It was still dark when Sugar went downstairs to start her first batch of fudge. Her mother insisted on making small batches, which meant she had to make dozens of batches each day. She also insisted on hairnets. Sugar couldn’t stand the itch of the netting. Instead, she plucked her mom’s soft red and green fabric hat from the peg on the wall.
She tucked her ponytailed hair inside the hat that resembled a shower cap and washed her hands. She noticed her mom had a red MP3 player on the counter. She pushed the button and was treated to instrumental piano tunes. She started a pot of coffee brewing and got to work, smiling at the framed photos her mom kept above the counter.
There were several of Eddie and Peggy. Their wedding day, outings, early Christmases, the day they bought the house, Peggy holding Sugar as a newborn, and the last one Peggy had taken with Eddie at a summer picnic at Silver Lake.
They both looked so happy and full of life, some twenty-five years ago. Tears filled Sugar’s eyes as she scanned the memories displayed before her. She touched her finger to the one with her dad smiling, his arm around Peggy and a view of the lake in the background. “I miss you, Dad,” she whispered.
She scanned the opposite wall and saw her mom smiling with Sugar on her graduation day from high school, then from college. Several photos of her mother’s beloved black lab, Gypsy, decorated the wall. She had lost Gypsy about five years ago and never got another dog. Pictures of her mom in front of the Christmas tree on Main Street with the mayor, vacation shots of mother and daughter on cruises and tropical beaches, a picture of the two of them on the beach near Sugar’s condo, and Peggy smiling when she won the ribbon for the best decorated business one year.
Through watery eyes, Sugar contemplated her mother’s life, arranged before her in the photos her mother displayed. Peggy spent more time in this kitchen than she did anywhere else on the planet. She chose to surround herself with memories. With the love of her life, her best furry friend, and her daughter. The daughter who never bothered to visit. Sugar shook her head and focused on the recipe.
As she stirred the butter and chocolate together, the aroma brought back memories of her childhood. Her dad had loved her mom’s fudge. Mom had always made it for special friends and colleagues at her dad’s office. During Christmas, her mom made batch after batch of the chocolate confection, some with walnuts, others with pecans, and some like rocky road, with marshmallows.
Her dad would tote boxes and platters to work and bring home rave reviews. Each year when the holidays would approach, people would ask Peggy to make them fudge. She used to give it away, but Eddie had encouraged her to set up a business. That had turned out to be a blessing. With the help of their neighbors and friends in Silver Falls, that homegrown business had supported Sugar and her mother after Eddie died.
Sugar had gotten the feeling everyone bought fudge from her mom out of sympathy for their situation. She knew her Dad had been a beloved fixture at City Hall. He had been the comptroller his entire adult life. The first Christmas after he passed, Peggy had been inundated with orders from everyone at City Hall and the rest of Silver Falls.
It may have started as compassionate purchases, but when Sugar reviewed the order history, it was clear Peggy wasn’t selling pity fudge. She was running a booming small business. Sugar finished off the first two batches and slid them into the cooler to chill.
Hope came through the door with a cheerful, “Hellooo, it’s just me.”
“Hey, Hope, thanks again for volunteering.” Sugar turned and took another red apron off the peg. “Here’s an apron, and you’ll have to wear a hairnet or cover.”
“Got it,” said Hope, putting on the uniform and washing her hands.
“Coffee’s on, if you need any.” Sugar went through the process, and they decided Hope would assemble ingredients and get the chilled fudge packaged, while Sugar would handle the actual preparation.
They knocked out several more batches of walnut and pecan before the delivery driver arrived with the candy boxes they needed and an overnight delivery of a power blender. Sugar slit open the cardboard shipping boxes and smiled. “Oh, this is better than the old boxes she always used. These are already assembled and come with a bow and ribbons built into the box.” She carried one over to Hope. “I was dreading the time it would take to build them. She must have changed designs.”
“This is what she used last year, that’s all I know. Dottie could tell you for sure,” said Hope.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m thrilled to have one less thing to do.” She took the box into the kitchen. “Let’s see if we can figure out the best system for transferring the fudge into boxes. We’ll have to wear gloves.”
They filled a few of the boxes, using different ribbon patterns and colors to denote the flavors. Caramels went into a smaller box, so those were easy to distinguish. While they were in the midst of packaging, Drew arrived with takeout bags.
He greeted Hope with a kiss and said, “Thought I’d bring you ladies some lunch.” He unpacked containers of soup, salad, and sandwiches from the deli on one of the two petite tables arranged for customers opposite the retail counter.
“That was nice of you. I still haven’t gone to the store, so there isn’t much here to offer,” said Sugar. She eyed the food and said, “Do you know if the salad and soup are organic?”
Drew’s forehead creased. “I’m not sure. I know they’re delicious.” He winked at Sugar.
