Ye Olde Toy Shoppe

         The cold wind-swept old, brown, crisp leaves off the windowsill, only to replace them with new, crisp leaves. Rushed shoppers, in woolen coats of gray, dashed into the building. The atop the door jangled, announcing the arrival of people. The toy shop was bustling with last-minute shoppers. Parents were discussing toy choices while children were playing. Ye Olde Toy Shoppe prided itself on friendliness. There were always train sets, cars, and dolls available to play with while parents shopped. On any given day of the week, you might find some children that had strayed into the toy store on their way home from school. Mr. Petalbaum did not mind the children playing; very often his son Bertrum was playing along with them. The flurry of activity of people traipsing in and out of the door began to slow down and stop as the night encroached. Elijah Petalbaum stepped out from behind the cash register and headed toward the door to flip the sign to closed. Elijah stepped on a little, green race car, almost tripping, and when he reached out to a shelf to catch himself, he saw Peter Schloop, sitting on the floor holding a blue train engine in his left hand while staring at a red train set box with four train cars and a red train engine sitting on the shelf. Adjusting his round spectacles, Elijah cleared his throat, “uh hmm, Mr. Schloop, I almost didn’t see you there. Having a difficult time making a decision?”

           Peter looked up slowly and sighed, “I’m sorry Mr. Petalbaum. I shouldn’t keep you.”

           Peter began to unfold his long legs and stand, still holding the blue train engine with long, slender fingers. Looking back at the red box once again, Peter then made his way to the counter. Elijah hustled down the train aisle and grabbed the red train set box. He rushed back behind the counter, slightly out of breath.

           “Mr. Schloop, I hope you will forgive me. I do not try to oversell, but I have seen young Jimmy play with this train set for countless hours, “ Elijah gestured toward the open train set on the floor as he spoke, “I just know he would love to have this one for Christmas.”

           Peter sighed, a frown beginning to pull at the corners of his mouth, “I know he would Mr. Petalbaum. The baby has been sick a lot this winter, and I’m afraid we can’t give Jimmy the Christmas he was hoping for, we’re still paying the doctor.”

 Peter fidgeted with his coat a little and drew out a thin wallet, “I appreciate your help, but I’ll just be taking the blue train engine, please. I built him a train track out of some scrap wood I found in the shed. This will make a great start to his train collection, and one day we’ll add the red one to it.”

Elijah took the money that was offered and handed back change. He took the blue train engine placing it behind the counter and pulled up a bag with the red train set in it. He pushed the bag across the counter to Peter.

Peter took a couple of steps back from the counter and waved his hands stating, “No, no, Mr. Petalbaum. I can’t take your charity.”

Elijah smiled, “Mr. Schloop, it is not charity. You see when I wanted to open this toy store, I didn’t have enough money and I needed a loan from a bank. Bank after bank I went to and none of them thought loaning money for a toy store was a good idea. I was just about to give up when a loan manager stopped me as I was walking down the street. He’d been familiar with my story and wanted to help. I asked him how I could pay him back, apart from paying the loan back of course,” Elijah shrugged his shoulders, “he said to ‘give someone a good turn when they need it’, so really Mr. Schloop, you’re helping me pay a debt.”

       Peter hesitated and then grabbed the bag off the counter. Thrusting his hand forward to shake Elijah’s hand he stated, “I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

       “Mr. Schloop,” Elijah placed his free hand on top of their clasped hands, “repay me as I repaid my benefactor, one day you will see someone in need, you will know which moment, act on it, help them out of the goodness of your heart and ask nothing in return except for the same behavior from them.”

           Pulling his hand free he nodded, not trusting himself to speak. As Peter walked out of the toy shop and tugged his hat onto his head he paused and rubbed his hand against the wooden door frame of the store. He left with a tentative smile and as he walked down the street he even started to whistle.

                                                          ***

           Once again, another brisk wind was in the air. Small swirls of snow came with it this time leaving a light dusting of white powder to collect in the window frames of the toy store. The bell jingled as the door opened, a few tufts of snow swirling in among the brown corduroy pants. A small round face looked up from behind the counter, “we were just fixing to cl….”, upon seeing his friend Bertrum tried to smile, “Oh, hi Jimmy.”

          Scooting around from behind the counter Bertrum walked over to the door, turned the lock and flipped the sign on the door to read “close”.

 “I can’t really stay Jimmy. I need to go see mom- help with the arrangements. It was nice of you coming by, though…”, Bertrum ran the palms of his hands against overalls. Jimmy undid the buttons at the wrists of his blue denim shirt and started rolling up his sleeves.

            “Listen Bertrum”, Jimmy started, “when we heard about your dad’s passing, my dad told me a story about my first train set. Do you remember? The red one? We used to play with it all the time when you came over.”

