Original subtitles

[Music]

so

[Music]

ketchup try one and be honest

not fair you know my sweet tooth can't

say no to a 9am cookie i need to know if

they're good enough to make for jason's

parents on christmas eve

anything to help a friend impress her

future in-laws

you hate it no no sarah it's good just

maybe less peppermint

i think i ruined my taste buds last

night i ate a dozen

don't tell your dentist's boyfriend

though periodontist and it was just

one day no sparks oh no sparks no

butterflies

no skip heartbeats plus we'll never see

eye to eye on my one true love

sugar are you ready for this meeting

i'm sure you'll get praise for your 30

biggest re-gift fails list did you see

how many people already read it

not enough for linda to trust me she'll

come around eventually

she promoted me because she said she

liked my vision for things but the more

time that goes by the further away the

site gets from

actual journalism why don't you just

quit and go freelance

pay is good and i know what to expect i

was fat

plus if you left you'd miss me too much

well yeah

that's mainly it ah first off just want

to say kendra

great re-gift piece so far it's the

highest clicked list of the season

peter still getting great traction on

your article from last month on the

development era sandra evans

how a messy breakup leads to a thriving

business gossip and invites the best of

both worlds

i would love to get a follow-up with her

ex see why he walked away from having it

all

apparently he has fallen off the map

keep looking as far as this month our

marketing team reports that the friday

before christmas is the highest online

traffic day of the season so we need to

get all our christmas content up by then

that's the 22nd people

so let me hear some clickable christmas

ideas

christmas cookie recipes to impress your

in-laws personal

love it celebrity influencer slash

rapper zigzag is attempting to set the

world record for largest national toy

drive but how would you make a listicle

of that

oh it would be more of a human interest

piece an introspective on zigzag's

community relations and the labor

required to organize the toy drive at

that scale

i know you're itching to expand what we

publish here at quizzer but i just don't

think our audience wants to read about

the

ins and outs of organizing a toy drive

now if zigzag was doing it to impress

his ex carmela

that would work right well then how

about um

what kind of elf would you be in the

north pole perfect do that one

and don't worry when the right story

comes along it'll be a go

all right everyone get to it

another lunch hour another antique

market are you sure your mom's ring

isn't with your dad's things

i think it may have been misplaced with

the stuff for the estate sale

oh yeah what can i do for you ladies

today

i wanted to take a look at your watches

and she will browse your rings

oh the rings are right up front here and

the watches are just that way right

there

okay would you like to see one actually

um have you seen any rings that look

like this one

oh it was my mom's engagement ring she

died when i was 17 and she gave it to my

dad to keep for me

but after he passed last year it was

lost i do have one with a similar cut

it's the same band too

my mom's didn't have an inscription

forever my christmas love

1948.

i wonder who this belonged to i feel the

same way

i wonder what the story is behind it

what's this

that is the jeweler's insignia a lot of

handmade jewelry from that time has it

it's sort of like an artist's signature

so this is traceable

the jeweler is okay

i'm between these two where's the kendra

oh yeah um that one for sure

i think i'm gonna get it uh i'm sorry

what you're gonna

buy yourself an engagement ring yes but

not for me for the story

what story who did it belong to

what was so special about christmas in

1948

how did it end up parting ways with its

owner okay so for fun

no this is it the human interest piece

that is perfect to take quizzer to the

next level

what if there's no story behind it if

someone found my mom's ring

i'd want them to track me down

great

it's pretty but i don't think so

it would be more of an investigative

piece following me as i return the ring

to its owner

and uncover the love story behind it i

just don't think there's enough to go

off of

ever since i found out my mom's ring was

gone i felt like

part of me was missing what if someone

out there feels the same way about

this ring i think that's something our

readers would be interested in and

the christmas inscription makes it on

theme for our descent for posts

sorry it's a nice idea but it feels more

like wishful thinking

maybe if i did some digging i hope one

day you find your mom's ring i really do

but going on a wild goose chase and

hoping there's a clickable tail attached

just isn't enough for me

i'm sorry kendra

uh peter can you come in here for a

minute please thank you

[Music]

[Music]

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hello hey where are you haven't seen you

all day

i'm taking a personal day to do what

i track down where the ring was made

using the jeweler's insignia

pine grove massachusetts i think it's

the cutest town i've ever seen

wait i thought linda killed the story

she did

um but i am gonna have to prove her

wrong

what about your auth assignment finished

it i did a similar one last year called

what kind of reindeer would you be

just sort of modified it all right i was

inexplicably a dasher

so what's the plan here i'm gonna get

the story on the ring

write a great piece show it to linda

change her mind and publish it on

quizzer.com hopefully forever shifting

the landscape of our site

that is a lot to process well look i

haven't taken a day off in three years

i have plenty of personal days saved up

manager hopes

if it turns out it's just some ring

promise me you'll let this go

yeah of course okay i gotta run bye

[Music]

oh um

uh excuse me hi do you know where the

pine grove jewelry store is

uh well pine grove doesn't have a

jewelry store but the uh

the jones general store down the street

they sell earrings isn't this 415 main

street yeah that's right 415.

it's the bakery well i i see that it's

the bakery but it's supposed to be the

jewelry store

oh is that what it's supposed to be yes

well i'm sorry our main street's not the

way it's supposed to be uh

you know i think that there's a

complaint box around

here so don't worry about it i'm i'm

gonna let you get back to um

measuring the sidewalk but you have been

a great help

well you know actually i'm finished

measuring the sidewalk so good luck to

you finding your jewelry store

okay okay

[Music]

oh hello can i help you with anything

hi yes i'm i'm trying to find the right

address but only the bakery pops up oh

what are you looking for

pine grove jewelers ah well you've got

the right address but you're about 40

years too late

my grandfather used to be a jeweler this

was his shop but i didn't get that gene

hence the bakery careful sample

things i can't say no to sugar and

christmas

uh how about a box 50 off for new

customers oh

no no thank you i actually tracked down

this address

because i was researching where this

ring was made

huh grandpa did nice work i'm a writer

for quizzer.com

and i wanted to find out who the ring

was made for i love their quizzes did

you know that um

personality-wise i most resemble the

reindeer prancer

i can see that so the ring

unfortunately i did not take my wife's

advice and digitize grandpa's records

oh uh but i do have his old ledger here

i could

check that that would be great um 1948.

