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.She opened her door before he could exit from his side of the car."There's no need to come walk me to the door, Will.I can see myself in." With her heart breaking, she slid out of the car and stood beside it."Please try to understand, Will," she pleaded again.His face grim as he waited for her to close the car door."I'll call you later in the week." With no further comment, he drove away.Her heart broke into pieces too small to salvage.What have I done?Chapter NineAurora sat at her desk, an order blank in her hand.Peggy failed to attend the past two Dallas markets to select merchandise.One of the missed markets had been the Christmas market, the most important one for any store of this type.To recover this oversight, it became necessary to order merchandise from the various catalogs and material in the office.In addition to the cards, gifts, gift wrap, and accessories ordered from the card company, Peggy stocked collectibles and decorative items from several gift companies.Over the phone, Aurora briefly discussed the orders with Peggy.At this stage in Peggy's recovery, it seemed pointless to worry her with unpleasant details or oversights.The card company representative had been a real help to Aurora.Aurora visited other card shops, explained the situation to the owners, and took notes on the suggestions she received.For the most part, though, Aurora recognized the responsibility rested on her.She could only compare her current order to that of last year and approximate a slight increase.For Peggy's sake, she hoped these "best guesses" were at least close.As she finished an order, she noticed Mattie bend over a shelf.Mattie picked up an item, took it to the store window to examine it closely, and then returned the item to the shelf.Aurora watched in fascination as Mattie did this with item after item from the display of new merchandise.Her curiosity aroused, Aurora went to Mattie."What are you doing, Mattie?"So startled that she almost dropped the little angel figurine she held, Mattie recovered with a guilty start."I, um, I'm memorizing the prices of the new collectible items we just got in.""Memorizing?" A sudden flash of understanding hit Aurora."Mattie, do you have trouble seeing?"Mattie twitched nervously."Well.yes.That's why I try to memorize the price of everything.Then when a customer buys it, I don't have to try to read the price tag." She lowered her head."That print is so small, and I'm always trying to hurry so I won't keep the customer waiting.""Have you seen the eye doctor recently?""Yes.He says I.I have cataracts.He wants me to have surgery." Mattie started to cry."I know I make mistakes, but sometimes I forget the prices.Peggy knows how much I need this job, so I think she pretends not to notice.""Why don't you have the surgery? These days it isn't complicated or dangerous.It doesn't even require much time convalescing.If it's the money, I'm sure the doctor would let you work out some sort of payment plan.""I have my health insurance and medicare.It's that, well, at first I couldn't leave with Peggy feeling so bad, you see.Then you came and, well, I was afraid you'd fire me if I was off work long enough to have the surgery.""Oh, Mattie." Aurora’s mouth gaped in shock.Was every woman in Post a martyr? With a resigned sigh, she explained, "In the first place, I just work for Peggy and probably don't even have the authority to fire you.In the second place, you positively must take care of your eyesight." With soft, firm hands she turned Mattie toward the back of the store and gave her a gentle push."Now, you go to the phone at the back and call the doctor right now to arrange for your surgery as soon as possible."Mattie appeared poised for flight as she stood ready to rush to the phone in the office."But what will you do about the store?""If Susan can't fill in full-time while you're out, I'll find someone on a temporary basis."Aurora shook her head as she watched Mattie head for the phone.Who dreamed the reason for all those mistakes was poor eyesight instead of merely stupidity? She grimaced.Poor eyesight didn't totally explain resistance to any change, but it helped.With a shudder, she thought of Mattie driving the two miles to and from work and her small home each day.Susan could not work full-time, but her friend Emily Weston jumped at the chance to fill in for Mattie.With school now dismissed for the summer, Emily found an abundance of teenagers to babysit her two children.Emily caught on to store procedures quickly and appeared a real natural in retail sales.Aurora found herself wishing she could keep Emily permanently.Emily wanted to be a stay-at-home mother for another year until her youngest child entered first grade.Working these two weeks garnered extra money for the family vacation.She agreed to fill in on an emergency basis for Aurora or Peggy in the future.Well, maybe in a year.Aurora startled herself when she realized she planned for the future as if, in a year, she would be here at Raphael's Cards and Gifts in Post.She gave herself a mental shake.What could she be thinking?At the nursing home, Aurora explained the employee situation to Peggy."It's always nice to have a back up," Peggy told Aurora."By the way, I love the ads you've placed in the newspaper.Did you think them up?"Pleasure flooded through her.At last, something positive from this woman.The reception the advertisements received from the customers surprised even Aurora."Yes, I spent quite a bit of time on them, so I'm glad you like them.I think they've paid for themselves."Happy to find Peggy in a positive mood, she broached another project."Have you thought of stocking a few more choices in china and pottery? I think it would encourage brides from this area to register selections with you rather than only at the stores in Lubbock."Peggy nodded, a frown creasing her brow."I did think about it, but the good china companies I spoke to wanted so much money to establish an account--thousands on deposit.I just couldn't afford it.""I've been doing some checking, and I'd like to leave you some figures on several companies you might not have considered." Aurora took a sheaf of papers from her handbag and placed them on Peggy's tray.The two chatted a few minutes about the store and events around town.Aurora didn't want to overtire Peggy and stood to leave.Peggy suddenly sobered."I never thought I would enjoy myself away from the store.For years I thought about nothing but the store night and day.I really thought it couldn't go on without me there every day."Aurora didn't know how to respond.Actually, business continued to improve in Peggy's absence.With so many little changes, it now seemed almost like a different store.Customers often commented on the improvements.They liked the brightened and cleaned store with its fresh and welcoming atmosphere.But Aurora couldn't tell any of this to Peggy, so she tried to be noncommittal."Well, you know people ask about you every day.You have a lot of friends and loyal customers."Peggy tapped at her chin, deep in thought [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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