The Christmas Card Page #2

"be kind to strangers.

By doing so, we may be

entertaining one of God's angels."

- That's right.

- So we'd like to welcome and warmly greet

any of you who might

be a stranger among us.

Here visiting

for the first time.

A... a-any visitors,

please stand...

- At this time.

- Come on Cody, stand up.

We wanna make

you feel welcome,

make you feel at home

here in God's house

on this fine holiday season.

Ah, welcome,

young man, welcome, sir.

Now we'd like

to invite you

for refreshments

after the service.

All right, let's sing

number 240.

Hark, the herald

angels sing.

Hark, the herald

angels sing

glory to

the newborn king

peace on earth,

and mercy mild

God and sinners

reconciled

joyful all ye

nations rise

join the triumph

of the skies

with angelic host

proclaim

Christ is born

in Bethlehem

hark, the herald

- angels sing...

- May the lord blessing keep you.

May his face

shine upon you.

Go forth in peace.

Nice to see you again.

Joy to the world

the lord is come

let earth

- receive her king

- oh, glad to see you're awake.

What I mean is...

Reverend ives

gives a poignant sermon,

but sometimes it's a poignant,

long-winded sermon.

Well,

I liked the message.

And the music.

No, they're great.

Shiny shoes

and the "sir" bit,

I gather

you must be army.

Well, I'm currently

on leave.

- Yeah...

- I-I served, too.

Vietnam?

I-it wasn't the crimean.

- Heh heh. Here.

- Come here a minute.

- That's all right.

- Excuse me.

I'd like to steal

my daughter for a second.

- Aww...

- Oh, oh...

Cody, this is my somewhat

attractive daughter, faith.

We saw each other

in the diner yesterday.

You two already met?

We're both fans of

curly fries.

Extra crispy.

Eh, um, Cody's army.

Sergeant.

On leave.

Oh, do you

have family in town?

- No, no, I'm just...

- I'm just passing through.

Faith, honey,

would you mind taking

Mrs. Cleveland to her car?

She wants to go home.

Well, Cody Cullen,

it was nice meeting you.

Um, hope you have safe

travels during the holiday.

I'll take you,

Mrs. Cleveland.

Um, it was really

great meeting you, sir.

- Great to meet you.

- You come back, anytime.

Soon.

Cody!

Hold up.

Dad, look out!

Sir, out of the way!

Unh!

- Is he ok?

- Are you ok?

Dad?

Dad?

Are you ok?

Somebody go call

an ambulance.

Here he is.

The hero.

- No, no, no.

- Right time, right place.

How you doin'?

Oh, banged up my bad hip,

bruised my shoulder,

but thank God for your

special ops reflexes.

Oh, we haven't

had a chance to meet yet.

I'm Rosie spelman.

Cody Cullen, ma'am.

I'm just so grateful

you were there.

We all are.

Oh, I'm just glad you finally got

to meet the love of my life.

Well, you'll

just have to come home

and have dinner

with us tonight, Cody.

I mean, we gotta be able

to thank you in some way.

I-I'm gonna

head out, um...

Ah, come on.

Humor the injured.

Been a long time since I talked

army with a fellow grunt.

Well, I won't

take no for an answer.

Besides we've got plenty of

extra rooms at the house.

You could just

stay the night.

Be smart. Be smart.

Surrender now...

We'd love

for you to join us.

Consider it settled.

Welcome to

the spelman family.

Mush!

You can go ahead and put it

right there next to pop's.

Oh, ok.

Wow.

Somethin'

smells really good.

My mom was baking blueberry

muffins this morning.

She bakes morning, noon, and

night during holiday season.

You like it?

Oh, yeah.

It's everything

I thought it would be.

I'm sorry?

You know, when you

imagine someone's home.

It's very cozy

and inviting.

Come on. I'll show you

the guest bedroom.

These are some

of the men

who served with dad

and never made it home.

He salutes them

everyday.

I don't need to tell you

about that bond.

My mom calls them

his mistress.

She always credits

the army

with teaching dad

the skills

for a good marriage.

Loyalty, commitment,

love of family...

And the ability

to do his own laundry.

I believe she

really taught him that,

but... seems more masculine

to credit the military.

Come on.

So, this'll be your room.

The bathroom's

right around the corner.

I'll hang you some towels.

Yours'll be the green ones.

Ok.

Thank you, um,

faith, I wanna, um...

Faith, we're back!

Can you come

help with dinner?

Coming, mom.

Take your time,

settle in.

I'll see you later.

Ok...

Cody.

Come meet Rosie's cousins

from brass valley.

This is Jack and Suzanne.

- Hey, Jack.

- Hi.

My boys

Sammy and Henry.

The scalawags.

My daughter Rebecca.

The beauty.

Cody, would you mind

going out to the garage

and grabbing a couple of

folding chairs for the boys.

Point me

in the right direction.

I'll show you.

Ah, ah, ah... ok...

But no lifting for you.

The doctor doesn't want you

using that arm at all.

Fine, fine, I'm just

goin' for a walk

with my hero buddy.

It's really great

to have you here.

Great to be here.

- Man...

- Looks like somebody's got a couple of hobbies.

Yeah, I wanted

to build a sleigh,

but one with wheels

on it.

Rosie gets a kick

out of this thing.

She says it's romantic.

Yeah...

I suppose that hog's

for Rosie, too, huh?

Oh, no, no, no

that one's for me.

Not too much lately, though.

The eyes are slowin'.

Hmm.

Wow, what a great spot.

Yeah, that's up

off of highway 49.

That's, uh, got a beautiful

view of the yuba river.

You oughta see it

before you leave.

- That view.

- Yeah.

It's a California

memorial site

dedicated to those

who died in Vietnam.

My dad died in Vietnam.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Hit my mom pretty hard.

She passed away after I

graduated from high school.

You know, sometimes I think

that's why I joined the army.

Hmm.

I thought it'd

fill that void somehow.

So... w...

What are you doin'

for the holiday?

I'm not really sure.

Yeah?

I got a business

proposition for ya.

I own a mill...

Family business.

Now with this injury, I really

could use your help here.

Especially

during the holiday.

It's one of the busiest

times of our year.

I don't want

to take your money, Luke.

Maybe I could

work for room and board,

somethin' like that.

Well, yeah, great.

Great, that'll

get Richard off my back

squawkin' about takin'

on more help. Yeah.

That's good.

Hmm... yeah.

Wh-what are you doin'?

Oh, I wanna

surprise Rosie.

So, you know, it's like

fate brought you here.

- Yeah...

- Sure.

Uh... not fate...

Exactly.

Huh?

Well, I got this

Christmas card.

- What?

- It's been a real lifeline for me.

I...

She brought you here.

Don't you think

it's a little odd

that a grown man

would travel this far

based on a card?

Have you told her?

Maybe we should keep it

to ourselves for now.

Ah, no problem.

It doesn't matter

how you got here.

It's just great that

you're here with us now.

How fast was that

crazy guy goin'?

40. I'd say

40 up that hill.

- Jeez.

- Without him I'd be pushin' up...

Food's out!

Happy new year!

- Ha ha ha.

- Oh, boy.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes