Benny and Soo Lee couldn’t believe their eyes as they watched showers of melted chocolate squirt into egg molds.
“When the molds get to the end of the line, a machine spins them to spread the chocolate evenly inside,” Mrs. Winkles told the Aldens.
“Then what?” Soo Lee asked.
“After that, the molds move through a cooling tunnel,” Mrs. Winkles continued, “to an area where we separate the molds from the chocolate. Then we drop in the sugar chicks. Before moving along to the packing room, the eggs get bathed in a final layer of chocolate so they’re all sealed up.”
“I’d like to bathe in a layer of chocolate,” Henry said. “My mouth is watering.”
Mrs. Winkles laughed. “Oh, you’ll get so used to being around chocolate, you won’t even feel like eating any at the end of the day.”
“Not me!” Benny cried above the hum of the candy-making machines. “I’ll never get tired of eating chocolate.”
Mrs. Winkles walked the children through different small rooms in her tidy factory. “We’ll see about that, Benny. When I first met my husband, I ate so much chocolate, he said I’d put him out of business. After a while, I got used to being around sweets. Eventually, I almost had to force myself to sample the candy we made to make sure it tasted right.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Winkles. You won’t have to force us,” Benny said. “We ate up all the Winkles Chocolate Mice you sent us even though they had no tails.”
A worried look passed over Mrs. Winkles’s face. “Oh, dear! You didn’t tell me you received the damaged mice, too, James.”
“I’m afraid so, Rose,” James Alden told his old friend. “I didn’t want to mention it; I was hoping it was just our shipment.”
Mrs. Winkles spoke softly to the Aldens. “The problems around here began with the mice. I guess I shouldn’t have put Meg in charge of so much until she had more experience. But she was highly recommended to me by a business associate she had worked for.”
“That’s usually the way to get good employees,” Grandfather said. “Is that how you found Tom as well?”
Mrs. Winkles stopped to line up some of the egg molds that looked wobbly. “Actually, Tom practically fell out of the sky. He grew up in Ohio and trained as a banker, of all things. But he got too restless sitting behind a desk and decided to learn candy making instead. He’s worked in several candy factories and knows everything about the candy business.”
Benny could certainly understand wanting to be a candy maker instead of a banker. “Someday I’d like to work in candy factories. Starting now.”
Mrs. Winkles forgot her worries and enjoyed Benny’s funny comments. “If you keep an eye on Tom, you’ll learn plenty about candy making. You’d think he grew up in a candy kitchen.”
“I wish we grew up in a kitchen so we could be here all the time,” Benny said.
“I only have Tom part-time,” Mrs. Winkles told the Aldens. “I hired Meg before he arrived. I often wish Tom showed up first. As it is, I often have him teach Meg the most basic things about making candy. Her work is improving, but she needs constant supervision. Oh, Meg!” Mrs. Winkles called out again.
The young woman finally hung up the phone. Looking flustered, she quickly pushed a button. All the machines came to a sudden stop.
“Oh, dear, Meg. Do remember to slow down the machines first before turning them off,” Mrs. Winkles said. “Now the chocolate in the molds may be smudged. You’ll need to check them. Throw out any that aren’t perfect.”
The young woman sighed. “Sorry, Mrs. Winkles. I got startled seeing all these kids in the kitchen area. I’ll be more careful.”
“Maybe checking the eggs in the cooling room will be a good job for the Aldens,” Mrs. Winkles told Meg.
“You’re letting these kids help with the candy making?” Meg cried. “I can manage it.”
“These children are old friends and careful workers,” Mrs. Winkles said firmly. “There are quite a few small jobs they can do so that you won’t feel rushed. This is James Alden and his grandchildren.”
The children put out their hands to shake Meg’s hand.
That’s when Jessie noticed something. “Hi, Meg. I’m Jessie. Glad to meet you. Is it okay for us to take off our gloves, too, in this part of the candy kitchen?”
Instantly, Meg Butterfield found her disposable gloves on the counter. “Oh, I didn’t realize I’d taken them off while I was on the phone.”