         Bertrum chuckled a little, “yes and when we were here we’d play with the blue ones, sometimes we’d haul race cars or little animals from the zoo basket.”

         Jimmy nodded with Bertrum as they reflected together on days gone by. After a small silence Jimmy began again, “anyways, it was a really nice thing your dad did. I…I wanted to do something special as a kind of memorial if you will if that’s okay?”

        “Well I, I don’t really know about how my time will be,” Bertrum began.

        “It’s okay Bert, really if you would trust me with the shop keys, I think you’ll be happy with what I have in mind.”

         Bertrum nodded and pulled a spare key out, placing it in Jimmy’s hand.

        “The funeral’s Saturday. I’m keeping the shop closed until the following Monday. You’ll be at the funeral right?”

         “Of course Bertrum, dad and I both will be there.”

           Shortly after Bertrum Petalbaum left the store Jimmy hauled in wood, a saw, a miter, and other construction equipment and got to work. Monday morning Jimmy sat in the shop waiting for Bertrum. Greeting Bert at the back door with a cup of coffee, he made small talk with him until they entered the main store area. Bertrum had been in the middle of discussing a losing battle with a mole in his vegetable garden the previous spring and stopped speaking mid-sentence. His hazel eyes flashed as they took in the train track Jimmy had built. It was hooked to the wall near the ceiling and ran the full length of the room. There were even small tunnel areas. There were cargo train cars that held race cars, zoo animals, and plastic candies. The red train set looked an awful lot like the one Jimmy had received a few decades earlier. This one had “E. Petalbaum’s Express” in gold paint calligraphy styled lettering across the engine. The train cars had chalkboard paint on the sides and written in chalk were the contents of each car. Bertrum stood there dumbfounded.

           “How did you? I mean… I’ve never seen anything like it!” wiping a tear from his eye Bertrum pulled a handkerchief from his overalls and blew his nose heartily.

           Jimmy patted Bertrum on the back, “well buddy, I learned a few things in architect school. I’m glad you like it,” Jimmy handed Bert a remote, “I know the remote might be a little new tech for “Ye Olde Toy Shoppe”, but this way you don’t need to climb on a ladder and push the train around. I installed a simple motor that uses those new rechargeable batteries. Just make sure you stop the train with the engine lined up with the station house when you turn it off at night and it should be ready to go the next day.”

           Bertrum nodded his understanding as he accepted the remote.

           Jimmy shoved one hand in his pocket while gesturing with his other hand, “Listen, I got the boys tickets to a hockey game, seems they reconnected at the funeral. You don’t mind, do you?”

           “Heck no Jimmy, I’m glad to see Alfred and Roger hanging out together again. It seems these new handheld electronic games and the burdens of high school have distracted them from the true value of friendship.”

           “Great! Tell Alfred that Roger and I will be by around two on Saturday to pick him up.”

                              ***

Alfred rearranged the display in the front windows with care. Prominently displayed were well crafted wooden trains in reds, greens, and blues in the window to the left of the door. He cupped his chin in his right hand while contemplating the window on the right. In front of him were cars and dolls. All of the toys in “Ye Olde Toy Shoppe” had always been handcrafted with wood and natural materials. The only toy that used batteries of any kind was the overhead train memorial to his grandfather and shop founder that had been installed by his friend Roger’s dad. Oddly enough it was a friendship that had been rekindled after the death of his grandfather and continued to this day. Dolls it is Alfred decided and began to arrange sewn, cotton dolls wearing handcrafted dresses in the window. On a whim, he tucked one of the cars in under one of the doll’s hands as if she were playing with it. As he turned to put the rest of the toys away, his friend Roger came into the shop. The red highlights in his hair made the rosy highlights on his cheeks stand out. Whether it was redness from the gusting arctic winds or blushing from the lady on his arm, Alfred wasn’t sure.

            “Alfred, I’d like you to meet Anne,” Roger was grinning so hard Alfred was afraid he’d hurt something. Extending his hand out to Anne, Alfred announced, “It is nice to finally meet you. Roger has been talking about you for a while now.”

           “It’s nice to meet you as well Alfred, I’ve heard nothing but nice things and tales of youth surrounding you two,” her soft strong voice matched her soft-spun blond hair poking out from under the brim of her dark purple hat. She pulled black thin leather gloves off her hands as she stepped farther into the store and tucked them in her knee-length navy woolen jacket pocket. Her eyes swept around the toy store in amazement, “Roger, you’ve undersold this place, it’s a marvel!”

           Alfred grinned from ear to ear, “Every toy in here is made the old-fashioned way”, his eyes flew to the train chugging on the track above them, “well except for that, which is all-natural items, except for the rechargeable battery and small motor.”

