Comfort And Joy. Fern Michaels

      “We did. Sort of. Kind of. I hated you and your family for a long time,” Angie blurted. “That…That probably colored my determination to fight you on the lease.”

      Josh looked so shocked at her words, Angie hastened to explain. “My mother spent more time at your house than she did at her own. Every time I needed her, she was at your house. Back then I didn’t understand my family’s need for money. I also didn’t like it that my mother cleaned your house and cooked for you. Our dinners were always late. Then my mother would go back to your house to clean up after your dinner while I was the one who cleaned up ours. I wasn’t always as kind as I could have been to my mother. Of course I regret that now. My dad did his best.”

      Josh blinked. He struggled to find something to say. “I guess I would have felt the same way. As a kid you just more or less take things for granted. I’m ashamed to admit I never thought about Eva in terms of having a family to take care of. She was just there sometimes. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings, Angie.”

      “Well, that was then, this is now. We were both kids back then. You know what they say, you can’t unring the bell. Isn’t it ironic that we’ve come together like this? Your father with his hip operation, Mom with her knee replacement. If it weren’t for that, you and I would still be battling one another. I guess everything happens for a reason.”

      “So we have a truce. At least for now.”

      “Yes. We have to make it all work. I think we can. Did you look over the suggestions I put in the box?”

      “I did. Most of them are really good. I particularly like your idea to turn the gift wrap department into a Christmas wonderland. But the retail side of me can’t quite accept the idea that for a fee you’re willing to gift wrap merchandise from other stores.”

      “The idea, Josh, is, those customers will browse the store and buy point-of-purchase merchandise with the money going into Eagle’s coffers. The gift wrapping is not going to be cheap, I can tell you that. Most of that money will now go into your coffers, too.”

      Josh nodded as he motioned to the waitress. He told her that they were ready for some green tea. “I sent out memos today. We’ll close the store this weekend for two days. Three if we need an extra day. I also made arrangements for everything on both floors that has been marked down twice to go to Goodwill. Everything else will be sold below cut-rate to two different discount stores. This will get underway Friday night after the store closes. You might want to walk through the store to see if you think there’s anything we can salvage.”

      “Get rid of it all. We’re starting fresh. No holdovers. You also need to get an electrician to install some better lighting. A nice new, shiny tile floor will work wonders.”

      “I’m not a miracle worker, Angie. Two days, even three, it’s a monumental task.”

      “Offer a bonus. Tap into your workforce. The salespeople have spouses who might like to make some extra money. Your new motto from here on in is, ‘The Eagle Soars.’ Start running ads in the local newspaper. Get some flyers made up. Hire some kid to put them on the windshields of the cars in the parking lot. Have a raffle every day. All entries have to have a sales receipt attached. That kind of thing. In order to make money, you have to spend money. You might need to close for two weeks.”

      Josh brought the little cup of tea to his lips. His gaze locked with Angie’s. “Two weeks! Young lady, you’re scary!”

      “I’m going to take that as a compliment. A scary compliment. What did you do about laying off your staff?”

      Josh leaned back in his chair. “It was hard, but I did it. I think a lot of the staff were more or less relieved. I laid everyone off for three weeks except for a few I knew we would need. I don’t know why, but I thought some, if not most of them, welcomed the decision. Some of the staff are my father’s age. Past retirement age, but Dad wouldn’t let me lay them off. I checked all their files, and none of them are in dire need of money. They work to have something to do. I can’t fault them for that.”

      “You might be able to use the grandmothers to man the day care I want to put in on the second floor. Think about it, Josh. Mothers dropping off their children so they can shop! At thirty dollars a day with lunch and snacks, it would be a bargain. Of course you’d have some moms who just might want a few hours at a time. We’d work out a reasonable fee. I can see you taking in a couple of thousand bucks a day. The more activities you have for the kids, the more demand for the service. The kids would get a day with a real grandma who will read them stories, sing songs with them, rock the babies. Your dad and my mom will be perfect if we can get them to agree and at the same time still be in the loop. I already earmarked all the things on the floor that could go into the day care. I have a lot of friends whose kids have outgrown many of their things. I can ask to borrow them. Next year, if this all works, we could really do a bang-up job, but for now, I think this will work.”

      “My father is going to go nuclear!” Josh laughed. “Day care! Never in a million years would I have come up with that idea. You’re right, you are an idea person!”

      “Thank you, sir!”

      The waitress showed up to take their order. Angie ordered a dish called Volcano Shrimp, while Josh ordered a sizzling seafood platter. Both now crunched down on hard noodles, a bit more relaxed with one another.

      As Angie munched, she asked, “What did you think about my idea of having a really huge live Christmas tree in the middle of the floor? And the Santa with his sack of toys?”

      “Great idea, but it will seriously deplete floor space. I’m still waiting to see what kind of merchandise we’re going to be selling. Not to mention where we’re going to get that merchandise. Vendors are notoriously cranky and in no hurry to get the deliveries to you during the year. They’re worse over the holidays. I hesitate to ask this, but is there a Plan B lurking anywhere?”

      “Plan B? More or less. Incentives. Cash on delivery. If the merchandise angle falls short of my expectations, I think we could more than make up for the revenues with services, like cooking lessons, knitting lessons, all kinds of hourly lessons. Kind of like the YMCA. I think I’d like some Chinese beer now.”

      “You like Chinese beer! Imagine that! I like it myself.” Josh signaled the waitress and placed the order. When it arrived, he held up his bottle to clink it against Angie’s. “What should we drink to?”

      “To success, what else?”

      Angie drank from the bottle, ignoring the glass sitting on the table. Josh seemed mesmerized by his dinner companion as she kept upending the bottle. He’d never dated a girl who really liked beer, much less drank it from the bottle. He grinned from ear to ear. He took a moment to wonder what it would be like to kiss those full red lips. He just knew in his gut he’d soar like an eagle.

      Angie and Josh were the last to leave the Jade Pagoda. With way too much Chinese beer under their belts, Josh called for a taxi. “We can pick our cars up in the morning.”

      “What time is it?” Angie mumbled as she looked at the array of beer bottles on the table.

      Josh peered at his watch. He knew he was snookered when he couldn’t read the numbers. “Late,” he said triumphantly. “Do you have to be home before…before…the moon comes out?” Damn, he was witty tonight. And charming.

      “I was…I think I was supposed to…Maybe I wasn’t…Where is my mother, do you know?”

      Angie was looking at him like he had the answer at his fingertips. He didn’t want to disappoint his new friend. “I’m not sure. I’ll help you look for her.”

      “That’s wonderful. Thank you. I think she might be…you know, pissed that I forgot about her.”

      Josh pulled himself up to his full six-foot-two-inch height and said, “We were busy.”

      “Yes, we were. Why don’t we walk home, Josh? We might see them on the way. Oh, I remember now, my mother is keeping your