Now Mrs. Winkles looked quite upset. “Meg! Wearing gloves is one of our most important rules. We’re going to have a surprise visit from the school inspector to see if they’ll hire us to make their fund-raising candy. If he sees anyone in here without gloves, we certainly won’t get the job.”
Meg’s face grew pink under her white cap. “Sorry.”
Mrs. Winkles heard the door open. “Oh, good, there’s Tom. I’ll have him review the candy-making steps again while the Aldens are here. I can’t afford to have any more problems.”
Soon, a tall, smiling man, dressed all in white just like everyone else, showed up. “Afternoon, Mrs. Winkles. Hi, Meg. Now who are these visitors? Some new customers who couldn’t wait for our chocolate eggs to leave the factory? Well, I can’t blame them.”
Mrs. Winkles seemed more relaxed after Tom Chipley introduced himself to everyone. “Tom helps us out whenever we need him. I know he’ll teach you Aldens a great deal.”
“We know how to eat candy but not how to make it,” Benny told Tom. “Except for fudge. We make that in our kitchen.”
“But Mrs. Winkles,” Meg interrupted. “I don’t see why I can’t handle the candy making on my own. That way you wouldn’t have to waste Tom’s time.”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Winkles told Meg. “You’ll get much more done with Tom here. That way, if we run into any problems, we can fix them right away.”
“If you mean the missing tails on the mice,” Meg said, “that wasn’t my fault. It probably happened after the candy left the factory.”
Mrs. Winkles was almost out of patience with Meg. “Well, I’m going off to a food show with Mr. Alden for a few days. I expect you to arrange a time for Tom to work with you on the production line for the next batch of chocolate eggs.”
Meg looked down at the floor. “Okay,” she said quietly.
Mrs. Winkles turned back to the Aldens. “Now it’s time for you to attend the Winkles Candy School. I know you’re on school vacation,” she said, “but I hope you don’t mind a class in candy making.”
“Sure,” Henry said. “For once, I hope we get lots of homework.”
CHAPTER 4
The Aldens Go to Candy School
After Mrs. Winkles left with Grandfather, the children got down to candy business. They wanted to learn everything they could. They huddled close to Tom. He showed them everything from making chocolate to packing the cooled eggs into special Winkles egg cartons. Meg stood apart from everyone. Even the Aldens’ smiles didn’t make her any friendlier.
“First things first,” Tom said as if he had a big secret to tell the Aldens. “I know in real school no candy is allowed in the classroom. Here at the Winkles Candy School, it’s just the opposite. If you don’t eat candy, we keep you after school.”
“Know what?” Benny asked. “At home, Mrs. McGregor makes us wash our hands. Sometimes we even wear aprons if we’re cooking.”
Tom laughed. “Same here, plus gloves.”
“And,” Benny began, “Mrs. Winkles said we have to make sure those egg shapes are lined up right, or else the chocolate flies all over the place and makes a big mess.”
“We’re pretty careful around here so that doesn’t happen,” Meg interrupted.
Tom looked over at Meg. He seemed as if he were about to say something but changed his mind. “Over this way,” he told everyone. “I’ll show you the next room where we’ll be working today. Mrs. Winkles mentioned some of the chocolate eggs might have gotten smudged when the machine stopped too fast.”
The Alde
ns noticed Meg’s lips tighten. “If you think it’s my fault, Tom, just remember sometimes the machines cause the candy to get smudgy.”
Except for the hum of the machine that kept the room cool, the room was quiet for a few seconds.
“That’s not what I meant, Meg,” Tom said quietly. “It could happen to anyone. First thing we do is carefully pull apart the halves of the molds by hand. If the eggs are good, we put them back on the belt so the machine can drop in the sugar chicks or whatever special candies go inside. For Halloween, we put candy ghosts inside chocolate pumpkins. For Valentine’s, candy hearts go inside hollow chocolate hearts.”
“Who gets to put in the chicks or ghosts or candy hearts?” Henry asked.
