Giving Blood at the Danton Bakery

17. Dark And Creamy Hot Chocolate

"Just ask her out, I'm getting tired of this," Mason grumbled from one of the tables, his feet propped up and his chair tipped back on two legs.

Theo rubbed his temples, closing his eyes. "I'll admit I like her, okay? And I think she likes me as well, or at least she's warmed up to me enough. But I just can't bring myself to make her work life messy. What if she doesn't want to date a coworker?"

"Give her the bakery." Mason shrugged. "Just, keep in a clause or something to have the blood. There, problem solved, no more coworker."

"Mason." Theo sighed. "And how is that even supposed to work, dating a human? She'll have questions I can't answer. She'll-"

The distinct creak of the back bathroom door swung open, Bea emerging and shaking her hands dry.

"We're out of paper towels," she called from the back of the bakery.

"I can pick some up," Mason said, setting his chair fully on the ground again. "The corner store is still open, that'll hold us for now."

Mason walked by Theo and hissed. "Do something about this before I get back."

Theo glared at his friend but didn't say anything as Mason left the bakery, the little bell over the door dinging as he went.

Beatrice walked up to the counter next to Theo, peeking into the display case. "We're getting awfully low, I wonder if we'll run out of everything. Let's see, one baguette left, two muffins, and a handful of macarons."

"If we run out, we run out," Theo said. "The sign of a good night."

But Bea frowned, a crease between her brows as she stood up straight. "Or the sign of a baker who doesn't know how much to make."

"It's getting close to midnight, surely there won't be many more people tonight," Theo said.

And with impeccable timing, the bell over the door chimed in the arrival of customers.

"Welcome!" Bea called as half a dozen young men, students from the university from the look of it, strolled in.

"Dude, we found it," one of them said rubbing his hands together. "Is this the place that had the cookies for the blood drive?"

Bea's face lit up. "It sure is! Oh my gosh, are you here to buy or to donate for something?"

"Donation for sure," one of the other students said. "I'm broke."

The group nodded in agreement, and Theo popped into Edith's room to let her know. Bea, however, chewed her lower lip as she surveyed the display cabinet.

"We don't have a lot left," she offered. "But you're welcome to pick from what we've got."

Just then, the bell chimed again, and in came eight adults clad in leather jackets and motorcycle boots, all led by Dan. To his credit, he looked sober tonight, as did the rest of his friends.

"Bea, my favorite baker!" Dan patted his stomach with a loud smack. "The guys all said I wasn't off my rocker for once and the food was good, even sober. You've got a whole pack of fans now."

The group behind him agreed, as did the students in front of the display cabinet. Beatrice frowned and glanced around the room. "I'm so sorry, everyone, we don't have much left and I don't have anything ready to go in the oven right now."

"No problem, we'll take what you've got left," Dan said, his friends in agreement.

"Hey, we were here first and we haven't gotten anything yet," one of the students protested.

Theo emerged from the blood donation room, Edith behind him. "Hold on now, what's all this?"

"Theo," Bea sighed in relief. "We've got more customers than pastries, I'm not sure what to do."

"We were here first," the student said again.

Dan scowled at him, then turned to Bea with a smile. "I'll pay double."

Protests erupted from the students, then bickering from both sides.

"Stop it!" Theo barked, walking between the two groups and holding up his hands. "I'm sure we can settle this. I'm very sorry we don't have enough treats to go around, it is nearing closing after all. Let's try to settle this calmly, there's no need to fight over it."

"Oh, wait," Bea's eyes widened. "I'm sure we can settle this, that's what my grandpa always said when someone got into an argument and then he made us . . ."

Bea didn't finish her sentence before spinning on her heels and rushing into the kitchen.

"Bea?" Theo called. "Are you saying we have more?"

"I hope so," Dan said, looking quite worried over the prospect of leaving with too-few pastries.

Theo settled the customers down long enough that he could slip back into the kitchen area and see what Bea was up to. Bea had a big pot over the stove and was standing at the counter next to it, furiously chopping up a block of chocolate.

"I'm hoping you have a plan." Theo peered over her shoulder.

Beaming at him as she lifted the cutting board and scraped her chocolate pieces into the pot on the stove, Bea nodded. "Grandpa Peter's dark and creamy hot chocolate. It's not quite a pastry but it is a crowd pleaser."

"Great idea. Let's hope it works." Theo rolled up his sleeves and began gathering mugs and saucers from the coffee station while Bea finished making her treat. Once Theo explained the idea, Dan and his biker friends as well as the group of students agreed to have a seat and wait patiently.

Beatrice hummed to herself as she worked. Finally, after mugs were filled, topped with a plop of whipped cream, and brought to the front on a tray, Theo could relax.

"Here it is," Bea announced to an interested bakery full of customers. "Grandpa's dark hot chocolate with heavy cream, and a dash of cinnamon on top if you'd like to try it."

It wasn't hard to convince them. If anything, the bickering started up again just to be the first ones in line. Edith got needles prepared for the ones who wanted to donate blood, and Theo rang up the ones who wanted to buy. Bea soon had a hot mug in front of everyone in the bakery.

"This is the stuff!" Dan exclaimed.

"Wow it's so good," said a student.

The counter was soon swarmed for refills, and finally the Danton Bakery was left with an empty pot, several happy customers, and ten bags of blood.

Theo could hardly contain the anticipation as he helped usher the last patrons of the night out the doors and flip the closing sign.

"Oh my gosh!" Bea threw her hands up. "What a night! And we got so much blood for the hospital."

"We did," Theo agreed with a wide smile. He'd only keep a bit for him and Mason, the rest really would go to the children's hospital, which was great news all around.

"I'll get this cleaned up and lock up," Edith said. "You two go on, my acid reflux is kicking up and I know I can't sleep until it settles down anyway."

"Are you sure-"

"Go on, Theo. I left something in your coat pocket, by the way." Edith waved them off. "Now, go on. I think I still remember how to use a mop."

Theo and Bea put in their coats with one last thanks to Edith. The warm bag of blood he found in his pocket brought a grin to Theo's lips as they walked out the back door together.

"You did it, Theo," Bea said, and wholly surprised Theo by reaching up on her tiptoes and planting a kiss on his cheek.

Theo, stunned, could do little more than blink as the rosy-cheeked Bea took a step back.

"See you tomorrow," she whispered, and left in the direction of her car.

And Theo was at a complete loss on what to do next.

Dark And Creamy Hot Chocolate

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 oz dark chocolate, either chips or finely chopped

2 tablespoons heavy cream

Warm together in a pot on the stove. For a finishing touch, add a dollop of whipped cream on top and enjoy.