Chocolate-Dipped for Easter
Part One: The Preparation The factory was silent at 2 a.m. Allie stood on the metal grating, the hum of idle machinery the only sound. Above her, the dipping vat loomed, a stainless steel behemoth still warm from the day’s last batch. The air smelled of cocoa butter and industrial cleaner. The sign above the loading dock read Enrobé: Custom Confectionery. Nothing more. The building was unmarked brick, easy to miss, but the windows glowed warm yellow. Inside, stainless steel counters gleamed next to whimsical displays: a life-sized chocolate carousel horse, a sugar glass chandelier, racks of novelty molds shaped like dinosaurs and ballerinas. Photos lined the far wall, past commissions for weddings, art galleries, and one very elaborate birthday party. This was not a factory. It was an eccentric artist’s playground. ...