Comfort And Joy

by Fern Michaels, Cathy Lamb, Marie Bostwick, Deborah J. Wolf

Genres: Anthologies; Holiday books; Contemporary Romance; Holiday Romance

Synopsis

New York Times Bestseller Curl up by the Yuletide with these heartwarming stories that add a touch of wonder to your holidays. . . "Comfort and Joy" by Fern Michaels Ever since Angie Bradford took over her mother's gift wrap business in the Eagle Department Store, she and handsome store chief Josh Eagle have been at odds. When Josh threatens to give up on the business and move to London, and a devastating storm may destroy their Christmas season, Angie never expects help to come in the form of a holiday miracle. . . "A High-Kicking Christmas" by Marie Bostwick After ten years as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, Kendra Erickson needs a break from Christmas. But when an injury lands her in small-town Vermont where she finds herself directing the local holiday pageant alongside the charming new pastor, Kendra reconsiders her views on life, love--and the most romantic season of all. . . "Suzanna's Stockings" by Cathy Lamb When an accident lands Suzanna Everts in the hospital for Christmas this year, she'll need a little magic to save the holiday season. Enter sexy, but Scrooge-like, land developer Jack Benson to the rescue, proving to Suzanna that the best gifts are those that take you completely by surprise. . . "Family Blessings" by Deborah J. Wolf Tired of dealing with her squabbling family, Kacey would rather not be home for the holidays. But Christmas memories hold a special power that is enough to remind a family of the blessings they share--and awaken Kacey to the promise of new love. . .

Release date: October 7, 2013

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 480

Sample

Angel Mary Clare Bradford, Angie to her friends, looked over at her assistant, who was stacking rolls of colored ribbon onto spindles. Satisfied that the rolls of ribbon were aligned to match the spindles of wrapping paper, she turned away to survey her domain.

The thirty-foot-by-thirty-foot room with its own lavatory was neat as a pin because Angie Bradford was a tidy person. The room she and her assistant, Bess Kelly, were standing in was known as the Eagle Department Store gift wrap department.

Eva Bradford, Angie’s mother, had a lifetime lease on this very room, thanks to retired owner Angus Eagle, something that rankled the current young department store head, Josh Eagle, Angus’s heir.

Angie and Josh had gone to the mat via the legal system on several occasions. Josh wanted the lease canceled so he could open a safari clothing department. He claimed the paltry, three-hundred-dollar-a-month rent Angie paid for the gift wrap space was depriving the Eagle Department Store of serious revenue. Another set of legal papers claimed his father had not been of sound mind when he signed the ridiculous lifetime lease.

Angie countered with a startling video of Angus playing tennis and being interviewed by the New York Times talking about politics and his philanthropic endeavors on the very day he signed the lifetime lease. In a separate filing, Angie charged Josh Eagle was a bully, and presented sworn testimony that he repeatedly turned off the electricity in the gift shop as well as the water in the lavatory just to harass her. On occasion the heat and air conditioning were also turned off. Usually on the coldest and hottest days of the year.

Josh retaliated by saying Angie should pay for the electricity, water, heat, and air-conditioning. He said there were no free lunches in the Eagle Department Store in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Judge Atkins had glared at the two adversaries and barked his decision: Josh Eagle was not to step within 150 feet of the gift wrap department. Angie was to pay an additional thirty-dollars-a-month rent for the utilities, and a new heating unit was to be installed at Eagle’s expense.

At that point the Eagle-Bradford war escalated to an all-time high, with both sides doing double-time to outwit the other. The present score was zip-zip.

“So, are you going to the store meeting or not?” Bess asked as she gathered up her purse and jacket.

“Nope. I don’t work for Josh Eagle or this store. I work for my mother. I’m just renting space from Eagle’s. It was toasty in here today, wasn’t it?” Angie asked. It had been unseasonably cool for September.

