Free The Oddest Little Chocolate Shop in London by Beth Good

just behind him.
       White-haired
and rather sad-looking, it was the old lady Clementine had seen yesterday.
though today she wore no hat. She had to be in her eighties at least,
Clementine thought. She was wearing a light blue dress with a white collar and
a woollen cardigan, despite the sunny afternoon. Bent over a walking stick, she
was staring into the chocolate counter with a distracted air. Her handbag
hanging from the crook of her arm, she looked frail and confused, as though not
quite sure why she was there.
       ‘I’m
terribly sorry to have kept you waiting,’ Clementine apologised at once. ‘Can I
help you, madam?’
       Dominic
took Rachel to one side and began speaking to her quietly about the new display
shelves.
       Clementine
tried to focus on her customer and not feel jealous. Just because Rachel had
fallen out with her fiancé, that did not mean she was shopping for a new one.
And besides, Dominic was not her property. They liked each other, that was all.
It might never go any further than that. Especially if every time they spent
more than a few moments together, they were interrupted!
       The
old lady was pointing at the chocolates on display in the glass-topped counter.
‘My husband likes … liked … the little ones with a cherry on the top. Not a
real cherry, a chocolate one. I thought I would buy a few. But you do not
appear to have them anymore.’
       Clementine
peered at the display. She had no memory of a cherry-topped chocolate. ‘I’m
sorry, madam,’ she said, concerned now. The old lady seemed so sad, it would be
a shame to disappoint her. ‘You’re right. There aren’t any on display. But
perhaps Monsieur Ravel could …. ?’
       Suddenly
Dominic was there, bowing his head to the old lady. ‘Forgive me, madame, you
would like some of my Cherry Bombs?’
       ‘That
was the name, yes!’ She smiled back at him, her face transformed. ‘Oh thank
you, do you still have them?’
       ‘I
do not have any ready-made, madame,’ he admitted, smiling persuasively at her,
‘but if you could return tomorrow afternoon, I will make sure there is a bag of
Cherry Bombs set aside.’
       ‘That’s
very kind,’ she said at once, and sighed. ‘My husband Ernest did love them so
much. He often came in for them on a Friday afternoon. Perhaps you remember
him?’
       Dominic
looked uncertain, but Rachel nodded. ‘I remember. Gentleman with a blue scarf.
Always smiling!’
       ‘That’s
him, that’s Ernie.’ The old lady nodded, smiling herself. Then her smile trembled
and faded. ‘Sadly, Ernie passed away not long ago. It’s just me now. The
funeral was held yesterday. A quiet affair, that’s what he asked for. Only
family. And there are so few of us left. But today I thought … Well, today I
thought I would buy some of his favourite chocolates.’ She tapped her walking
stick gently on the floor, staring at the chocolate display without seeing it.
‘Ernie would have liked that. For me to treat myself.’
       ‘Bien
sûr, madame. I’m sure he would.’
       Clementine
suddenly remembered the funeral procession she had seen, and the mourners in
the solitary car following the flower-decorated hearse. So few of them. That
must have been Ernie’s funeral.
       No
wonder the poor old lady looked so sad.
       ‘I’ll
make sure they’re wrapped up and waiting for you when you came back, madam,’
she said, and could have wept herself when she saw how damp and shiny the old
lady’s eyes had become.
       ‘Thank
you, that’s very kind,’ the old lady repeated, then turned for the door,
groping her way.
       Dominic
helped her out into the busy street, then stood a moment to see the old lady go.
When he came back inside the shop, he had a thoughtful look in his eyes. ‘She
reminds me of my own grandmother,’ he told them quietly, then nodded brusquely
at her and Rachel. ‘Bon, allons-y. There’s still plenty to do. I had better go
back to the