The Look and See Toy Store.(Kevin Hughes) Author's note:
#3 of my five Christmas Stories for this year! Two more to go before Christmas!

*****

Not many people knew that Mr. Johnson was a software wiz. Nobody knew that he made a fortune developing eye tracking software for marketing companies, advertising agencies, and psychological testing systems. Where your eyes linger, or wander - gives a whole lot of data or insight to whomever gathers that data.

Something as simple as a list of the Best Books of the year, can tell a Publisher which ones you are interested in as you scan the list in their window display. You, the one reading, have no idea that the glass you are standing in front of - is tracking your eyes. The second or two that you stayed locked on that new Mystery Novel, or the fact that you skipped over every non-fiction book, wasn’t lost on the tracking system.

After two days of people looking at that window display in the bookstore, located on a busy NYC street, the list was modified quite a bit. For the eye tracking system (one of many available nowadays) let them know that Mystery and Magic were the titles that drew the most, and longest, looks. The list no longer had any non-fiction in it. And…the three posters on display were all for the top three Authors of Mystery or Magic. Sales went way up.

Mr. Johnson knew all about that kind of software. He developed the basic Ideas that all tracking systems are based on while he was a Post-Doc at M.I.T back in the early 2000’s. He was a decade and a half ahead of most of the folks in his field. Something the Military took note of. That lead to a Security Clearance so high that you had to be in a select group of Generals, Admirals, Senators, and Presidents to even know what he was working on.

It took Mr. Johnson ten long years to finally get out from under the clandestine applications of his ideas. They agreed to let him go - after he signed so many non disclosure agreements, he was surprised they let him keep his name, and the fact that he ran Cross Country in both High School and College. The amount of money they gave him - or funneled to him through Legitimate Public Sector Spin offs- made Mr. Johnson financially secure for the rest of his life.

More than secure- for with the money he earned from licensing his technology, he could have lived a thousand years spending millions a year, and not have made a dent in the Principal.

So he did what any genius with a few hundred million socked away at age thirty two would do…he opened a toy store.

He called that store:

Look and See.

*****

Every Christmas since “Look and See” opened... people in the town (even in the County) thought the owner must be some kind of Angel, or Saint, or just the kindest little non descript man you ever met. It wasn’t very big as Toy stores go, more like the old style Woolworths, or Five and Dimes- minus the Soda Fountains.

And, strangely enough, there were no High Tech Toys, or Computer Games, or PlayStation XBox’s either in the “Look and See” Toy Store. Just good old fashioned toys: dollies, doll houses, games of all sorts (boardgames that is), Army men, bikes, Lego’s and Lincoln logs, models of planes, cars, boats, kites, darts, bows and arrows (but only with soft rubber suckers on the ends of the arrows- no sharp points or hunting tips).

There were skateboards, roller skates, ice skates, balls for every type of sport, or just for fun balls, juggling balls, tennis balls, you name it, if it could be bounced, thrown, caught, or kicked- it was in the “Look and See” Toy store. Books of all kind too; mostly children’s books, with pop up’s in them, and all the Classic Children’s books too. The kind of books that are meant to be both read from and read to- and no paperbacks!

The kinds of books you found in the “Look and See” Toy store were meant to be treasured by children and adults. Next to those books you might find the characters as stuffed figures: Curious George, The little Engine that Could, Buzz Light Year, Woody, the man in the Yellow Hat, Charlotte the Spider, even Shrek, Fiona, Wall_E and EVA too. All of them hand made, or one of by some artist or another.

People often thought Mr. Johnson was nuts for selling stuffed animals, or characters that could be collectibles for such low prices. “How does he stay in business?” Was a common refrain when an Adult was holding say two porcelain dolls from “Frozen” up to examine- correct in every detail and dressed in outfits you might find at Gucci or Halston. They would marvel at how good the workmanship was, the craftsmanship, let’s face it, the artistic ability on display in those dolls. Mr. Johnson would just smile.

“I do okay. Enough to keep the lights on.”

And he would smile.

