AMY MITCHELL by MaryJane Kruty
Amy Mitchell and Roy Edwards dated in high school. They hadn’t seen each other until years later when they met by accident in a toy store.
“Roy, is that you?”
“How in the world?” They laughed and hugged.
“Of all places to meet. What brings you to a toy store?”
“I need a birthday present that will challenge a six-year-old.”
“Something educational?”
“Good idea.”
In the science department, Roy decided astronomy would capture the boy’s interest and bought a telescope, tripod, and books on constellations. Not wanting to carry the bulky packages, he had them sent to his home address.
“If you have the time, Amy, what say we have a cup of coffee and catch up a bit.”
They found a cozy restaurant two doors down and settled into a corner booth.
The waiter brought their coffee. Roy drank his black, and Amy added cream and sugar to hers.
He settled back against the booth. “It’s been, what, thirty years since we last saw each other?”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
Amy compared the man sitting across from her to the boy she knew in high school. Tall, slim, dignified in his suit, white shirt and tie. He kept his full head of brown hair and, evidently, switched from horn-rims to contacts. As before, the dimple appeared in his left cheek whenever he smiled. He was even more handsome than when he was a teenager.
At the time Amy’s eyes were on him, his were on her.
Roy compared the woman to the petite girl he had dated. Amy had added pounds to her short, small frame, and was now full-figured. Instead of the poodle cut he remembered, her graying blond hair reached her shoulders. She neither wore lipstick, nor did he see make-up on her round cheeks. But nothing had changed the sweet nature that attracted him years ago.
His wedding ring reflected the hanging light above the table.
“How long have you been married, Roy?”
“The wife and I got hitched after I graduated from law school. We celebrated our twenty-fifth anniversary a couple years ago with a trip to Hawaii.”
“Congratulations. Any children?”
“Nope.”
“But … then … who was the present for?”
“Oh, that was for, Bobby, my wife’s nephew. What about you? Are you married, and what do you do for a living?”
Interrupting their conversation, the waiter freshened their coffee. Stirring more cream and sugar into her cup, Amy said, “I’m not married, and since high school I’ve been secretary to the president of the Zanko Toy Company. I’m worried. Mr. Zanko has hinted about retiring. I love my job, and I don’t know what I’d do if he sells the company.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t have trouble finding another position.”
“I don’t know about that. My age might be a problem.”
“Why were you in the toy store?”
“I like to compare Mr. Zanko’s line with his competitors. I’ve had some ideas for stuffed animals, but he didn’t feel he wanted to get into manufacturing.”
The waiter returned offering refills. Roy shook his head, glanced at his watch, then dropped money on the table. “I’m sorry, Amy. I’d like to continue, but I have an appointment.”
“I best get moving, too,” she said. “This has been a pleasant surprise.”
They exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.
Weeks had slipped by when Roy called with the sad news his father had died of a heart attack. “He was only in his early seventies, and I’m concerned. The doc said it is genetic. You know, Amy, I’m tired of the rat race. Courtrooms. Clients. Unfavorable verdicts. With Dad dying at such a young age, I’ve decided to get out of the law racket.”
“Have you thought what you might do?”
“I have no idea.”
His decision made, the owner retired and sold the company. Roy wanted to make the announcement, but for whatever reason, Mr. Zanko kept the details of the sale from the employees. Amy was speechless when Roy called.
“Can you believe I bought Zanko Toys?”
Congratulations, Roy. We wondered and were concerned who it was, but of all people, why did you?”
“I have no idea. Guess I’m just a kid at heart to buy into something like this. I’ve named the company, Edward’s Toys. And didn’t I tell you, you wouldn’t have trouble finding another position? As vice-president, you only need to move from your old office into the new one.”
Roy and Amy worked long hours. At the beginning, his wife never said a word about how much time they spent together. Although she had her social clubs and activities to occupy her time, she finally complained. To satisfy her, Roy replaced her two-year-old Ford with the brand new Porsche she demanded.
With her thirty-two years’ experience, Amy was instrumental in making Edward’s one of the nation’s premier toy companies. Roy gave her free reign to develop her ideas, the first of which was the Waiting Bear, a cuddly bear placed in the crib awaiting the newborn’s arrival.
The stuffed animal became the rage of the industry with its sweet face, soft fillings, and a velvety covering in pink, blue, or white. Mothers-to-be, expectant couples, and grandparents flocked to buy it. Stories were told of grandparents trying to elbow each other out of the way, wanting to be the first to set the Waiting Bear in the baby’s bed.
With its success, the next to be introduced was Hugo, a five-foot stuffed teddy bear. Skeptics predicted Edward’s, with their innovative concepts, wouldn’t last in the toy industry, but the demand astounded the cynics. Toddlers, women, teenagers, the elderly all fell in love with the big, snuggable Hugo, who quickly gained the reputation of the perfect bed companion.
She then turned her attention to the design of the Love Me bears, each to have individual sweet expressions. The bears rapidly became must-haves, and children who grew up with them continued their collection by putting them on their birthday and Christmas lists.
With the demand being so great and to build anticipation, Roy decided Edward’s Toys would introduce one Love Me bear each year.
Whenever she passed the glass cases lining the company hallways, Amy stopped to see the display of her treasures. Her fondness of stuffed animals began at the early age of one, when Santa brought her the brown teddy bear. He slept with her every night keeping her safe, as mother said. Teddy would sit on her lap during family trips, and she would hold him up to the window to see anything new or exciting. When Amy finished making the bed every morning, the old bear spent the day resting against the pillows.
Amy never married, nor outgrew her love for the little creatures. She considered them family and put them on shelves on either side of the fireplace in her condo. Because of his size, Hugo sat in a high chair.
When Roy died of a heart attack at the age of seventy-three, Amy retired. From the beginning, Roy had insisted all of the stuffed animal patents be registered in Amy Mitchell’s name. Before his wife sold Edward’s Toy Company, Amy bought the complete stock of the Waiting and Love Me bears. The glass cases were emptied, and each of her bears was boxed and added to the others.
The day she heard Bobby’s son was hospitalized, she brought him a Love Me Bear, then wept seeing the boy clutch the bear to his chest, and snuggle his face into the soft, velvety fur.
Amy had found her new future: The Ronald McDonald House and the children’s hospital.
Parting with her bears broke her heart, but instead of them sitting on a shelf, Amy decided her bear family would bring joy to sick children. Bidding them each good bye, tears ran down her face. Amy kissed Hugo, tenderly wrapped him in protective covering, and put him into a crate. She then kissed and wrapped the others, nestling them around the large bear. She kept the aging teddy bear that had spent so many years with her.
The boxes were gone and so was her family. Amy couldn’t stand coming home to an empty house or being alone at night. To be close to them, she volunteered at the children’s hospital where she became Nanny.
She could be found wherever loving care was needed. She read stories. She comforted children whose parents were unable to visit every day. She held the little ones who were frightened.
Nanny, the chubby little lady who bustled through the halls, brought a ray of sunshine wherever she went.
The cleaning lady found Amy with her brown eighty-three-year-old teddy bear snuggled in her arms. Nanny died at the age of eighty-four.
To honor Amy Mitchell, a plaque was mounted on the wall at the hospital’s entrance. The message encouraged others to volunteer. Be family to the children. Give them a heartful of love.
And, of course, a sweet, soft, lovable, cuddly bear.
