ten minutes, Angie was showered, dressed, and tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the coffee to run through the filter. “Snow!” The minute there was enough coffee in the pot, Angie poured, and then turned it off. She was out of the house a minute later and in her car. While it warmed up, she climbed back out to clear the snow off her windshield and back window. The little Honda was a marvel in snow and rain, so she had no worries about getting to the mall. She might even have a bit of an edge, traffic-wise, since it was just five o’clock. Another hour, and it would be a different story. As she made her way to Route 1, she listened to the local weather on the radio. Snow at Christmas was the kiss of death to every retailer. She wondered if Josh was up and had seen the snow. She wondered if she should call him, but she hated using a cell phone while she was driving. He would see it soon enough.
Twenty minutes later, when Angie blew into the mall on a strong gust of wind and swirling snow, Josh was waiting for her. The first words out of his mouth were, “This is going to kill us. The weatherman is saying six to eight inches. They’re closing the schools. We need these last two shopping days like we need air to breathe. Damn! No one is here yet, so I made some coffee.”
Josh reached for her hand. “I need to tell you again how grateful I am. I could never in a million years have pulled this off without your help.”
“We’ll find a way to make this work, Josh. It’s the season of miracles. Come on, let’s go get that coffee. Maybe we’ll be able to think more clearly with some serious caffeine under our belts.”
“There was no snow in the forecast. How’d this happen?” Josh demanded.
“It just happened, and we have to deal with it. Did you go home last night?”
“I went to the Best Western, got an hour’s sleep, and took a shower. I snatched a clean shirt off one of the sale tables, and here I am. I don’t know when I’ve ever been this tired.” Josh reached for Angie’s hand and squeezed it. “I wonder if the managers’ breakfast is still on.”
“Trust me, it’s still on. It’s a tradition. We’re low on merchandise, Josh.”
“I know. Your cottage people promised a delivery for early this morning. They were going to truck it in overnight. Then we have to unpack, log it all in. If it even gets here. I’m thinking I might have to blow off that breakfast.”
Angie reared up and spilled her coffee in the process. “Absolutely not! That breakfast is part of the way things are done around here. We’re going to follow the rules and hope for the best. C’mon, let’s go check the loading dock. For all we know, we could have merchandise piled to the rafters just waiting for us to unpack.”
There was no erasing the doom and gloom Josh felt. “My father is going to pitch a fit. Somehow he’s going to find a way to blame me for this snow. He knows how important these two days are. I know it. I feel it in my gut.”
There was nothing for Angie to say, so she remained quiet. Somehow, though, she didn’t think the elder Eagle would blame his only son for a snowstorm. At least she hoped not. And if he did, she knew she would have a few choice words for such an action.
Three miles away Angus Eagle was pacing back and forth in his old-fashioned kitchen, where Eva was calming mixing pancake batter.
“Calm down, Angus, you can’t control the weather. Something else is bothering you. Don’t deny it, Angus. You’re pulling on your ear, and you only do that when something is bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yes, I guess I do want to talk about it. I’m almost broke, Eva. If I had stayed on top of things these past years I wouldn’t be in this mess. It’s all my fault for being so pigheaded. I didn’t want Josh to start the year off in debt. So I’ve paid for everything as the bills came in. My personal funds are just about depleted. I wanted…It was…I can’t ask you to marry me when I have nothing to offer. I thought…If I sell this old house and you sell yours, we could buy a smaller house or a condo. I think we could manage nicely and, if we’re careful, we can live out our lives without…without depending on the kids. It was my intention to give the store to the kids if they got married.
“Now, with this snow, we’re going to lose more revenue. I’ll have to tap into the remains of my portfolio. I’m not complaining, Eva, I just want you to know where I stand. Can you see yourself roughing it with this old man?”
“Oh, Angus, is that why you’ve been so cranky these past few weeks? I’m all right with everything. How nice and yet how silly of you to be worried about me. It’s the Christmas season, so let’s get ready for a miracle, and if that was a proposal, I accept. Now, sit down before you wear out what’s left of this horrible linoleum. How many pancakes?”
“Four!” Angus said smartly. “I have an idea.”
“Let’s hear your idea, Big Popper,” Eva said as she slid a stack of pancakes on a plate.
Angus burst out laughing. “Promise me you will never call me that in front of the kids. I don’t think they’d…uh…understand.”
Eva’s eyes popped wide when Angus leaned across the table to share his idea. “Oh, Angus, can you make that happen? That will surely be the miracle we need.” She pointed to the seven-inch television on the counter and said, “Now they’re saying twelve inches of snow. Never mind those pancakes, Angus, I’ll eat yours. Get on the phone and work some magic.”
The traditional Managers’ Holiday Breakfast was already in progress when Josh and Angie made their way to the food court. Croissants, coffee, and juice were being passed around as Bob McAllister, the president of the association, started to speak.
“We’re going to make this short and sweet because we all have things to do to combat the weather none of us expected. As you all know, I’ll be leaving the first of the year. I want to take a minute to thank all of you for your support over the years and to wish you all the best in the coming year. I’m turning the reins over to Josh Eagle, who I know will do the same fine job I’ve done in the past…That was a joke, people.
“Moving right along here, all of us sitting here today want to congratulate Josh Eagle and Eagle’s Department Store. We’ve been rooting for you every step of the way. You had us all chewing our nails wondering if you could turn the store around, and you did. Each and every one of us is proud of you and wish you and Eagle’s every success. Did I also say we’re all slightly jealous? We are. Utilizing the cottage industry was a stroke of genius and I for one applaud you.”
Josh flushed at the round of applause.
“Having said that, Abrams’ Trophies in the west wing made this up for you,” Bob said, holding up a small bronze plaque. “It says, ‘TO EAGLE’S DEPARTMENT STORE: THE MOST INNOVATIVE STORE OF 2007.’ There’s a card to go with it that every store owner signed. Congratulations, Josh!”
Josh stood, walked to the front of the gathering, and reached for the plaque. “I don’t know what to say other than thank you. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell all of you what this means to me. Not right now, though.”
He looked to the back of the room to see Angie waving her cell phone at him, an ear-to-ear grin splitting her features. She walked to the front of the room to hand the phone to Josh, who listened, his jaw dropping almost to his chest.
“People! People, wait a minute! That was my father. Maybe we aren’t dead in the water after all. My dad called down to Edison and Piscataway and