The children studied Tom’s and Meg’s faces closely. Were they going to get nervous talking about the candy hearts?
“Sometimes Meg, sometimes me,” Tom said. He didn’t seem at all suspicious about Henry’s question or the five pairs of staring eyes.
Meg just looked bored and impatient.
“How do you keep the chicks from falling out?” Soo Lee wanted to know.
“The eggs get another chocolate bath that seals them up,” Meg said a bit impatiently. “Mrs. Winkles already explained everything. Really, Tom, I don’t see why we have to go over all this when there’s so much to do.”
After being in the warm candy kitchen, the children noticed the drop in temperature when they stepped into a cooler room. Several candy molds had already passed through the cooling tunnel. Tom pressed a switch, and the conveyor belt stopped.
“Now, pulling away the candy molds from the eggs,” Tom said, “that’s a job for someone with delicate, steady hands.”
“That would be Violet,” Jessie said. “She paints and sews and bakes perfect cakes and cookies.”
“I was a baker once where I grew up in Lititz,” Tom told the Aldens. “That’s not far from here. Baking isn’t all that different from making candy, if you think about it.”
“Mrs. Winkles said you worked at a bank in Ohio before you became a candy maker,” Meg broke in.
Tom’s whole face grew red. “I … uh … meant banker, not baker. I … did learn some baking and candy making in Lititz before I came here to get more experience. There are lots of candy factories and bakeries around that area.”
The Aldens looked at each other. They were pretty sure Tom had said he was a baker not a banker, too. And Mrs. Winkles had definitely said Tom was from Ohio. Lititz was in Pennsylvania, not Ohio.
Meg stared hard at Tom. “Lititz is where Seth Winkles’s relatives settled after he died. They moved from this area after he left the factory to Mrs. Winkles instead of them. Did you know they don’t even speak to her anymore?”
Tom was the one not smiling now — or speaking, either. He turned away from Meg toward the children. After a few moments, he cleared his throat and spoke to the Aldens again. “Well, it’s time to end Meg’s history lesson and start the candy lesson,” he said.
Tom wrapped his fingers around both sides of an egg mold and gently pulled apart the metal halves, which were held together by magnets. “Here’s how to separate the molds.”
Benny licked his lips as he saw the delicately shaped chocolate eggs when the molds were pulled apart. “Yum.”
“Well, you can’t eat those,” Meg said. “The good ones go back on the conveyor belt to be filled. I’ve had this lesson more than once, Tom. I’m going back to the candy kitchen to mix up some more chocolate.”
After Meg left, Tom supervised the Aldens while they removed the candy molds and checked the eggs. He was quiet now, not teasing or joking with the Aldens anymore.
“Where do the smudgy ones go?” Jessie asked after she found some eggs with blurry designs.
Tom didn’t answer, so Jessie spoke up again. “Where do the —”
“I heard you the first time,” Tom answered. “I just need to concentrate on this batch. Put them in that big plastic bin. Take what you want. Doesn’t matter to me.”
“Are you sure?” Benny asked.
“I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t sure. I’m going to get the chick machine going now — make sure it’s running, and all,” Tom explained. “We won’t be able to fill very many more chocolate eggs. We only have a few candy chicks left right now. I’m picking up a new shipment tomorrow.”
While Tom checked the machine to see how it was working, the Aldens were working, too. They had steady fingers and good eyes. In no time, they could tell right away if an egg was perfect or not. Luckily, most of them were.
“Hey, Tom!” Henry called out when the children were done. “Can we really eat all the smudged ones like you said? It’s getting hard to look at all this chocolate and not have some.”
Tom didn’t seem to hear Henry.
“Is that machine working okay?” Jessie hoped Tom would look up from whatever he was doing. “All these eggs are ready to be filled.”
Tom looked up when he heard the Aldens coming his way.
“Is the machine okay?” Jessie asked again.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tom answered. “No problem. Listen, just take those rejected eggs home to eat, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The Aldens didn’t move right away. Now that their work was done, they wanted to share their candy with Tom.
