Bill said as he took a deep breath. “Why did you do this, Willy?”
“I don’t know,” He said brokenly. “I guess I wanted the letters to stop. I wanted to be able to leave the factory whenever I felt like it. During the last two weeks, whenever I would try, I somehow felt ill at ease and unsafe. Bill, I know I made a mistake, but right now, I have to rectify the things I’ve done, and I have no idea how.”
“You’ll find a way, you always do,” Bill said confidently.
“You seem to have more confidence in me than I do at this point,” he mused.
“I just know you, and I know that you wouldn’t hurt another person intentionally, not even when they have hurt you as Belinda obviously did. Just don’t be so hard on yourself, if Tamara is anything like the person I know, then I can tell you that her support and understanding will not cease.”
“What else can I do?” He asked.
“Just be yourself, be honest, and don’t do anything else to hurt her. It would seem to me that she has to be a pretty compassionate lady to have written you that letter. To feel empathy for a man whom she does not even know could somehow make it quite possible for her to find the strength to forgive.”
“I just hope that I am not beyond her forgiveness,” Willy whispered.
“I think it would take a great deal for someone like Tamara to not forgive,” Bill said gently. “Trust me on that, Willy, she is truly a remarkable young woman.”
“I hope you’re right, Bill, I’ll talk to you later,” Willy’s last words filled his ear before he heard the light click of the receiver being replaced at the other end.
Bill took a deep breath, his eyes momentarily closing as he got to his feet. He returned the phone to the cradle before he went over to the locker and retrieved the medication for Tamara. He closed the locker and then started to make his way towards the back door of the shop. The tally of the day’s totals, he retrieved with the intentions of taking care of when he got home. As he walked, he contemplated how his oldest friend now needed his help.
Tomorrow was going to be a new day, so perhaps that would give all of them the chance to overcome whatever it was that day had reaped.
Chapter 13: A Confectioner’s Conscience
As Bill listened to the sounds that were coming through the line, he began to ponder what was now happening at the factory and if the person who had entered the office had been Willy.
Before he could inquire, the sound of the teenager’s voice once again filled his ear. “Bill?” A pause. “Willy just came in, I’m going to put him on.”
“Thank you, Charlie,” he said as he heard the sounds of the phone switching hands.
When he heard Willy saying ‘hello’ on the other end of the line, he cleared his throat and began to speak.
“Willy? It’s Bill Peterson.”
“Hello Bill,” Willy’s voice emerged and his immediate suspicion was that his long time friend was exhausted. After several moments of silence passed, the voice suddenly changed from a dull hum to an almost forced cheerfulness. “Of what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
“I don’t know, maybe you can tell me,” Bill said firmly, all the while trying to maintain a serious tone with his friend. It somehow had proven quite difficult when Willy was talking in such a strange manner.
“Tell you what?” Willy asked, thus bringing him back to the present moment.
“I’m trying to find someone, and Charlie and I figured that you held the key to unlock the mystery of the past few days,” Bill said. When Willy did not respond, he took a deep breath and spoke, this time his voice resigned. “How are you?”
These three words seemed to puncture the chocolatier’s overconfident responses. Within seconds, his dejected words soon emerged. “Not so great.”
Between the cadence of Willy’s voice and the silence that ensued, Bill could distinctly make out the sounds of the door closing in the distance. This left him to conclude that Charlie had excused himself from the room so as to give them some privacy.
After several moments had passed, he took a deep breath, but released it as he began to drum his fingers across the desk. “I figured as much,” emerged between the tapping sounds.
“You know me well,” Willy said.
“Perhaps, but I also know that the birds have been twittering about and one even told me that there is a young woman who has become quite obsessed with you. It would seem that you have become quite the ‘ladies man’, if you will.”
“Please don’t go and tell me that the media has somehow managed to find out about this fiasco,” Willy moaned. “I have been trying to do what I can to keep it under wraps.”
“Understandably so, but this time I didn’t find out this information from the media. Instead, I found it out through someone who seems to care a great deal about your well being,” Bill said honestly.
“My well being?” Willy asked, his words dully repeating the same ones that the candy seller had spoken.
“Of course,” Bill said. “You have a number of fans that you never even realized you had. At any rate, there is someone who told me about what has been happening with you. Based entirely on what Charlie said before you came in, I can fully understand you freaking out about it. Of course, from what I have been able to ascertain, you have opted to trying to take the law into your own hands.”
“I tried, yes, but…” His voice trailed.
“…You grabbed the wrong one, right?” Bill finished for him.
“Charlie told you?” Willy asked.
“He told me a little bit, but the rest I figured out on my own,” Bill said. “Willy, we’ve been friends for a really long time, and you know that I have never lied to you about anything. Right at this moment, I can only hope that you will bestow that very same courtesy on me.”
When the chocolatier said nothing, the candy seller continued speaking. “I called your office to let you know what I heard about the situation. Then when Charlie told me that you had brought a girl there, I started to wonder if it was the same girl as the one who works for me here at the shop. The reason I’m asking is because according to her roommate, she disappeared yesterday after I sent her home.” As he spoke, he could hear the sounds of Willy’s breathing becoming more ragged.
