I'll Be Home for Christmas

by Fern Michaels

“Mom, you can’t undo years of being in the red in a few short months. Yes, profits are greater during the holiday season, but that alone can’t ward off the inevitable.”

  “I’ll settle for a reprieve. For now, the gift wrap department belongs to Eagle’s. We’ll take 20 percent and the store takes 80 percent. This is just for now. I’ll call our lawyer today to discuss it. We have two short months to turn things around before the shopping season begins.”

  Angie offered up a bitter laugh. “Mom, Eagle’s merchandise is archaic. Where can they get new stuff in two months?”

  “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Think about something people can’t do without. Then stock up on that. Fire sales, get rid of the junk they’re stuck with or donate it somewhere. Get some glitter and sparkle in there. I know you’ll come up with something, dear.”

  “Mom! When was the last time you experienced a miracle? That’s what it’s going to take to get Eagle’s to soar again. I’m not…I don’t think…”

  “I don’t want to hear anything negative. From here on in, we think positive. I know we can at least get it off the ground. If we can do that, then it’s up to Josh to follow through. Now run along and pick up Angus and take him home. He is a nice man, Angie. He just didn’t know how to let go, and he didn’t trust his son enough to let him run with the ball. Unlike me, who trusted you completely. Angus is a man,” Eva said, as if that was the only explanation needed.

  Angie bit down on her lip. “Okay, Mom. I’ll do what I can. I’ll see you tonight. What do you want me to bring?”

  “A hoagie would be nice.”

  “You got it.” A moment later, Angie was gone. Eva closed her eyes and sighed mightily. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was a miracle in Eagle’s future.

  Chapter Three

  The following morning, Angie dressed with care. It was still cool, so she decked out in warm clothes—a plum-colored suit, sensible heels, and a crisp white blouse. Light makeup that her mother said she didn’t need, a spritz of perfume and she was ready to go toe to toe with Josh Eagle.

  There was no point in kidding herself. She was nervous about the confrontation. More so since driving Angus Eagle home yesterday, a drive that had been made virtually in silence. Twice she’d bitten down on her tongue so she wouldn’t say something her mother wouldn’t approve of. Back in the recesses of her mind Angie wondered, and not for the first time, if Angus and her mother had ever had an affair. Lifetime leases didn’t happen for no reason. No one was that kind, that good-hearted. Or, were they? Well, it was none of her business, so she needed to stop thinking about it. Easier said than done.

  Angie ran her fingers through what she called her wash-and-go hairdo. A month ago her mother had finally convinced her to cut off her long, curly hair in favor of a more stylish cut. Her mother said the new hairdo was becoming, and mothers never lied. Well, almost never. After two weeks of staring at herself in the mirror, she agreed with Eva’s assessment.

  Angie realized she was postponing the moment when she had to leave and get on with the day. For all she knew, without an appointment to see Josh Eagle, all this anxiety she was experiencing might be for naught. For naught—such an old-fashioned term. One her mother or Angus Eagle would use.

  On the ten-minute ride down Route 1, Angie thought about her own precarious position at Eagle’s. If the store closed, she would be out of a job. It might be months before she found another one. Being self-employed, she wouldn’t be able to collect unemployment insurance. Her mother would have to start pinching pennies because the medical bills would be coming in shortly. Even with Medicare, her mother would be paying them off for months. With only Social Security coming in, their meager savings would be gone in the blink of an eye. Well, she couldn’t let that happen. She’d always been an idea person, according to her mother. If there was ever a time to come up with a dynamite idea, now was it.

  Angie slowed for a traffic light, then made a right onto Woodbridge Ave. She drove down to the mall lot, left her car, and entered Eagle’s through one of the back doors next to the loading platform. Instead of going straight to her shop, she walked the floor. There were no customers in the store that she could see. The sales help were standing around chatting with one another. She wondered what happened to the rule of look busy even if you aren’t. She winced again as she surveyed the merchandise, which looked like it had been hanging on the racks forever. Hopelessly outdated.

