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If you make smart, strategic choices

you can maximize your efficiency every single day.

If you save 10 minutes a day, that adds up to 41 hours a year.

We're implementing Nicky's strategic plan

and you'll all be receiving

a little extra gift in your paychecks.

Christmas bonuses.

Congratulations.

And you'll notice that we finished 10 minutes early.

Thank you all for your attention.

Happy Holidays.

Excellent presentation, Nicky. Thank you so much.

Oh, I'm so glad.

You know I could've spent more time on goal setting, but...

No, it was perfect.

What's your availability like in January?

I'd like to bring you back.

I'm free.

You're going to be busy.

That's me!

I can't wait to see you.

I know, I'm so excited.

Oh, hey!

Hi Nicky.

Anthony, is that you? How tall are you now?

Five six and a half?

Your mom told me that you made the JB team.

Yup. Youngest on the team.

Yeah. He eats all the time.

Oh, get the pie out. Please?

Hey, so we're on for Friday, right?

Yes. Uh, we will meet at the flower shop.

I will order some lunch.

Can't wait to see you. I love you.

Love you, bye!

Bye.

I'm serious, you're going to spoil your dinner.

I'm making pork chops.

We're just going to grab a pizza.

Oh.

Jeremy's taking me and Chad to work on free throws.

I thought I mentioned it.

Nope, but that's fine. It's just fine.

That's Chad. I'll get it.

Okay.

-Hello beautiful. -Hi.

Mwah.

-How was work? -It was fine.

You're taking the guys to the gym?

I thought you had to work late.

No, the presentation got postponed just like I predicted.

Right.

Oh, it's my mom.

She probably wants to tell us

what day she's coming for Christmas.

Well, I'd really like to know that

so I have time to mentally prepare.

She'll leave a voicemail.

Really not going to help me that much.

-Hey Anthony, you ready buddy? -Yup!

Oh, I'm going to show these kids how it's done.

-I'll see you tomorrow, babe. -Yeah, bye.

I hate this kitchen.

-Thank you so much. -Happy Thanksgiving.

Hi! Mom!

You're here.

Hey sweetheart.

It's so good to see you. Hi Dad.

Hi honey.

Let's get inside. It's cold.

-Here, let me get your bag. -Okay, yeah. Absolutely.

Thank you so much, Dad. Okay.

So, how was your trip?

Hey, hey, hey. Come in here.

I got it.

It's a done deal.

Are you serious?

Yeah.

We can surprise her at Christmas.

No way.

What did I miss?

Uh, nothing. Um, we were...

We were just talking about how great the table looks.

Oh!

Yeah, that thing in the middle is very cool.

It's fun, right?

-Yeah. -Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Uh, I'm going to get the turkey.

Me too.

They're being helpful.

Nicky, why don't you start first?

Oh, okay.

Well, I am grateful to be spending Thanksgiving

with my two favorite people.

I am grateful that we were both able to retire this year.

Yeah.

And embark on a whole new phase in our lives.

Wherever that takes us.

Near or not so near.

Why do I get the sense

that you two are trying to tell me something?

Honey, um...

Your mom and I have decided to downsize.

We're selling the house.

We wanted to tell you in person.

This is the house that you grew up in

and well we weren't sure how you were going to take the news.

I think it's terrific.

You do?

Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think it's great.

Good for you.

You know what? You should travel to Europe.

You, you could take that trip to Alaska

that you've always dreamed of, that cruise.

You should do all the fun things that you want to do

that you worked so hard for.

Thank you so much for your support.

We thought that you might feel like you're losing

a piece of your childhood.

What? No.

My home is wherever you two are.

Aw.

But I have a great idea. You know what?

You should go look at property up in upstate New York.

I love it there, it's so close.

It would be beautiful.

Woah, woah, woah, woah.

We're not leaving Marsden. We love it here.

We just need something smaller.

Oh. Yeah.

Of course.

Okay. Well, uh, I'll help you find a local realtor.

We hired one.

Simone's fiancé has a friend, Derrick.

Wow. You two are further along than I... than I thought.

Honey, if you really wanted to help

maybe you could stay a little longer.

We've got a lot to pack and purge.

Of course, Mom. I would love to help.

That's wonderful.

I'm so excited, you'll be here for Christmas.

Christmas?

What? What, what are you talking about?

No, no, no. I said I would help, you know.

A couple days I would stay, speed pack.

And then you two can come see me on the 22nd.

Your mother and I thought it might be nice

to have one last Christmas in this house.

For old times' sake to go and pick a tree

at Jensen's farm together and decorate it.

Just like when you were little.

I would love that.

All right. To Christmases past.

And new beginnings.

-Cheers. -Cheers.

Oh no, Mom.

I was such a nerd.

I can't believe I kept all my old textbooks.

You said you wanted to reread them over the summer.