Bess eyed her young employer and laughed. She’d worked for Eva Bradford for twelve years before Eva turned the business over to her daughter, 110 pounds of energy who was full of spit and vinegar, five years ago. Angie had jumped right into the business, played David to Josh’s Goliath, and come out a winner. At least in Bess’s eyes. With the Christmas season fast approaching, Bess knew in her gut that Josh Eagle would pull out all his big guns to try to get under Angie’s skin and make her life so miserable she would give up and move out. She laughed silently. Josh Eagle didn’t know the Angie Bradford she knew.

“Come on, boss, I’ll walk you out to the parking lot. How’s Eva today?”

Angie slipped into her jacket and hung her purse on her shoulder before she turned off the lights. She pressed a switch, and a colorful corrugated blind came down, totally covering the entrance to the gift wrap department. She waited a moment until she heard the sound of the lock slipping into place. She’d installed the sliding panel at her own expense, much to Josh Eagle’s chagrin. She then locked the walkthrough door to the gift wrap department. Not just any old lock, this was a special lock that Josh Eagle couldn’t open with the store’s master keys. She’d also installed her own security system with the ADT firm. Josh had taken her to court on that one, too, and lost, with the judge saying Angie was protecting her investment and as long as she wasn’t asking him to pay for her security, there was no problem. Back then the score had been one-zip.

“Uh-oh, look who’s standing by that big red X you painted on the floor!”

Angie looked ahead of her to see Josh Eagle glaring at her. “You’re late!”

He was good-looking, she had to give him that. And he had dimples. Right now his dark brown eyes were spewing sparks. He was dressed in a power suit and tie, his shirt so blinding white, it had to be new. It was all about image with Josh Eagle.

Angie looked down at her watch. “Actually, I’m leaving right on time, Mr. Eagle. My lights are off, the heat has been turned down, the security system locked and loaded, and my door is locked. It’s one minute past six. The store closes at six.”

“I called a meeting for six-fifteen for all department heads. That means you’re supposed to be in the conference room promptly at six-ten. You’re still standing here, Ms. Bradford. What’s wrong with this picture? Well?”

Angie sighed. “How many times do I have to tell you, Mr. Eagle? I do not work for you. Judge Atkins sent you papers to that effect. I have copies in case you lost yours. What part of I-am-not-one-of-your-employees don’t you understand?”

Josh Eagle looked like he was about to say something, then changed his mind. Angie started walking again, and when she got to Josh and he didn’t move, she stiff-armed him.

“You touched my person,” Josh said dramatically as he pretended to back away.

“Will you get off it already! Do you sit up there in your ivory tower and dream up ways to torment me? I did not touch you. I put my arm out so you wouldn’t touch me. In case your vision is impaired, I have a witness. Now, I suggest you get out of my way and don’t come down here again with your silly demands. This shop is off-limits to you!”

“Just a damn minute, Ms. Bradford. If you want to go to court again, I’m your man. I want to know what you’re going to do about wrapping my customers’ Christmas gifts this year. That’s the main topic to be discussed at tonight’s meeting.”

“We’ve had this same discussion every September for the past five years. You had the same discussion with my mother for the five years prior to my arrival, and the outcome has always been the same. This year is no different. Pay me to wrap your customers’gifts, and we’re in business. If you don’t pay me, I cannot help you. I’m in business to make money just the way you are. Try to wrap your feeble brain around that fact, then get back to me or have your lawyer call my lawyer. Good night, Mr. Eagle.”

 

Outside in the cool evening air, Angie dusted her hands together. “I thought that went rather well.” She sniffed the air. “Someone’s burning leaves. Oh, I just love that smell.”

Bess opened her car door. “I think you enjoy tormenting that man. I agree he’s sorely lacking in the charm department, but my mother always told me you can get more flies with honey than vinegar. The guy’s a hottie, that’s for sure.”

“Ha! Eye candy. The man has no substance, he’s all veneer. On top of that, he’s greedy and obnoxious. With all that going against him, I wonder how he manages to charm that string of women he parades around all the time,” Angie sniffed.