  Was it too late to save this store? She glanced around again and nodded to herself. Well, she’d never been a quitter. But, as Bess would say, there’s a first time for everything.

  Angie walked back to the end of the store to the gift wrap department, rolled up the corrugated shield, unlocked the door, and turned up the heat. In the little alcove at the far end of the room, out of sight, was a little station where she kept a coffeepot. She filled it and waited for the hot water to drip into the little red pot. She couldn’t do anything until she had a cup of coffee. Coffee fortified her, made her brain cells do double-time. The moment she finished her second cup, she would march herself to Josh Eagle’s office on the second floor. She had no clue what she was going to do or say when she got there. She’d always been pretty good at winging it. There was a lot to be said for spontaneity. She didn’t believe it for a minute.

  

  At the same time as Angie was waiting for the coffee to brew, Josh Eagle was pacing the confines of his office. He hated that he had to go down to the first floor and apologize to the witch with the broom. She looked like the type who might take a swing at him. His stomach started to curdle at the thought. Still, there was no reason for him to behave the way he had at the rehab center the other night. He should have sloughed it off and ignored the young woman with the sparks in her eyes. And, she was pretty. He told himself she could be pretty and still be a witch.

  Josh diddled around for another twenty minutes before he squared his shoulders, straightened his tie, and shook down the cuffs of his shirt. Now he was ready. His heart was beating way too fast. His mouth felt dry.

  His cell phone rang, jarring him from what he was feeling. He looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was his father, who had come home yesterday and was asleep when Josh got home. He’d said everything he had to say to his father the night before. It was much too late to hear his repeated apologies of I’m sorry, son. I didn’t know, son. Then a few more I’m sorries. No sense beating a dead horse. He ignored the insistent ringing and left his office.

  He met her a foot away from the huge red X. He’d gone ballistic the day he’d seen that red X for the first time. The witch’s biting words at the time still rang in his ears to this day. Step one foot over that X, and I’ll have you arrested! He knew she meant every word of it. And that was three years ago. To date, he’d never stepped beyond the X. How childish was all this? Damn childish.

  Josh took the initiative. “Ms. Bradford, I came down here to apologize to you for my rude behavior the other night. Not that I’m defending my rude behavior, but I have a lot on my plate right now.”

  “I know you do. I was on my way to your office to apologize to you. Would you like to…uh…go out to the food court and get a cup of coffee? Neutral ground, so to speak. If you’re busy…”

  Josh stared at the young woman. Did she just invite him for coffee? “Sure,” was all he could think of to say. How brilliant was that?

  They walked around the corner, down one of the long halls until they reached the food court, which was virtually empty this early in the morning. Neither said a word on the short journey.

  “How do you take your coffee?” Josh asked.

  “Black. It’s not coffee if you doctor it up with cream and sugar.”

  “I feel the same way. Take a seat, I’ll get the coffee.” A black-coffee drinker like himself. Who knew?

  The moment Josh sat down, Angie leaned forward and said, “We’re going to cancel the lease. We can renegotiate it again after the first of the year if the store is still o
pen. Until then, Eagle’s gets 80 percent of the take, we get 20 percent. Look, let me finish what I have to say before I lose my nerve. My mother told me what you told your father. You’re leaving the first of the year. I guess I more or less understand that. Speaking strictly for myself, I’ve never been a quitter, but that’s me and, like you said, you have a lot on your plate.

  “Your father…well, he’s been wrong. Older people have a hard time…What they do is give generously and then they realize they lost their control. It’s hard for them to accept the aging…. Help me out here, Mr. Eagle.”

  “First things first, let’s stop with the Mr. and Ms. I’m Josh, and you’re Angie. Okay?”

  Angie smiled. Josh suddenly felt his world rock. “I…I know what you’re saying. For the last ten years I’ve battled my father. He’s stubborn as a mule. I had so many plans for the store, but he shot me down each and every time I presented something. I finally got to the end of my rope. There’s nothing more I can do.”