No wonder no one wanted to hang out with me.

Come on over, we'll redo our trig assignments.

Yeah.

Well, it's not like you had a whole lot of time to socialize.

You were in math competitions almost every weekend.

I mean... look. Look how many you won.

Yeah. I...

Mom, why did you frame my Valedictorian speech?

So, it wouldn't get ruined.

You thought I would want to keep something

to remind me of literally the worst day of my entire life?

So, a few people didn't connect with your speech.

It came from your heart. I loved it.

Mom, half the kids laughed and the other half thought

I needed to be under observation.

I think that's just because they didn't expect you to sing.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that either.

No. That is when I learned not to trust my instincts.

Oh! Look.

This is from when Simone lived next door.

You two decided that you wanted to dress exactly alike

that entire year, so I just gave up

and started buying two of everything.

Oh, honey, nobody remembers that speech

and you were not an outcast in high school.

Why did I even keep this book? I tested out of...

What's that?

I don't know.

-Who's it from? -I don't know.

Uh, it's not signed.

"Dear Nicky.

"I guess I'm too shy to tell you this in person,

"so I figured an anonymous note is the way to go.

"You're an amazing person, I hope you know that.

"The time you complimented my drawing

"and when you congratulated me last week

"on winning against Mountain Point

"it really put a smile on my face.

"Hopefully this card makes you smile.

"Merry Christmas".

And, and there's a phrase written in it.

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,

"for stony limits cannot hold love out."

Hmm. What a beautiful sentiment.

Oh, oh honey.

No, it's, it's just that whoever wrote this was right.

It's true I never smiled, ever.

I just don't know how I missed it, you know?

I really needed to have found this then,

to know that someone felt this way about me back then.

Maybe you needed to find it now.

Maybe.

Oh, my gosh, you are here!

I have missed you so much!

Wait, let me see it.

Oh, yeah. It's beautiful.

I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle.

You are going to give a toast at the reception this time, right?

What? No.

You don't need me to do that.

You have a Best Man for that.

How many speeches do you need?

You are the Maid of Honor.

Besides, if you don't do it

it'll just be Jeremy's gym buddies.

Please, please, please. Please?

Yes, of course. Of course, I will.

If you want me to make a speech I'm going to make a speech.

-I can do it. -Yes, you can.

You have waited so long to find someone like Jeremy,

and I want to do whatever I can

to help you make this wedding the most perfect day ever.

Thank you.

Oh, love you.

I love you too.

Well?

I know. Look at this place, wow.

You have made it so fantastic.

There's so much more here than there used to be.

I know, I'm on track to do twice as much as I did last Christmas.

Wow, look at you.

I know.

Well, I want to help out or whatever I can do.

Okay.

But I have something to show you.

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,

"for stony limits cannot hold love out."

Whoever wrote this clearly thought a lot of you.

I know.

That's what's so hard to understand.

Why is that surprising?

You remember me in high school.

Mm-hmm.

I was the kid that wasn't in the play, you know?

I'm always on the sidelines.

Everybody felt that way back in high school, Nik.

And there she is.

-Hi. -Hi.

Oh, it's so nice to see you.

Good to see you.

I thought you guys might be getting hungry.

Yeah, we were.

And where's Anthony?

Uh, I told him I'd pick him up at his buddy Chad's house

and pry the video game controller out of his hand.

Thank you.

Of course, yes.

Uh, so I'll leave you two to, to dish.

Okay.

And I'll have Anthony back at 9:00.

Oh, 9:00? I'm done at 6:00.

Maybe we could all have dinner.

Oh I... I'm sorry, babe.

I... You know, I told Anthony

I'd take him Christmas shopping for your gift.

Oh.

But uh, we'll grab some food at the mall.

I'll make sure he eats real food.

Or, you know, at least the most real food

you can get at the mall.

Ok. bye.

Okay. Well, I'll see you at home then, I guess.

All right. Bye.

He's really leaning into this parenting thing, huh?

Yeah. He is definitely the father figure

I always wanted for Anthony.

I mean, he even spent every weekend over the summer

teaching him how to rebuild the engine of an old Mustang Jeremy bought.

That's great, right?

Yeah, it is.

But between Jeremy and basketball and his friends

I just, I don't see him very much.

Aw.

I know.

Derrick, hi.

Welcome home, boys.

Oh man I... I can't believe it's actually ours.

Well, guess what?

It's going to feel a whole lot more real once we're inside.

These are for you. Closing docs and insurance.

Great.

And I will let you do the honors.

Oh.

Woah!

Or of course, Anthony.

After you.

Age before beauty, bud.

Two ovens?

Mom's going to love this place.

So, what now?

We list my condo.

But don't go public with it till after the Christmas surprise.

You know I can keep a secret.

I do, yeah.

How about you, buddy?

Won't breathe a word. Can I go pick out my room?

