The door swings open and three children, followed closely behind by Guillaume Lewthwaite enter. The children are his son, Ainsley and his daughters Holly and Juniper. As the door closes behind him Guillaume says in a sober voice, “Okay. I have brought you to the candy shop. Now. I expect civility. This will be a quick visit only.” He then stops and in turn says to each of his children, “Do. You. Understand.” He then fixes his gaze on Ainsley and whispers, “I don’t want a repeat of the pet shop… fiasco.” The small boy nods, but it’s a distracted sort of nod as it is a large block of chocolate and not his father that is holding his attention at the moment. His eyes lingering in an area they should not Guillaume has to give his head a good shake before clearing his throat and saying, “Hello? Would you be an employee here, we’re customers.” Guillaume blinks hard, believing he had sounded like an idiot and quickly adds, “…my good lady.”

“I can do one better,” Eva responds cheerfully, turning with a grin to face Guillaume fullly. “I own this shop. Do you need help with something? We’ve got some wonderful things here right now.” Eva winks a little, and looks Guillaume over, as if sizing him up. She’s seen him around, but until right now has never had the opportunity to meet him officially. Turning for a moment, waving a finger to Guillaume as if to tell him ‘one moment,’ Eva leans down in a conspiratory fashion, grinning at the kids. “You might like the ones over there. Those coloricious. They change your tongue colors, and we’ve got twelve new colors. But don’t judge a candy by its color — they don’t always turn your tongue the color that they show.” Eva gives the kids a wink and runs her hands down the boning of her corset for a moment before turning back to Guillaume, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her face. “So, is there anything I can recommend to you?”

Guillaume suddenly took notice of the delightful aroma that fills the shop and for a split second finds himself running in fields of candy and skipping along sugary flowers. He has to give his head another good shake to dismiss the fantasy and returns in time to listen to the reply to his question. Guillaume is slightly taken aback by how overly nice the young woman is, but at the same time he is reminded of when he first meet his wife. A silent moment passes and Guillaume replies, “Oh me, no. It’s a rather… delightful collection of items you have here, but it’s for the children, they have brought me here.” He then smiles and continues, “I own the shop just down the way. I am Guillaume Lewthwaite, the jewelry enchanter and owner of d’Lewthwaite Jewelry Shop.” He then, unable to stop himself, lets his eyes fall to once again observe an area any proper gentleman would not be caught observing.

If Eva has noticed where his eyes have fallen, she doesn’t seem to mind, and turns for a moment to survey his children. “If you come up here to the counter, I’m sure I can show you some sweets that are more for the adult palate.” Chuckling a little as she says this, Eva reaches back to reattatch the curl that has escaped. It doesn’t take her long to pull out a plate of truffles and a plate of pastries from her display case, setting them both atop the counter. “These truffles are special — they all have different flavors, but they change with every bite, so you never know what you might get. Try one,” the woman tells him, putting one hand on one of her rounded hips while she watches him carefully. Certainly, Tommy has more hair than this man does, but there is something appealing there, and Eva can’t decide quite what it is. Perhaps it is the the attention, however covert.

Guillaume begins to decline the offer of an adult confection, remembering that chocolate only stain the teeth and muddle the speech, but before Guillaume can wrench his eyes away from what he was happily looking at a platter of truffles are on display before him. Uncertain of the situation, Guillaume pauses for a moment to look over at his children who had moved over to the counter and were energetically examining it’s contents. “Do no lean on that, Ainsley.”, Guillaume says in an oddly calm and almost sweet voice. “Sorry about him, he’s at that age.. Which is not an excuse, mind you, but…” Guillaume then suddenly loses his train of thought as he watches Eva’s hand slide towards her hips. Guillaume again blinks hard, forces himself to make eye contact and continues, “…but, I promise he will behave.” He then slowly adds, “You know… perhaps.. I shall try…” Guillaume scans the plate and selecting the smallest truffle he pinches it with his delicate fingers and places it into his mouth. It melts on contact and he is once again transported, momentarily at least, to his fantasy world where everything is perfect and nothing ever goes wrong. A dreamy look begins to appear on his face…

“So, I see you enjoy it,” Eva comments after waiting for a moment. She seems unbothered by the three children looking through the various types of sweets. After all, there are only three, and the shop isn’t all that busy on this chilly afternoon. “Maura makes them three times a week, as well as some less changing flavors. I make these pastries myself.” Pulling out a knife, Eva cuts a bit off of a raspberry tart and holds it out to him between two fingers. “Fresh made this morning,” she tells him with a bit of a saucy grin. Somehow the “old” Eva is coming out with this customer, despite her conscience and all better judgement.