1948.

oh here we go diamond engagement ring

ordered by

william jones do you know him

yeah he and his wife pearl used to own

the general store

unfortunately they're both deceased oh

but is that the store down the road

yeah but it's after five so they're

probably closed

you know pearl's house is just a couple

of blocks from here and her grandson

michael lives there now maybe uh

maybe he might know something about the

ring great

thank you so much oh yeah sure and you

know if you're staying long

my wife kathy owns the bed breakfast in

town so

wonderful paul paul

[Music]

delicious

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[Music]

hello excuse me

excuse me

oh it's you i'm

i'm sorry i didn't mean to sneak up on

you i tried the front door but then i

heard the noise and

well i hate to disappoint but you know

this isn't a jewelry store either

funny but actually not looking for that

anymore

i'm i'm looking for you well look i

don't mean to be rude but whatever

you're selling i probably don't eat oh

i'm not a solicitor actually um i wanted

to ask you

about this ring i think it belonged to

your grandmother

my grandma never wore a ring like that

are you sure

well she raised me so yeah pretty sure

oh what is this for oh um i write for

quizzer.com

i was thinking wow you guys are getting

creative aren't you

a ring that's how you thought you'd get

an interview look like i told all the

reporters before you

i don't want to talk about it i'm sorry

um i think there's been a

misunderstanding

i'd appreciate it if you'd leave

it was really strange he said he didn't

recognize the ring

and he thought i was there to interview

him about something else what's his name

michael jones i know that name why is

that familiar

probably because it's as common as john

smith

is this him yes that's him wow you're

good

that's sandra evans is x you know that

article peter did

on that development heiress vaguely i

mean i only skimmed it

michael was her business partner and her

fiance michael jones and sandra evans

were the founders of upward design an

architecture firm that specialized in

small space living

all right although this was evan's first

venture outside of her family's

development empire and jones was an

unknown architect

forbes magazine soon deemed them the

next company to watch

eight months ago jones abruptly left the

company in all his shares after the two

ended their engagement

huh seems like tons of sources have

statements from sandra but

nothing from michael this interaction is

making so much more sense now

what are you gonna do i just need more

time to show him that i only want to

know about his grandma's ring that's

it good luck he seems like a very

private person

can i get you anything else

actually yeah can i get the address to

your wife's in

no problem glad to hear you'll be

staying in town

[Music]

good evening hi i was hoping you had

room here for tonight

your husband pointed me here we sure do

hi i'm kathy i'm kendra nice to meet you

are you in town for the main street

christmas festival tree lighting is

tomorrow

no actually i'm here researching the

origins of an engagement ring

turns out paul's grandfather made it i

found it at an antique sale in boston

and i was hoping to write an article on

its backstory for the website i work for

beautiful paul was able to find out that

it was made for pearl jones

i loved pearl such a sweetheart you knew

her i took over as chairwoman of the

christmas festival from her would you

mind if i asked you some questions about

her

not at all here let me show you to your

room so you can get settled in

and i'll make us some cocoa that sounds

lovely

thank you

my dad actually proposed with his

grandmother's ring in front of the

eiffel tower

family heirloom knowing it's lost

feels like i've lost my parents all over

again

that's why it's become a habit really to

check any antique store i come across

but this time

i found someone else's ring and i

couldn't help but think just

maybe someone out there might be missing

it i wish it looked more familiar

how well did you know pearl i didn't

really know pearl well until i started

helping out with the christmas festival

you mentioned that before and i saw the

banner downtown what is that

every year for the past 80 years the

town hosts events along the main street

it leads up to a big christmas eve dance

tomorrow kicks it off with the tree

lighting in the town square that sounds

so fun growing up my parents went all

out every year

i miss those days then you have to come

[Applause]

oh speaking of the christmas eve dance i

just thought of something that might be

of interest to you

the christmas eve decorating committee

from a few years ago

pearl's last one with us she looks

really happy

she loved to dance so much apparently

that's where her and her husband first

met

really do you know what year

you should ask her grandson he might be

able to tell you more about it

i tried michael made it very clear he

did not want to talk to me

try her other grandson scott he took

over running the family's general store

it'll be my first stop in the morning

here we go

i don't know anyone was it's you again

yes it's me sorry i didn't see you there

what are you doing here

i thought i made myself clear well

actually i am not here for you

okay good because i'm on my way out and

i wouldn't want to talk to you anyway

okay bye bye

[Music]

good morning hi hi i was just making a

cup of coffee would you like one

oh yes please thank you

can i help you find anything um in a way

i'm from out of town my name is kendra

well it's good to meet you kendra

welcome to pine grove i'm scott this is

my wife trish

hi hi um i write for quizzer.com

and i was hoping we could talk

look my brother's business is just that

his

business we have nothing to say about it

oh no no i'm not here about michael

actually i found this ring in boston and

i think it belonged to your grandmother

and i was wondering if you had some more

information on it what makes you think

this was my grandmother's i tracked the

jeweler's insignia to pine grove

it was made for william your grandfather

hmm yeah i don't recognize it so you

never saw her wear it

not even on special occasions no i don't

think so are you sure it was pearls

no that's what i'm trying to confirm the

description in the jeweler's ledger was

the same but so far no one seems to

remember pearl having this ring

you asked michael i did um

right before he asked me to leave his

property yeah he's had a pretty

rough year there must be something we

can do to look into the ring

i was hoping to maybe look through some

family albums

those are all with michael at the moment

and i really don't think he'd be up for

that i want you both to know

i didn't realize who michael was until i

got here i'm the editor-in-chief at the

pine grove gazette

we have a whole back room of old

newspapers and microfilm and the benefit

of being in a small town is that

everything makes the newspaper maybe

you'd like to come look and see if

there's something helpful there

yes that would be great great i'm going

right now if you're free

i am thank you so much of course

thanks again for the coffee yeah you're

welcome

i love that pine grove still has a

printed newspaper me too

it's one of the reasons i moved here

after college so you're not from here

no i became editor about 10 years ago i

met scott now it's home

did you know pearl i did i was lucky

enough to know her for a few years

actually

she gave the best hugs do you know if

there was ever a break-in

or a robbery at pearl's residence not

that i know of

you really are here just to investigate

the ring ever since i found it i've had

this

overwhelming need to uncover the story

behind it

been like that my whole life always

curious to figure things out

my dad used to call me nelly as a

nickname as in nellie blind

and energy rightly applied and directed

will

accomplish anything wow

she's the reason i went into journalism

me too

let me show you something

this is our micro film reader now the

gazette's been in print since 1902 and

everything is organized by year

the ring inscription says 1948 so i'll

start around there

this is more than i could ask for i'll

just be down the hall if you need some

help

thank you again so much of course i'm

just so excited to see what you find

i'll let you know

[Music]