“His money charms them. Josh Eagle is considered a good catch. You know, Angie, you could throw your line in the pond. You reel him in, and all this,” Bess said, extending her arms to indicate the huge parking lot and the department store, “could be yours!”

Angie started to laugh and couldn’t stop. “Not in this life time. See you tomorrow, Bess.”

“Tell your mother I said hello.”

“Will do,” Angie called over her shoulder.

 

Angie sat in her car for ten minutes while she played the scene that had just transpired back in the store over and over in her mind. Would Josh Eagle drag her into court again? Probably. The man had a hate on for her that was so over-the-top she could no longer comprehend it. In the beginning she’d handled it the way she handled every challenge that came her way: fairly and honestly. She fought to win, and so far she’d won every round. Remembering the look on Josh Eagle’s face, she wondered if her luck was about to change.

Well, she would think about it later. Right now she had to stop for pizza and go to the rehab center on New Durham Road, where her mother was waiting for her.

Angie reached for her cell phone to call Tony’s Pizza on Oak Tree Road. She ordered three large pepperoni pies and was told they would be ready in ten minutes. That was good, the pies would still be hot when she delivered them to Eva and the other patients at the rehab center.

On the ride to the pizza parlor Angie thought about her mother. A gutsy lady who had worked part time to help with the family bills. Back when she was young, with a family to help support, she’d worked three days a week for Angus Eagle, a man her own age whose wife deplored housework. Her mother had cooked and cleaned for Angus, and in doing so they had forged a friendship that eventually resulted, one Christmas morning, in his turning over the gift wrap department at his store to her with a lifetime lease.

Her mother never tired of telling her the story of that particular Christmas that changed her life, even though Angie, who was fifteen at the time, remembered it very well. Angus’s wife hadn’t wanted to be bothered wrapping presents for Josh and her husband, so she’d turned the job over to Eva. Each time her mother told the story, she would laugh and laugh and say how impressed Angus had been at her flair for gift wrapping.

It was always at times like this, when Angie grew melancholy, that she thought about her own life and why she was doing what she was doing with it. She’d gone to work on Wall Street as a financial planner, but five years of early mornings, late nights, and the long commute was all she could take. Then she taught school for a couple of years but couldn’t decide whether or not teaching was a career to which she wanted to commit herself. Five years ago, she’d happily given it up without a second thought when, after her aunt Peggy got into a serious automobile accident in Florida, her mother suggested that Angie take over the gift-wrapping business. Eva had rushed down to care for Peggy, knowing she was leaving her little business in good hands, and was gone four years.

After her aunt’s passing, Eva had remained to take care of her sister’s estate, returning to New Jersey only a year ago.

It was nice having her mother home again, in the big old house on Rose Street.

Angie giggled when she thought about all the young guys, the sons of friends her mother had invited to dinner on Sunday in the hopes one of them would be suitable for Angie. So far, she’d made a lot of new male friends, but none of them was what she considered blow-my-socks-off material.

As always, when she got to this point in her reverie, Angie’s thoughts turned to her beloved father and his passing. It had been so sudden, so shocking, so mind-bending, it had taken her years to come to terms with her loss. How she missed the big, jolly man who had carried her on his shoulders when she was little, the same man who taught her to ride her first bike, then to drive her clunker of a car. He’d hooted and hollered at her high school graduation, beamed with pride at her college graduation, and could hardly wait to show her the brand-new car he’d bought her. It was all wrapped up in a red satin ribbon. Oh, how she’d cried when she’d seen that little silver Volkswagen Jetta convertible. These days she drove a bright red Honda Civic, but the Jetta was still up on blocks in the garage on Rose Street. She planned to keep it forever and ever.

Angie dabbed at her eyes. It was all so long ago.