Sugar dragged another chair over and chose a salad and a container of mushroom soup. Her eyes showed surprise as she took her first bites. “This is quite tasty.”
They made easy conversation about the fudge making and packaging processes until Drew had to get back to work. “See you for dinner,” he said to Hope, kissing her cheek as he left.
Hope gathered the paper containers and trash. “What time are you heading to visit your mom?”
Sugar looked at her watch. “I’ll need to leave in about an hour. Let’s put together another couple of batches, and then if you want to stay, you can package what’s left in the cooler. I’ll get you the order sheets, and you can attach the delivery copy with each order so we’re ready to go.”
The two worked together, their conversation centered on what they were doing and on Peggy. After sliding the last of the fudge into the cooler, Sugar left Hope with a spare key. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help. I feel better having gotten some of this done today.”
“It was fun. I’ll finish the packaging and come back tomorrow. Wednesday I won’t have much time because we’ll be busy at the guest house, but I’ll have a couple of hours.”
Sugar gathered the clothes and books she was taking to her mom, donned her coat, and waved to Hope, thanking her again. “See you in the morning,” she said with a smile.
Sugar’s alarm beeped at five o’clock. She fumbled in the dark to quiet it and give herself a few more precious minutes. She was exhausted after yesterday. She stayed with her mom until after dinner last night, fighting the urge to sleep as her mom went through all the things Sugar needed to do at the candy shop. Even after hearing how well she and Hope had done with their first batches, Peggy insisted on providing pearls of wisdom. When she started droning on about her temperamental furnace and the electrical outlets, Sugar tuned out her voice.
She made sure her mom was comfortable and had everything she needed, including her favorite channel playing on the television, kissed her goodbye, and made her way to the freeway. Using her phone for directions, she turned into the parking lot of the grocery store she had researched online. She chuckled as she recalled her stroll through what Grant would call a yuppified market. It was going to be her favorite place to shop. She found everything she needed: organic produce, salmon, protein powder, various other staples, and a supply of organic meals from the prepared food counter.
After several minutes, Sugar pried her eyes open and reached for her laptop. Following a solid two hours of answering emails and reviewing projects, she checked the clock and hurried to finish as the first light of the new day filtered into her childhood room.
She scanned the walls while she pondered the last email. Nothing had changed. The shelves held the books she had treasured growing up; her artwork and designs decorated the walls; ribbons she won at art shows still hung on the bulletin board her mother had installed over her desk, whose drawers held all her old art supplies. It was like she had traveled back in time.
She finished her work correspondence, hurried to the shower, and trotted downstairs to start on the fudge. But first, she needed breakfast.
She dumped kale, frozen peaches, frozen mango, ginger, and almond milk into her new blender. After whirling it around for a few minutes, she poured the green mixture into a large glass and drank it down. “Ah, delicious,” she said.
She started a fresh pot of coffee and began making rocky road fudge. Hope arrived at nine and donned an apron and hat. The two worked nonstop, pausing only for a quick lunch and to stock the supplies that were delivered by truck. By the time Hope left in the late afternoon, they had all the fudge made for the week’s orders, along with over half the caramels wrapped and boxed.
A few minutes after Hope left, Sugar heard the door. “What did you forget?” she hollered from the commercial sink where she was finishing the dishes.
Grant peeked his head around the corner. “Hey, it’s me. Smells like chocolate in here.” He took another whiff and said, “Heavenly.” He contemplated her red apron covered with stains, her hair escaping from the crooked chef’s cap, and the weary look in her eyes. “You look like you’ve been busy. I just came by to check on you.”
“Hope just left. We made lots of progress. I couldn’t have done it without her.”
“Mom wanted me to be sure to invite you to Thanksgiving.”
“Aww, that’s nice of her. I was going to run into town and visit Mom for a few hours. I doubt I’ll have much time to make many trips, so I thought I’d take advantage of being temporarily caught up.”
“Mom will hound you until you agree to come. You know that, don’t you?” He smiled and helped her steady one of the oversize stainless-steel bowls she had just washed.
“I’ll try to stop by when I get back into town. I’m planning to fill more orders and maybe do some of my work from the office. I’m not much on holidays.”
He shrugged. “Like I said, it’ll be easier if you agree to come. We eat at three. That gives you time to spend the morning with your mom.”
She laughed and used her wrist to try to shove a piece of stray hair under her cap. Grant reached for her hair and tucked it behind her ear and under the fabric. His eyes held hers for a second longer than necessary. “There you go.” He jerked his hand away with a quick motion and took a step back from the counter.
She studied him out of the corner of her eye. “Tell your mom I’ll be there.”
He grinned and winked at her. “Smart lady.”
She opened the door to the fridge and retrieved the leftover soup and salad from lunch. “I was just going to have a bite of dinner. Care to join me?”