war veteran and railroad worker william

jones proposed to pearl ellen on

december 24th

1948 at the pine grove christmas eve

dance

exactly one year after they met

[Music]

oh great the tree lighting

oh i mean now it just feels like you're

following me around

i promise you i'm not i i was just doing

some research

right on that ring that you claimed

belonged to my grandmother

um not a claim anymore

i've never seen this picture before they

made a cute couple

and see the ring

where did you say you found the ring

again antique sale in boston

how did it wind up in boston that's what

i want to know

they seem like they were very much in

love you know even after he died she'd

go on and on about how great a man he

was

i mean maybe it was stolen maybe i

sometimes wonder if that's what happened

to my mom's

well i was searching for her ring when i

found this one

kendra you left your laptop oh you're a

lifesaver

thank you so much michael hey hey did

kendra show you what she found

uh yeah no she did so how's the setup

coming

it's getting there the newspaper

sponsors the main street festival so i

wrangled this builder extraordinaries at

the booth

i am happy to put my skills to use the

best architects are the ones who know

how to build and throw in two hands

do you have a firm here in pine grove uh

no no i don't

well something to consider you know what

i haven't really decided what my future

business plans are but in the time being

i should probably

get back to these booths from everything

i've read and heard the pine grove

christmas festival seems like the place

to be

so you'll come sugary treats christmas

tree lightings a chance to ask around

about pearl

oh i'll be there great actually if you

need a hand with anything i'd love to

help out

it's just been me the past couple of

years so it's been a while since i've

had a proper christmas

we would love that i'll go get the sign

up sheet okay okay

[Music]

i've gotten up to talk to you twice now

before remembering you're not here today

i miss you too find anything out i found

out

where they got engaged when they got

engaged i know that no one remembers

pearl having the ring but

she is pictured right here wearing it

and michael jones any luck with him um i

think he's slowly coming around

michael jones development here is sandra

evans x michael jones

hi linda well i hope you're enjoying

your personal days because we need you

back here pronto for a list of the most

popular names given to babies born in

december

right i'll be back tomorrow i was just

doing one last thing before where

are you is that a painting of a fish

um actually i'm in pine grove oh doing

what

i traced that ring and it turns out it

was made right here

you are one stubborn writer you know

that spending your days off researching

a story i said no to

so have you solved the great ring

mystery not yet but

getting traction how does michael jones

play into all this funny coincidence the

ring belonged to his grandmother

have you interviewed him not officially

no

you know what i should have trusted your

instincts with this ring from the start

really yeah i think there's a story

there

so i can keep looking into things here

get as much information as you can stay

a few days quizzer will pick up the tab

i appreciate that just find out

everything about the family

and the ring of course broken

engagements lost rings perhaps a

parallel

holiday heartbreak storyline uh well i'm

not sure if that's the

exact angle but i'll find out the whole

story well whatever you find make it fit

and remember i need it by midnight

thursday

at least now linda's on board well she

seemed to perk up when i mentioned the

ring's connection to michael

if that's what it takes to get her to

back you then maybe just mention him in

a sentence or two

or i'll just have to show linda more

what i had in mind

see ya

[Music]

merry christmas oh

everything looks so good please take one

on us

which one mini trifle cup hands down

coming right up michael the booth looks

amazing this year

good i'm glad i could help actually

while you still have your toolbox on you

do you mind hanging the extra garland

around the stage platform it just looks

a little bland

say no more paul you wanna give me a

hand uh sorry i have to get more

snowman eclairs i can help you uh yeah

okay sure

run for the road

oh

so when you were measuring the sidewalks

it was to help you set up for all this

yeah well it looks great

i can't tell if you're mocking me no i'm

serious it's beautiful

my grandma served on the town's

christmas community every single it's a

group that puts together the main street

fest

you should have seen the store back in

those days i mean

people would come in from all over

she'd always volunteer me and scott so

helping out it just it's

just a way for me to feel connected to

her how come there's really not that

much decoration at the store now

that's scott's jurisdiction i mean we

both inherited the stories just

after i moved to new york it became his

thing

i don't know i haven't really been home

for a few christmases so i wouldn't feel

right telling what to do with the place

and it seems like pearl's christmas

shoes wouldn't be hard to film

in this town crowned a christmas queen

it would have been grandma

what was her favorite part oh handstand

christmas eve dance where she met your

grandfather that's right

yeah passed me to you

thank you welcome

you seem more at ease when you're

working

well you know manual labor was always my

forte i just never really got around to

doing much of it newer

it's rare that you see architects

actually doing building normally we're

expected to pose in hard hats on

magazine covers i have a hard time

seeing you modeling

i'm going to take that as compliment

so sure what were pearl and william like

together

you don't give up do you nope i was

about 10

when my grandfather died so i don't

really have too many memories of the two

of them together but

from all the stories i've heard and

pictures i've seen

they seemed like two people who were

very much involved

but it's hard growing up without his

measuring stick

my parents were the perfect example of

soul mates

they made it look easy yes they set some

pretty high standards that um

i still seem to be chasing if only we

knew their secrets

i'd say the garland looks pretty good

i'm going to focus on the speakers on

the microphone see if i can get them

ready before the countdown starts okay

and um that roasted chestnut booth has

been calling my name

all night all right well listen thank

you for your help

thanks for actually letting me ask you a

question without telling me to get lost

all right so yeah bye

[Music]

