LITMIR.BIZ

      Outside in the brisk air, Josh reached for Angie’s hand. “Are we officially engaged or are we ‘keeping company,’ as Dad would say? I’m not really up on all the protocol on things like this. I never told anyone I loved her, and I sure never asked anyone to marry me before…Are you ever going to say something?”

      “I’m thinking. I like being engaged. That pretty much makes it official. No one ever told me they loved me except my mom and dad. For sure no one ever asked me to marry him. I guess we’re starting off even. I was a little disappointed in our parents’ reaction.”

      Josh laughed. “My father can be a sly old fox sometimes. He told me if I didn’t act quickly, you were going to move on. He sounded so convincing I figured he and Eva planned it all out, and I had better pay attention. I was never the first guy out of the gate.”

      Angie stepped aside as Josh opened the door of the pizza parlor. “At least you got out of the gate; I never did. Let’s get the works on the pizza. I want one of those apple dumplings, too.”

      “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

      Angie could hardly wait to call Bess to tell her what she’d pulled in on her line. She laughed to herself as she imagined what Bess would say. “You pulled in the Big Kahuna! Way to go, Angie.”

      Chapter Nine

      Two days before Christmas, Angie woke at four thirty AM, more tired than when she’d gone to bed. Just let me get through today. And tomorrow, she pleaded. Don’t let me fall asleep standing up. If she could just sleep five more minutes. Just five. She’d settle for three, but she knew she had to get up even though it was still dark outside. It had been Josh’s decision to open the store at seven and close at midnight. Then there were two hours of getting things ready for the next day, the trip home, and two hours’ sleep. Still, she shouldn’t complain, it was all working out perfectly.

      Today was special, though. Bob McAllister had stopped by the gift wrap department late last night to whisper in her ear. It was her job to get to the store at six, open the doors and lead Josh to the food court, where all the general managers in the mall were holding their traditional private Christmas breakfast.

      In the bathroom, bleary-eyed from lack of sleep, Angie looked out the window as she waited for the shower to start steaming. As she raised the window she screamed, and then screamed again. “Snow!” She stuck her neck out the window to see if she could see what kind of accumulation there was down below. Her heart fluttered. Snow was every merchant’s nightmare. Especially during the last week of Christmas shopping.

      It was the shortest shower in history. In less than 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.