*****

Mary was five, Becky seven, Tommy was nine (and the eldest) and Mrs. Smith was all of twenty eight years old. Mr. Smith had gone wherever drunk dead beat dad’s go when Mary was born. No one had seen him since, and no one in that small family wanted to see him again. Mrs. Smith had been able to get him to sign the Divorce Papers granting her full custody- just before he went off to fool some other women with his looks and charm. She didn’t ask for any support, because she knew he would never come up with any. She didn’t want to add empty threats and many court dates to her life- so she just let him go without any punishment or payments.

It was his loss, because Mary, Becky and Tommy were lovely children- the only genes they seemed to have inherited from Mr. Smith were the thick heads of hair, and the high cheekbones. The kindness, curiosity, generosity, and hard work ethic seemed to all come from Mrs. Smith’s side of the gene pool.

And so it was on a cold and snowy morning on Christmas Week that the “Look and See” display window found three little cold noses, and one cute button nose (frozen too) pressed up against the Glass of the Display Window. Eyes flitting from one toy to another, from one scene to another. For whomever Mr. Johnson hired to do his three giant window - windows that covered almost the entire front of the store, leaving just enough room for a doorway, was a Design Genius.

Each of the three windows told a story of their own. Behind one, dolls and doll houses, and trains and little lamps, made a turn of the century downtown appear anchored by a gazebo with several figures playing instruments as other figures glided along the mirror like ice skating pond.

That window gave way to a series of H&O train stops in the next window, where Army men, Tanks, Planes, Boats of all kinds were transported to stacks of play rifles, or mess kits, canteens, or quivers of arrows. And that led to a tricycle ridden by a three foot Woody towards a modern half pipe park; complete with skateboards, spare wheels, wagons, and helmets, gloves, knee and elbow pads- with a gaggle of other characters on a wide variety of bikes looking down from a hill.

No one knew that as folks watched these scenes through the glass the glass itself was watching them…or at least their eyes.

And so it was a complete surprise when Mr. Johnson stepped out of the door to call to the little family pressed up against the glass of his displays:

“I say there, bring those cold noses into the shop! I have cookies and Hot Chocolate.”

(by the way, his cookies and Hot Chocolate were always free, always delicious, and always welcome)

It took Mrs. Smith and her three children a moment to realize he meant them. The kids all looked at their mother with hope. After all they had never actually been in the “Look and See” toy store- they couldn’t afford any thing in there. In fact, they never had in their entire lives, a store bought toy that didn’t come via Goodwill, or a thrift shop. Mrs Smith lived so close to the edge of poverty that one visit to a Doctor could put them out on the street.

Necessity ruled every purchase, not want. If it wasn’t for Halloween, neither her, nor her children would even have candy during the year. Plain clothes, simple food, and a roof over their heads, took all that Mrs. Smith earned. They used love, dreams, and wishes, to cover the extras- and imagination.

“Come! Come! Come on in! I have some surprises for you- after you warm up with Hot Chocolate. Come on in!”

Now Mrs. Smith herself, although bewildered, felt the same hope her kids did. Hot Chocolate and cookies sounded like a gift from heaven. In her wildest dreams she couldn’t imagine what surprises the old man might have for them. The smile on his face, and the gentle waving motion of his hands convinced her it was safe.

She shooed the kids in first without touching them, just herding them in front of her into the shop with a wave of her hands:

“It’s okay kids. Go on in. I am with you.”

Well, let’s just say three frozen kids, and one bewildered mom, don’t need much “shoo” once they have made up their minds. They didn’t quite bolt into the store past Mr. Jonhson, who was holding the door, but you would be hard pressed to come up with an adjective that was closer than bolt.

The little bells at the top of the door made a cheerful little ding a ling, as they piled inside. Inside was even better than outside, it smelled like Christmas Trees, Cookies and Hot chocolate. And gifts. Mr. Johnson herded the small family over to a round table with six chairs around it. He put four giant mugs of Hot chocolate on a tray, along with two plates of cookies, a sugar bowl, a can of whip cream, and a bowl of marshmallows on it down in front of the small family.

