Bedside Manor: Hot Cocoa Cabinet

Bedside Manor

The sun is setting, night draws nigh and bed beckons. You long for sleep for rest will not come, for many cares chase away your dreams. Tossing and turning, watching the clock…the night passes and sleep never shows. If Insomnia blocks your way to Dreamland, then take a visit to the place where dreams come true, where no nightmares lurk, where no worries steal sleep, take a trip to….Bedside Manor.

Hot Cocoa Cabinet

The entryway to Bedside Manor is empty, except for a narrow wooden table beside the door. The floor is made up of rough tiles that lead down a long hallway; antique tin lanterns
covered in fanciful patterns dangle overhead to light your way. You walk slowly along the hall, one hand touching the rustic stone walls as you walk. Your feet shuffling across the stones hardly make a sound.

You begin to hear the murmur of other voices. Laughter, quiet talking. And you smell something delicious, chocolate. 

Just around the corner, and down a set of three stone steps, there’s a kitchen. Probably the biggest one you’ve ever seen. All the walls and floors are made up of rustic gray stones, giving the whole space a warm, inviting feeling. Cabinets cover the top half of every wall in the room, except for one wall that’s taken up by an enormous fireplace. Seven people could easily stand inside it. A roaring fire inside the fireplace warms the whole kitchen. 

In the center of the room rests a giant square table. People in pajamas and fuzzy robes sit at stools around the table, laughing, talking, and drinking from big mugs of sweet-smelling cocoa. Behind the table is a set of double glass doors that lead out onto a deck where other people stand, drinking from mugs and admiring the night sky. You feel comforted by the peace in the room, and by the warmth emanating from the stone floor. 

And then you see the hot cocoa.

Or rather, you smell it. The scent of rich, melted chocolate fills your nostrils along with other delectable aromas; cinnamon, coffee, and warm apple. A tower of copper mugs rest on the end of one of the kitchen counters and beside it are three steaming pitchers. You watch other people pour hot cocoa into their mugs from the pitchers. You hang back though, feeling suddenly unsure.

“Go ahead. Get some cocoa.” Someone nudges your shoulder and points at the counter. “It’s delicious, and you can add stuff to your cocoa too.”

You nod at the person and walk up to the counter. All this sugar and chocolate before bed? Maybe this isn’t a good idea. Your hand hovers over a mug for a minute, but you grab the mug before you can talk yourself out of it.

The steam from the cocoa warms your face as you pour it from the pitcher. Your mouth waters just smelling the cocoa, but before you take a sip, you notice rows and rows of big shallow glass jars filled with all sorts of delicious goodies to top your cocoa with. 

Fat, square marshmallows, baby marshmallows, white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, flakes of coconut, cinnamon, crumbled graham crackers, walnuts, and chopped almonds, crumbled buttery waffles, rice krispie cereal, and pieces of gingerbread cookies, even little cherries. Peppermint sticks and cinnamon sticks stand in little jars beside the rows of treats. And at the very center of all the goodies is a big bowl of whipped cream, tiny metal pitchers full of hot caramel, maple syrup, and mocha fudge syrup sit next to the whipped cream.

Your eyes take in the enormous array of toppings; you grip the copper mug to warm your hands as you walk down the counter, trying to decide what to get. You finally settle on a few sweet treats and top your mug to the brim. There’s an open seat at the table and you carefully settle yourself on one of the stools. You take a sip of the cocoa, whipped cream tickling your nose. The chocolate is rich and thick; the taste makes the best chocolate you’ve ever had seem bland and forgettable. A delicious warm feeling fills your stomach and you smile. 

A big plate of cookies in the center of the table catches your eye; doughy sugar cookies, and chocolate chip ones with half-melted chocolate, colorful frosted cookies, and spicy-smelling gingerbread. You grab one and dip it into your cocoa.

“Hey.” A friend taps you gently on the shoulder, “there’s shooting stars out tonight. Come outside and see.”

Carefully, you balance your cookie on the edge of the mug and follow. The deck outside is crowded with other people standing around in fuzzy robes and pajamas, all staring up at the star-filled sky above. White streaks dash across the night-blue sky, tiny falling stars racing to touch the earth.

“Falling stars, make a wish!” Someone says, pointing up at the sky.

You know that they’re not falling stars. You know that it’s just a meteor shower, nothing more extraordinary than ordinary space debris passing through Earth’s atmosphere. You know that making a wish on a lump of rock is silly. But you shut out those thoughts for once. You let the magic of the night sky, the hot cocoa, the feeling of comfort, and warmth rub away the worries. You take a long sip from your cocoa, tilt your head to the sky, and make a wish.