we at the factory where they make toffee?"
I give her a slow grin. "Yup. We're here to see how the toffee is made and to try some of their test flavors. I called ahead a few weeks ago and they said that today would be the perfect day to come and visit."
She squeals, hugging me hard. "Oh my God. I had no idea that you had this plan! Thank you, thank you, thank you…"
She hugs me one more time then pulls away, grabbing my dark green plaid button up shirt by the hem and towing me along. We are all alone on the factory floor, walking to the left of machines that make the toffee. Just in front of us is the one that stirs the melted sugary goodness. As we walk down the catwalk a little further, I can see that the candy is poured into little molds and cooled down by yet another machine. We keep heading around the outside of the factory line. We look through a clear plexiglass windows at a spot where the candy is freed from the molds and dropped straight into the shiny gold wrappers. Annika looks up at me, taking my hand and squeezing it hard.
"I can't believe you did this for me."
I smile. "It wasn't that big of a deal. I only had to name drop the royal palace once."
Nika grins. "Still. I wouldn't have even thought of this. I didn't realize that I wanted to come here but now that I've been, I don't know if I ever want to leave. Why go anywhere else?"
I slide an arm around her, pulling her closer as we continue walking. Spotting a gray-haired gentleman in a hairnet and a white laboratory jacket, I nod towards him. "I think that man is waiting for us."
Nika looks like I've just told her that she's going to get to fly to the moon or something. "Is this the part where we get to taste the weird flavors of toffee?"
I grin at her. "I think so."
She makes a little fist, pumping it in the air. "Yes…"
We head down to meet the man waiting for us, who introduces himself as Noah, the factory manager. We might be here on a lark, but Noah is all business right now. He has a face like a weathered apple and if he has ever felt joy, it isn't readily apparent.
"If you will just follow me this way, I can show you to the room where I have all the samples laid out for you to try."
He hustles us into a brightly lit room with a giant metal table. On the table are two dozen samples, laid out neatly and labeled. I follow Nika's lead and wait patiently as she tries different flavors of toffee out.
Banana, coffee, butter rum, maple, vanilla, raspberry… So on and so forth.
I drift along in her wake as she samples each flavor, excitedly offering half of whatever she has just tasted to me.
I'll admit it right now, I don't like toffee at all. I don't like caramels or anything that is sticky and sweet. But I keep trying them because I don't want to ruin Nika's excitement. So, I make pleasured sounds whenever I put them in my mouth even though I want nothing more than to spit them out.
"The coffee and butter rum flavors are my favorite. Where do you get them?" she asks Noah.
He clears his throat and looks dour. "I prepared a goodie bag for your highness to take with you. Unfortunately, it's impossible to purchase many of these toffees here in Denmark. There are flavors that are more popular internationally."
Nika's eyebrows go up but she just nods. "Wow. Well, thank you."
Noah bows. "There is one more thing, if you don't mind. We have a very special flavor that we would like your highness to try. It's brand-new."
Nika's eyes widened and she looks at me, her excitement evident on her face. "We would love to. Thank you!"
Noah bows again and produces a final sample, a brownish toffee on a white plate. She goes ahead and picks it up, biting half of it off and offering me the other half. I shake my head gently. "It's for you."
"Mm. Oh my God, I love it. What is it? Chocolate and… some kind of pecan?"
Noah nods. "You nailed it exactly, Your Royal Highness. If you like it, the candy company would like to offer you your very own flavor. You could name it as you like, but