Snippet Saturday – Cocoa
I have several books with hot cocoa in them and I spent some time going through all of them. I think this is my favorite scene with it… And I’d forgotten how much I love this story
“Seriously?”
“Yes. Why? You don’t like cocoa?”
“Of course, but I…” Tessa shook her head at the out of the blue request. “Yes, we do have a place. Prim’s Cafe. It’s a couple doors down.”
“Do you mind if we stop and get some?”
“Not at all.”
The couple of doors they passed were the County Courthouse and Linda’s Candles and Gifts.
The old courthouse was a red brick building with a wide stairway leading up to the four imposing columns at the top. It was narrow along the front but extended deeper beyond the street.
Linda’s Candles and Gifts was a small storefront that looked like the outside of a cottage. In fact, most all the storefronts had that same aesthetic, They weren’t connected, each having a small alley between them opening up to streets behind. They were independent, standalone buildings, some built of brick and others of concrete. Many were big enough that their owners lived either upstairs or in apartments hidden behind doors that never opened to the customers.
Tessa loved the quaintness of downtown Silver Falls. It looked unlike any other downtown main street in a small town she’d ever been to or driven through. That was part of the appeal. It looked like a Christmas village.
Prim’s Cafe was lit up and full of people. One look at Dash told her it was more than he’d expected.
The rich aromas of coffee and cinnamon filled the air. A hush did too, when she and Dash walked in. Not a sound, not even a whisper as everyone stared.
Dash started to ease his hand away, but she tightened her fingers. She wasn’t about to let him go.
“Oh, come on!” she exclaimed to the room at large. “You all act like you’ve never seen a stranger before.”
“We’ve just never seen you with a stranger.”
“Or holding hands.”
“Or kissing.” Gasps could be heard from the front of the room to the back. “That’s right. They were deep into it back at Chuck’s, if you know what I mean. And right out where anyone could see them, too.”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Really Beth? What are you people? Twelve?” she asked, looking around. “This is Dash. He’s a business associate of Daddy’s and if you have any issues with my behavior, well tough. I’m an adult and can do what I want. With whoever I want. Got it? Harold? Marge? Beth? Are we good?”
Murmurs of agreement along with a few whispers of ‘Wait ‘til I call her mother’ swept through the café.
Tessa looked up at Dash. At least he seemed bemused rather than like a deer in headlights. “You okay?” she asked softly.
“I am. I’ve never caused a stir before.”
“Really? You’ve never caused a stir among the elves?”
“No. I’m more of a loner. I do my job and I go home. I occasionally hang out, but mostly I just go home.”
Something about his words tugged at her. He didn’t sound sad, but he sounded lonely. Oh, it wasn’t overt, more like an undertone.
“You two are causing a rumbling among the locals,” Prim quipped from behind the cafe counter.
“You know me,” Tessa said. “I’m all about that town gossip. Prim, this is Dash. Dash, this is the owner, Prim. She can make you anything your heart desires.”
He arched a dark brow. “Anything?”
“Within reason.”
Tessa gave a short bark of laughter. “She’s being modest. Whatever you want, just ask. She can whip it up.”
“Hot cocoa? With dark chocolate and mint, whipped cream and sprinkles?”
“Mmm… That sounds delicious,” Prim said. “Let’s see what I can do.”
“It doesn’t sound so difficult.”
“It’s all about the taste, the correct ratio of chocolate to mint.”
“Really?” Tessa’s surprise had to show on her face with her scrunched forehead and narrowed eyes. “You seem pretty heavy into this cocoa thing.”
“It’s my favorite drink.”
“Well, Prim has this thing… A customer asks for any drink at all and she makes it. Or tries. If it’s close to what the customer wants, she’ll charge regular price. But if it’s not close at all, she won’t charge for it.”
“How often has she had to give a drink away for free?” Dash asked. His gaze was trained on Prim as she worked behind the counter with cocoa powder, milk, and several candy canes.
Tessa loved his intensity, his focus, his curiosity.
“I think she’s got maybe three wrong in as many years.”
“That’s all? That’s impressive.”
“Of course, most people ask for outrageous coffee drinks, but I have no doubt she can do a hot chocolate to your liking. Where did you come up with that one, anyway? You said it’s your favorite?”
Dash leaned down, putting his lips to the edge of her ear. His warm breath gave her goose bumps in the overly warm shop. “Mrs. Claus,” he whispered. “It’s one of her things. At a very young age, on one’s first visit to Claus Manor, she brings out a tray of different ciders and cocoas. Whichever one you drink all of, that’s the one she makes you the rest of your life.”
“That’s so sweet.”
“Did I hear you say Mrs. Claus?”