mike hooked up for the countdown it's

just about you and kendra seem to be

getting along

thank you so much yeah she uh she gave

me a hat

she seems nice she is

it's uh what

part of me can't help but think it's one

big ruse to get the scoop on my break up

with sandra

she did find pearl's ring and she drove

all the way here to look into it i don't

know that seems genuine to me

look i know you don't like to talk about

what happened in new york but i hope you

know

we're here for you if you want to all

you need to know

is that i fell for the wrong person

and i'm not eager to do that again we

want you to know that we think it's

possible to trust again

maybe try showing her some of grandma's

things

and let her prove she's here for the

right reasons

have a merry christmas

so ever since we parted ways you've just

been going around

asking strangers about my grandparents

uh

pretty much um mrs katz was just telling

me that pearl was the three-time winner

of the fourth of july hot dog eating

contest

actually she won four times impressive

she was an impressive woman

instrument gathering hello everyone

oh they're starting come on welcome

to the pine world gazette's annual

christmas tree lighting ceremony

now a very special thanks goes to the

christmas festival committee and

everyone here who helped set this up

and now for the very best part i want to

hear you all count along loudly with me

ready ten nine

eight seven six five

four three two one

[Applause]

this place is so special

if you want to come by tomorrow i could

show you some of my grandparents things

i mean it might be useful you know for

the story

that would be wonderful thank you

[Music]

sure

[Music]

i hope i'm not too early no you're good

i um

i was just trying to finish updating the

back porch before another snowstorm

what's under that blanket that is

actually

my grandfather's old car stopped running

before i was born but my grandmother

kept it i've been tinkering with it here

and there

trying to get it going again

[Music]

wow a 51 chevy deluxe

yeah you know your cars oh it's that

whole mid-century christmas era i've

always been obsessed with anything

related to it

i think it started because all my best

christmas memories were inspired by that

time period

listening to nat king cole while

decorating our tree with those

old school shiny bright bulb ornaments i

love neck and cold

and my dad inherited my grandfather's

collection of these comic books called

the christmas almanacs

i loved flipping through them not for

the stories but for the ads inside

depicting

picture-perfect christmas i get it

it's like a it's like a feeling of

nostalgia for a time we've never been to

exactly yeah maybe that's why i was so

drawn to pearl's ring

well in that case shall we go inside

because there is a bunch of stuff in the

attic that i think you are going to be

very interested in

thank you well it's mostly the same as

when my grandmother lived here

you know minus the uh the christmas

decorations obviously that's on me

i just i haven't had the heart to take

anything down yet plus

you know i don't know how long i'm

staying isn't did you grow up here

our uh our parents died in an accident

when we were

very little so we came to live here

after grandpa died it was just

pearl and the two of us so

that's a lot to take on she didn't think

twice about it

i love the old-school greek revival

architecture

i talk about being transported back in

time uh well actually

it's called colonial because it was

built in the 1890s

um guess growing up in a house like this

really fueled your passion for design

that's funny you know i never thought of

it that way but yeah you're right

plus grandpa was super handy in fact he

built that whole christmas village up on

the fireplace

oh the detail is amazing

it's like he shrunk a whole town wow

look at the school

wow i don't think i've ever seen an

addict so beautifully lit

pearl made sure there was a touch of

christmas all year round

you know scott and i haven't really had

a chance to go through all these we've

been

so busy trying to get the store ready to

sell but feel free to take a look around

thanks

oh

what's this

that is our old dress-up chest oh

seems so much smaller i'll show you

okay um yeah

grandma used to make all her costumes

wow

okay this is from our school christmas

play

you played a ranger comment to be exact

i would have pegged you more as a

blitzen okay that's really weird because

i actually took a quiz online one time

that said i was more of a blitzen

why i wrote that quiz really

because that feels very different to me

from investigating the origins of rory

well lists and quizzes are quizzers

bread and butter

my hope of doing this article is to

expand its horizons

focus on more substantive pieces

i don't like that it's risky though if

this fails i'll be back to writing which

treetopper are you

full-time how did you end up a quizzer

to begin with well

it turns out journalism jobs are hard to

come by quizzer was one of the only

places hiring when i got out of school

have you thought about leaving i've

gotten comfortable there the pay is

great

and oddly enough i'm good at writing

quizzes about elves and reindeers

even after i graduated from cornell's

architecture program i ended up spending

six years

working as an assistant at a design firm

and they kept promising me this

promotion

never came so one day i just woke up and

that was that i'd had enough

i walked away wow starting my own

company

that sounds freeing what i'm trying to

say is that i mean you could do that

right you could

start your own online magazine you could

focus on the stories that you want to

write

talk about taking a risk

it's pursuing anything you love usually

comes with uh comes with risks

um how cute is this

that is an elf that i made

in art class well i'm so glad you went

into designing buildings and not ceramic

elves okay you know what how about

you and i we grab a couple boxes and we

go through them downstairs

i'll make some hot chocolate are you

sure this is so i don't find any more uh

elf statues no i just think that

maybe uh sugar boost is an order

you can't say no to that

grandma's debutante clubs

oh and her invitation to the debutante

ball

so elegant

what's this

my grandfather's pay stubs from the

railway

so she was a debutant and he worked at

the railroad

yes hmm

though they were from two different

worlds they still found each other

you make it sound very romantic it is

very romantic

can i see her

strange what is it well these pay stubs

are in chronological order but then

there's this

huge gap in the dates maybe some of them

are missing

what is this blueprints

of the general store wow

unbelievable what's this

my dream for us w

[Music]

well that's interesting i didn't know

that he designed the general store i i

always just assumed that it was

something they bought together after

they got married oh is there anything

else with it maybe in that box

um

[Applause]

oh a deed for the property dated the

same year they got engaged

1948. uh-huh the store didn't open until

1951.