Yes.

Do you remember the look on my dad's face

when he sipped that eggnog?

He was trying so hard not to hurt our feelings.

We had no idea what tempering eggs meant.

You still have the stockings that we made for your hamsters?

Yeah.

I mean, come on, they're cute. I couldn't let them go.

Of course not.

You couldn't let this go either?

I know.

I... I just kept that in case Anthony wanted it one day.

Does he ask about Ryan?

Uh, no.

The last time was, uh, right after Jeremy proposed.

He wanted to know if Jeremy would leave us

the same way his dad did.

What did you say?

It caught me so off-guard

I just said, "No, Jeremy's in it to win it."

Well, he is.

Jeremy is such a good guy. He was even in high school.

And you deserve that. So, does Anthony.

Thanks.

Hey!

Hey, come and say hi to Nicky.

-Hey bud! -Hi Nicky.

Oh, look at you.

So good to see you.

Where are you off to in such a hurry?

Snack.

Oh, uh yeah. Well, go get it.

Help yourself.

And that right there is why I will never be able to retire.

He eats all the time.

So, are you going to try to find him?

Who?

The guy who wrote the mystery card obviously.

Aren't you curious?

Of course, I'm curious.

But how am I supposed to figure out who it is?

There were 250 people in our graduating class.

Well, um, okay.

I think he was an athlete, right?

Because he said that you congratulated him

on the win against Mountain Point.

Hmm. That's very good, Sherlock.

And it was a Christmas card, so I mean, probably a winter sport.

Football.

Oh, my god.

Only you could go to high school for four years

and not know that our high school football team

never won against Mountain Point.

But I bet you it was basketball.

Yeah.

And obviously he knew about literature

because that last quote, it was...

it could have been out of a Jane Austen or something.

You know, I could look it up.

-Yes, yeah, okay. -This is fun.

Yeah. This is fun.

Okay.

Um, "With love's white wings did I o'erperch."

From Romeo and Juliet.

Oh!

Shakespeare's most famous story about unrequited love.

That's telling.

Maybe it was Reggie.

Do you remember how cute that boy was?

Reggie Green.

Oh, he was cute.

Or Treyton Vega.

Damian Wenzel. Do you remember him?

He worked part-time at that bakery and he...

he always gave you those um, the free...

-Crullers! -Crullers!

They were very good crullers.

Hey. The good news is

that you have a whole month to figure this out, right?

What?

Come on. What is it?

Well...

What?

What if I find him and... and he forgot that he wrote it.

I mean, I just don't want to put too much stock in this

in case it... it doesn't mean anything, you know?

Hey Nick, you're more memorable than you realize.

And nobody is going to have forgotten

writing a card like that.

Even all those years ago.

It was Shakespeare.

Obviously, he really loved you.

Okay, okay. We'll try to f find him.

-Okay. -Okay.

Yeah.

Okay, here it is. My favorite house.

I know, I know, they usually have

way more lights up at this time.

Usually they have it all done by Thanksgiving.

They're incredible.

I just can't believe that you dragged me out here

in the middle of the night to look at a house

that isn't even for sale.

Shut up, a girl can dream.

Yes.

Yes, you can.

And you should dream.

Thank you.

But just don't turn into a stalker okay?

I can't afford the bail.

Well, you know, they could report me.

It'd be worth the jail time.

I'm serious, I love this place.

Remember when we were kids and we used to play house?

This is exactly the type of house I dreamt about.

I love it.

Okay.

Now, you have to take me home,

because I think my parents

are going to start selling my old math awards

for their retirement trip around the world.

I love you so much.

They're not going far.

They're not going to go far, yeah.

But we are right now, let's go.

Let me get your stuff out of the car.

-Okay, let's do it. -Okay.

We're here. We made it.

All right. We get...

-Woah, these are- -Oh, oh! Let me help you.

These are bigger and heavier than I had intended.

Okay.

No, they're perfect.

They're perfect and it's going to look so great on the mantle.

-Thank you so much. -You're welcome.

Perks of the trade, you know. Are you okay?

Oh, yeah. I got it. I got it now.

-I love you. -Love you too.

Mwah! Bye.

-Goodnight, drive safe. -Goodnight.

-It's so nice to have you back. -Oh, it's so nice to be back.

Oh, hey. Oh, thank goodness.

-Good timing too. -Yeah.

Yeah, anything to make this house have

a little holiday pizzazz is great.

Sorry, um, who are you?

Oh, I'm the, I'm the realtor.

Yeah, the homeowners are on the way back from dinner

but I've got a buyer swinging by here in about 10 minutes,

so, this'll be really helpful.

You know, it's amazing.

I can't believe Simone sent this to us so late.

She's amazing.

Oh, I gotta get rid of this. This has got to go.

What are you doing?

Oh, I've just got to elevate this room a little bit.