Tessa and Dash turned to look at the woman standing behind them. Dash blushed and Tessa took his hand again. She wanted him to know he didn’t have to face anyone in her hometown alone. “I did, yes,” Dash answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
“As in Santa Claus’ Mrs. Claus?”
“Yes. She runs a café much like this one where I come from and that’s what we call her. Mrs. Claus. She dresses the part, too.”
He looked and sounded so serious that even if Tessa didn’t know the real truth, she’d have believed him.
“Oh. You spoke with such openness, you see, that I thought you were trying to say Santa and Mrs. Claus were real people.”
“Would that be so bad?” Dash asked, a note of surprise in his voice. “A little belief in magic at the holidays?”
“No. Just… it’s not real and we shouldn’t fill people’s heads with things that aren’t real like that.”
“There’s so much real,” Dash said. “The holidays are supposed to light and joyful and full of whimsy. There’s no harm in believing in Santa Claus or his wife. It’s the enchantment of the season that gives the real parts of life hope.”
“I believe in Santa,” Tessa added with a grin.
“I did, too, as a kid.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I grew up.”
“So? That’s when belief is most important. It’s why I never stopped, and he’s never stopped delivering.”
“What did you ask for this year?” Beth asked.
“Dash.”
Beth eyed Dash up and down. “Then I’d say you must’ve been a very good girl this year.”
Amen to that, Tessa thought. “Oh, I was.”
A quick look at Dash and Tessa saw his blush had deepened.
But the point I think Dash was trying to make and it goes along with mine… Don’t stop believing. Whatever you do because you never know when Santa will drop your heart’s desire right into your lap. Or, as in my case, the driveway.”
Laughter filtered around them and she felt Dash relax in the way he’d held her hand.
She liked it, holding hands with him. She liked being connected to him in this way, physically touching him, feeling his energy and strength flowing from him through to her.
“Okay boys and girls, here we go,” Prim announced, making her way toward them. “Let’s see if I got Dash’s drink right.”
Prim presented him with a cup, and he took it, but only hesitantly. He pulled his hand from Tessa’s and turned the cup around slowly, gazing at it.
“Is everything all right?” Everyone watched them, and Tessa wasn’t sure if he was aware of it or not.
“This cup… It’s very similar to the ones Mrs. Claus uses. Hers are pewter, but the scroll work and engravings are near identical. He glanced at Tessa, then at Prim, and shrugged.
He took a whiff and ended up with a dot of whipped cream on the tip of his nose.
“You, ah…” Tessa started to point it out, but he winked and took a sip before she could. The whipped cream mustache when he lowered the mug was a priceless look for him. She did tell him that.
“Well?” Prim prompted, eagerness spilling over in her words.
Dash held up a hand while he took another, longer sip. He moaned. “It’s perfect,” he said, almost more to himself than to anyone else. He licked his lips and took another swallow. “It’s exactly what I was thinking of.”
Prim grinned and clapped her hands. “Fantastic. I’ll go ring it up for you.”
“I’ve got this one,” Tessa said. She followed Prim to the counter while Dash drank more of the hot cocoa, marveling at the taste. “What did you put in that drink? He seems mesmerized by it.”
“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Prim looked away and fiddled with the tablet, moving it this way, then that way.
“You’re fibbing, Primrose Noelle.”
Prim tightened her lips at the use of her first and middle names and shook her head, walking away.
Tessa joined Dash again and their small crowd had dispersed, leaving them alone. Well, as alone as they could be in a crowded café. “It’s good?”
“It’s incredible. Would you like a sip?”
“Just a small one.” She took the cup and their hands connected over the heated copper. It was unique, one she’d never seen Prim use before. Something was up in the little café, especially given what Dash had said about the cup and Mrs. Claus.
Tessa gave an involuntary groan when the cocoa hit her tongue.
“Well?” Dash’s voice was nearly as eager as Prim’s had been while waiting for his reaction.
“Oh my God… That’s delicious.”
“It is. But…”
“But what?” She took another drink from the cup. Hot cocoa wasn’t really her thing, but if she had this to drink every day, she could make it her thing. Though, an espresso shot or two would make it even better.
“If I didn’t know your friend had Prim made it, I would swear Mrs. Claus did.”
“It is just like hers or similar?”
“Just like it. I’ve been drinking it my whole life and I’d know the difference if there was one.”
“Hmm… That is odd,” Tessa agreed. “You didn’t give her a recipe and she said she’d never made one before, so for her to get it exactly right? That tells me I was right.”
“About what? Are you going to give me the mug back?
Tessa laughed and held it out to him. “Sorry. It’s really good. And I’m right about something going on with Prim. She’s got a secret and I think we need to ask some questions.”
Are you a hot cocoa fan? Do you have a special recipe? And if you are a fan, are you in Camp Marshmallow or Camp Whipped Cream? Inquiring author wants to know…
