I'll Be Home for Christmas (36 page)

The food vendors worked at breakneck speed to prepare food to be given to the drivers of the wagon trains. The coffee shop was almost out of coffee they were brewing by the gallon. And, one reporter put it, everything was free.

The primary channels ran with the story on the six o'clock news, referring to the event—the wagon train, the freebies the mall was giving out, along with the camaraderie of the shoppers—as Marketing 101 at it's best. By the time the eleven o'clock news came on, they were calling the wagon train a phenomenon. Within seconds the story flashed around the world via the Internet.

It was midnight when Josh walked to the front door to relieve his father. When he saw Angus being interviewed by CBS News he stepped back to listen. He knew he was eavesdropping, but he didn't care. The interview would play out in real time instantaneously.

“Now, you listen to me, young fella. What you're seeing out there is not about money or the bottom line. This is about people coming together to help each other. Those farmers and their wagons aren't getting a penny for all their hard work. They've been out there bringing shoppers back and forth since early this morning. It's Christmas, son, a time when people help each other. Every merchant in this mall is my friend and my competitor. I want to help them as much as I want to help myself. But more important, we don't want to disappoint anyone and we want everyone to have a wonderful Christmas, especially the children.

“Mother Nature served us a hard blow today, but we all pitched in and did whatever we could to save the holiday. There aren't any shining stars here today. Everything is a group effort as you can see. You want a candy cane or a voucher for hot chocolate, young fella? It's time for my break now, so I'll be seeing you tomorrow. I don't want to be interviewed anymore.”

And that was the end of that.

Josh grinned. “Guess you set them straight, huh?”

“Son, I didn't say anything but the truth. Now, if you don't mind, I'm heading upstairs to that rocking chair that has my name on it.”

“Dad…I…I need…”

“No, you don't need to say anything. We need to talk more, son. Here!” Angus said, shoving a candy cane into his son's hand.

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Eva wrapped an afghan around Angus's shoulders as he lowered himself gently into the padded rocking chair. A cup of hot chocolate found its way to his hand. “It's been a heck of a day, Big Popper. I just saw your interview on TV. You were wonderful.” When he didn't answer Eva realized Angus was already sound asleep, so she removed the cup of hot chocolate and drank it herself. As she rocked silently, she realized she had never felt more peaceful, more happy than she was feeling at that precise moment. She reached over to pat the Big Popper's shoulder.

Life was wonderful.

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Curled together with Josh in sleep in the gift wrap department, Angie stirred and bolted upright. “Josh, wake up! What about the horses?”

“What? What about the horses? What time is it?”

“They've been out there all day and night. That's cruel. It's six o'clock.”

“No, no, no!” Josh said, sitting up. “Dad got the armory to donate the space. They've been rotating the horses. It's warm in there. This is no Mickey Mouse operation, you know. My old man covered all the bases. Relax. Damn, my mouth feels like Dad's pipe smells. Turn on the radio, Angie. I want to know how much snow is out there.” He knew he was babbling but couldn't seem to stop.

“Eighteen inches,” Angie said as she filled the coffeepot. “And it's still snowing.”

“I'm going out to the main floor to check on things, and I want to see how my father's doing. I won't be long. Do you want me to get you anything from the food court?”

“A sticky bun would be nice, and a toothbrush.”

Josh laughed as he unfolded his tired bones. Satisfied that his father and Eva were sound asleep in the rockers, he made his way to his office, where he went online to check out the headline news. He was astounded to see that the mall had made the front page of just about every newspaper in the country.

The tiredness that seemed to have invaded Josh's body suddenly washed away. His step was light, his mood upbeat as he made his way out to the mall. He picked up two toothbrushes, some toothpaste, four oven-hot sticky buns and four cups of coffee.

Christmas Eve.

Josh realized he no longer cared if the bottom line at closing was red or black. All that mattered were his neighbors, his business associates, all the volunteers, and, of course his family. He thanked God for all the people who had come to his aid.

Singing “Jingle Bells” at the top of his lungs, Josh made his way to the second floor, where he handed out sticky buns and coffee to his father and Eva. He didn't miss a beat as he turned around and headed back downstairs to see the love of his life.

No doubt about it, Angie was the wind beneath his wings.

His mouth full of toothpaste in the small lavatory off the gift wrap department, Josh bellowed, “Angie, the cottage people came through. We have to unpack the merchandise. I guarantee we're going to be sold out before six tonight. We've been sending customers to other stores. All in the spirit of Christmas.”

“I've been wrapping gifts for free. I hope you don't mind.”

“Not one little bit,” Josh said, biting into the still-warm sticky bun. “We better get our tails in gear, there are people waiting in line for their packages to be gift wrapped. It's just all so glorious. By the way, we made the front page of every newspaper in the country. We're even on the pop-up when you turn on the computer.”

“That's great! Did they plow the parking lot?”

“They tried but gave up. It's still snowing, too. I have this suspicion we are going to be celebrating Christmas right here in the store.”

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Josh's suspicions turned out to be on the money.

The crowds at the mall started to thin out around four o'clock. By five there were just a few stragglers waiting to be picked up by one of the wagons.

At five thirty the loud speaker in the mall exploded into sound. “Promptly at six thirty, cocktails, compliments of Stephens' Liquors, will be served in the food court, followed by dinner, compliments of the vendors in the food court. One and all are invited to go caroling up and down the halls of the mall at eight o'clock. A silent midnight service will be held promptly at midnight. Sorry, folks,” the tinny baritone said, “there will be no gift exchange because there's nothing left in the stores to exchange. Merry Christmas to one and all.”

Holding hands, Josh and Angie walked to the front door of Eagle's, where Angus was operating the mechanism that would secure the store for the night. Josh thought he had never seen his father so happy.

“No more candy canes. Merry Christmas, son.”

The pesky lump in his throat Josh thought was becoming permanent found its way to block his vocal cords once again. He wrapped his arms around his father and whispered, “Thanks for being my father. Merry Christmas, Dad.”

Standing in front of the huge Christmas tree that dominated the middle of the floor was Eva, who held her arms out to her little family. “Merry Christmas!”

Together, the Eagles and Bradfords walked out to the food court to a chorus of “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”