  Angie sipped at the scalding-hot coffee. “Sure there is. Where are all the suggestions that were in the suggestion box? I used to slip one in that box once a week.”

  “You’re the one who…I still have them all in my office. They were good suggestions. I ran each and every one of them by my father, but he vetoed all of them. I’m being kind when I say he’s in a time warp.”

  “I know. I drove him home from the rehab center yesterday. He didn’t say much to me, but he did open up to my mother, who in turn passed it all on to me, and I am now telling you. What a round-robin. Why can’t people just say what’s in their minds and hearts?”

  “Why are you telling me all this?” Josh asked, suspicion ringing in his voice. “I thought you hated my guts.”

  Angie looked genuinely puzzled at his remark. “I don’t hate you personally. I don’t even know you. I hate what you did. I guess I should say I hate what you didn’t do, but I didn’t understand what was going on. I have ideas,” she said quietly.

  “It’s too late, Angie. The store needs mega revenues for the Christmas season or the doors close in January. Dad…”

  “You scared the devil out of your father, according to my mother. He’s onboard now. You have carte blanche to do whatever you want. I have ideas,” she repeated.

  In spite of himself, Josh was intrigued. “It’s the middle of September, Angie.”

  “That’s almost two months until the Christmas season kicks off. If we hunker down, with no interference, I think we might be able to make this a banner season. I’m game if you are.” Angie waited, hardly daring to breathe, waiting for Josh’s answer.

  “I guess I owe my old man one more shot at it. If nothing else but to prove I wasn’t a know-it-all. If, and it’s a big if, we pull it off, I’m still leaving for London after the first of the year. I committed, and I never go back on my word.”

  “That’s your decision, Josh. I, for one, would never try to talk you out of something if your mind is made up. I guess that’s a holdover kind of thing from when I was a kid. I have a ton of stuff to do today. How do you feel about getting some Chinese at the Jade Pagoda this evening after the store closes? We could talk in detail and make a plan. That’s if you’re serious. If you are, check all those suggestions I bombarded you with. There’s a game plan in there.”

  Josh propped his elbows on the table. “Did you just ask me to dinner? A date?”

  Angie laughed. “Well, yeah,” she said. “Now that we’re…uh…friends, I thought…” She flushed a bright pink when she caught Josh smiling at her. “I never asked a guy for a date before. It’s a little embarrassing.”

  Josh threw his head back and laughed, a sound that sent shivers up Angie’s back. “Now you know a guy’s worst fear. Asking a girl for a date is traumatic. I accept. I’ll meet you by the loading dock at six-ten. Does that work for you?”

  “Yes. I want you to think about something today. I’d like to see you close the store for two days. Get rid of all that outdated merchandise on the floor. Close off the second floor until we can decide what we’re going to do, what we’re going to specialize in. Like I said, I have some great ideas.”

  Josh felt his throat close up. “Close the store! In the middle of the week? That had never happened in the lifetime of the store. Are you sure you have a plan?”

  “I do. It will work, too, as long as you don’t fight me. Look, I’m giving up the lease. It’s all yours. That alone should prove I’m on your side. Besides, I hate the thought of going job hunting. Do we have a deal?”

  Josh gulped but nodded. Angie’s hand shot out. He reached for it, marveling at how soft her hand was in his.

  Josh smiled.

  Angie smiled.

  Throw your line into the pond and reel him in, Bess had said. Angie giggled all the way back to the gift wrap department, which she’d just given away.

  

  The first thing she did when she walked behind the counter was to call her mother. “Josh said okay, but he’s still leaving in January because he committed to Harrods. I’m hoping he might change his mind. We’re in business, Mom. Listen, I’m going to have Bess pick you up and take you home. I have tons of stuff to do. You can work the phones when you get home. You okay with that? Okay, now listen up…” She went on to detail the outline of her plan.

  “Yes, honey. It all makes sense. I just hope you can do it all in two months. The vendors aren’t all that cooperative at this time of year. Is it okay to tell Angus?”