but a structure the size of the general

store that shouldn't have taken them

three years to build

did pearl ever mention anything about

her parents not liking william

um no i mean not that she ever told me

why i'm just wondering if her parents

weren't happy with her dating william

being a debutante she was supposed to

state men of a certain class you know

and

william's job at the railroad would have

been considered working class where are

you going with this

oh i just think it's an interesting

facet to the story

so you're thinking william only wanted

to be with my grandmother because of her

family's money

oh no no no not at all i didn't say that

i mean i

to me it looks like my grandpa was

trying to make something of himself

right she wasn't a gold digger i agree

completely all i'm saying is that it's

possible her parents didn't like him

based on the status life that's all

yeah sorry i just i don't know why i

overreacted

um no it's okay

you don't need to explain yourself

you know what i think i think our

marshmallows

need replenishing

good morning good morning do you need a

hand

oh putting up more lights all these

aren't for here

they're for the bakery for magnify main

street night magnify main street

as part of the main street christmas

festival all the businesses along main

street go all out with christmas decor

you think the street's decorated now you

should come back monday night

people get pretty into it hmm

merry christmas you're in jolly spirits

i was helping paul get ready for magnify

main street

and he was telling me how all the stores

on the street get decked out to the

nines

yeah people get into it michael

mentioned that you two used to help

decorate the store with pearl

we did yeah unfortunately i haven't had

a chance this year you know

trish is busy at the paper and it's a

tough job for one person

also as of yesterday we just got our

first offer on the place

so it must be hard to sell something

that's been in the family for so long

yeah it just hasn't been doing as well

since we lost grandma

i thought i had what it took to run this

place but hey

come on it's not your fault everybody's

just buying everything online these days

i would have loved to have seen this

place all decked out back in its heyday

grandma was always trying to outdo

herself year after year remember the

time that she rented that kid train to

give rides around the store

yeah the time she uh set up an ice rink

right up front

well if it's a matter of needing an

extra pair of hands i can help you

we'll spruce up the store pearl stuff we

oh i'd love to be part of the pine grove

magic and experience it all firsthand

i'm sure there are some great

decorations around here yeah

sounds good to me i don't know i mean

grandma set the bar pretty high it seems

daunting so then in every decision we

just have to ask ourselves

what would pearl do there you go come on

it's in your dna no you are the most

effectual person i have ever met

is that a yes

yes

all right now for someone who just got

an offer on the store scott didn't seem

that happy

i think scott blames himself for the

store not doing one rather sell the

place and feel like failed grandma

we shouldn't feel like that times change

and a store like this is difficult to

sustain us all this day and age

i know i wasn't much help either

i left town first chance i had i love

scott to figure it out all on his own

everyone has their own path

what is that wow

we are gonna rock monday night

oh come on

my grandfather and i built this when i

was seven years old i drawn a picture of

santa sleigh

and he said hey you want to make it come

to life

it's beautiful right i figured it could

use a coat of paint

we could put it out front i think it'll

look really nice but you say you want to

give me a hand

of course all right

[Music]

oh

michael yeah what's this

initials your grandparents

i've never seen this before huh 1949

gotta get this

[Music]

you know the last thing i want to do is

criticize your painting ability but

you're dripping a lot

okay so the initials in the cement said

1949

that means they started laying the

foundation the year

after they bought the land for the store

yes yeah

i wonder what that means in terms of our

timeline just that they waited a year

before they started construction for

some reason or another

hey listen i don't mean to be a downer

here but is there a chance that you're

just reading a tad

far into everything just gathering all

the information

it's just i don't want you to be

disappointed if there's another mystery

here

you don't feel it you're one

that there's more to all this i can feel

it

two people listen love they wouldn't

just misplace an item so special

there's a reason for all of it

i think love can look very different

from the outside

there's no real way to know what

happened

[Music]

i don't want to infer too much

the way people inferred about you and

your ex

you know my ex came from a property

development

dynasty so everybody just assumed that

it's with her to get ahead

the simple truth is that i fell in love

with a girl that i met

in my design class i had these ideas for

these

these small space living hubs in the

city and she had all of this business

experience

so we joined forces and her parents

invested and created upward design

built something that was really special

so what happened well despite accepting

my proposal i guess she didn't really

feel the same way i did

she met somebody new oh she said she had

to follow her heart

but she wanted to remain business

partners because you know we had such a

great thing going

but i just i couldn't i couldn't bring

myself to do that

so i walked away

that sounds awful i'm so sorry

yeah listen taking this

deep dive into my grandparents love i

think part of me is just

scared that you're gonna uncover

something that's gonna make me doubt the

strength of their relationship

whatever i uncover or learn doesn't

change the fact that they clearly loved

each other and you

paul hi kendra i found something you

might find

very interesting i'll be right there

paul has some information on the ring

do you want to come with me you think

there's a reason for all this

let's go see if you're right let's

i was looking through my grandfather's

old records hoping to find something to

help you with your search

when i found this note written by

william

to my grandfather carl wow

carl was thinking more about the

engagement ring we discussed this is

what i was envisioning

pearl's parents are talking about

sending her to live with her aunt in st

louis after the new year

do you think the ring could be ready by

christmas eve

it seems building my store will have to

wait a little longer can't lose my girl

w see pearl's parents didn't approve of

her dating william they were gonna send

her away

so he had to propose sooner than he

thought and the money he was gonna spend

building the store he spent on the ring

that's why he had to wait to break round

he put his dreams on hold so he wouldn't

lose your grandma

he was a smart guy

oh i am loving these retro ornaments

they are absolutely stunning

speaking of retro i can't believe

grandma kept this of course she did the

beautiful

wait what is that this

is an ornament that i made in first

grade

right but what was it supposed to look

like

you can't tell it's a

it's a snowflake oh it's abstract

like the elf well it's so sweet that she

kept it

clearly grandma was sentimental so then

why wouldn't she keep her engagement

ring

the one williams spent his life savings

on

popsicle ornament for your thoughts

okay after william bought the land for

the store he spent the rest of his money

on the ring that's why he had to go back

to work on the railroad sure

but the initials in the cement say 1949

so

how did he get enough money to start

building the store only a year later

based on those pay stubs he wasn't

making that much yeah you really are way

too talented to just be writing lists

and quizzes

hmm well it's always nice when someone

has faith in you

[Music]