 

Twenty miles away, Eva Bradford sat in the sunroom of the Durham Rehab Center, waiting for her daughter. The television was on, but she wasn’t listening to the evening news. Nor was she paying attention to the other patients, who were talking in polite, low tones so others could hear the news. Her thoughts were somewhere else, and she wasn’t happy with where they were taking her.

Eva looked up when the evening nurse approached her with a fresh bag of frozen peas to place on her knee. She was young like Angie with a ready smile. “You know the drill, Eva, thirty minutes on and thirty minutes off.” The nurse, whose name was Betsy, reached for the thawed-out bag of peas Eva handed her.

Eva wondered if she’d ever dance again. Not that she danced a lot, but still, if the occasion warranted it, she wanted to be able to get up and trip the light fantastic. Knee replacements at her age were so common it was mind-boggling. She looked around the sunroom and counted nine patients with knee replacements, one a double knee, four hip jobs, and two back surgeries. Of all of them, she thought she was progressing the best. Another few days and she was certain she would be discharged with home health aides to help her out a few hours every day. She could hardly wait to return to the house on Rose Street in Metuchen.

Eva turned away from the cluster of patients who looked to be in a heated discussion over something that was going on in the Middle East. She did her best to slide down into the chair she was sitting on so she wouldn’t have to look at Angus Eagle who, according to Betsy, had just been transferred from the hospital to receive therapy for a hip replacement he’d had a month ago. She knew the jig would be up when Angie arrived with their nightly pizza. At this moment she simply didn’t want to go down Memory Lane with Angus or be put in a position where she had to defend her daughter’s business dealings.

She hadn’t seen Angus for a long time. At least five years—she really couldn’t remember. She tried to come up with the exact year. In the end she thought it was five years ago, the same year her older sister, Peggy, a childless widow, had been in that bad car accident. She’d gone to Florida and stayed on for four years because her sister’s health had deteriorated, and with no children to help out, it was up to her to see to her sister’s comfort. Then, she’d stayed to handle all the legal matters, sell the house, the furnishings, and the car. She’d been home for a year now. She swiped at the tears that threatened to overflow.

Would Angie take care of her the way she’d taken care of Peggy? Of course she would. Angie had a heart of gold and loved her. She couldn’t help but wonder who was going to take care of Angus Eagle. Not that hard-as-nails son whose mission in life was to make Angie give up the gift wrap department. Well, Angus could certainly afford in-home health care around the clock.

Eva looked up to see her daughter standing in the doorway holding three large pizza boxes, one for the two of them and two for the other patients. Angie was so kind. She watched as Angie handed two of the pizza boxes to Betsy and moved across the room to join her mother. Angie hugged and kissed her.

“How’d it go today, Mom?”

“Not too bad. I think I’ll be out of here in a few days. Honey, Angus Eagle arrived today for additional therapy. He had a hip replacement a month ago, according to Betsy. He’s sitting over there between Cyrus and Harriet. Don’t look now.”

“And this means…what?” Angie asked as she sprinkled hot peppers on the pizza, then handed her mother a huge slice. She chomped down on her own as she casually looked around. She had no trouble locating the elegant-looking Angus Eagle. At seventy years of age, he still looked dashing, with his snow-white hair, trim body, and tanned complexion. It had been a few years since she’d seen him in the courtroom alongside his son. How angry he’d looked that day. Today he looked like he was in pain. A lot of pain.

“Well…I don’t know. I’m sure he hates us both. He’s probably regretting giving me that lifetime lease. You know that old saying, blood is thicker than water. Josh is his son, so it’s natural for him to side…whatever,” Eva dithered as she bit down into her slice of pizza.

“Business is business, Mom. Isn’t that what you always told me? Sometimes people make deals that go sour. As long as it’s done legally, the way your deal was done legally, you live with it and go on. Josh and I had a rather heated exchange as I was leaving the store this evening. By the way, it’s cold out in case you’re interested. I think today was the first day that shop felt warm.”

