Chapter Six
Monday 2nd December
Olivier – Inclusions Chocolate Shop, The Lanes, Brighton
Late on Monday afternoon, Olivier walked through the door of his maman’s chocolate shop and found it brought back even more memories and nostalgia than arriving at her house the day before.
It was probably because of the smell. Immediately his senses were full of the heavenly scent of melted chocolate and smooth caramel, the nutty aroma of coffee beneath. It was like the technicolour of smells to him. A lot of chocolate shops liked to keep things plain and white, but his maman’s was full of vibrant colour. The boxes on display were a rainbow of bold yellows, oranges, red and purples and all different sizes and shapes, with printed bows or stickers. The shelves displayed every kind of chocolate treat that could take your fancy, from the individual bite-size pieces behind the counter, full of the inclusions that gave the shop its name, to large slabs of shareable chocolate, to specially moulded figures.
Those were always what drew his interest as a child. And by child, he included when he was a teenager. He’d loved studying the seams and the layers, figuring out what different flavours made up the colours, how it had been engineered to stay together, and of course, when it was broken, where the thickest part of the chocolate would be.
His cousin, Celeste, was at the counter, finishing up with a customer, closing a big box of carefully selected chocolates and tying it up with a bow. Once she’d passed the box over and taken payment, she came out from behind the till to greet Olivier.
‘Little cousin,’ she cried, tiptoeing up to hug him. ‘It’s so great to see you.’ She released him and gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘How are you?’
Considering that the last time they’d met she’d been a guest at his wedding, he knew what the sympathy was about. He made sure his smile was especially large. ‘I’m very good. And congratulations to you. I can’t wait to meet the baby.’
‘Come for dinner at my mum’s. Both of you. Soon.’ She included Sylvia as she was coming out from the back of the shop to join them.
‘That sounds wonderful,’ his maman agreed.
‘Shouldn’t you check with Tante though?’ Olivier asked.
Celeste laughed. ‘It’s a standing invitation. Sylvia is always welcome if she can make it – the same applies to you. Goes without saying.’
Olivier smiled back at her. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together as children and with Celeste being four years older, they’d never really had common interests to bond them when they were together – though Olivier remembered being ‘looked after’ by her during holidays when he was very small. Often that had involved being dressed up or cast in the role of the baby in her games. But he could feel how genuine her welcome was and was reassured by the thought that his maman could drop in on her family whenever she wanted. Despite living by herself, she clearly wasn’t alone.
‘Come through.’ His maman beckoned him and he went out the back into the kitchen. It was empty, scrubbed and pristine already, now they were at the end of the day, but the smells were even more intense out there, and the temperature the perfect warmth for crafting melted chocolate.
‘Don’t you have any staff to help you make thechocolat, Maman?’
‘Yes. Of course. She comes in the morning and we get everything ready for the shop, then I can concentrate on admin and creating in the afternoon – if I’m not manning the shop.’ She shrugged and pulled a tray from one of the two industrial-size fridges, showing him a selection of half a dozen bite-size chocolates. ‘Are you purely asking from a professional point of view, or worried about your dear old mum working too hard?’
‘The latter.’
She patted his cheek. ‘Well, there’s no need. I know I’m going to need someone else once the subscriptions from Christmas all kick in but at the moment I don’t have the time to find someone – and really, they wouldn’t have enough work to do just yet. Plus I’m not that old.’
‘Those were your words, not mine.’
She winked at him. ‘Okay. I’ll let you off that then. You know, all I’m really missing at the moment, is someone to help me taste-test.’
‘Doesn’t Celeste help?’
Sylvia burst out laughing. ‘Celeste,’ she called out. ‘Can you come out when you’ve flipped the sign?’
Olivier’s cousin came in a minute later. ‘All done. We’re officially closed.’
‘Thank you.’ Olivier’s maman busied herself putting together a second tray with the same assortment of chocolates on it. ‘Now, watch this, Olivier. Truly, your mind will be blown. Eyes shut the pair of you—’
‘Oh no, you’re not asking me to taste-test are you?’ Celeste interjected with a groan.
‘I just want to demonstrate your…uniqueness to Olivier.’ Sylvia laughed.
‘Aunt Sylvia.’
‘Please. Just for one or two.’
Olivier looked between them, utterly confused about what was about to happen but when his cousin sighed and nodded, they both closed their eyes and his mother handed him a small chunk of milk chocolate, with smoothly curved edges.