I mean, look at this painting. Isn't it beautiful?

Oh, I love the snow on the trees and the interplay of light,

I like how the, the flurries descending.

It's almost like you can sense the movement, huh?

Movement. Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Movement.

Um, yeah. It's like, whether, you know,

whether it's Baroque or Rococo or Luminicsm like this piece is.

Luminicsm.

Yeah.

Sure, yeah. Tell me more.

Well, uh, it's uh, this is a really good friend of mine.

He's extremely, extremely talented.

Mm-hmm.

His name is Reggie Green.

I think his goal...

Reggie Green?

I went to school with him. He's on my list.

Huh.

What do you, what do you mean "list?"

Oh uh, nothing.

I didn't mean to say that.

Uh, you're...

We're home.

We brought cake.

Hey Derrick, I see you've met our daughter.

Yeah. Sure did.

We'll make coffee while you do the showing.

Okay.

Come on, honey.

Oh, yeah. Okay.

Okay.

-Thanks so much for coming by. -Alright, thank you, Derrick.

-Okay, goodnight. -Goodnight.

Well, that went very well.

I think they may make an offer.

Good.

There's a cup on the counter if you want some coffee.

Holiday blend.

Do you take cream?

Yeah, no. It's very kind.

No, I'm, I'm uh, I'm fine I...

Oof, it's getting late. I should get going.

But there is a condo I want you guys to see, okay?

I talked to the owner.

They said we should swing by Monday at noon.

How does that sound?

-Great. -Yeah.

All right.

You're welcome to join us if you'd like.

It's Nicky, right?

Yeah. Do I know you?

I, I saw your name all over your awards in your room.

I'll take those down before the next showing, I'm sorry.

No, it's, oh, it's fine.

Um, text you the address for Monday, all right?

Thanks Derrick.

Right. Goodnight.

Have a good night.

-Okay. -See you Monday.

Yep.

What a great guy, huh?

Bradley Duncan, Damian Wenzel.

Hmm.

Um, should I just make some more?

Because it doesn't look like we'll have enough for the tree.

You know what this weekend is, right?

The next Cavaliers game.

Oh! Yeah, Sunday night.

That's great. But you know what else it is?

It is the first weekend of the craft fair.

And you know what that means?

We get to have our famous Christmas card photo taken.

What? No, you promised last year I'd never have to do it again.

Oh, come on.

Everybody loves to get a Christmas card with you and Santa.

Okay, this was the first one.

Aww!

Look at his little chubby cheeks.

Okay, see this? Look at that.

You wouldn't let go of Santa's beard

and everybody was laughing.

Oh, what a sweetheart.

Why don't I... why don't I bring my camera over

and take a photo of you two guys in front of the tree together?

Yes, that's a way better idea.

You know what? We can take that picture

but for, you know, for the Christmas card

I'd really like to stick with our tradition.

Well he's 15, he's a... a little old.

What if someone from school sees him?

Exactly. It would take months of therapy to get over that.

The tree is a perfect backdrop.

I vote for the tree.

You know, if you guys have this handled,

I think I'm going to go make some popcorn.

I'll talk to her.

I'm sorry for getting involved in that.

I shouldn't have.

I want you to be involved,

I just don't like being teamed up on.

But, you know, that's going to happen, right?

I mean, if I take your side

then that's how Anthony's going to feel.

And most of the time I'm going to take your side.

You know, our picture with Santa.

I know that it's silly and it seems ridiculous

but it's always been our Christmas tradition.

I know.

But he doesn't want to do it.

And since there are so many things

that he doesn't want to do that he has to do,

maybe you can let him off the hook on this one.

You can't keep him little forever.

Jeremy, I have three years left with him.

Three years before he goes off to college and,

and everything changes.

And it just doesn't need to change yet.

I don't want it to change yet.

his 20th wedding anniversary last month.

Pictures were all over social media.

That doesn't mean he couldn't have written the card.

He married his high school sweetheart.

Oh, okay. Yeah, that does rule him out.

But it means the search continues.

No, I am getting carried away.

I don't think I should do this anymore.

Let's talk about you.

All right.

Um, what are you going to get Anthony for Christmas?

Well, I was going to get him a guitar

but apparently he told Jeremy

that he wants to go to snowboarding camp.

Well, that sounds fun though.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Here we are. Reggie's exhibit.

What? No.

I thought we just agreed that I wasn't going to do this anymore.

No, we did not agree to that.

This isn't a good idea.

I think this is a great idea.

In fact, I think that he probably wrote the card

because he's artistic.

Just let the conversation flow naturally.

You're not 17-year-old Nicky.

You are successful,

well-adjusted adult Nicky, right?

I feel like the first thing.

Oh, come on.

Thank you so much.

I'll have it delivered tomorrow.

Okay, take care.

Um, your favorite season must be summer.