“What happened? Wait, look—is he eating your pizza?”

“Oh, yeah, and he looks like he’s enjoying it. What happened? Well, Josh thought he could dictate to me. He called a meeting for six-fifteen for all department heads. I’m sure you remember he does that every September. He wants me to gift wrap his customers’ packages. For free. I told him if he paid me, I would. It was a standoff. I have an idea. Want to hear it?”

Eva smiled at the excitement in her daughter’s voice. She leaned forward to hear what she just knew was going to be a smashing idea. “What’s he doing now?”

“Watching us. I am going to decorate the shop like a fairy land. Gossamer, angels, Santas, sleighs, Santa sacks. I’m going to gift wrap Santa sacks for the kids. I already ordered the red and green burlap. Colored raffia ties for around the sacks. I’m going to suspend some reindeer from the ceiling with wires. Bess said her husband will make us a wooden sled and paint it. The best part is the room is big enough to do all this. We’ll get some publicity with the local paper. Parents will bring their kids to see it and, hopefully, shop. Extra business for Eagle’s, but Josh won’t see it that way, would be my guess. This is the part you might have a problem with, Mom, but hear me out, okay? I’m going to, for a price, agree to wrap purchases from other stores. On a drop-off, pick-up-later basis. I’ll hire a few extra people, and we’ll do it after hours, when the store is closed. Josh won’t have a comeback because I pay my own utilities.”

“Can you do that, Angie?”

“My lawyer said I could, so that’s good enough for me. Josh will fight me, but that’s publicity for me. I’m looking at it as win-win. You look worried, Mom. Are you seeing something I’m not seeing?”

“Well…You know me, I’m just a born worrier. If your lawyer says it’s okay, then I guess it’s okay.”

Angie frowned. What was wrong with her mother? Normally, she’d be up for anything to make the shop prosper. She risked a glance in the direction of Angus Eagle. Caught staring, she offered up a wide smile. To her delight, Angus winked at her. Now that’s something I’ll have to think about later.

“How’s that new company doing with your special order?” Eva asked.

“Mom, you won’t believe it, but they came through royally, and the price is unbelievable. One-of-a-kind baubles, artificial greenery that looks better than the real stuff, and it’s been sprayed, so it even has a balsam scent. I ordered tons of stuff. Their ribbon is satin. Real satin, all widths. Our Christmas packages are going to be over the moon. And it’s just a little cottage industry in a small town called Hastings, in Pennsylvania. They’re going to start shipping the merchandise to the house next week.”

Mother and daughter spent the next hour discussing a real tree versus artificial, paper wrap versus foil wrap, and other unusual ways to wrap gifts.

A bell sounded in the hallway. Betsy appeared to take away the frozen peas. She chatted for a moment, asked Eva if she wanted to return to her room or stay to watch television. “Five minutes, ladies.”

“I guess I better get going, Mom. I’ll be back in the morning with the order from Dunkin’ Donuts. Two dozen donuts, right? Same number on the coffees?”

Eva smiled. “Plus one more for Angus.”

Angie picked up her jacket and purse before she hugged and kissed her mother good night. She was almost to the door when she saw Josh Eagle standing in the doorway staring at her. She was about to move past him when a devil perched itself on her shoulder. “Spying on me, Mr. Eagle? Or are you stalking me? Shame on you!” She said it loud enough so everyone in the room could hear.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Ms. Bradford. I’m here to see my father.”

Angie whirled around and pointed to the clock. “Well, that figures! You have three minutes to visit. Oh, is that a gift for your father? A Hershey’s bar! How kind of you. Money-hungry jerk,” she hissed, before she sailed through the doorway and down the hall.

“Witch!” Josh hissed back, but loud enough to be heard by the patients. “Hey, wait a minute, you forgot your broom!”

Angie stopped in her tracks and turned around. “What did you just call me, you pompous, money-hungry, no-good pissant?” Venom dripped from Angie’s lips as sparks flew from her eyes.