Guillaume blushes, realizing that he had been caught enjoying something. “My apologies, uhm, Madam Fallon. …I hope that’s correct.” He then pauses for a second to gulp, a very satisfying gulp, but also a sad one when he realizes that the flavors had gone with it. Guillaume nearly declines the tart, but feeling encouraged by his first self-perceived risk working out so well, and encouraged even further by the saucy grin he accepts the offer and purposefully takes the tart in such a way that his fingers delicately brush Eva’s fingers. An odd spark crosses in that instant and Guillaume grins as he moves the tart towards his mouth. A party erupts on his tongue everyone is invited! “My goodness, this is fantastic!”, he bursts. Realizing how loud he had just been Guillaume blushes furiously and quickly covers his mouth with his hand.

“Why thank you,” Eva tells him, a grin spreading across her face as he says this louder than he meant. He certainly is different than her own husband, who is prone to boisterous and friendly behavior, rivaling that of her own. “Fallon, is right,” she tells him. “Eva Fallon.” Putting out her hand daintily (for her, anyway), Eva‘s half-bare arm might lead one to wonder whether she even realizes that it is winter at all. “And you are, I assume, Mister d’Lewthwaite?” Eva asks in response, though it is more of a statement than a question, despite her inflection. “It surprises me that, with three children, you have manage to stay out of my shop until now. You haven’t been patronizing Honeydukes in Hogsmeade, have you?” A wink accompanies, showing that Eva has no hard feelings for someone who might do so.

Guillaume replies with a very cordial, “You are most welcome. It must be said, these are rather excellent.” Guillaume‘s grin spreads to match Eva’s and turns into a bit of a giggle. This woman was so much like his wife had been, before the years of easy living had made her nearly as boring as he was. “Eva.. what a lovely name.”, he says as he extends his hand towards Eva’s hand and grasps it softly. He gives it a single pump, but instead of letting go and allowing it to fall back to her side he turns it slightly and bows so that he can give it a small kiss. As he straighten up again Guillaume adds, “That is a common mistake, you see, my surname is actually Lewthwaite, but in French tradition my family’s shop has been named d’Lewthwaite… for centuries now.” At the mention of his children, Guillaume takes a moment to examine them. They had been watching as Guillaume kissed Eva’s hand and while two of them were giggling the oldest, Holly, was looking at her father somewhat disapprovingly. “Daddddyyyy, can we have this many of these here?”, whines little Ainsley. Guillaume replies, “Sorry about him.” Turning to Ainsley in particular Guillaume answers, “Yes, of course you can, just do not select more than you can carry.” He then turns to Eva again and says, “Well, actually, I normally do not allow the children much in the way of sweets, but they have been especially good today and…” Guillaume had actually been wanting an excuse to visit after he had caught sight of Eva one day while walking past her shop, but didn’t dare admit to it now. “..well, that’s it really. They deserved a treat.”

“Fascinating,” Eva tells him just before she leans forward a bit, to look around him at the children. “Don’t miss those sherbet balls. They make you levitate.” Eva winks at them and gives a friendly smile. “I’m afraid I don’t know the story of the Fallon family name, nor the Wexler name. There are more interesting things to chat about anyhow,” she assures him, whisking one of the trays back to put it under the counter as some sweets are dumped down. “My you have excellent taste,” she tells the girl and begins to tally up the price of this small hoard while waiting for the other two. “Are you all at Hogwarts yet?” she asks the girl before her, glancing at Guillaume only a moment, though her posture seems to be a bit preplanned, showing off some of the curves — created a good bit by the corset — to the best possible advantage.

Guillaume grins, happy to see his story received so positively. Guillaume boastfully says, “It’s a shame you don’t know much about your family. My father used to regale me with tails of my ancestors. Their lands, their accomplishments, their awards. I also have a collection of portraits going back centuries.” There was an odd pause after Eva asked about Hogwarts, the children had been accustomed to their father answering questions directed towards them, but this time he was silent – far more preoccupied by a certain curvy corseted confectioner. Holly had to nudge her father, which he did not appreciate, but it did have the intended affect and Guillaume recovers his baring and says, “Oh. Yes. The children. Well, Holly, here, will be attending next year. Juniper and Ainsley still have a few years left.” Shyly Holly adds, “Thank-you for the compliment.”