not too shabby i think pearl would be

proud

i wish my parents were here for this my

mom would have loved

pine grove yeah even though you were

looking for your mom's ring i'm really

happy that you found my grandma's

me too

oh it's my boss probably wanting an

update

linda hi just checking in i haven't seen

any drafts from you yet

i'm still piecing it all together it

turns out william bought the ring for

pearl so he wouldn't lose her even

though it meant putting his dreams on

hold

okay and michael have you had a chance

to interview him oh

i i've been focusing more on the

grandparents in the ring first

i trust you'll cover everything will you

send me what you have so far well it's

pretty rough

you know lots of shorthand notes and

kendra i need the final article

in three days i need to see your

progress now don't let me down

okay i will send you what i have thank

you gotta go talk soon

human interest piece is supposed to be

an emotional relatable story not

spilling the gossip on someone's breakup

i know that and you know that you just

need to show linda that through your

writing

i really feel like if she would just let

me finish the path i'm on it could be a

really meaningful article

do you think you'll have everything you

need by thursday honestly i don't know

what happened to the ring is still a

mystery if anyone can figure it out

it's you thanks michael's been a huge

help too i

i don't know what i'd do without him he

seems like a great guy

you know i wasn't sure at first but he

since surprised me

he even suggested that i should start my

own online magazine did he now

oh no no no it's it's not like that

sparkle in your eye when you talk about

him is blinding

yeah is the connection bad because

you're a little blurry

i should go not letting you get away

with it that easily

i i should get back to writing okay okay

bye

hey paul had some extra lights and i

thought we could put them on the sleigh

for tonight

is everything okay

yeah the guy who put in the offer on the

store just came by i was all excited to

show them these original blueprints but

said they're just going to tear down the

store put in a coffee max

it's a big change i mean don't get me

wrong places in need of a change but

you know i think there's better ways to

maximize the space

see this wall he could

knock this down just open this whole

space outward

you see this on the blueprints

originally my grandpa wanted to put in a

loft with

books and chairs some place for people

to sit and read

apparently he didn't have the room for

it but one thing i did

add up from design was make the most out

of small areas

we could move these beams make the

ceiling higher put in that loft slash

library cafe

we rewire through here we can actually

make it a computer lounge and look at

this

see this this over here this used to be

a soda fountain counter they tore it

down for more shelving

but scott doesn't need the retail space

we can rebuild using these plans

and make it a wi-fi hotspot sounds like

you're having second thoughts

my grandfather wanted this to be more

than just a store

[Music]

he wanted it to be a place where people

came together

have you talked to scott about this i

don't know if you'd be interested

you're his brother i'm sure he'd want to

hear what you have to say

[Music]

you got it working thought i'd transport

us to a different time

oh wait oh hold on

[Music]

it's perfect pass meets the present

pearl and william would be so proud no i

think they love what we did to the store

i hope so they both had such a great

sense of style

you just carry that around with you

everywhere now

it's part of my job your job that's

right you know i keep forgetting this is

a work assignment for you

i mean yeah it's work but i care about

the story

after all i'm putting my job on the line

for it

hi hot chocolates yes please

thank you so much the store looks better

than ever i'm so glad we did this

i'm so glad kendra made us do it cheers

cheers oh trish that reminds me i wanted

to ask you something

is there a way to get a list of banks

and lenders that have been in pine grove

over the years

specifically ones around 1949. i can ask

at the newspaper

i'm sure those records exist why william

broke ground on the property the same

year he went back to work for the

railroad because he spent all his money

on the ring

so where did all the money come from to

start building the store

huh so you think he took out a loan but

the only people who could have afforded

that would have been pearl's parents and

they weren't on board with the marriage

so i figured he had to have looked

elsewhere

okay well i'll ask first thing tomorrow

that'll be great

okay now i'm gonna get us some of paul's

christmas cookies before they sell out

my treat you better make it quick

what nothing i just haven't seen you

smile this much in a very long time

it's christmas right wasn't it a few

weeks ago you were saying you

couldn't wait to get through the

holidays you know what i am learning to

appreciate

everything they have to offer well i

think you should learn to appreciate

asking kendra to the christmas eve dance

yeah i think that's a terrible idea why

not you like her

yeah liking her isn't the issue he

admits it then what is the issue

okay look not everybody can be as lucky

as you two okay

or grandma and grandpa

actually yes they can how will you know

unless you try

[Music]

thank you for the ride thank you for the

fun night

[Music]

sure going to be a change of pace going

back to boston after being in a town

like pine grove

well you know maybe if the article is a

hit you could

find more human interest stories here i

think

we have the highest number of maple

trees outside of vermont

oh yeah my boss is gonna love the click

potentials with that headline

you never know she's letting you write

about a ring right

um actually it's funny you should

mention that because there's something i

want to

what it's a shooting star

oh i missed it

we should make a wish

okay

[Music]

i should go yeah because

technically i'm still on the clock okay

yeah yeah huh

[Music]

