She was looking for an escort to take her to the Harvest Ball. I have to assume I was a last resort because I never pretended to be anything other than a distant friend. She kisses everyone. I just found out that she bribed one of the workers with twenty bucks to let her into the store. If you hadn’t turned tail and run, you would have heard me tell her I was seeing someone and had other plans for Saturday evening. So, are you okay with this? Please tell me you’re okay with this so I don’t have to do that singing thing under your window tonight.” Josh wondered if he looked as exhausted as he felt. Would Angie take pity on him? Childishly, he crossed his fingers.
He was seeing someone and had other plans. That almost makes us a couple. It sounds like we are a couple. “I didn’t know you could sing. Do you want a cup of tea or a beer? I can make some coffee.”
“I’ll take a beer and I can’t sing. My father…”
“Offered you advice. Yeah, my mother stepped in and offered some, too. Okay, you’re off the hook.”
“Thank God! I’m going to have to guzzle that beer and get back to the store. Are you staying home?”
“No. I just got…miffed and came home. I did…I think I did something I might come to regret. I reacted and I…I signed that damn contract and it went off in the mail. The mailman came a little while ago, and Mom gave it to him.”
Josh looked at her as though she’d sprouted a second head. “You were that angry? Damn, now what are you going to do? Are you sorry you sent it off?”
“Yes. Yes, a hundred times yes. I was going to call tomorrow and explain that I wouldn’t be accepting the position. I never did tell my mother.”
“Get your coat. Maybe we can catch the mailman. Do you know in which direction he goes when he finishes up your street? Never mind, you go one way and I’ll go the other. It’s still early so he won’t be returning to the post office. If I find him first, he won’t give it to me, so I’ll call you on your cell. If you find him first, call me and I’ll meet up with you.”
Thirty minutes later the couple sat down on Angie’s front steps. “He said Mom never gave him any mail. That has to mean she knows and kept the envelope or hid it. Parents are so devious,” Angie groused.
“Oh, I don’t know, sometimes they’re pretty smart. Your mother saved your butt by not mailing that contract. My father gave me some shitty advice, but here we are with a better understanding of what’s going on.” Josh reached for Angie’s hand and squeezed it.
“I think your father and my mother are going to end up together. They get along so well. And, they’re great company for one another. Tonight they’re going out for Japanese food. I’m okay with it, are you?”
“Yeah, you bet. My father is a different man these days. He hasn’t given me one moment of grief as the bills come in. I think it’s all due to your mother.” This last was said so shyly, Angie smiled.
Angie held up her hand palm out and high-fived Josh. “To our parents!”
“To our parents and to us.”
A red ring of heat popped up on Angie’s neck. Then it crept up to her cheeks. She didn’t know what else to do, so she smiled.
Chapter Eight
On a cold, blustery November day, everything Eagle swung into high gear. Announcers on the local airwaves invited shoppers to soar with the Eagle and avail themselves of the hospitality that was being offered by the Eagle family to all the families the store had served in the last hundred years.
Flyers and giveaways were handed out at all the mall entrances and parking lot to entice people into the store. There were flyers for the day care unit, flyers for the knitting and cooking classes. Flyers for sale after sale on just about every item in the store.
When the doors opened at ten o’clock, Josh, attired in a power suit and tie, stood next to his father to welcome and greet old and new customers alike.
Standing on the sidelines, Eva and Angie sighed with relief as shoppers flooded the main floor. They watched for a while, amazed and delighted that all their hard work was paying off with cash register