“Go on, now,” Tom said. “I’ve got everything under control.”
Henry took the candy bin outside. He set it down on the steps where the children could sit and have their sweets. “What happened with Tom in there? One minute he was all friendly,” Henry said. “Then he acted as if he wanted us to go away.”
“I know,” Jessie said, not a bit hungry for chocolate anymore. “It seemed to have something to do with whatever Meg said. I was confused.”
Benny wasn’t quite as hungry as he’d been earlier, but he wasn’t going to let all this chocolate go to waste. He broke off piece after piece of the chocolate eggs. “I’d rather be a baker than a banker any day,” he said. “But most of all, I want to be a candy maker like Tom.”
“He sure is good at his job, for someone who learned it kind of late,” Jessie noted.
“Maybe he’s a fast learner,” Benny said. “Like me.”
CHAPTER 5
A Candy Mix-up
After dinner that night, the children unpacked their things. The cozy loft apartment on the top floor of the candy factory was just the right size for the five Aldens. It had a living area and kitchen on one side and a sleeping area with several cots on the other.
When Jessie opened the cabinets, she was pleased to see a set of red and white dishes and pots and pans inside. “We’ll be able to make our own meals when we want to.”
Benny flopped down on the couch and held his stomach. “You won’t have to make any meals for me ever again.”
The Aldens had never heard Benny say that before!
“What’s the matter, Benny?” Henry asked.
“I shouldn’t have eaten all those broken chocolate egg pieces. Now I’m turning into chocolate.”
Henry laughed. “I thought you wanted to live in the candy factory. That’s why Mrs. Winkles let us stay in this loft instead of at her house.”
“Here, have some of this ginger ale that Mrs. McGregor put in the cooler,” Jessie suggested. “That sometimes settles down stomachaches.”
Benny sat up and took a few fizzy sips. “I feel a little better.”
“Good,” Jessie said. “From now on, let’s make sure we don’t take so many samples even if Tom says it’s okay. We’ll mainly be working with Meg tomorrow anyway. That’s what Mrs. Winkles said.”
The other children frowned when they heard this.
“Even though Tom wasn’t so friendly when we left,” Violet began, “I’d still rather work with him than with Meg. I don’t think she wants us around.”
Jessie found some blankets in a chest and lay one on each cot. “It’s probably my fault for asking about her work gloves. I didn’t mean to get her in trouble with
Mrs. Winkles.”
“Well, tomorrow we can get a fresh start now that Tom showed us what to do,” Henry said. “He seems to know a lot about making candy. Now we know a little bit, too.”
“Like not eating too much candy while we work,” Benny said before he finally fell asleep.
By the next morning, Benny’s stomachache was gone. “I could even eat chocolate chip pancakes,” he announced happily.
“Maybe you could,” Jessie told Benny. “But Henry and I made fruit salad from the fruit Mrs. McGregor sent along with us. We’ll have it with nice, healthy cereal. No chocolate chip pancakes today.”
Benny wasn’t too disappointed. After all, he was living in a candy factory. He could get sweets anytime he wanted. He went over to Violet and Soo Lee, who were still sleeping. He tickled their feet.
“Stop it, Watch!” Violet said before opening her eyes. “It’s too early.”
Soo Lee giggled. “That’s not Watch. It’s Benny.”
Soon, the whole family was up and about, eager to begin the day. After Jessie and Henry’s good breakfast, everyone helped tidy up the loft.
Henry went over by the window to hang up the dish towel. That’s when he noticed someone down in the parking lot below. “Looks as if we’re not the only early birds. Tom’s down there.” Henry opened the window. “Hey, Tom,” he yelled. “We’re up here!”
By this time, the other children crowded at the window to wave to Tom, too.
“We’ll be right down!” Jessie yelled. Then she said to the other children, “That’s fanny. Why is he getting in his car?”
Violet looked puzzled. “He didn’t wave or say hi. Don’t you think he saw us or heard us?”