Hello, everyone. Thanks to those who gave me feedback. And thanks to rkn for betaing.
Here's part 13.
A Box of Swiss Chocolates
As Kiley got ready for her next day with Larry, she smiled. She was really looking forward to seeing the bakery. She wondered if she should dress a little more causally today. After all, if they were going to spend time in the bakery, there was always the possibility of someone spilling something. Still, even though she didn’t feel the need to “dress up” when she saw Larry anymore, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for those kinds of clothes. What would Larry think if he saw her in her painting/cleaning/grunge clothes? Besides, it wasn’t as if THEY were going to be baking! He was just going to give her a tour.
In the end, Kiley decided to wear a clean t-shirt and jeans. It was a little more casual, but it still wasn’t what she wore when she was painting. She crossed her fingers that nothing happened, but at least she was somewhat prepared just in case. She also put her hair up so it would be out of her face.
As she spun into her Superwoman costume, Kiley paused. Was it really a good idea to continue to date Larry? She loved spending time with him, but wearing this suit reminded her of their unresolved issues. Would he really get over his incorrect perception of Superwoman and the rest of her family? If only there was another way to transport herself to Switzerland easily! Flying to see Larry only made the situation worse.
Then Kiley pictured Larry’s eyes, his smile, and remembered his kisses. She thought about how excited she was to see his bakery today. She sighed and took off to Switzerland, hoping she wouldn’t notice anyone in trouble today.
Within a few minutes, Kiley found an alley near the Choco Bean and spun back into her t-shirt and jeans. Then she happily walked into the store. “Hi, Kiley!” Larry said happily, spotting her almost immediately.
“Hi Larry,” she replied, happily as well.
“Give me a minute to tell my employees where I’m going, then we’ll be all set,” he told her, grinning.
A few minutes later, they left the chocolate shop and headed around the back where the bakery was located. As he opened the door, Kiley immediately noticed the smell of chocolate baking. Mmmmm. The bakery was a large room that had many machines in it through out the room. Off to the side was a big table for mixing dough.
When they entered several of the chocolate chefs looked up, noticing that the boss had just arrived. “Hello, Mr. Luthor. How are you today?”
Kiley bristled for a second. Even though she knew what Larry’s last name was, she wasn’t used to him being referred to as “Mr. Luthor.” Of course, part of the reason for that was that Larry avoided using his last name whenever he could. Still, it made her uncomfortable. She took a deep breath, reminding herself that Larry wasn’t exactly proud of the connotations of his last name.
Larry smiled in response to his employee’s greeting. “Hello, everyone. I’ve brought my girlfriend here today. I thought I could show her how this crazy operation we have runs from behind the scenes.” He put his arm around Kiley.
Kiley smiled at that comment. Even thought they had been dating for over a month now, it was the first time Larry had referred to her as his girlfriend. It was a nice feeling. Of course, it would be a nicer feeling if she knew they were going to last but…girlfriend. Larry’s girlfriend. It just sounded right.
Meanwhile, the chocolate chefs nodded. They went back to baking, although you could tell they were trying to be on their best behavior because the boss had decided to pay a visit, with his girlfriend, no less.
Larry walked over to the first station. “This is our cookiemachine, ” Larry commented, showing Kiley a slightly above the waist machine. “You see, the chefs put the dough in here,” he said, pointing to the top of the machine. “And then you turn it on,” he added as he pushed the red button. The machine hummed and the belt on the front moved. “Then the chef can mold the dough to shape the cookie.”
Kiley nodded in understanding. Then they moved to the next station. This one had a chef working at it. “Hi, Niclas,” Larry greeted the chef. “Can you show Kiley how this machine works?” The machine, Kiley noticed was about the same size as the previous one, although it was wider instead of tall.
“Of course, Mr. Luthor,” Niclas agreed obediently. “This is our ‘chocolate mould filling machine.’ We use it for the truffles. We put the cookies in here,” he said as he put eight cookies in the little holes on the machine. “Next, we take the chocolate and dump it in the top.” Niclas picked up a bottle of chocolate and did just that. Kiley’s mouth watered as she looked at all that wonderful melted chocolate! “Then we push this button,” he continued as he pushed one of the buttons directly above the cookie holes. The large wheel on the left side of the cookies began spinning, and the cookies were moved so they were directly in front of a large metal spout. Then the melted chocolate poured onto the four of the cookies. “When that’s done, we carefully put them together,” Niclas finished, as he picked up the other cookies that didn’t have chocolate on them and molded them to the ones that did.
After that, Kiley and Larry stopped next to a man who was using several of the ovens. “Hello, Jonas,” Larry greeted him.
