Sleigh Bells - Fern Michaels Page 0,8
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