Well, I... I find the winter scenes tend to sell

a little better during the holidays.

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah. Of course.

Yeah.

Uh, I really like the interplay of light in this one.

Yeah, it's... it's subtle.

I'm surprised you picked up on that. Thank you.

You're welcome.

I'm a big fan of the luminicsm style.

You know art?

A little.

What's your favorite period?

Um... a favorite?

-Mm-hmm. -Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, if I had to pick a favorite

I guess it would be, it could be the ro... coco. The ro-

-The Rococo. -The Rococo style.

-Yeah. -Yeah same. Yeah, it's great.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, it is great.

I mean, what I love about it is how it's so...

Artistic.

Yeah, it is. Yeah.

Excuse me. Hi.

I think that gentleman over there

has been trying to get your attention.

Yeah him.

-Okay, excuse me. -Sure.

Psst.

What are you doing?

Trying to find something in common with him.

He doesn't even know who I am.

I don't even know who you are either.

Just... just be a normal person.

Just breathe in and out, deep breath.

And out.

You're foxy.

Okay.

Oh, hey, um, you know what I just realized?

I think we know each other.

That maybe we went to high school together.

I'm Nicky Beaton.

Oh, that's right.

Yeah. You were valedictorian, right?

Yeah. Yeah, I was.

It's nice to see you again.

How have you been?

I've been great, uh, thank you.

Yeah.

I'm here just visiting my parents for the holidays.

I live in New York now.

No way. I... I just spent three years on the Upper West Side.

Really?

-Yeah, I loved it. -I love it too, yeah. Excellent.

I'm at 86th and Broadway.

-Oh, so nice. -Yeah.

I'm actually just about to move to Paris.

That is the home of the Rococo...coco coco.

-Right. -Yeah.

It's famous.

Yeah. I've... I've just always wanted to live there

and I figured why not give it a shot

rather than wonder "what if?"

Yeah.

Yeah, those what-if's will kill you.

Yeah.

I, um, I wish that I had known you were in New York.

Why, would you have looked me up?

You didn't even remember me.

I didn't recognize you. There's a big difference.

I remember, I remember a lot of things about you

from high school.

We definitely had chemistry.

I thought so too. You know, I really thought that-

It was the hardest class that I've ever taken.

And I remember you got straight A's.

That class was hard.

Mrs. Epp, she was so tough.

I was always...

I was always envious of how easy that was for you.

I would study for hours every night

and I could not get better than a B.

You were envious of me?

Oh, yeah.

You're good at everything.

Weren't you on the basketball team?

Yeah, until I blew my knee out during the summer.

Oh.

Yeah, I didn't play at a single varsity game after that, so.

Wait, you didn't play against Mountain Point our junior year?

Uh, nope. Why?

No reason.

Wait, wait, wait! Your mom.

Hi guys.

Hey.

You finish up, okay?

I'll help her.

Thanks, love you.

Good to see you.

Mwah.

You too.

Hey kiddo.

How was practice?

Good.

Nice.

Hey, do you think I could go over to Chad's tonight?

Why don't you have him come over here?

I could make you a big pot of spaghetti

with the pink sauce you like.

I... I think he's looking after his little sister

so, we have to study there.

Sure. Next time.

I'll go call him.

Okay.

Yeah, of course. I will just...

Come on.

-Hi. -Hey sweetie, how was it?

Oh, it was super fun.

It was really nice catching up with Reggie

but he definitely did not write the card.

So, I haven't made any progress with that.

But I did find lots of fun stuff at the craft fair.

Well, he may not have written the note,

but whoever did is left-handed.

How do you know that?

I might have done a little sleuthing online last night.

Here, let me show you.

Have you got the card?

Oh um, yes, of course. Yeah, I have it right here.

See, people who are left-handed cross their T's

from right to left, not left to right.

So, it looks like this.

Wow, yeah. I can see what you're saying.

That's great Mom, thank you.

Jessica Fletcher has nothing on your mom.

Yeah.

-Okay, so... well hey. -Hi.

All right, so what do you guys think?

Two bedrooms, two baths, upgraded kitchen.

-I love it. -Yeah.

Are you looking at another house?

Derrick wanted us to look at one more before we made our offer.

It does have everything we want.

Yeah. I mean, it's my listing

but it's not officially on the market till after Christmas, so.

You have photos? I'd love to see it.

Oh, it's beautiful Mom. I love it.

Isn't that Jeremy's place?

Uh-huh.

e news.

Uh-oh. What?

It's not bad news.

Well, when you have good news you say you have "good news,"

when you have bad news, you say you have "some news."

Well, Mom's coming on Thursday.

On the 23rd? Okay, okay.

Well, it still gives me time to prepare for her

and, you know, make sure everything is just as she likes it.

This coming Thursday.

What?! No, no, no, no, no, no.

Your brother has a party on the 18th, remember?