“Hello, Mr. Luthor,” Jonas replied. Jonas placed a dozen chocolate cookies on a greased pan. Then he put them in one of the ovens. There were three long skinny ovens stacked on top of each other. Next, Jonas did the same with the truffles Niclas had just finished putting together.
“See, this part is pretty standard, Kiley.” Larry told her. “You put the cookies on the baking pan and put them in the oven. Then you turn it on and set the timer.”
Kiley nodded, they moved on to the next station. “This is the enrobing machine,” Larry commented, just as one of the chefs walked up to it. The machine was much taller than the pervious ones. It started out about waist-high. Then there was an open window, and it finished almost over Kiley’s head.
“Hello, Mr. Luthor,” the chef said nervously. “I just came back from the bathroom. I was doing my job before that, honest, sir.”
Larry chuckled. “It’s okay, David,” he replied. “I know you’re doing your job. I just came to show Kiley the bakery.”
David nodded, looking relieved. “Well, this is the enrobing machine. It’s how we make our chocolate candies. You see, we put the coconut, nuts, solid chocolate, caramel, mint, whatever we are using for filling in those holes,” he began, pointing to the machine’s probably about fifty holes. David proceeded to fill the holes with cameral.
“Kiley,” Larry commented. His face showed an idea was slowly coming to him. “Would you like to help make a batch of these since they’re your favorite?”
Kiley’s heart melted. Larry was so sweet to try to get her involved with chocolate-making, especially her favorite kind of chocolates! Briefly, she glanced at her outfit. Now she was really beginning to wish she had worn her other clothes! Oh well. “Yeah, I think that sounds like fun.”
David smiled, seeming to enjoy the interaction. “Okay, watch me, and then you can make your own. Then, you add the chocolate in here,” he continued pouring the melted chocolate into the holes at the top of the machine. “Then, you push this button,” he finished as he pushed the small button on the side of the machine. With that, the top of the machine slowly came down on top of the caramel. A minute or so later, the top moved back up. The pieces of cameral were now covered with chocolate.
“Now we just have to set them aside so they can cool,” Larry added, picking up the sheet of chocolates and placing them in a nearby cooler. “Okay, what did you want for your filling?” he asked, turning back to face Kiley.
Kiley thought for a minute. There were so many different fillings that she liked! That was one of the reasons she always bought the box of assorted chocolates. She sighed and attempted to run her fingers through her hair without thinking. Then she stopped. Since she had her hair up, it really wasn’t possible to do that. She really shouldn’t do that in a food-based environment, anyway. People might worry that she would get hair in the chocolate! Anyway, what kind of filling did she want?
“Mint,” she finally decided. Larry and David nodded. David handed her the mint filling, and she filled every single hole with it. Next, David handed her the chocolate, and she reached up and poured the chocolate in the top of the machine. Then she pushed the button and watched the top move down to the mint fillings. Her mouth watered. Those really looked good.
A few minutes later, the top of the machine moved back up. Larry handed her a container for the new chocolates, and she placed all of them in the cooler. “They should be ready by the end of the day, if you want to come get them.”
She stopped short and looked at him. “Shouldn’t I pay for them first? I mean, this is your business!”
Larry smiled at her and shook his head. “No. That was a freebie for you.”
“But Larry-” Kiley began protesting.
“It’s okay, Kiley. They’re my gift to you.”
She sighed. “Thanks.”
He continued to show her various other pieces of equipment which all helped make the wonderful chocolates he sold. Kiley loved the experience.
“Why don’t we have lunch in the park?” Larry asked her after they finished the tour.
Kiley nodded happily. That sounded like a really good idea. So after Larry thanked the chefs for their assistance, they left the chocolate bakery and headed for a nearby sandwich shop.
However, as they were walking, Kiley’s super hearing suddenly snapped on. “No Timm!” a frantic woman screamed.
“You can’t get me!” the young boy replied.
Kiley looked to the direction of the noise and noticed a young boy playing on the edge of a balcony on a very tall building! There was no way his mother could get to him in time! He seemed to be taunting his mother, but Kiley could see that he was about to fall any second, as he wasn’t paying attention to his footing.
She took a deep breathe. She didn’t care what her parents had said; she was going to have to save the boy. But what would Larry think when he saw Superwoman in person? Would he resent her more than he already did? What if he came right up to her when she was in the costume and told her to go home? Or would he change is mind about at least one superhero? She sighed. She really didn’t want to bring Superwoman into this situation. There were just too many possible consequences. But if the young boy was going to fall from a building at least fifteen stories tall, she had to rescue him.
“Larry, I ,ah, have to…um…” Gosh, why couldn’t she think of a good excuse when she needed one? She needed to leave now! “Leave for a few minutes!” she finished, out of ideas. She ran to a nearby alley as fast as a normal human could.
