A couple days after Christmas, I started the cold engine of my cold car on a very cold December evening to pick up my daughter at her workplace. Did I mention it was cold? And snowing.

Well, having a white Christmas is magical; going out in it at night not so much.

Anyway, I arrived just in time to see the last shoppers exiting the store. You know the ones who are escorted out while the lights are  being turned off behind them, while the money drawer is being taken out and the locks are being turned as they proceed out the big double doors.

I am parked right up front in the official “Your mom’s freezing out here, hurry and count your drawer” lane. I have the perfect vantage point for watching these late-night shoppers.

They are cute, a little old lady and a young boy about 8 years old. Oh, how sweet. A grandma and a grandson — and what are they struggling with? A bike!

It’s then that I notice their expressions. Both the grandma and the grandson are absolutely bubbling over with excitement. I would go so far as to classify their expressions as pure joy. They are smiling from ear to ear, beaming like on an Orbit gum commercial.

They are flitting around her rather small car, quickly rejecting the trunk then moving on to the backseat, working together from both sides of the car to wedge the brand new silver bullet bike behind the front seats. I can’t hear them, but I can see they are talking rapidly.

Seems like Granny and youngster make a pretty good team because they are out of the parking lot before my daughter is clocked out.

She said: “Thanks and sorry you had to wait, but I set up a lay-away (Yes, Virginia, lay-away still exists in small town America) for that lady and her grandson, but then the bike rang up at clearance price of $36 and she had a gift certificate for $20, and she said, ‘Oh, we can buy that bike today!’

“So I had to call in a supervisor to cancel the lay-away and then start the process all over. But it was all worth it, because they were so happy. I think that little boy would have ridden that bike all the way home if it weren’t dark and snowing.”

Yes, finding a good deal is exciting, but watching someone else be blessed with a bargain is heartwarming.