When the confectioner said nothing in response to this, Bill eventually spoke, his single word, a final attempt at getting his friend’s attention. “Willy?”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps now is the time for you to trust me enough to tell me what specifically is going on. After all, I’m starting to think that you mistook the girl who works for me to be Belinda.”
“How could you know?” The chocolatier asked weakly.
“Because Belinda came by the shop looking for Marshmallow Round candies earlier today. Instead, of taking her candy and leaving, she tried to ‘innocently’ ask me about the precise whereabouts of her roommate. The girl who works here seemed to believe that something horrible was happening to you and was concerned. In fact, I found a letter that she had written to you that would confirm that. I’m guessing that she would have delivered it had she not been so worried that she left the shop without it.”
“She was worried?” Willy whispered.
“Yes,” Bill affirmed as he unfolded the letter and began to read it aloud.
~~~
Dear Mr. Wonka,
Perhaps you do not wish to hear from me, but there is something very important I must tell you. My name is Tamara Jenkins, and I’m not writing to alarm or frighten you. I’m writing because I am worried about you and hope that you are well.
I live with a woman named Belinda and I found out only moments ago that she has been sending you letters and gifts. When I discovered the extent of what she was doing, I tried to talk her out of it, but she would not listen. Instead, she began to accuse me of being jealous or trying to rain on her parade, if you will.
The truth is, her actions are frightening to me, and yet, I feel helpless in trying to contend with them. Living under the same roof with someone who does this sort of thing reminds me of my own life and why I live here in town instead of back home with my family.
Please, Sir, do be careful. I know that I am but a face in the crowd, but no one deserves to be treated this way, and for what it’s worth, I know just how you must be feeling.
Sincerely Yours,
Tamara Jenkins
~~~
When Willy said nothing for several moments, Bill took a deep breath and spoke, his question breaking into the chocolatier’s disquieting thoughts. “The girl that you have there is Tamara Jenkins, correct?”
When Willy did not respond, Bill knew that his assertion had hit the virtual nail on the head. He was now fully aware of what had happened, Willy had gotten scared and mistook Tamara for Belinda.
Eventually, the candy seller inhaled sharply and spoke, his voice now etched in impatience. “Willy, is Tamara the girl you have at the factory?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “But right now she’s very sick and has spent much of the day sleeping.”
“Why is she sick?” Bill asked.
“I didn’t do anything, I thought she was Belinda, and in the letters, Belinda said that she loved turkey and peppers,” he confessed. “I didn’t believe her when she said that she was allergic to them, and I watched her eat some and didn’t stop her. Then she had this terrible reaction to them this morning when she woke up.”
“There’s a card in her purse that says that she is highly allergic to pork products, olives, and peppers. I have her allergy medicine here. I should probably bring it by and drop it off in your mailbox once I leave here. I’d bring her purse as well, but with all this insanity, I don’t trust leaving her other stuff there.”
“We can probably come by and pick that up when she’s healthy again,” Willy said softly. “Right now, everything is such a mess.”
“You can say that again,” Bill said as he took a deep breath. “Why did you do this, Willy?”
“I don’t know,” He said brokenly. “I guess I wanted the letters to stop. I wanted to be able to leave the factory whenever I felt like it. During the last two weeks, whenever I would try, I somehow felt ill at ease and unsafe. Bill, I know I made a mistake, but right now, I have to rectify the things I’ve done, and I have no idea how.”
“You’ll find a way, you always do,” Bill said confidently.
“You seem to have more confidence in me than I do at this point,” he mused.
“I just know you, and I know that you wouldn’t hurt another person intentionally, not even when they have hurt you as Belinda obviously did. Just don’t be so hard on yourself, if Tamara is anything like the person I know, then I can tell you that her support and understanding will not cease.”
“What else can I do?” He asked.
“Just be yourself, be honest, and don’t do anything else to hurt her. It would seem to me that she has to be a pretty compassionate lady to have written you that letter. To feel empathy for a man whom she does not even know could somehow make it quite possible for her to find the strength to forgive.”
“I just hope that I am not beyond her forgiveness,” Willy whispered.
“I think it would take a great deal for someone like Tamara to not forgive,” Bill said gently. “Trust me on that, Willy, she is truly a remarkable young woman.”
“I hope you’re right, Bill, I’ll talk to you later,” Willy’s last words filled his ear before he heard the light click of the receiver being replaced at the other end.
Bill took a deep breath, his eyes momentarily closing as he got to his feet. He returned the phone to the cradle before he went over to the locker and retrieved the medication for Tamara. He closed the locker and then started to make his way towards the back door of the shop. The tally of the day’s totals, he retrieved with the intentions of taking care of when he got home. As he walked, he contemplated how his oldest friend now needed his help.
Tomorrow was going to be a new day, so perhaps that would give all of them the chance to overcome whatever it was that day had reaped.