Meanwhile, Larry called out, “Kiley! Why’d you run off like that? I can’t find you!”
Kiley spun into her Superwoman outfit and flew off to catch the boy, just as he fell from the balcony, screaming. She quickly flew back into the balcony, and set the boy next to his mother.
“Oh, thank you, Superwoman!” the woman exclaimed as she hugged her son. “It’s a good thing you were nearby today.”
“Yes, of course,” Kiley replied politely. Inwardly, she sighed. She was glad that she was here to save the little boy, but this rescue was probably going to cause her a lot of problems. Not the least of it was the fact that she had run out on Larry! Speaking of that…“I should probably be leaving now that you’re all set,” she told the woman. “Try not to play on the edge of the balcony anymore, okay?” she told the young boy. Then she flew off.
Finding an alley, she quickly spun back into her regular clothes. Now where was Larry? She used her X-ray vision to search for him. Was he at the sandwich shop? No. Where she had left him? No. Anywhere on that block? No. How about the next block? No. How about near the building where the kid had fallen? There he was!
Now that she had spotted him, Kiley ran over to Larry. “Hi!” she greeted him, hoping that he wouldn’t question where she had disappeared to.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t that lucky. “Where did you run off to?” he asked with a puzzled look on his face. “I thought we were going to the sandwich shop and the park TOGETHER.” Now he looked a little hurt.
“We are,” Kiley replied. “I just had to leave for a second. Now I’m all set.” She reached for his hand.
“Yes, but where did you run off TO,” he continued, not willing to let this drop. “Why won’t you answer that? Are you keeping something from me?”
Kiley looked at the ground. Yes, she was keeping something from him, but she wasn’t happy about it. Still, telling him that she was Superwoman was not something she was ready for. She needed to know that he could accept her other persona first. It would have to be discussed with her parents, especially given who Larry was. She wondered if she would ever be ready for that. Anyway, he was still waiting for her to answer his question.
“There was just something I had to do,” Kiley finally answered. Why was it that she could never think of an excuse? Mom always said Dad’s early excuses were really bad, but at least he came up with something! “Can we leave it at that, please? I’d really like to go on that picnic with you.” Her eyes pleaded with him to agree.
Larry sighed. “Okay, but someday we’re going to have to talk about what you’re keeping from me.” He finally took her hand and they walked back to the sandwich shop to get their lunch.
Kiley sighed in relief. At least that was over, for now anyway. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to hear him complaining about Superwoman as well. She wasn’t sure if she could handle that.
Twenty minutes later, Kiley and Larry had their ham-and-Swiss sandwiches spread out on a picnic table at the park, since he still refused to sit on the ground. “Ah, Kiley,” Larry began slowly and nervously
“Yes?” she replied just as nervously. What was this about? She ran her fingers through her hair.
“I don’t know if you noticed Superwoman was just here recently?”
“Yes. I noticed. What’s this about?” Kiley replied briskly. She had told him she’d given him another chance after knowing how he felt about Superwoman and the other superheroes, but it still bothered her. What was he going to say?
“Well, she saved that little boy from falling from a fifteen story building,” he continued. “And I kept thinking where that boy would be if she hadn’t saved him. And how upset his mother would have been. I’m glad she was here, Kiley.”
Kiley’s heart melted. Larry was telling her he was okay with Superwoman! He wanted her hanging around his home! “I’m glad you saw that,” she replied. “But what happened to ‘all the superheroes are egotistical? They have names and costumes that are self-centered’?”
Larry munched on his sandwich. “Well, I won’t deny that the names sound self-centered, and the costumes look egotistical,” he replied slowly. “But Superwoman didn’t seem to act self-centered at all, just now. She just wanted to save that little boy.” He paused for a second, and seemed to be gathering his courage to continue.
“Thinking back, one of the main reasons why I always believed that the superheroes were egotistical was because of what my uncle told me about Superman. And knowing what I know about Uncle Lex now, it makes sense that he didn’t like Superman. He probably really put a dent in Uncle Lex’s crime empire. Maybe the superheroes are good people, after all. I’m open to the idea, now.”
Kiley’s heart soared. “Thanks, Larry. You have no idea how much that means to me.” She ran over to the other side of the picnic table and threw her arms around him. Then she kissed him hard. Larry seemed surprised at her reaction at first, but responded to the kiss within a few seconds. Then they continued eating their lunch, but Kiley was glad he was finally willing to possibly see superheroes as good people. They made plans for dinner in a few days.
Before she left for the day, Kiley picked up her now perfectly-chilled mint chocolates, thinking what a special present they were from Larry. After all, he had let her be a part of the chocolate bakery and gave her the reward as well! And anything from Larry was special, especially since he could probably accept her other identity now.