so there was only one bank in town at

the time but they didn't have a loan

record in williams name oh

but i did found an old directory that

listed a company on the edge of town

called barney's loans and bonds anything

there well they closed in the 60s and

because they were a private lending

company there's no public records

hmm i wonder if their private records

even still exist

well they were bought out by star credit

unions so there's a possibility they

might have some information

thank you so much for all of this i'm

happy to help i feel like we're getting

closer

me too hmm

boys

what is this well michael and i started

looking through the storage to find you

some more of those uh retro christmas

ornaments you like and we actually found

some really great photos of the store

over the years yeah you know besides the

soda found this place really hasn't

changed that much since it opened

prices sure have changed well everything

could use a good makeover once in a

while

trying to do that with quizzer yeah i

know it's just grandma made it work for

so many years as it is i honestly

don't even know where to start when it

comes to updating michael had some great

ideas for repurposing the space

you should tell scott oh yeah uh yeah

just you know some ideas inspired by

grandpa's original blueprints but listen

you know the store better than anybody

else if you think it makes sense to sell

then that's what we're gonna do maybe

your ideas make sense

i'd love to see them look at this you

guys hosted cookie exchanges

not that i knew is there a date on this

no

didn't realize the store ever hosted

events you know what it must have been

part of grandpa's original vision for

the store as a community hot spot

we should do this one last cookie

exchange i love that

a way to say goodbye to the store in the

perfect william and pearl christmas

fashion

and there are no festival activities

planned for tomorrow it's kismet

okay i'll post it on the newspaper site

and the social media accounts will

really get the word out there fast

okay i guess we're doing this did pearl

have a favorite

cookie recipe that you knew of oh yeah

what

peppermint whoopie pies michael do you

still have the recipe yeah i think it's

in the kitchen somewhere i'll find it i

love

whoopie pies i can give you a hand

because peppermint can be tricky yeah

okay

i guess we're doing this

now fair warning even though i've eaten

my fair share i've never actually

made whoopie pies from scratch well full

confession neither have i

but i mean you know i know my grandma's

recipes got to be around here somewhere

i mean you know how hard can it be okay

recipes

it's got to be in here ah here we go

this is it pearl's peppermint whoopie

pie looks like it's on its last

leg

my dear pearl we may have had our

differences but this needs to stay in

the family

enjoy making these for your new husband

blessings

your mother so i guess my

great-grandmother gave that to her

even though she didn't want william to

marry pearl it looks like this recipe

was her way of giving her blessing

i guess things worked out in the end huh

yeah so what do you say

shall we honor pearl's legacy

i can smell them from here um

so good smells like my childhood

how has no one bottled the smell of

baked goods ooh

i like that you know what i think that's

going to be my next adventure

what's that cologne you're wearing sir

baked goods

by michael jones

oh is that your boss again

no it's an email trish got from star

credit union because she was family she

was allowed to request the records

huh what is it in 1949 william took out

a loan

yeah a five-year term loan what does

that mean

it just means he was able to get as much

as he did because he promised to pay it

back in five years and

it looks like he put the land up as

collateral

so the question is did he pay back the

loan in five years or

did they have to find the money some

other way

like selling the ring

whoopie pies are ready

thank you enjoy

i'm so glad we did this seeing people in

the store again it's just

it's great i mean this is what it's

supposed to be like

michael and scott look like they're

enjoying themselves too

you know i think they're having second

thoughts about seven

i just know the real estate agent sent

over some papers to sign and they've

been sitting on our kitchen counter

untouched for days

well they do seem at home here and with

each other

when michael moved away and started

dating sandra he and scott drifted apart

it's so nice to see them coming together

again he's a good guy

michael yeah he's great

what i didn't say anything did you guys

see what the clients brought over

oh wow read the back

cookie exchange 1954. looks just like

ours

i don't know if it was the first one but

it was probably close to it

look pearl's not wearing the ring

anymore

what about the fact that they came from

different backgrounds but overcame that

or the fact that they met at a christmas

eve dance and then got engaged exactly

one year later at the same dance

right before pearl was going to be sent

away that's all great but i know that

michael and sandra's breakup is the hook

for our readers and you have enough of

his story to focus more on that

i know you think our readers want to

hear about bad breakups but i think that

they'll also want to read a story about

family and love and a ring that brought

people together

you are a great writer i know you can

figure out how to include both you get

your human interest piece i get my

clicks

kendra i let you follow this story and i

want to publish it can't you just be

happy about that

now work on making michael the focal

point how his failed engagement is in

juxtaposition with his grandparents love

that's the interesting part

good luck

[Music]

[Music]

why do you think a jewelry dealer in

willowbrook is going to know something

okay every picture of pearl had her

wearing the ring until

1954 and that was around the same time

the loan was due

i asked paul did he think that pearl or

william ever sold the ring back to carl

he said his grandfather never bought

jewelry back but

he referred people to a dealer here it

shouldn't be much

further i don't think scott should tell

the story

seeing the place feel decorated again

and seeing what it's like when people

gather there

talking about all these amazing things

we could do with the place i kind of

feel like

i don't know i feel like maybe we gave

up too soon well i hope me doing this

article hasn't thrown a wrench in

anything

are you kidding you're writing this

article was a good thing

i mean i've never felt this close to my

grandparents or to scott

um speaking of this article there's

something i need to talk to you about

okay um

i promise this article is not gonna be

about you

but i might have to use your name

you've been such a big part of my

experience here and it it might be weird

if i used a pseudonym for you

but i won't if you're not okay with it

no that's okay i get it i mean

they're my grandparents makes sense

just uh you know maybe don't mention

that i'm that

michael jones just getting to that point

where i feel like i put all that behind

me

of course thank you

i think this might be it should we go

take a look

yeah okay merry christmas

can i help you find anything hi um

this may sound a little bizarre but i'm

wondering if this

engagement ring i found may have come

through here around 1954.

we definitely don't have records going

back that far but my great uncle has

worked here forever maybe he could help

is he here no he's retired but he loves

when i call him from the store

if you guys have a second yeah sure

that'd be great

katie my dear you need help pricing an

item no

actually there's this couple who's got a

question about a ring we may have bought

a long time ago

um hi um i'm trying to trace the history

of this ring and i wanted to know if it

was sold to you in the early 1950s

i know it's a long shot but this one has

a very unique inscription

forever my christmas love 1948.

you found it i've been keeping my eyes

peeled for that ring for years

a woman came in gosh must have been

65 years ago said she had sold it to us

to keep her husband's business afloat

broke my heart when i told her it was

already gone she must have come back for

it after the story started doing well

at different times in their lives they

both sacrificed what was most important

to them for their love

they knew that being together following

their dreams

meant more than

[Music]

after you

oh looking good bro

i don't think we should sell you don't

i've been thinking a lot about your

ideas and you're right

with some changes the store could be

viable again i mean

graham and grandpa put so much of

themselves into this place and they left

it behind for us

selling would kind of feel like losing

them all over again

i agree i think this place could really

be something unique

listen i'd love to show you some of the

modifications i made blueprints

yeah let's do it yeah we just have to

get to the newspaper christmas party

right um we'll talk later look forward

to it bro

me too all right bye bye

[Music]

thank you for what for everything

none of this would have happened without

you you really

reconnected us to a legacy

[Music]