“My own won’t be going to Hogwarts for some time yet. After all, Estelle and Josephine are only just four, so I’ve got some time.” Eva chuckles and looks about, as if waiting for the other two to finish collecting things in their hands. She punches in a number on her cash register and begins to slip Holly’s sweets into a paper bag with an ornate blue and purple decoration on it, handing it to the girl, with perhaps a farther lean than is strictly necessary. “It has never been particularly important to my family what our surname’s history is. They were too busy being self-important.” Eva chuckles. “And I admit to being a bit busy since I got married. I opened this shop soon after and life hasn’t slowed down since. It is blossoming beautifully. I should hope your children behave themselves more often so that they might have the pleasure of coming in here!” Eva lets out a little smirk, one that hopes the oldest child will not notice quite how flirtatious it exactly is.

Guillaume watches as Holly passes the bag to Ainsley who quickly removes a big piece of candy and shoves it into his gapping gnaw. “Ainsley… manners…”, Guillaume says in a firm, but kind voice. Ainsley begins to happily chew and mumbles, “Sowwy, Dawwy.” Feeling rather good Guillaume smiles in response and whispers, “It’s okay..” Guillaume then turns his attention back to Eva and with a coy smile says, “You have children? …and a husband? I never would have guessed with an.. appearance such as your’s, you seem so very young.” Changing his tone slightly he continues, “It is just as surprising as how someone with such a.. flattering… outline.. can maintain it while surrounded with such lovely confections.” Guillaume then winks, a very particular sort of wink.. one that he hadn’t used since he was a young man dating and socializing at balls looking for a wife. Holly missed Eva’s smirk, but caught sight of her father’s wink and was flabbergasted, she stomped her foot and said, “I’m going back to shop, father.” Guillaume attempted to stop her, but she moved quickly and was gone before he could say anything useful. A befuddled Guillaume says, “I wonder what that was about…?” There was a quick silence and Juniper took the opportunity to innocently ask, “Can I have her candy?” Guillaume nodded and said, “Yes, but don’t eat any of it yet, she may still want it.”

“I can’t say that I’m that old, no,” Eva admits, pushing a stray curl out of her face again. “We’ve been married about…” she pauses as if it has actually been a long time. “Three years,” she tells her patron and chuckles. “Seems like so much longer,” she admits and laughs a bit, tossing her head back as she does so. “I’m sure your daughter is fine. Perhaps she’s just impatient to get bac home.” Eva leans on the counter a bit, pushing aside the tray that she has left out. Pausing in thought as he praises her figure, she stands up again, running her hands down her stomach. She won’t admit to having a bit of help — after all, a woman can’t reveal all of her secrets! “Why, thank you. I’m surprised it’s held out this well after six babies. Perhaps I was just blessed with my mother’s figure.” The girl winks and turns a bit, her skirt swishing a bit as she does so.

Guillaume turns as Juniper tugs on the hem of his robes. “Yes, dear?” She looks up and softly says “Can we go? I picked out everything I want. They’re over there.” She then shyly points towards the other end of the counter. “Are you sure you want all of that?” Juniper nods emphatically. “Okay, but you won’t be eating it all at once.” Guillaume turns to Eva and says, “Three years? That’s impressive, I’ve been married now for… fourteen years, they’ve been… interesting years. Less interesting as of late, but that’s too be expected in any marriage.” Guillaume then watches as Eva runs her hands – it was something that, to him, looked some what sensual. Wiping a none existent bead of sweat from his brow Guillaume says, “Six children you say? I never would have guessed, but perhaps they can be thanked as the source of your…” Guillaume‘s voice drops to a whisper and he continues, “…voluptuous figure.”

“I’m sure there’s something that could be done to make things more interesting. I hope she still pretties up for you. It would be a shame to think that things had become so passe, that she doesn’t care to look good for her husband.” Eva pauses walking rather slowly down the way to get the pile of candy, sliding it over, and seeming to tally it up quickly while she moves it and deposits it slowly into a bag, punching the additional amount onto her register. “Here you go,” she tells the younger girl, handing an identical bag to the one given to her sister. Glancing at the boy, Eva grins a bit, turning her attention back to Guillaume. She reaches up carefully, securing that same rogue curl back again, and grinning as he compliments her figure. “Perhaps that’s what it is,” she comments. “Though I like to believe it was just as good before they all decided to come along.” Eva winks a bit. That Guillaume has not noticed the irregularity of the age of her children in conjunction with her marriage. She leans over, taking stock of everything that Ainsley has in his hands and adds his amount to the register, holding out a bag for the boy so that it’s easier for him to carry, should he choose to use it.

