Finding Father Christmas Page #2

off was when she was on stage.

And I think it's from that

same town in Vermont.

But she was never there.

What are you gonna do?

I don't know.

But my whole life,

I've wondered who he was.

And now I feel like

I finally have a clue.

I have to do something.

I have to find out.

[instrumental music]

(Miranda)

'No, everything's fine,

Annie.'

It was a spur

of the moment trip.

I'll be on my cell

if you need me, and..

...I don't know

how long I'll be here.

Santa Claus is comin'

to town

All the kids

they're jumpin' up and down

The holidays begin

And there's a new year

comin' in

People playing

out at the park

There's a snowman smiling

in the dark

Have a very, very

Happy, Happy Christmas

Welcome to the Carlton Heath

Inn. Seattle? Oh, my goodness.

You're a long way from home.

What brings you

to our little town?

Uh, just visiting.

Well, you picked

the perfect time of the year.

Oh, yeah, it's beautiful.

- Here you go.

- Thanks.

My name is Katherine.

I am the owner of the inn

along with my husband, Andrew.

If you need anything,

please don't hesitate to ask.

Thank you.

How about a nice cup

of tea after your long trip?

You can cozy up by the fire.

Um, there's actually something

I wanted to see in town first.

- Could I take a rain check?

- Anytime you like.

And your room is at the top

of the stairs.

- Thanks.

- Enjoy your stay.

Thank you.

Come on.

Come on.

Need some help?

Yeah, my GPS isn't working.

Uh, cell service

is a bit spotty up here.

'Where you headed?'

Um, I need to find

an address in town.

- It's 2625 Bexley Lane.

- Oh, that's no problem.

It's three blocks down that way.

You'll run into the old church.

That's Bexley Lane.

Then hang a left, go another

two blocks and you'll be there.

- Thanks.

- Yeah, my pleasure.

- You work at the inn?

- Yeah.

I just checked in.

It's really nice.

- Miranda.

- Ian.

- Ah.

- Nice to meet you.

- That looks heavy.

- Little bit.

Sorry.

- Maybe, I'll see you around?

- Yeah.

- Three blocks?

- Yeah, you can't miss it.

Thanks. Again.

[instrumental music]

Has anybody seen

Kris Kringle?

It's getting mighty close

to Christmas day

And I haven't heard

a single

Little Merry Christmas

jingle

That's coming from

his reindeer or his sleigh

I'm happy as can be

It's gonna be a happy

Christmas day

[sighs]

[instrumental music]

I thought you might be hungry.

As for our scones,

we make them right here.

- Kind of our specialty.

- No, I'm fine. Thank you.

Did you find what you were

looking for in town?

- No.

- Hmm.

Maybe I can help.

Andrew and I have lived here

all our lives.

We know Carlton Heath

as well as anyone.

Yeah, it-it's really

not important.

You come all the way

across the country

the week before Christmas

all alone to a place

you've never been before

to find something.

I have a feeling it must be

very important.

[chuckles]

Only to me.

I'm pretty sure

now that I'm here

it would just sound silly

to anyone else.

Though it never hurts to try.

Alright, um, ahem..

Have you ever heard

of the Carlton Heath

Photography Studio?

Yep. On Bexley Lane.

It was run by the

Halverson family for years.

But it's closed now.

Right, but, um, do you know

where they are?

The, the family who ran it?

The kids grew up

and moved away years ago.

Jane and Eric, they retired

to Arizona, I think.

Are you a friend of the family?

No, um..

This was taken at their studio.

[laughs]

What a cutie.

Who are they?

Um, that's why I came.

To find out.

You came all this way

because of a photograph

of someone you don't know?

Told you it would sound silly.

Well, where'd you get this?

My mother, um,

it was important to her

and I wanted to find out why.

You couldn't just ask her?

I never got the chance.

That doesn't sound silly at all.

Well, doesn't matter anyway.

The studio's closed, and I'm

sure they threw everything away.

There is something

familiar about it.

- Really?

- Yeah.

Maybe it's just the way

Santa's dressed.

We called him Father Christmas

back then.

It was an old tradition

around here

from when the English

settled the village.

But you've never actually

seen that photo, have you?

You know who you should talk to?

Andrew, my husband.

At the very least

he maybe able to tell you

where the Halversons retired to.

Do you think he'd mind?

[chuckles]

Not at all.

But he's still in town

and I have to keep an eye

on things around here.

I'll get my son.

He'd be happy

to show you the way.

Ian.

What's up, mom?

This is Miranda.

Hi.

'You didn't tell me

your parents owned the inn.'

(Ian)

'No, you asked if

I worked there, which I do.'

Chopping wood?

I also shovel snow

clear brush, clean out gutters.

And in a pinch,

I make a pretty decent maid.

Ah, a man of many talents.

Well, I threw in that

last part to impress you.

- This town is so beautiful.

- Yeah, I love it here.

I've traveled a lot, but I

always knew I'd come back home.

What about you?

Your family, all in Seattle?

No family, just me.

Yeah, well,

mom told me about a, a picture.

A picture

and a lot of questions.

Well..

...hopefully, we can help you

find the answers.

[church bell tolling]

Listen to that.

I didn't think towns like this

still existed.

It gets better, come on.

When this was built,

it was the first

brick church in New England.

Before the Revolution,

the locals met here

to plot against the British.

- Really?

- Mm-hmm.

Legend has it that

one Christmas Eve

the British surrounded

the church to try

and catch them

during the service.

But when they went inside,

there was no one to be found.

What?

They didn't know that

there was secret passageway

that led from under the church

and into the woods.

But some say

that on Christmas Eve

if you listen closely enough

you can hear them singing

from under the church.

- Get out of town.

- No, it's true.

I mean, it's not, not,

that I've ever heard

them myself or anything, but..

Oh, of course not.

We have all kinds of stories

and legends.

Not to mention our traditions,

especially at Christmas.

Hmm, well, my only

Christmas traditions

are avoiding crowds

and traffic.

[chuckles]

Well, you came

to the right place then.

Sounds perfect.

Come on, let's go find dad.

(Ian)

'Yeah, it was in pretty

rough shape'

until the town renovated it

about 30 years ago.

The first show they did

was a Christmas play.

It became a tradition.

They've done it

every year since.

- You okay?

- Mm-hmm.

"James Whitcomb."

Yeah, he was a pretty well known

actor in his day.

He was also one of the founders

of the theatre

and helped pay

for the renovation.

After he passed away, they named

the theatre after him.

- That was nice of them.

- Yeah.

Look, you better get inside,

before you catch a chill.

It's beautiful.

You sure you're okay?

Yeah, no, I'm just

traveling all day.

It's probably just

catching up with me.

Right, well,

let me poke my head in.

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