Josh Eagle immediately regretted his words, but he couldn’t back down now. “I called you a witch and said you forgot your broom. You called me a money-hungry jerk. So now I’m a pissant. Well, it takes a pissant to know a pissant.”

The captive audience gasped as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. Even Betsy, mouth hanging open, could only stare at the two hissing enemies.

“I called you that because I was too polite to call you what you really are. Now, if you don’t get out of my way, you are going to be minus a very important part of your anatomy.” To her chagrin, Angie realized her voice had risen several decibels. Stricken, she looked around at the patients staring at her. All she could think of to do was wave.

As one, the rapt audience gasped. They returned her wave, even Angus.

The final bell for visitation rang.

“Looks like you have to leave now, Mr. Eagle. You better stay 150 feet away from me, or I’ll have you arrested,” Angie said coldly.

“Oh, yeah?” Josh blustered.

“Yeah!” Angie shot back. She flipped him the bird before turning on her heel and marching down the hall.

The audience gasped again.

“I’m afraid you have to leave now, Mr. Eagle,” Betsy said. “Try to come a little earlier tomorrow. You better wait a minute—Miss Bradford did say 150 feet. She looked to me like she meant business. It won’t look good for the center if she calls the police.” Betsy eyeballed the distance down the hall. “Okay, you can go now.” She reached out to take the Hershey’s bar, but Josh shoved it into his pocket.

Eva did her best not to laugh out loud. She turned around when she heard something that sounded like hysterical laughter. Angus Eagle was laughing so hard one of the aides was clapping him on the back. She was stunned to hear him shout, “You got yourself a spitfire there, Eva!” She wished he would have said something she didn’t already know.

The score for this round, if anyone was counting, was one-zip, with the point going to Angie.

Josh Eagle, his shoulders slumping, entered the house through the kitchen. Delectable aromas wafted about the kitchen, thanks to Dolores, the day lady who had been with his family for the past twenty years. He knew his dinner was warming in the oven, but for some reason he wasn’t hungry. The fact of the matter was he was too damn mad to eat.

As he yanked at his tie with one hand, he opened the oven door with the other and set his dinner plate on the kitchen counter. Maybe he’d eat later. First he needed a beer, and he needed to calm down. He carried a beer from the fridge and swigged at it as he made his way to the second floor. He stripped down. Within minutes he was in sweats and slippers. It took him a minute to realize he was cold. He marched out to the hall to turn the thermostat to eighty before he made his way downstairs to grab another beer.

Heat gushed from the two vents in the kitchen. At least he would be warm while he drowned himself in ice-cold beer.

Josh sat down at the kitchen table and propped his feet on a chair as he swigged from the bottle in his hand. Who in the damn hell did that female think she was? He answered himself by saying she was the female who had him over a barrel. He stretched out a long arm to snag a chicken leg off his dinner plate and was just about to bite down into the succulent-looking piece of chicken when the phone rang.

Josh eyed the phone suspiciously. He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew it was his father on the other end of the line. He might as well get it over with. He was a small boy again when he picked up, knowing full well his father was going to have something very profound to say. Something he wasn’t going to like.

Josh looked at the caller ID. He squared his shoulders, clicked the ON button, and said, “Hi, Dad.”

“Good evening, son. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk this evening. I was looking forward to a long chat.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I had a meeting. I’ll come earlier tomorrow. Do you need anything?”

“No, I don’t need anything, Josh. Is there anything you want to talk to me about?”

Well, hell, yes, there were at least two dozen things he wanted to talk to his father about, but the old man only pretended to listen to anything he had to say. Josh threw caution to the winds and said, “Since when do you ever listen to anything I have to say? So, the short answer is, no. Is there something you want, Dad? Like maybe my hide, a pint of blood? Name it, and it’s yours.” His voice was so bitter that Josh could hardly believe it was his own. He heard his father sigh. He always sighed when Josh let loose with his feelings.

