One Magic Christmas Page #3

strong believers in Santa Claus,

and the Christmas spirit

and angels and stuff.

We're dreamers, I guess you'd say.

Yeah, you're great dreamers,

all you Graingers.

That's what's so wonderful about you,

I guess.

In other words, we're nuts, huh?

- Over there, Cal. That's a boy!

- Is there a ghost up here?

Nope, just cobwebs and old stuff.

A rocking horse! A rocking horse!

I know those Christmas tree lights

are up here somewheres.

How about this box right here?

Here they are. I knew they was up here.

Oh, my goodness.

I clean forgot about these.

Lookee here, kids.

What is it?

It's the North Pole,

where Santa Claus lives.

Ooh, it snows.

That's pretty, Great-Granddad.

- Do you want it, Abbie?

- Sure.

Thanks, Great-Granddad.

And here's the Christmas book my mother

used to read to me when I was little.

- Do you want it, Cal?

- Thanks, Great-Granddad.

Now you both got a present from me.

Won't have to give you

nothing for Christmas.

But maybe I will anyway.

- Cal?

- What?

If we was at Great-Granddad's house,

would Santa Claus fit down that chimney?

Sure. Santa Claus can fit down

any chimney, cos he's magic.

- Magic?

- Yep. He's watching you all the time.

- He can see you wherever you are.

- The bathroom, too?

- No, every place except the bathroom.

- Thank goodness.

Mom, is that Santa's house?

- Yes.

- Does he have any kids?

No, he just has a wife, Mrs Santa Claus.

Oh. Mom, if Mrs Santa Claus had kids,

would she be crabby to them?

All moms are crabby sometimes, but that

doesn't mean they don't love their kids.

You go to sleep, all right? Good night.

Good night, Mom. Mom,

did you mail my letter to Santa Claus?

No, Abbie, I didn't. Not yet.

Aw, gee, Mom. Now I won't get anything.

Oh, Abbie, stop it. Now, you're going to get

plenty of presents. Now just go to sleep.

Good night.

Mom's never going to like Christmas,

Elizabeth.

- Gideon!

- Shh.

Your mom still hasn't found

the Christmas spirit, has she?

Nope. She didn't mail my letter yet,

cos she's never gonna like Christmas.

She did once, a long time ago.

But then she lost the spirit.

Something in her broke.

The glass ball! It broke.

- Fixed.

- It's fixed.

I can fix broken pieces of glass.

But only your mom can fix

what's broke in her life. What's been lost.

- Can't we help her?

- Well, we can help her remember.

How, Gideon? What are we gonna do?

Well, we're going to give her

a Christmas present

that only angels and children can give.

And I want you

to listen real careful now.

No matter what happens

between now and tomorrow night,

I don't want you to be afraid.

- I'm not afraid.

- That's good.

Now, you will need to find me later on.

- Do you know where to find me?

- No, Gideon. Where?

Where the angel is at the top.

- The tree.

- The tree?

The tree. At the tree.

At the tree.

This letter is to Santa Claus.

What are you doing?

Nothing. Just going through these figures

again that I worked up for the bike shop.

Are you still thinking about that?

Yeah, well, I had this idea.

Knock it off by a couple of thousand,

and then maybe I could

float a small business loan.

A loan? With what for collateral?

Forget it. You've got to get a job,

a regular job

that brings in a salary every week.

I know. I know I need a job.

This bike shop idea is the dumbest thing

I've come up with yet.

Where are you going?

Jack!

I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry.

There's just no way

you can start any bicycle shop.

It just seems like nothing's going right

for you and me. Just nothing.

And now Christmas.

I don't know one thing

we've got to be so joyful jolly about.

- Things'll be better next year.

- Maybe.

Still, you know, ever since my dad died

last year, I've been thinking.

Why did he even live?

What did he live for? A motel manager.

And me, what am I living for?

The supermarket?

People live for...

Well, I suppose, for nights like this.

Watching Christmas lights...

Being able to hear the rain on the roof.

Being able to see just one star.

Stars...

You know, when I was in high school,

we had this piano teacher, Miss Lehmann,

and she used to have us kids over

to her house to listen to records.

She liked

those Broadway shows, you know.

And she used to have this song

called "Lost In The Stars. "

- I've never heard that one.

- You would like it. It reminds me of you.

Sometimes I think maybe God's gone

away, forgetting the promises he made.

And we're lost out here in the stars

Little stars, big stars

Shining in the night

And we're lost out here in the stars

You know something, honey?

If you came on this little walk here

to cheer me up, you're doing a lousy job.

Hey, Jack, I'm just...

I'm gonna take another turn

around the block.

Howdy.

Late Christmas cards,

or maybe something for the North Pole?

I'm a little old for the North Pole,

thank you.

Well, you don't sound like

you've got much Christmas spirit.

- I don't know you, do I?

- No.

No, I didn't think... I didn't think so.

No, I don't have much Christmas spirit.

But you should, you know. That's sad.

- I should, huh? Why?

- Why?

You've got to find out, Ginnie.

I want you to find out.

How'd you know my name?

I put a tuna nibble casserole for you

and the kids' supper in the fridge.

I'm gonna be working all day,

all night till ten.

- Honest, honey, couldn't you call in?

- Jack, we've been through this.

If I don't work a double today,

Herbie says that's it, I'm fired.

We'll go to Granddad's

first thing in the morning.

But then how will Santa Claus know

where to bring all our stuff tonight?

Abbie, I'm getting a little sick of hearing

all this talk from you about Santa Claus.

If he's coming,

he'll know where to find us.

- He'll know, honey, and he's coming.

- Right, he's coming.

Jack, you just remember what I said

to you about the bank account.

So you're going to miss

the town tree lighting, too.

I've seen Christmas trees before.

And now me and Abbie won't be able

to decorate no tree tonight.

Hush, Cal. You'll be able to decorate one

tomorrow, right?

Ask Daddy. I gotta go.

Yeah, Eddie's gonna bring

that generator over.

Thank you, sport.

It wasn't as heavy as I remembered.

- Hi, Betty.

- Good morning.

Can you believe those jerks

at the city council?

Won't even throw in five cents' worth

of free electricity.

OK, we're all set. Meet me at the tree

at 5.30 and we'll hook it up.

Yeah, I hope this is worth it,

and you folks aren't...

Hey, shh. Ginnie doesn't know that part.

Bye, honey.

Gin? I have eight dollars exactly, so

can you make sure I don't go over, OK?

OK, I'll get the window.

Oklahoma... No papers.

How many miles did you say

you got on this heap?

55,000.

155,000's more like it.

I can't give you anything for this wreck.

Hey, look, do me a favour, will you?

Give me a break.

I gotta get my hands on some money

today. For this kid.

- It's Christmas.

- Hey, I'm sorry.

I'll give it to you!

A hundred bucks, the car's yours.

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