Excerpt:

Eddie Hopkins shrugged into his coat, pulled on a woolly hat, wrapped a scarf once around his neck, scrimmaged in his pockets for gloves and pausing on the porch, opted for Wellington boots. Although it threatened to snow, he fancied a walk and needed the exercise. Anyway, it was barely a mile to the market town centre.

Even festooned with celebratory street decorations with bright, sparkling window displays, carol singers and church bells, the town wore a forlorn mantle. A fuggy atmosphere snaked the streets. Over the past year, many small businesses had been forced to close, parking being expensive for shoppers and rates and rents had increased. Large chains and coffee shops dominated the high street, causing a sad, gradual loss of identity. Eddie fully expected tumbleweed to make an appearance in the New Year.

A small, sweet beacon on the bleak retail landscape was Vanilla Fudge. An independent traditional sweet shop, clinging to customers, dignity, and trade, in spite of hard times, and happily, the family business thrived under the care of Sandra, daughter of the original shopkeeper.

Sandra's parents opened Ye Olde English Sweet Shoppe serving the small community through good times and bad, long before Eddie's birth As he grew, Sandra was always somewhere on the periphery of his radar. But encounters had been fleeting, their lives travelling different paths, until, with her parents' retirement, Sandra Fondan had returned to take over the business, and Eddie's senses sang at the prospect of meeting his childhood crush again.

Recently, she had splashed out on a refit and the shop displayed a dazzling, fresh, shiny coat of bright red paint, sparkling glass frontage and a gleaming old-fashioned door, resplendent with brass furniture and bell above. Inside, row upon row of sweetie jars, boxes packed with chocolates, wrapped in rainbow colours and the penny sweets Eddie adored. The smell and taste capable of transporting him back to his childhood, when filling a small brown paper bag to bursting with delightful treats, actually did cost just a penny.

Eddie stored an ever-growing nugget of hope in his heart as the object of his flirtatious attention, flatteringly responded to clumsy overtures. He did not intend visiting any other shops that day. It was near closing time, and in spite of his age, he longed to spend a few minutes in olfactory heaven, as if he were a kid in a sweet shop, in the sweet shop.

oOo

The bell over the door announced his arrival, most shoppers had already left town, and Eddie was the only customer inside the haven of Vanilla Fudge. Poor weather and leaden clouds, now barely visible but oppressive yellow all day, and heavy with snow, had driven most people back into the warmth of their homes.

"Hello, nice to see you again, can I help you?"

"I'd like to look around first if I may?"

"Of course."

"What time do you close?" he asked although he knew the answer, her hours branded in his head and displayed on the sign hanging on the door.

"Five-thirty, you have ten minutes yet."

"Thank you."

Sandra had dressed the festive window with myriad candy canes, twisted confections of red, green and white, nestled among chocolate Santa, snowmen, and women. Reindeer, Elves and little piles of foil wrapped coins in purple, red, gold, silver, green, and blue. Eddie thought it looked wonderful. A treasure trove. An area alongside the counter lovingly given over to romantic motif, Love Hearts in sugar candy colours displaying messages, kiss me, I love you, for keeps, real love.

Organza bags in pretty seasonal colours bulged with foil wrapped chocolate hearts, and marshmallows were bagged with kits for chocolate fondue. Long handled, pronged forks lay alongside delightful heart-shaped dishes, in glass, silver and brass together with tea-lights and pretty ceramic pot and stands. Eddie imagined heating the chocolate until liquescent, spearing a pink, heart shaped mallow and dipping it into the shiny molten concoction before offering it up to luscious lips.

"The window looks lovely," glowed Eddie.

"I do so enjoy creating the displays. There's Christmas, and Valentines, and then there's Easter. I surpass myself at Easter, every nook and cranny stuffed to bursting with chocolate. The window and me." She laughed, and Eddie laughed with her, thinking her lips pretty and wondered what they would look like licking a candy cane, preferably his candy cane. Eddie's innards somersaulted at the thought of Sandra's mouth working him over while contemplating the rainbow choices arrayed in squat jars.

"I'll have a quarter of orange sherbets, please."

"Certainly." Sandra pulled on blue vinyl gloves.

Eddie's mouth watered as he watched Sandra lift down the big, glass jar and unscrew the colourful lid, before pouring the sweets into the pan of an old-fashioned scale.

"Don't take any out," he said, "it doesn't matter if it's over."

"I'll check them on a digital scale," said Sandra, dropping the sweets she had picked out back into the pan. "They smell delightful. Can you smell them from there?"

The counter ran all the way along the back of the shop, with a small opening allowing access to the shop floor. The scales occupied the centre of the long marble expanse, with the till at one end. The rest of the counter was given over to wrapping, displays of sweet of the week and beautifully packaged confectionery gifts.

She tipped the bonbons into a small brown paper bag and held it towards his nose. He leaned across the counter and inhaled.