🍫Chocolate Flowers💐

Therapy Session

During a therapy session, Willy comes to the realization that he's in love with Rose.

Things had not been going well since the day of the tour. Willy's candy sales have been plummeting. Goodness, he felt absolutely terrible. But he wasn't just feeling terrible, he was feeling lonely. It was funny. He never felt lonely before. The Oompa-Loompas were perfect company.

Were.

Now, even with thousands of Oompa-Loompas in the factory, it was just dreadful. The factory felt empty, despite the many rooms that were anything but. It was like there was something missing.

So, here Willy was, in the entrance hall. He lied on a couch while a sharply dressed Oompa-Loompa sat in a large leather chair (well it was a regular sized chair, but compared to the Oompa-Loompa, it was large).

"I can't put my finger on it," Willy began to tell his therapeutic Oompa-Loompa. "Candy's the only thing I was ever certain of and now I'm just not certain at all" The Oompa-Loompa nodded and scribbled in the notepad. "I don't know which flavors to make or which ideas to try. I'm second-guessing myself which is nuts"

Willy wasn't going to lie to himself. The candy was the least important thing on his mind right now. He arranged this time to talk about something not candy related. "But, for some reason, I'm not really caring about the candy. I try to make myself think about it, but there's always something else on my mind"

Or rather someone, but Willy didn't have that breakthrough yet.

"Is it just me or does it seem emptier in the factory?" He waited for a response from the Oompa-Loompa. He nodded, not just because he was agreeing with Willy, but because even the Oompa-Loompas felt there was something missing. "It's silly, isn't it? The factory seems empty when we have all these rooms, machines, and candy! Not to mention all of you!"

Come on, Willy Wonka. You're getting closer!

"It seems like now I'm always expecting to see her face when I turn around" Willy was completely oblivious to the fact that he just said her. "But then I don't, and I feel disappointed and sad. I haven't felt those things since I was a child"

The Oompa-Loompa jotted that down.

"When did I start feeling this way?" Willy asked for the Oompa-Loompa. "It was when I came home that day. After Charlie chose his family over the factory. Honestly, who would choose family over— Oops, getting carried away. Anyways, where was I?" He took a moment to think. "Right! My feelings!"

He grimaced when he said that out loud. "Ew, my feelings. This is so much harder to talk about than I thought it would be. Anyways, Rose isn't there, and like I said, I feel disappointed and sad. Then my heart does this weird thing where it feels like it's sinking into my stomach"

He said her name. He's getting closer.

"I just want to see her. I want to hear her talk, hear her laugh" Willy frowned, remembering what he said, so stupidly in front of her. "I said that family just hangs over you like an old dead goose. But she's nothing like an old dead goose! She's the opposite. She's like a ray of sunshine that brightens the sky!"

The Oompa-Loompa stared at Willy. Of course, he knew exactly what Willy was feeling, but Willy needed to make that breakthrough himself. He wouldn't be doing his job as a therapist if he didn't.

"I made a room for her, you know" Willy was talking about the newest addition to the factory. He called it the Rose Garden room. "I thought by having a room inspired by her in the factory would be enough, but it's not. I find myself thinking back to that day, when Charlie rejected my offer. I don't know what hurt more. The fact that he rejected, or the look on Rose's face. When she just called me Mr Wonka instead of Willy"

"What is that word again? You know, when you feel responsible for having done something wrong?" Willy stared at the Oompa-Loompa, waiting for an answer. The Oompa-Loompa just stared right back. "You're right, it is guilt! I'm feeling guilty. Not something I'd ever thought I'd feel, but here we are"

You're feeling something else, Willy. Something stronger than any other feeling you've ever felt. You're almost there.

"That look that was on Rose's face. Every time I think about it, my heart hurts. And I don't mean in that figurative way, I mean that there's a physical feeling of pain there. That I definitely never felt. Not even with my f-f...." Willy held back the desire to gag trying to say the word. "When I was flying to back to the factory in the elevator, I saw her running out of the house. She had her face in her hands. I think she was crying. I did that to her"

"I wanted nothing more than to go after her, hold her in my arms, tell her that I'm sorry and that everything would be alright. But she wouldn't have wanted to see me, not after what I said. She probably hates me now, and she probably thinks I hate her. But I could never. What I feel for her is the complete opposite of hate. What I feel for her is--"

Willy stopped and went wide-eyed. It just hit him like a ton of bricks. The reason why Rose has been the only thing on his mind, why it feels so lonely without her, why he wants nothing more than to see her again.

"I think I'm in love with Rose"

The Oompa-Loompa smiled when Willy said that. Finally.

"I mean, I don't know what's it's like to be in love with someone, but I think this is it. I love Rose" Willy sat up from his laying position on the couch. "I need to make things right with her! Oh, and Charlie too! Maybe I was wrong after all. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to let their family move into the factory. They do seem like nice enough people. They did bring up Charlie after all, and he's the kindest, most well behaved child I've ever met. Not to mention they raised someone as lovely as Rose"

After muttering some thank yous to the Oompa-Loompa, Willy rushed off to go get dressed. He was about to leave the factory for the first time in fifteen years all for a girl he had only known for a day. But this wasn't just for Rose, or even for Charlie. Willy was hoping that if he could make things right with the two of them, with their family....

Then maybe Willy would finally have one of his own.