  “Sure. Your job is to make sure he doesn’t waffle on us. Talk it up real good, Mom.”

  “Okay, honey. Congratulations!”

  

  “Bess, instead of taking me home, take me to Mr. Eagle’s house. It’s just a few miles out of your way since it’s on the corner of Plainfield Road and Park Avenue. Angus has a ramp, so I won’t have a problem with the steps. Angie can pick me up later.”

  Bess raised her eyebrows but only nodded. Something was going on. She wondered when Eva or Angie would confide in her. She didn’t like being kept in the dark. And now this visit to the Eagle home. Something was definitely going on.

  “Just park in the back, Bess. The ramp is by the kitchen door. At least it was years ago, when Angus’s father had to use a wheelchair. No, no, don’t help me. I have to do this myself. I have my cane. Thanks for bringing me here, Bess. You’re a good friend.”

  “Is there anything I can do, Eva?”

  “Not right now, but very shortly there will be plenty for you to do. Have a nice day now. Go, go! I’m fine.”

  At the kitchen door, Eva used her cane to rap on the glass pane. When there was no response, she opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. She took a moment to look around. She’d spent a lot of time in this kitchen, catering to Mrs. Angus Eagle. The truth was, as Angie pointed out more times than she wanted to remember, she spent more time here than she did in her own kitchen. She suspected Angie still held that against her.

  It was all so long ago.

  “Angus, it’s Eva,” she called out. “Are you here?”

  “I’m in the den. What in the world are you doing here? Are you all right? How did you get here? Good Lord, Eva, are you sure you should be out and about? Come in, come in. Sit down.”

  Eva could hardly wait to sit down. Once there she wondered how she was going to get up out of the depths of the deep, comfortable couch. She’d worry about that later. “I suppose I could have called you when I got home, but for some reason I didn’t want to be alone. I thought since I’m clumsy by nature, I might fall or something. So I decided to come here. You’re stuck with me until Angie can pick me up, which won’t be till later this evening. Or, I can take a taxi.”

  “Nonsense. I’m grateful for the company. I was just sitting here thinking about how badly I’ve fouled things up. Josh still won’t take my calls, and I was asleep when he got home last night. I’ve been calling him since eight this morning. My son can be very unforgiving. Is your daughter like that?”

 
“At times. When I was standing in your kitchen I was thinking about how angry she got when I had to cook dinner for your family. Then I would rush home and cook dinner for my own family, and it was always late. Then I had to rush back and clean up because your wife wouldn’t do it. That meant Angie had to clear up my own kitchen. It’s one of the reasons why she doesn’t like you. She thought you took advantage of me.”

  Angus looked dazed. “I didn’t know that, Eva. What I mean is I didn’t know you went home to cook for your family, and then came back here. You should have said something. I would have cleared the dishes myself. There’s no point now in me trying to make apologies to you for my wife. But I am sorry, Eva.”

  Eva stared at her old boss. “Angus, who did you think cooked my family’s dinner those days?”

  Angus threw his hands in the air. “I guess I never thought about it. You should have said something at the time. What do you want me to say?”

  Eva snapped her fingers in Angus’s direction. “Earth to Angus! Your wife told me if I complained to you, she would fire me. I needed the job. She was so demanding. I wanted to quit so many times, but my family needed the money I brought in.”

  “Eva, I am so very sorry. I didn’t know. If there was a strain between you two, then why would my wife insist I turn over the gift wrap department to you? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “She didn’t want me around in the afternoon when she…when she…entertained. It was to ensure I never said anything. Fill in the blanks, Angus, and I am never going to talk about this again. Are we clear on that?”

  “No, we are not clear on anything. When you imply something like that you need to…to explain exactly what you’re saying. We’re talking about my deceased wife here. Eva?”

  “How many ways are there to say your wife entertained in the afternoons while you were at the store and your son was out somewhere or away. She did not entertain women with tea parties. I only ever saw one man and that was quite by accident, so I cannot give you a name. That’s it, Angus. Now, leave it alone.”