“You were pretty hard on that little gal, weren’t you?”

“If you say so, Dad. Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to turn in early.”

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow, son.”

“Actually, no, I won’t be stopping by. If you need something I can have someone from the store drop it off. But now that you’ve brought it up, there is something I’ve been meaning to say. I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you that I’ll be leaving the first of the year. I’m moving to London. I got a job at Harrods. I leave New Year’s Day. You can have Eagle’s back. I guess I’m not really giving it back to you since you never really relinquished your interest in the store to me the way you agreed to. The way I figure it is this: you’ll probably have a week in January before you have to close Eagle’s doors for good. Good night, Dad.”

Josh tossed his beer bottles into a wire basket in the laundry room. As he made his way up the stairs he could hear the phone ringing. He knew it was his father calling back because he was in shock over his son’s cold announcement. “It’s been a long time in coming, Dad,” Josh muttered as he settled himself in his small home office. He clicked on the computer and ran some stats. Nothing had changed since earlier in the day. Eagle’s was still at the bottom of the list. Just a few months until Eagle’s would have to close their doors. Well, come the first of the year, Eagle’s Department Store would no longer be his problem. He was sick and tired of battling his father, sick and tired of batting his head against a stone wall. Eventually he would get over the shame of failing. He had a job waiting for him at the prestigious Harrods in London, where his expertise would be appreciated.

The phone at the end of the long second-floor hallway continued to ring. “Give it up, Dad, I have nothing more to say.”

Josh climbed into bed and pulled up the covers. Then he climbed back out of bed to turn the thermostat down to sixty degrees. Back in bed, his last conscious thought before drifting off to sleep was that he had to apologize in the morning to the witch with the broom.

 

Eva knew that Angus was coming up behind her. She could hear his walker on the tile floor. Then again, they were the only two patients in the sunroom, so who else could it be? She steeled herself for Angus’s sharp tongue and whatever he was about to say. She clicked the OFF button on the remote control. What was left of the evening news report disappeared.

“Do you mind if I sit down, Eva?”

“Not at all. It’s nice to see you again, Angus. It’s been a long time, five years if I’m not mistaken. How strange that we should meet up like this after so long.”

Because she was a nurturer by nature, Eva wanted to get up to help Angus ease himself into the chair across from her, but these days it was a production to get herself up and moving. “Are you in pain, Angus?”

“A bit. How about you?”

“At times. I try to ignore the pain and just use the frozen bags of peas. They really do help. Other than the hip replacement, how are things?”

“Are you asking to be polite or do you really want to know?” Angus asked.

Eva thought she’d never heard a sadder voice. “Is there anything I can do, Angus?”

“Not unless you have a magic potion that will turn my son into a charming young prince. What was that all about earlier?”

Eva decided not to pretend she didn’t know what her old friend was talking about. “Rivalry would be my guess. Two strong, bullheaded people pushing each other’s buttons. How is the store doing, Angus?”

“According to my son, not well at all. He blames me. Says I’m an old fuddy-duddy. He says I have no foresight. He claims I’m locked in the past. He said the last time I had an idea was the day, almost twenty years ago, when I gave you the lifetime lease on the gift wrap department, and from that day on, it was all downhill. He doesn’t like me much, Eva. Yesterday he called me a meddler.”

Eva threw her hands in the air. “What did you do? Or should I be asking what didn’t you do? Josh was always such a wonderful young man. How did it all go wrong? I don’t understand any of this, Angus.”

Angus leaned forward. “Look at me, Eva. I have something to tell you that is going to affect you as well as your daughter. My son just told me a few minutes ago when I called him that he’s leaving the store the first of the year. He’s accepted a job at Harrods in London. That means the store will be closing. He’s been telling me that for the past year but I…I just blamed him for not knowing what he was doing. I was…I was cruel about it, saying things like I made a mistake when I turned things over to him, that he wasn’t up to the job.”