Tasha's parents are flying in.

And you know how mom feels about Tasha's mom.

Yeah.

Exactly how she feels about me.

Not even close. She despises Tasha's mom.

Mm-hmm.

Look, with the wedding coming up

I think it's a good opportunity for her to spend some time

getting to know you a little better.

Let her teach you how to bake a ham.

I know how to bake a ham!

Well, pretend you don't.

It... that worked for Tasha!

Seriously?

Listen, I know that my mom can be somewhat opinionated.

Uh-huh.

I want you to feel good about your soon-to-be mother-in-law.

It will mean something to me.

So, covering a ham keeps it from drying out?

That's fascinating!

But we may want to reign it in, you know, just a little.

No. I just want to see it.

She's been my best friend since I was five years old.

I know, I know. And that's precisely why

I don't want to show you the house, okay?

Oh, you can trust me.

I promise you I'm not going to say anything to Simone.

Besides, Christmas spirit. Please help this man see sense.

Okay, fine.

Yeah, you can't argue with the Christmas spirit.

Yeah, well...

Are you driving?

Uh, it's kind of my car.

Fantastic.

Are you serious? This is it?

Simone loves this house.

I know. I know she does.

And Jeremy says they always drive by

every time they're in the neighborhood.

Yeah.

I figured, you know, why don't we find out

if the owners want to sell, so I put a note on the door.

And it was just that easy?

Well, I wouldn't say it was that easy.

First time they called me

they said that they weren't interested.

But then after that snowstorm we had in October

they called me again and they said,

"You know, we've had a change of heart.

"I think we're going to move to Phoenix."

So, I said "Okay, well I'll show you some listings."

And I negotiated the sale.

Wow, you're really good at this.

I don't know about that.

I think there might be someone here.

Well, I hope it's Jeremy.

Hey man. How's it going?

Hey, hey, listen. Are you at the new house?

No, no.

Because we just heard, uh, a noise inside.

I hired a plumber

but he's not going to be there until next week.

-Well... -Okay hey, hang tight, okay?

I'll be there in five minutes.

All right buddy, thanks.

Hey hon. Uh, what are you doing?

Um, uh...

Anthony, Anthony forgot something

and he needs me to bring it to him.

Really? Why didn't he call me?

Because the thing he needs is in my truck,

and so, I'm just going to run it over to him.

I'll get my coat, and on the way back we can go to Damian's.

I really like those hot chocolate cupcakes.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

No.

You, you...

Tell you what, okay? You stay here, okay?

And I'll get the muffins and a latte,

and I'll... I'll be back soon.

Oh, there's definitely someone in there.

-Yeah, come on. -What?

-Let's take a look. -Don't you think it's dangerous?

This is Marsden Ohio Nicky, not New York.

-I'm sure we're fine. -Okay.

No, no, no, but maybe we don't want...

Shhh!

Anthony!

Hi. Can you help? This is kinda heavy.

I got it, I got it, I got it.

Oh.

Are you okay?

What are you doing?

I wanted there to be a tree in the new house

when we surprised mom.

The guy said it should just screw into the stand

but it keeps falling over.

Wait, you brought this tree in yourself?

One of the seniors on my team has a car.

But there's still two weeks till Christmas

so, I hope it doesn't die.

Anthony trust me, it'll be just fine.

Does anyone know you're here?

They think I'm at a friend's.

Anthony!

What? How else could I keep it a surprise?

Well, Jeremy's on his way.

You called him?

Of course, I called him.

Come on.

Wait, what are you two doing here?

Oh, I asked Derrick to bring me.

I want to check out your new house.

You weren't supposed to say anything.

I know. I know.

Come on, we had a pact.

Buddy, I'm sorry, but I just- it slipped.

I'm not going to ruin it, I promise.

All right.

I really like your tree. Your mom's going to love it.

You brought in all these decorations.

I don't know, I...

I don't think I have enough.

Hmm, really?

Maybe I can help you with that.

Derrick, these candles are real.

Yeah, they lived a lot more dangerously

in the Victorian age.

How do you know about this place?

Well, this store's been here for about six years.

Yeah, Genevieve the owner, started it in Connecticut,

and when she moved here she brought it with her so.

I actually hire her sometimes to stage the homes I'm selling.

This is a mid-century modern.

Wow.

That over there would be Pennsylvania Dutch.

Oh, here we go. This is what we want right here.

Oh.

Look, bubble lights.

Yeah.

These were popular in the '40s

when they were introduced all the way up into the '80s.

You know what? Tell me what you think.

I thought this might be kind of cool

to decorate Simone's new home

the way she was when she was a kid.

What do you think?

-She'll love that. -Yeah.

It's a great idea.

It's a bit like going back in time, right?

Yeah, it really is.

How do you know all this stuff about time periods

and Christmas?