           Anne giggled, “I believe that small exception is reasonable, it certainly adds to the magic.”

           Anne meandered up and down the aisles taking in everything and occasionally letting out a small exclamation as she found something intriguing.

           Alfred leaned over to Roger, “I can see why you like her,” he whispered, “she’s pretty, but she’s also nice.”

           Roger grinned, “And she’s smart too! Did you know she graduated at the top of her class from marketing school?”

           Alfred guffawed a little and slapped Roger on the back, “you’ve only told me a hundred times my friend.”

           Hearing conversation, both men looked up to see Anne engaged in conversation with Garrick. He was holding a box in one hand and unloading the contents with the other onto a small table.

           “How’s it going?” Roger asked, searching his friend’s eyes for the truth.

           Alfred stared out the window and sighed, Gesturing to the people walking by, eyes on their phones, he practically groaned, “Sales are not any better I’m afraid. Everyone seems to want techy things which is something we’ve never sold. Maybe we are going by way of the dinosaur my friend. Christmas is our biggest selling month of the year. If sales don’t improve, I don’t know that I can keep the doors open past New Years'.”

           Alfred glanced over at Garrick, “I can’t even pay Garrick, but he’s here anyway.”

           As if he knew he was being talked about he looked over and flashed a grin at them.

           “Didn’t he build the store a website?” Roger asked as Garrick and Anne approached.

           “Yes he did,” Alfred grinned at Garrick, “I guess that computer degree came in handy. It’s also good you have a job that requires it. Speaking of, shouldn’t you be there right now?”

           Garrick laughed and answered in a deep timbered voice, “I’ll be heading over in a little bit. I told you I have flexible hours there. I wanted to unload this shipment today.”

           Anne piped up, “Alfred I hope I am not over-stepping, I know we just met but…”

           Alfred gestured for her to continue.

           “Garrick was explaining how tough it’s been to get customers in and Roger has hinted a little about the store having trouble.”

           Alfred nodded miserably as a reply to Anne’s statement and she continued, “I think I can help you with a little marketing strategy.”

           “I appreciate that, but I don’t have money to pay for extra help right now. Although I thank you for your offer,” Alfred looked down at his brown shoes and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets, embarrassed.

           “Oh, no, you see, if you let me help you, I’d be paying back a debt.” Catching Alfred’s look of curiosity Anne continued, “Did Roger not tell you how we met?”

           “He said you met on campus; he was stopping by to visit a colleague and you were arguing with the financial aid office. The lawyer in him was intrigued by your argument. That’s what he told me,” Alfred glanced at his friend in confirmation.

           “That’s true, I think he left out the part where he worked things out for me so I could finish my last semester.” Anne paused to gaze with adoration at Roger who then shifted his feet and blushed further.

           “Anyway,” Anne continued, “It seems to be something in his family, about doing someone a solid when they need it the most and then asking them to do the same for someone else when they need it. So…this is me helping someone, please let me help you. I really think I can make a difference.”

           Alfred nodded, “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

           “Your shop only sells toys made from natural materials, right?” Alfred nodded in agreement and she continued, “Then instead of advertising ‘old-fashioned toys’,” she pointed to the sign stenciled on the store door window, “say ‘toys made from sustainable resources’ and put a small sign in the corner here, as people are walking past this last window, that says ‘naturally made, safe for children, no BPA’s’.”

           Alfred held up a hand stopping her, “Of course there are no BPA’s, we don’t sell anything made of plastic in here.”

           Anne grinned, “In marketing, it isn’t necessarily about stating what you have, it is about stating what people want to hear. Before they walk in the store they are being told they don’t even need to look at labels and hunt around to make sure there are no hidden dangers. It makes it easy for them, and people like easy. Once we get them in the door, we’ve won half the battle.”

           “Okay, so a few signs, I’m not sure how that is going to help,” Alfred shrugged a little. He’d been preparing himself to close down the store and was a little afraid to shift mental gears.

           “Oh, that’s not all!” Anne was grinning and walking over toward the table that Garrick had been loading with toys only moments before, “this”, she gestured, “is amazing!”

           Garrick was now grinning ear to ear and nodding, “I told you this was a good idea!”

           “These toys from Africa are fantastic. Garrick said they are ethically made, sustainable, and environmentally friendly?” Anne raised an eyebrow, barely waiting for Alfred’s nod in affirmation.

           “We are going to put these in that window with a big sign in the corner that says just that!” Anne pointed to the window that had dolls in it. Garrick was already there carefully removing them and placing the new toys in their place.

           Anne made more changes and Garrick helped with the website and social media. Ye Olde Toy Shoppe had a miraculous turn around that Christmas. It is still around today with so much business that Alfred and Garrick run it together, and Roger, Anne, and their three kids are often seen there.