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 Get rid of all that outdated merchandise on the floor.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.”
Angus