I mean, it's not like that's a course they teach

in real estate school, right?

Uh yeah. No, no.

Actually, my... my ex-wife was an interior designer

so, I learned it from her.

I, uh, didn't know you were divorced, I'm sorry.

No, no, no, don't be sorry. It's for the best.

Six years ago, we both realized

we were not as compatible as we thought.

Right.

Um, do you want a coffee?

-Sure, yeah. -Yeah.

-Two. -Thank you.

Why do we do that?

Fall for the person that's totally wrong for us?

I don't know, it's um...

For me personally,

Jess and I just... we just weren't friends, you know?

I really believe that you can't love someone

if you can't ask yourself you like them in the first place.

You know what I mean?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's really perceptive.

Yeah. Well, I had a lot of time to think about it, so.

So, um, well what about you?

I mean, married, divorced? It's complicated?

Single, single and single.

Oh.

You know, I guess I'm just working on myself

so, I can be the right partner for someone else.

Mm.

That sounds like a little bit of an excuse.

It actually sounds like that parable of that writer.

What do you mean?

Well, she's the perfect author

who never sends out her manuscript.

And as long as she keeps working on it

she'll never have to feel any rejection.

I send out my manuscript.

Sometimes it just gets lost in the mail.

Oh, yeah.

But you said you don't.

You said you don't, you're not confident

you'd be a good partner.

No, no. You're just twisting my words.

I think you might be a little afraid of rejection.

Ah.

I'll just uh, yeah.

Can you believe that he actually said that to me?

Like I'm afraid of rejection?

Please.

Well, you kind of are though, right?

What?

I'm not saying that you don't take risks because obviously

starting up your own consulting business was a huge risk.

But, I think, Derrick's right,

when it comes to your personal life,

if you think that somebody's going to reject you, you back away.

I love you and you know me better than anyone,

but I think you are way off base here.

All right. Well then, come to the Christmas party

with Jeremy and me on Wednesday.

Okay fine. I would love to. Thank you.

Fine.

My last few hours of freedom before Jeremy's mom gets here.

Oh.

Hey. Maybe some of those guys on the list will be at that party

and I can finally figure out who wrote me that Christmas card.

That's a great idea.

All right. It's at Yvette Tipton's house.

Yvette Tipton? The cheerleader?

That was 20 years ago. She owns a hair salon now.

Well...

People move on Nik, right?

They've had some bumps in their lives too.

Right. Of course.

Good.

Okay.

But you're going to have to pick me up

because my parents have the car that night.

Sure.

Do you have a curfew?

Really lovely, yeah. Yeah, beautiful.

-And here we are ladies. -Oh hi.

-Christmas cranberry coolers. -Lovely.

I hope they're made correctly.

You know, it's been a while since I was a bartender.

I'm sure they're great. Thank you.

All right.

Cheers.

Yes. To the search.

Mmm.

Ooh, these are very good.

Yeah.

Oh, there's Derrick. You could talk to him.

No? Okay.

Hey wait. Is that Treyton?

Which one was he again?

Remember, the really cute one. He could've written the card.

Yeah. Yeah, he could've.

-I'm going to ask. -Do it.

-Okay. -You got this.

-Okay, okay. -Okay.

-I'm doing it. It's happening. -Okay.

Nicky Beaton?

Hi.

Merry Christmas.

You look fantastic. You haven't changed a bit.

Well, I don't know about that.

I've definitely changed a little.

But you look exactly the same, Treyton.

Well thanks. I do my best.

How long has it been?

Last time I saw you was at graduation.

That's probably right.

Yeah, yeah. I remember the speech you gave.

I remember it too.

The one where you sang a song about following your dreams

and discovering who you truly are.

Yeah. Yvette.

Oh, I felt so bad when everyone started laughing at your song.

I didn't laugh. It was inspiring.

But it was no surprise

you'd come up with something like that.

Thank you.

Oh, well, I... I didn't mean that everyone laughed.

I mean, besides... I could never even give a speech

in front of that many people, so.

Well, at least it was memorable, right?

Yes, it was.

Feel free to help yourselves to the hors d'oeuvres.

We have vegan, vegetarian and fruititarian options.

Oh, great.

And I should circulate.

Okay.

Thank you for saying that.

That was really, really nice of you.

I meant every word.

Treyton, can I ask you a really weird question?

If you don't mind a weird answer.

I don't mind.

It's about a Christmas card.

That is it. No more work calls, phone is off.

This is Nicky, a friend from high school.

Nicky, this is my fiancé, Richard.

Hey, nice to meet you.

It's really nice to meet you. Hi.

Nicky was just inquiring about a Christmas card?

Yeah, yeah.

Um, I was just... I was going to ask if you had written me

this romantic Christmas card in high school.

Not unless your name was Jeffrey.

Okay. Well, do you mind if I, um, show it to you?