Guillaume watches as Ainsley puts the large piece of candy he was working on into the bag he was offered. Ainsley smiles to the woman and shyly whispers, “Thank-you.” Guillaume smiles as his children take their items and turning to them suggests, “Why don’t you two run to the door, we’ll be leaving in a minute.” His children nodded and walked towards the door, counting and nibbling on their candies as they went. Guillaume giggles, something he realized that he hadn’t done in quite a while, and says, “I’m certain that it was just as breath-taking then as it is now, and that it has only improved with age, much as a fine wine would.” Guillaume smirks and says with a dismissive sort of flourish of the hand, “Ah.. my wife. Well, she is still rather lovely, of course. She takes her time, does her make up, but it’s all the same… you know… there is nothing new, but she is still lovely.”

“I’m sure she is lovely,” Eva tells him with a grin, watching as the children make their way to the door. The fallen curl is ignored now, though she flips her head a bit, getting it out of her face. Her assets are shown off while she pauses, hitting a button on the cash drawer. She quotes the final cost to him for a moment, before pausing. “Unless you’d like to add something else onto the tab, of course. Perhaps… something for yourself?” A light pause. “A little self-indulgence isn’t a bad thing.” This is said slowly and deliberately, and though she looks at him as she says this, Eva coyly looks away just after, her hand coming to rest on the counter gently.

Guillaume looked down at Eva’s hand and dreamed of taking it and… and.. well, he wasn’t sure what, but her last comment had sent a tingle through his body he hadn’t felt in years. He decided to leave the hand and subconsciously reminded himself that he was married by adjusting his wedding ring. Turning to Eva he says, “It.. certainly isn’t.. a bad thing, that is.” Again he wiped away a none existent bead of sweat and concluded by saying, “I would love five of those tarts I sampled earlier, they’re wonderful, absolutely wonderful.” He then let his eyes linger, to drink in the vision of Eva. Guillaume slowly begins to walk backwards and says, “I suppose that… I’ll be going, I mean, there is nothing else for me to do, and so that would be the only logical outcome.”

“I’m sure your children will behave more, if they get sweets for their efforts,” Eva tells him and puts five of the tarts into one of the bags carefully, almost seeming to draw out the time longer than is precisely necessary. Adding them onto the total, she re-quotes to him the amount he has charged up and grins, putting one hand on her hip and looking at him more boldly, seeming quite able to ignore the ring on her own finger, though perhaps it is all the fun of the flirt, and the woman will be perhaps indulging at home where it is appropriate to do so. However, at this moment, her grin suggests that she is thinking something that is not being said.

Guillaume grins and attempts to add a bit of a swagger to his walk. He then stops and says with honest shock, “Oh! Payment. I have to pay, don’t I..” Guillaume reaches into his robes and removes more galleons than are required and pays for his items. “Please, keep the change, it’s a tip for the excellent service. You are very good… at what you do… at running this shop.” He then wonders if perhaps that young woman was actually interested in him or merely treating her customer very nicely… unsure of what else to say he grins and says, “I certainly will return, it has been, at the very least, a very pleasant experience.”

“I look forward to it,” Eva tells the man with a grin, putting the payment into the till with little thought to it. Her eyes linger on the older man as she leans against the counter again, her elbows down upon it, once again showcasing some of her assets, though perhaps not intentionally this time. Her grin persists, watching him carefully, though saying nothing. It is possible that there are unspoken thoughts running through her head, and it is clear that she has no intention of voicing them.

Guillaume takes Eva’s latest pose as something of a finale and after feverishly dedicating ever part of his mind to remembering the image he finally turns, stops, turns again, waves good bye and says, “Bye, and thank-you.”, then turns back, collects his children at the door and exits the shop with a slight, and entirely unintentional, skip in his step.

Other Interesting Logs:

• A Meeting of Old Friends
• A Summertime Soiree in Diagon Alley
• A Friendly Suggestion
• Purely Business
• A Busy Day at Cordial Confections