“Serve yourselves, I have to go get your gifts.“

The family was torn between diving into the treats, or trying to figure out what he meant by “your gifts”. For a moment it was a tie between their stomachs, and their thoughts. But their stomach won the first round. Mrs. Smith showed them how to shake and dispense the whip cream, and Becky made her cup of chocolate look like a soft serve ice cream (large) had sprouted out of the middle of it. Everyone laughed, but no one scrimped on the whip cream.

Only Tommy put marshmallows in his Hot Chocolate, everyone else just put them on their plates along side the cookies. For five minutes, or maybe longer, all the family did was sip hot chocolate, eat cookies in bites that were anything but dainty, and shove entire marshmallows in their mouths like so many pouch filled chipmunks.

Good thoughts wafted through their minds as the hot chocolate steam rose to their noses. Five more minutes, and satisfaction bubbled up inside them-along with thanks and gratitude, as the cookie munching slowed to a more normal placid nibbling. Sighs were heard escaping from the now unfrozen lips of all four of them.

“Here we go!"

They had almost forgotten about Mr. Johnson. Now they were aware of not only him, but the cart he was pushing in front of him. Four beautiful bikes, two skate boards, two doll houses, two dolls, assorted games and even an old “Horsey on a stick” that a child could ride. The small family poured from the table - there is no other way to describe it- they flowed out and onto the cart, surrounding the toys and gifts with squeals of delight and joy.

Thank-you’s floated up into the air towards Mr. Johnson like little bursts of happy balloons. Hundreds of them it seemed. He just beamed. Every toy on that cart had registered on his eye tracking software…specific to each child, and Mrs. Johnson. There were no wrong choices. The software caught the long slow lingering looks of each child as they scanned a toy, or gift that they thought was beyond their reach. Now they were holding that toy or gift. Tears fell as frequently as thank you and quiet prayers from all four.

After a while Mrs. Smith pulled Mr. Johnson aside by his hand. Without thinking, Mr. Johnson tightened his grip on her hand as she pulled him out of earshot of the kids. She didn’t let go of his hand either.

“Mr. Johnson. I have no way to pay for all this (waving her other hand towards the cart that was as filled with her children as his toys and gifts now) not even if you let me pay in installments.”

You didn’t need tracking software to see where their eyes were looking. For her eyes were searching his for answers- his eyes were searching hers for confirmation. He found it.

He reached for her other hand, which somehow must have seen what was in her eyes, for it was floating up to join with his hand before she consciously knew it. That is how they stood for a few moments, face to face, hand in hand, eye to eye. They both saw it in each other, unexpected, but not unwanted- but there it was, love at first sight.

“They are gifts my dear. No payment necessary. However, if you are looking for a job… I could use an assistant to run the store here. (He turned beat red, the Nerd in him overruled by his heart). And if you marry me, well, I would still hire you. I pay quite well. We could be partners.“

The little man inside Mr. Johnson’s head was screaming at him like a maniac, throwing imaginary pillows down on the floor with alarming strength. He could hear him yelling: “You idiot! You don’t propose to a girl like that. You have to date her first. She is going to run from here screaming and it is your fault!” And “Wham!” Another pillow hit the floor of his mind.

The little man inside Mr. Johnson’s head would have been completely baffled by the reaction of the little woman inside Mrs. Smith’s head.

For inside Mrs. Smith Head, the little woman in there was sitting quietly with tears of joy streaming down her face: “He is the one. The one you have been waiting for. Take the job. Take the man. Forget the past. Forge a future.“

When the little woman looked up, she looked out of Mrs. Smith’s eyes. The little man inside Mr. Johnson’s head saw that look - from both of them. His eyes grew as shiny as Mr. Johnson’s own eyes were.

Mrs. Smith spoke softly but firmly:

“I shall take you up on both the job and your proposal. But no Hanky panky until we are married.”

Their hands were now so tightly gripped that only foolhardy people of either sex would try to pull them apart, stupid foolhardy people at that.

“Okay. Um…er…could you start now?”

They both laughed at her answer:

“Sure. I can start the job now. The wife part will have to wait for the license.“

Hand in hand, beaming from ear to ear, they went to find the children, still pouring over the cart- so they could tell them about the two gifts that couldn’t be bought.

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