Читать книгу Comfort And Joy - Fern Michaels - Страница 7

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 things wrong with the store. And I know for a fact she dropped dozens of suggestions in Eagle’s suggestion box on the second floor because she thought if you had more foot traffic, she would have more gifts to wrap. We had a really bad summer, everyone was buying from the discount houses. That’s something else you didn’t take into consideration. They popped up all over town like mushrooms. For the record, all of Angie’s suggestions were ignored.”

Angus’s voice was desperate when he asked, “Will your daughter talk to me?”

“Of course she’ll talk to you. What kind of child do you think I raised? It’s your son she won’t talk to. But when I tell her he really isn’t her enemy, that you are, well, I don’t know for sure. There’s no doubt about it, Angus, you’re standing knee-deep in a mess. Of your own making, I might add.”

“I know that, Eva. Help me out here.”

“Put yourself in your son’s shoes. What would you like your father to do? How would you handle it?”

Angus shrugged. “Josh said I never listened to him. It’s true. All of a sudden, I’m going to listen now, when it’s too late? Maybe there’s a way to help him without him knowing I’m helping.”

“Spit it out, Angus. How? I suspect you have some groveling to do first, my friend. Call him at the store. Ask him to come here to see you. That’s a first step. By the way, Angus, how long are you here for?”

Angus grimaced. “Today or tomorrow. I’ve been here a week but I stayed in my room because I didn’t want anyone to know I was here. I simply didn’t want to socialize. I wish I had known you were here, Eva. When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow, I think. I’ll have a home health aide for two weeks. She’ll come by three times a week and help with my therapy. The rest is up to me. We can talk on the phone if you like.”

“I’d like that. I really would.”

“How are you going to get home, Angus?”

“I’ll call a car service. I don’t want to bother Josh. I’m surprised he hasn’t moved out of the house. I’ll have to stay out of his way.”

“This is not right, Angus. Angie is going to come by this morning with donuts and coffee. She does that every morning. She can give you a ride home if they discharge you today. You can talk to her then.”

Eva almost felt sorry for her old friend as he made his way to the door. Almost. Angus looked back, his face filled with pain. For some reason Eva thought the pain was more mental than physical. Once, this wonderful man had literally saved her financial life. Maybe with the help of her daughter, she could return the favor. How that would come about, she had no clue. Well, she thought briskly, I can think about that while I’m having my therapy. Perhaps thinking about Angus will help to alleviate the pain of therapy.

By nine o’clock Eva had finished her therapy, eaten a light breakfast, and showered before she slowly made her way to the sunroom, where she flopped down on a chair, her forehead beaded with perspiration from her efforts. She could hardly wait for Angie and the delicious coffee she was addicted to. Not to mention the donuts.

Eva looked around, acknowledging the other patients who were waiting for their turn in the therapy room. There was no sign of Angus. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. She leaned back and closed her eyes, her thoughts going in all directions.

Fifteen minutes later, Eva’s eyes popped open when she felt a light touch to her shoulder. “Morning, Mom. Did you have a good night?”

“I did have a good night. Angie, I need to talk to you. Pass out your donuts and coffee and hurry back here.” Seeing the alarm on her daughter’s face, she hastened to add, “It’s not about me. I’m fine. Hurry, Angie.”

A few minutes later, worry lines were etched on Angie’s face as she settled herself next to her mother. She shook her head when her mother offered her a jelly-filled donut. “What? Tell me, Mom.”

“It’s the store, Angie. Angus and I spoke last night after you left. When I woke up this morning, he was standing in my doorway waiting for me to wake up. It’s not good, Angie. Let me tell it all to you the way Angus told it to me. Don’t interrupt me, either.”

Angie listened, her facial expressions going from anger to disbelief to sadness. When her mother finished, the only thing she could think of to say was, “We can’t let that happen, Mom. Eagle’s is an institution. We can renegotiate the lease. Oh, God, I need to think about this. I thought Angus Eagle was a nice man. How could he have sabotaged his son like that? I feel terrible about the way I treated Josh. I need to give Mr. Eagle a piece of my mind.”

“You need to do no such thing. What you will do is give Angus a ride home. He’s finished with his therapy today and was going to call a car service. I volunteered your services, dear. You can talk to him on the way home.”

“Mommmm!”

“Sweetie, we’re all in this together. I don’t want Angus to lose his son, and that’s what will happen. Both of them have too much pride to admit when they’re wrong. Because we’re women, we can fix that. At least I think we can. All right, we’re going to try to fix things. All those wonderful suggestions you had over the years might come in handy now. All you have to do is get Josh to think they’re his ideas.”

“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.