The Perfect Christmas Present Page #3

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Meridian Response.

They're these weird, little

videos that help you relax.

Like, people whispering,

water boiling, stuff like that.

- Paul does this?

- Oh, can't sleep without it.

Uh, what would you like?

Hm.

Wow! It has been a long time

since I've had caffeine.

Well, Paul is not here,

so go crazy.

All right.

I guess I'll have

a black coffee.

Whoa! Slow down there.

Hey, Justin, could we have

one more black coffee, please?

- Of course.

- Thanks, man.

All right,

let's get down to business.

The event's in two weeks,

so I think

the most important part

is getting the venue.

What are you thinking?

I would like something

with a lot of space, you know?

I'm hoping for a good turnout.

And I'd love something

with some history.

So the pancake shack is out.

Oh, and if we can get a staff

included, that would be amazing.

That way we don't have to hire

extra help

for serving and everything.

- Staff.

- Oh, and a kitchen.

For food preparation

and what not.

- Thank you.

- Thanks, man.

No problem.

Hm.

Mm. I forgot how good

coffee tastes.

So, uh, the venue.

To recap...

Big space, lots of history,

staff included, kitchen,

and it needs to be available

in the next two weeks,

during the busiest time

of the year.

And affordable.

- It's impossible.

- Actually...

- I think I know a place.

- You're kidding?

I'll make a call tonight

and see.

Maybe we check it out tomorrow?

That'd be amazing.

- Perfect.

- Perfect.

How is everything there?

Oh, I've got it locked down.

You should've put me in charge

a long time ago.

How about you?

Is Chicago

as magical as you remember?

Yes, it is. It snowed today.

So I'm working

for a 8-year-old?

- Hey, did you get my e-mail?

- I did.

Benefit's a good idea,

but you got

enough bandwidth to manage it?

Nope, but I think

I found someone that can help.

One of, uh,

Paul's fraternity brothers

specializes

in this kind of thing.

Ooh, a fraternity brother.

Is he cute?

- Meg!

- What?

I have a boyfriend, so do you.

So? How's that relevant

to my question?

- Yes, he's cute.

- I knew it.

Doesn't matter because I'm only

using him for his expertise.

- And his body.

- Okay, I'm hanging up now.

I'll talk to you soon.

Miss your face.

- All right, miss you more. Bye.

- Bye, babe.

Wow! It's so...

Quaint?

Wow!

This place is amazing.

Yeah.

It's almost like a museum.

- Oh, I know.

- Beautiful.

- Oh, here. I'll take that.

- Oh.

Well, Merry Christmas to me.

Uh, hello, Victoria.

This is Jenny Stone.

The friend I told you about.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

This place is so beautiful.

Yes, mother at least

has good taste.

You know, Tom didn't give me

too many details,

but I imagine

it should do the trick.

Oh, it's perfect,

and thank you again

for letting us

have the event here.

Oh, any excuse to keep Thomas

under my thumb

is worth the inconvenience.

Why don't you tell Jenny here

something about the history

of the house?

Well, it was constructed

in 1870,

but it's undergone

extensive renovation since then.

And a year later,

it became local lore.

1871? Wait.

Are you telling me that

this place is somehow connected

to the Great Chicago Fire?

Some call it an urban legend.

I assume you know

the origin of the fire.

Yeah, Miss O'Leary's cow

knocked over the lantern

in the barn.

Well, the barn is true enough,

but the cow's absolute nonsense.

The story goes,

that the lady of the house,

Margaret,

fell in love with

a poor cobbler's son, Nathaniel,

but at her father's behest,

she was already engaged

to the heir of

a prominent family, Alexander.

Now, even though

Margaret was engaged,

she was in love with Nathaniel

and couldn't bear the thought

of being without him.

So the two of them

would meet in secret

at the O'Leary barn.

In the weeks

leading up to the wedding,

Alexander grew suspicious

of his future bride's

nightly disappearances,

and one night he followed her.

- Oh, no.

- Oh, yes.

He trailed her

to the barn and he

found the two lovers embraced.

Furious,

he pulled out his pistol

and shot Nathaniel dead.

Heartbroken, Margaret

flung a lantern at Alexander,

starting a blaze.

She locked the barn,

sealing his fate,

then raced home, threw a noose

over the rafters of her barn

and hanged herself.

Wanting only to be reunited

with her lost love.

If the tales are to be believed,

the fires of her love and loss

were so strong,

they engulfed the entire city

in flames,

except for her home,

which somehow

withstood the blaze.

It's as they say,

"Hell hath no fury

like a woman scorned."

Oh, that is the most romantic

story I've ever heard.

Yes, no good romance is complete

without murder

and mass destruction,

but it makes

for a wonderful story

for the beginning of a tour.

Shall we?

Lead the way.

Oh, uh...

We have a fully-equipped kitchen

designed for entertaining

and our chef

makes wonderful appetizers.

Salmon puffs, chicken tarragon,

mushroom cappuccino.

Wow, that all sounds amazing,

but I was thinking

something a bit more basic.

Yes. I imagined you would.

Okay.

Hm.

And this is

played his violinre my fr

through the years.

And this is the ballroom.

- It's perfect for a waltz.

- Oh.

The Viennese Waltz

if you're feeling adventurous.

- You wanna dance?

- Okay.

Hm.

Or whatever that is.

That place

was incredible! And for free?

How'd you manage

to pull that off?

Oh, Victoria

is a very grateful client

who may have

a bit of a crush on me.

Yeah? I get it.

I mean,

because you're so selfless

and you get things done,

not because of...

Wow, let's just

change the subject.

I, um, I saw you writing

some stuff down back there.

- Anything you wanna discuss?

- Oh? Uh, nah.

Just minor details. I don't

wanna bore you with them.

But we should talk about

some bigger-picture stuff.

I'd love to wrap my head

around the charity

so we can strategize

what the event might entail.

Awesome. You wanna come inside

and talk about it?

You can see

how my whole operation works.

Now, these are

all the families we've helped.

I like to keep them up to remind

me through the rough times

that it's all worth it.

Hm.

Not a bad place to work.

Yeah. Well, work and live.

My apartment's right upstairs.

Ah, so you struggle

with separating your personal

and professional life.

- That's too bad.

- Oh.

And your coworkers...

Ugh, they must drive you crazy.

Oh, yeah. All, all one of 'em.

Drive myself crazy.

Now, I'm hoping the benefit's

gonna help with that.

It must be tough leaving

your whole other life behind.

Yeah, but you know,

it's only temporary.

Well, I mean, there is a lot

of opportunity for growth

here in Chicago,

but I'm just not sure

how permanent my relocation is.

Though it is really nice

being back.

- Back?

- Oh, I'm from here.

Yeah, my mom and I went to LA

when I was a kid.

Yeah, and I missed it

every day since.

- So you're a Chicago girl.

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