Grant eyed the labels on the containers. “You found your favorite overpriced store. Did you have to fight off any organic, free-range, BMW-driving hipsters?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure your attitude is worthy of my kale salad and butternut squash soup.”
“Um, yeah, I’ll pass on both.” She poured soup into a bowl and added the rest of her salad to a plate. He sneered and gave her dinner a disgusted look. “I’ve got to get home and get to bed. I’ve got a long day of baking starting at three in the morning.”
“You must work out. You seem to be in pretty good shape for a guy who eats all those sugary treats you make at the bakery, not to mention all those heavy meals your mom makes.”
He stood a little taller. “I don’t have time to work out. I like to get outside and hike when I have time, but this time of year, I’m slammed.” He grinned and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” She added a fork and a spoon to her tray.
“Ah, nothing.” He moved toward the door. “You city girls with your goofy food and yoga obsessions. There’s a lot more to life than that.” He didn’t give her a chance to retort and strode out the door with a quick wave.
She shook her head and muttered, “Like a guy who eats more carbs in a week than I do in a year and has never left this one-horse town would know anything about city life.”
Sugar was on her own Wednesday and finished making and wrapping the caramels. She even had time to add a few more batches of fudge to her inventory. The orders for the week were ready for delivery. Her biggest customer was the City of Silver Falls, who ordered dozens of pounds of fudge for the tree lighting ceremony on Friday. Grant’s bakery was closed Friday, but he said he would make her deliveries for her.
Between staying up late on Wednesday and getting an early start on Thursday, she was able to catch up on her work from the office. Everyone was taking off for Thanksgiving break and would be out of the office until Monday.
She didn’t want to intrude on Hope’s time with her family over the holiday weekend, but she could really use her help. While she was thinking about orders, she tapped her phone and put in reminders to order supplies each week.
As she scanned the clipboards and stacks of orders, she shook her head. She had mentioned an online order and invoice system to her mom, but Peggy wanted nothing to do with it. She added a few more things from her mom’s room to her tote bag, along with a box of fudge and caramels. Her mom wanted to share with her roommate and asked her to bring some. Sugar suspected she wanted to sample her work and used the roommate as an excuse.
The rehab center was bustling with visitors and decorated for the holiday. She found her mom in the oversized common room with the fireplace, visiting and laughing with the other patients.
Peggy introduced Sugar to her friends and passed around the boxes of candies, making sure to take several for herself. She bit into the chocolate and pecan fudge and closed her eyes. “This is perfect, Sugar. Delicious and so creamy.”
Sugar smiled. “I had an excellent teacher. Hope helped me get the orders done this week. She’s a hard-worker.”
Peggy nodded. “She is a sweet one. You should have seen her last year, running that place for Dottie. She’s made such a difference in Drew. He had been so sad since he lost his wife and son so long ago. I didn’t think he’d ever be happy again. It’s wonderful to see him full of joy and with a family.”
Sugar bobbed her head. “The Fishers have always been wonderful friends. Grant’s going to deliver orders for me on Friday, and he invited me for Thanksgiving this afternoon.”
Peggy’s eyebrows arched. “How wonderful. I was hoping you wouldn’t be alone today. Grant’s such a great guy. He’s wonderful to Dottie and has a successful business. He’s always willing to help around town. You kids always had so much fun when you were young. You practically lived at their house in the summer.”
Sugar smiled. “The lake in their backyard was a huge draw.”
Peggy patted her hand. “You know Grant’s girlfriend left him last year. Moved away to Boston.” She gave her daughter a sly wink.
“Mom,” Sugar frowned. “Don’t get any crazy ideas. Grant’s a nice guy, and he’s helping me out. You, actually. That’s it.”
“Ah, so you’re serious about that boy, Darrin?”
“No, I’m not. Darrin is no longer in the picture.” A group of young people shuffled into the room. “Thank goodness,” whispered Sugar.
One of the staff members introduced the youth group from a local church who had come to sing holiday songs for the patients. After they sang several tunes, the children circled the room wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and presented a decorated cookie to each patient.
The center had planned their big meal for the lunch hour and staff members beckoned everyone to the dining room. Sugar helped her mom maneuver to a table where she met a few more patients.
Sugar visited with everyone until their table was served. “Wow, that’s quite the spread,” said Sugar, eyeing the heaping plates as they were delivered. The food looked and smelled delicious, not like typical hospital food.
“One of the large casinos in town donates the meal each year. They cater it for us,” said the staff member, adding a basket of rolls and butter to the table.
Sugar bent and kissed her mom’s cheek, hugging her. “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to get back to Silver Falls. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Enjoy your Thanksgiving with the Fishers. Tell Dottie hello and give Grant a hug from me. He’ll always be my hero for rescuing me.”