chunk: Following a day with his eleven-year-old aunt Annabel and four-year-old half brother Matthew, Joe enters Kathleen's store to let his younger relatives experience story time. Joe and Kathleen have a conversation that reveals Kathleen's fears about the Fox Books store opening around the corner. He omits his last name and makes an abrupt exit with the children. At a publishing party for New York book business people later that week, Joe and Kathleen meet again, where Kathleen discovers Joe's true identity. She accuses him of deception and spying, while he responds by belittling her store.
  The Shop Around the Corner slowly goes under. Kathleen enters Fox Books to discover the true nature of the store is one of friendliness and relaxation, yet without the same dedication to children's books as her shop. Her employees move on to other jobs; as Christina goes job hunting, George gets a job at the children's department at a Fox Books store and Birdie retires.