Fran”—he smiles at the memory—“tolerated me or maybe even enjoyed my company because she let me tag along with her to clean rooms. It felt like a treasure hunt, seeing what each room held.”
“I love it here. Let’s live here.” I giggle, and Leo wraps his arm around my waist, pushing me forward until we’ve both toppled onto the bed.
Lying on my back, facing the ceiling, I notice the pieces of crystal hanging from the chandelier are butterflies.
Leo props himself up, his face resting against his palm, looking at me. “What do you want to do first? Rent bikes and ride around? Walk downtown or around the harbor? Are you hungry?”
“You tell me. You know the place. I will love anything we do.”
“All right, well, I was thinking that we could rent bikes and ride around the island tomorrow, explore, have a picnic on the beach. Today, let’s walk around downtown and come back here for dinner. I forgot to tell you something else the island is known for.” He puckers his lips into a smirk.
“What?” I ask, wide-eyed.
“Fudge. There are at least a half-dozen fudge shops in town. They make it right in front of you. Apparently, Mackinac Island fudge is sold all over the world.”
“OMG. This place really is heaven.” I jump up from the bed, grabbing Leo’s hand. “Let’s go.”
He laughs and follows me out of the room. We walk hand in hand along the path leading toward town. The waves hitting the rocky beaches are calming. I wrap my outside hand around Leo’s bicep and lean the side of my face against his arm.
In town, Clydesdale horses pull carriages with people. Their hooves clomp against the stoned street in a happy cadence.
“Let’s try this place.” Leo opens the door of a candy shop, and the sweet smell of sugar and chocolate invades my senses. “I’ve tried all the fudge shops, and they’re all delicious.”
There’s a man behind a glass partition, folding a pliable slab of fudge onto itself. A woman stands behind him against the back wall, a giant stainless steel pot in front of her, stirring melted fudge ingredients with a long wooden spoon.
“You can try any of the flavors, too, so you know what you want to buy.”
“Really? Ooh, this could get dangerous.” I laugh.
Peering into the glass case where the fudge is displayed, I read the labels. There must be at least thirty different kinds. I don’t know where to start.
Leo gets an employee’s attention. Her warm smile complements the bright pink-and-white striped apron that she’s wearing. “Can I please try the butter pecan, chocolate, chocolate caramel sea salt, and chocolate cherry? And then she’d like to try the chocolate mint, chocolate peanut butter, chocolate pecan, and peanut butter chocolate chip.”
The lady chuckles. “Do you just want to try them all?”
“Yes, please,” I say. “I promise we’ll buy a bunch. You can freeze it, right?”
“No problem. Yes, you can freeze it, and it lasts for a long time.”
“Thank you!”
She starts to cut little chunks out of each fudge and places them on top of the glass display case.
“Let’s do the plain chocolate first because it’s the original,” I say to Leo.
“Sounds like a plan.”
I drop a square of the fudge into my mouth and groan. The fudge melts against my tongue, and the flavors are so rich and delicious. It’s truly incredible.
“Right?” Leo nods, his lips tilting up in amusement. “I knew you’d love it here.”
“I don’t think anything can top that. It’s so good.”
“Try the next one. They’re all so good.”
I taste the turtle fudge with caramel and pecans, and as Leo said, I can’t pick which I love more. We continue taste-testing until my stomach can’t take any more, and we end up walking away with boxes of a dozen flavors.
Leo holds our sweet treasures as I window-shop. It feels good to walk after consuming so much sugar. The main part of town isn’t that big, and then we pass a small harbor. Towering up on a hill overlooking the water is an old fort.
“Can we tour there tomorrow? I love old forts and buildings with history.”
“Sure,” Leo replies.
We turn around and walk through town and up to the hotel. When we’re back in our room, I see three large white boxes lying on the bed.
“What are these?” I ask.
“They’re for you.”
“Should I open them?” I look to Leo.
“Yes.” He grins.
I pull up the lid to the first box. Inside is a black cocktail dress and matching heels. There’s a smaller