“Oh, Angus, how could you do something like that?” How was she going to tell her daughter they would both be out of a job after the holidays with only her Social Security coming in?

“Because I’m a horse’s patoot, that’s how. Josh has been telling me for years that we had to streamline the store, we had to keep up with marketing trends. He wanted to hire new buyers, be more mainstream. I fought him every step of the way. He wanted to restructure everything. That meant layoffs. I didn’t want to deal with it. One time he actually called me a dried-up old fart and told me I deserved whatever happened with the store. He was right and I was wrong. And I’m not going to lie to you, Eva, but the gift-wrapping shop was always a thorn in Josh’s side. He thought, and I’m sure he still thinks, that you and I had an affair that is ongoing. I think that’s another reason he keeps going to the mat with your daughter.”

Eva’s thoughts were all over the place as she stared at her old friend. “I thought the store was doing well. How could I have been so wrong? What are you going to do?”

“What can I do? Josh’s mind is made up—he’s leaving because he’s fed up. I have to admire his spunk. He gave it his best shot, and I just kept fouling up everything he did. Now all my chickens are coming home to roost.”

“For heaven’s sake, Angus, Josh is your son. You can’t let him leave under these conditions. You have to make this right. There’s nothing in this world more important than family. If you don’t take a stand now, you’ll never get Josh back. What’s so hard about saying you’re sorry, that you made mistakes? You can’t just let Eagle’s close their doors. Eagle’s is an institution in this town. Shame on you, Angus Eagle. I’m going to bed now. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I have therapy at seven o’clock.”

“Eva, wait. Help me out here.”

“Oh, no. It doesn’t work that way. You’re the only one who can make this right. I’m willing to cancel that lifetime lease and renegotiate a new one. In fact, I insist. I’ll call my lawyer in the morning.”

“That’s a drop in the bucket, Eva. The gift-wrapping shop was never about money. In the beginning it was a courtesy to our customers. You’re the one who turned it into a money-maker. Then Josh wanted to use the gift wrap department space to outfit a safari department. He said it was the ‘in’ thing. I’m ashamed to admit I laughed at him. Two days later, I heard a group of men on the golf course talking about all the gear they’d just purchased because they were going on safari. One of the men poked my arm and said Eagle’s didn’t even know what a safari was. Even then, I couldn’t see it. I guess I am a dried-up old fart, just like Josh said I was.”

“Yes, Angus, I guess you are just one big gas bubble. I certainly don’t envy you.”

Eva struggled to her feet as she leaned heavily on her cane. She knew she’d been sitting too long. She could hardly wait to get to her room so she could ring the nurse to ask for a bag of frozen peas. She moved off as she tried to figure out how she was going to tell her daughter what Angus had just shared with her.

Christmas this year was going to be bittersweet, she thought.

 

When Eva woke the following morning the first thing she saw was Angus Eagle standing in the open doorway. “How long have you been standing there, Angus?” she gasped.

“About an hour. You snore. I thought only men snored. Can I come in and sit down? I didn’t sleep all night. I’ve been walking up and down the halls and I’m getting tired.”

“For heaven’s sake, come in and sit down. For your information, everyone snores, even children.” Eva pushed the button on the remote to raise her bed. She wished she had a cup of coffee.

“I asked a nurse to bring us some coffee. I hope that was okay. Listen, Eva, you were always so grounded. I assume you still are. That’s one of the things I always admired about you. I need your help and I’m not ashamed to be asking, either. For me to give in now, to give up total control when we’re just months from closing our doors seems a bit silly to me. Josh won’t buy into it. You know that old saying—too little, too late. You know as well as I do that the Christmas season revenues can carry a store for a whole year. We depend on that revenue. What should I do?”

“Angus, I know nothing about the retail business. My only claim to fame is I know how to gift wrap packages. I think you should talk to my daughter. She seems to have an eye and ear to the business. In the past she spent hours and hours telling me all the thing. . .