Correcting Christmas Page #7

Oh, great, so this

doesn't work on any level.

Is there anything else

I can do to help

before I turn in

for the night?

No, I think Ali and I

have everything handled.

Yeah.

You've been a peach.

Okay. Well,

I guess I'll go to bed.

It's gonna be

an exciting day tomorrow.

Mm-hmm.

Night.

Good night.

I just think the world

of that guy.

I know you do, Mom.

Yeah, I look at him,

and I just see

this bright, shiny future

for the two of you.

Mom,

Cam doesn't want kids.

Yeah,

that doesn't surprise me.

You're not disappointed?

I mean, Jason's not

gonna stay in one place

long enough

to have a family.

Aren't you worried you

won't have grandkids?

Well, I don't know

if you know this, honey,

but having kids is

a giant pain in the rear.

Mom.

No, no, don't get me wrong.

I mean, you guys

weren't that much trouble.

Oh, gee, thanks.

No, it's just that

there's a lot of drudgery,

and... and it's

kind of boring,

and Cam is

not into boring.

Well, that's true.

Yeah, I mean, some people

are just made for

a brighter, shinier life,

and you and your brother

have always been on that track.

You never thought

I'd have kids?

Not really, no.

When you were 18,

you headed out of town for the

big city and never looked back,

and I was proud.

I was happy you

weren't gonna settle down

with a local like Nick

and have babies.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

What's wrong with Nick?

Well, Nick's a very sweet guy,

and he'll find

a meek, sweet, little girl,

but that's not you.

- Well, I know. I...

- I mean, that's why when he came to me

during your senior year

and he asked me

if I thought you'd go out with him

if he mentioned that, and I said no.

I'm sorry. What?

Well, I said that you

didn't think of him that way,

and he thanked me

and said

please don't mention

that we had the conversation.

And you're mentioning it now because?

Because it

doesn't matter anymore.

You've got Cam,

and you're happy,

and besides, you didn't

think of Nick that way anyway.

Mom, I don't know.

Maybe I would've

if I knew that he

thought of me like that.

And watch you derail

all your plans?

Okay, I know.

I know everyone says parents

shouldn't meddle in things,

but I couldn't help it.

Well, that's terrible.

That's parenting, Ali.

Those are

the tough decisions we make

because we think we know

what's best for our kids.

Well, don't you think I had a

right to know how he felt about me?

Do you really think

you would've been happy

stuck in this town,

the wife of a contractor?

Well, I guess we'll

never know, will we?

But don't we?

So you're really going

to Aspen in the morning?

Cam spent a lot

of money on this trip,

and you heard Mom and Dad.

They want me to go.

That's not

what they said, Al.

It is. I was listening.

Mom said she gave Cam

permission to bail early.

Doesn't mean anyone's

glad to see you go.

And who's

gonna do our tradition

of taking shots of peppermint

schnapps at midnight?

What are you talking about?

That's not a tradition.

Well, I was planning

on making it one,

but fine.

Deprive Mom of another

holiday tradition

to stress her out.

Can't you just admit

that you don't want to go?

What are you

talking about?

Of course

I want to go.

It's Aspen.

Throwing clothes around the

room. Slamming suitcases.

My mistake.

You seem overjoyed.

Shh. Cam might hear you.

Trust me,

a Michael Bay movie

could be

playing in here,

and he wouldn't be

able to hear it

through his solar-powered

hot-mist humidifier

and industrial-grade

earplugs. Ooh.

Ooh.

Why do you make fun

of him all the time?

Because I don't think

he's right for you.

I never have.

Well, what do you know?

I see you, like,

twice a year for a few days,

and the other times,

you're sending me

weird-flavored

potato chips and...

some gelatinous thing

that was not delicious,

by the way.

Oh, you weren't

supposed to eat that.

Why? What was it?

It is so good

that you don't know.

Also, thank you

for not pointing out

that my advice-giving

credentials

include me not dating

anyone for an entire year.

Well, I still might.

It depends on your advice.

I really lowered the bar

on what I consider a date.

At this point,

a pat-down from

airport security counts.

But I... I know a bad

relationship when I see one.

I've had

enough of 'em.

You don't like Cam,

but everybody else

thinks that we're

pretty perfect together.

You don't.

I mean, sure, you and Cam

like a lot of the same things,

but when

he looks at you,

sometimes I wonder

if... if he sees you

or just another one

of his things.

Yeah, you're not

the only one

in this room

who's wondering.

Traveling, I meet

a lot of people like Cam.

He's not a bad guy.

He just...

He wants to spend his life eating

wild boar and drinking expensive wines

at a party

that never ends.

And he just moved

the party to Aspen.

There you go.

What's wrong with that?

Nothing, but that's

his whole life,

all of it, uh,

not a part of,

and there's just not room

for much else.

He said it earlier.

He would consider

the life I have heaven.

And, Al, the life I have

on the road traveling

is... is shallow and lonely,

because the people I love

the most aren't in it.

I miss you, too, Jason.

That's why it was so huge

for me to come back this year.

You know, earlier,

when you and Cam

had that argument,

I was really hoping he'd do something

idiotic like break up with you.

That's not nice.

I just...

I want you to be free

to experience that real

kind of love in your life.

I mean, at least

one of us should.

Well, yeah.

What you need is a job

that keeps you in one place

for longer than six months.

Glad you think so.

What?

Can you keep a secret?

No.

All right,

well, keep this one.

I just put my notice in

at work.

What?

In two weeks,

I will officially be

among the unemployed.

Get out of here.

Yeah, just goofing around

with those kids at the club,

uh, for the first time,

I saw so clear

the life

I've been looking for,

and I'm never

gonna get that

unless I jump off this

hamster wheel I've been on.

Wow, that's huge.

I'm so proud of you.

What are you gonna do?

Have fun. Have a life.

I don't... I don't know.

I haven't figured

it out yet, but I will.

So will you.

Oh, Ali.

You scared the hell

out of me.

I didn't know Santa scared

so easily on Christmas Eve.

Well, that time at the North

Pole just messes with your brain.

What's up?

Is everything okay over there?

Yeah, sure. I just

wanted to come talk,

saw you were still up.

Well, if we stay here,

my folks are gonna

invite you in and

make hot chocolate.

- Kind of sounds nice.

- No, no,

that hot chocolate comes

with a side of guilt-trip.

And they don't even tip a little

rum in it to take the edge off.

Let's get out of here.

I was surprised

to see you up at 2 A.M.

I always loved waking up

there on Christmas morning.

You know, my parents

worked so hard

to bring Santa to me

as a kid,

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