what are you doing well with my article

being due tonight i want to be able to

say i return the ring to the family in

the end

hey um do you like to come to the

christmas eve dance with me

i mean with the article finished i

figure wouldn't be a conflict of

interest anymore

i would love to go with you great

great now um i better go finish writing

uh yeah oh yeah thank you bye goodbye

[Music]

hey just calling to see how it's going

it's going

i mean i have the perfect ending are you

doing the article you want

or the one linda wants i'm doing the

article on the christmas ring

and what true love really takes i admire

you

thanks i'm hoping the words speak for

themselves

can't wait to read it talk soon

come in thought you could use some

nourishment

you're too kind i'm so glad you found

out what happened to the ring

and i'm sure michael and scott are glad

too i'm glad i could return it

maybe someday somebody will find your

mom's ring and they'll return it to you

maybe but i realized i wanted the ring

back so bad because i wanted my mom back

but the truth is i don't need a piece of

jewelry to have my mom with me

as long as i hold her in my heart and my

memories she's always with me

maybe the search for it was all i needed

after all

it led me here and it led me to

the story

well i'll let you get back to it

[Music]

um

i'm so sorry kendra linda ruined it your

version was so much better call me

[Music]

no no no no no

this isn't my article oh no

this is all wrong

michael

you lied to me no michael

my boss did this she took my words and

she twisted them

you made me believe that you were

writing this story about true love

about how love takes sacrifice and risk

and instead you used me you have to

believe me

this isn't what i wanted this isn't what

i wrote

you should leave michael

i need you to leave

kendra you completely changed it

i colored it up a bit but that's my job

i'm your editor

your article is good but the heartbreak

of a man licking his wounds after losing

it all to an ex who falls in love with

someone else is way more juicy

i told him it wasn't about him well it

was his grandma's ring he was part of

the story the whole time i'm sure he

knew that

no he didn't i know you want to write

these articles on the human experience

and meaningful moments but i want to

sell ad space

and that's where quizzer is at the

moment now i gave you a chance it just

didn't work

you're right well good i'm glad we're on

the same page you're right

that this isn't working i've been so

scared to leave this place and lose out

on a good paying job

but i love to write about what actually

matters

and sometimes what are you getting at

i quit

[Music]

kendra hi trish i'm so glad you answered

i have been thinking about you nonstop

you're not mad at me

i'll call it journalistic intuition but

i don't think you had anything to do

with that article

i wish michael understood that i know i

tried i did he's

he's just too upset right now i get it i

mean none of this would have happened if

i hadn't

interrupted his life perhaps but you

brought michael and scott together and

you reconnected them to william and

pearl

i want to make this right but i need

your help how can i help

would the pine grove cassette run the

real story of the christmas ring

the one i wrote we would be honored okay

i need to make some changes

but i will send it to you tonight great

i'll make it front page tomorrow

just in time for the dance thank you

[Music]

my dad proposed to my mom with a ring

that had been passed down in his family

for four generations

i know this because when i was little i

used to sit on my mother's lap and turn

the ring around and around

while she told me that they were blessed

with the legacy of love

after my mom passed away my dad held on

to the ring promising it would be mine

one day

last year he joined my mom and

i was left with a hole in my heart

a few weeks after his funeral i realized

i hadn't seen the ring in any of my

father's things

it was gone and it felt like i lost them

both all over again

so i made sure to check every antique

shop i passed

but time and time again my search turned

up short

that was until two weeks ago when i

found someone else's engagement ring

at an antique market in boston the ring

was stunning and the inscription inside

moved me

i had to know the story behind this ring

and so i began my quest and it led me to

pine grove massachusetts

a town so full of christmas magic i felt

like a kid again

william jones worked on the railroad in

pine grove and was saving up to open his

dream store

but in 1947 at the main street

festival's christmas eve dance

his plans changed when he met a

beautiful debutante named pearl

although they were from different worlds

the two quickly fell in love

he decided to put his dream on hold and

order a very special custom engagement

ring for pearl

not one to wait williams soon took out a

loan and began building the store

but as most businesses do it struggled

in the first couple of years

and william and pearl were in danger of

losing it all

so pearl did the only thing she could do

to help keep her love stream alive

she sold the ring

the jones general store is still in the

family owned by william and pearl's

grandson scott and michael

even they didn't know the story behind

the ring but together

we discovered that it was so much more

than a circle of gold

it was a symbol of family a sacrifice

and above all a symbol of true love

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while uncovering the story behind the

ring i started to fall in love with

michael

i realized it was time to take a risk

time to quit my job

and follow my own path

so here i am now sharing the true story

of the christmas ring

a story i didn't realize i had become a

part of

that is why i'll be at the pine grove

christmas eve dance

where pearl and william first met

and i'll be there waiting for michael in

the hopes that he feels the same way

and can see that even though i went to

pine grove looking for answers about a

stranger's ring

what i found was the missing piece to my

own heart

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hi it was a lovely article thank you

i hope everyone feels that way have

faith

i'll try

any sign of them i tried calling there's

still time

well whatever happens i want to thank

you both so much

for everything oh kendra thank you

i'm gonna go get us some cider okay have

another look around

you look beautiful michael i'm so sorry

i shouldn't i'm sorry i should believe

you

would you like to dance

so is it true you walked away from

quizzer i did

i decided to take you up on your

suggestion of starting my own online

magazine

strictly human interest pieces like the

christmas ring

i think that's a great idea have you

decided where your offices will be

right now out of my apartment in boston

that is a funny coincidence i'm actually

moving for boston soon

you are you know redesigning

the store completely inspired me i'm

starting to move for him

one that focuses on taking buildings of

the past and dating

for the future it's going to be a brand

new start

and what better place for both of our

goals than boston

what about pine grove it's not too far

it's where i'll spend my weekends

and you can join me if you want to after

all you're a part of the story now

which is why i think pearl

would want you to hold on to this

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hey hi yes

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fall in love

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acclaimed violinist lucia micarelli and

michael rady

starring an all-new original holiday

movie

it doesn't matter where i am just as

long as i'm with you the christmas bow

premieres sunday night at 10 only on

hallmark movies and mysteries

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foreign

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you