Maybe you would recognize the handwriting.

It's definitely someone we went to school with.

No.

But listen, I'm not surprised

someone would write you something like that.

You're always complimenting people and lifting them up.

Thank you.

Wow.

Well...

-Merry Christmas. -Merry Christmas.

To you both, and congratulations to you both.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

Okay.

-Okay. This is not going well. -Talk to me.

-Definitely not. -All right.

He was really sweet-

So, look who I found.

Hey.

Hi. Derrick.

-Hi. -Hi.

Simone, Andrea's here.

Oh, right.

I have to talk to her about the flower order.

-Really? -Yep.

Okay.

-Okay. We'll see you in a bit. -Bye.

Uh, listen Nicky,

I hope I didn't offend you with what I said about you

not sending your manuscript out I just that conversation...

No. No, not at all actually.

You gave me something to think about and...

and I appreciate that.

You're right. I do need to put myself out there more.

-So, thank you. -You're welcome.

I mean, look at you, you're here, you're at this party.

-Exactly. -Yeah.

Manuscript published.

Manuscript published, that's good.

Did you see the hors d'oeuvres?

-Woah. -A little like, scary.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Slightly.

It's like everybody that knows Yvette

is either on a starvation diet

or they're allergic to food that actually tastes good.

I think it might be both.

Yeah, you're probably right.

Listen, you want to um, you want to bail

and go have ourselves some, some real Christmas fare?

I'd like that.

I'm actually starving.

-Really? -Mm-hmm.

Me too. Who knew?

Mexican?

Well, you know, nothing says Christmas like a great tamale

in my opinion.

Well, thank you for leaving to bring me here.

It was my pleasure.

You know, I overheard Yvette say something

about a graduation speech?

Yeah.

Well, as you probably gathered it was a disaster.

You sang?

-Derrick. -Hi.

I have your table ready.

Thank you very much.

Is there no one in this town that you don't know?

Well, I found her a terrific little bungalow

down on Riverside.

You stop trying to change the subject.

Fine.

I didn't start singing, you know,

it was just a traditional speech

about closing one chapter and opening another one.

And I had written this song

which is weird because I can't even read music.

And in a complete lapse in judgment

I, I just decided to sing it.

Just like that, like right there in the moment.

Yeah.

Off the cuff and acapella.

Okay. Wow.

See, in my mind, it was going to be really touching

and it was going to bring people to tears.

But, in reality, it brought people to, you know,

tears of laughter after a very awkward silence.

Okay. So... so what did you do?

I stopped singing.

Uh-huh.

And then I just rushed off stage.

Ouch.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

In high school nobody knew who I was.

Right.

Unless you went to like, a math competition.

And when they asked me to do the graduation speech

I just thought this was my chance.

Mm-hmm.

You know, for my classmates to really know me.

Right.

I put all this pressure on myself to make it really good

and it just wasn't.

You know? It wasn't that good.

And about halfway through it, it came to me that I could,

that I could sing that song.

And I did.

And I humiliated myself.

Well... I will tell you that on the humiliation scale

I'll give you a nine, nine-and-a-half.

-Well, thank you. -You're welcome.

But I got a solid 10.

-What? -Yeah.

All right, let's hear it.

What do you mean, like right now?

Yes.

I just poured my heart out to you.

I just gotta make sure no one was in my high school here.

Okay. Alright. Here it goes.

Um, when I was in high school

I was on the debate team, right?

So, one night before this big debate

I decide I'm going to go home, I'm going to stay up all night,

I'm going to study,

I'm going to be super prepared and obviously very tired.

Mm-hmm.

The next day when I got to the debate,

Nicky, I was so exhausted. I fell asleep.

And you snored?

Uh, no. Worse. Yeah, way worse.

I had a dream about my mom.

And in my dream while I was sleeping,

I said "I love you too, Mom."

The whole auditorium heard me say it. Everyone.

Yeah, boom.

The next day I walk down the hallway

and everybody's looking at me going "I love you son!"

I mean, it was brutal. It was like...

I was like "Oh my. This is the worst."

No, that is the worst, that is actually.

I was just hiding in the back...

-Hey! -What is this?

This is pozole.

Wow.

When I was growing up in Mexico

this is what we would have after coming home

from caroling on Nochebuena, Christmas Eve.

Oh.

It's good for the voice after singing.

Oh, perfect for Nicky.

Thank you, Elvira.

-Enjoy. -Thank you so much.

Provecho. Thank you.

All right.

Well, after those two stories I think I'll make a toast.

To being humiliated in high school.

I'll drink to that.

Don't mind if I do.

Ah, ah, ah! Hands off.

Not until Miriam has the first one and then you get three max.

Ugh. So many rules.

Yeah. That's the way it is.

Now, Miriam lives in a perfect house,

so, for the next two weeks we are going to pretend

that's the way we live too.

Don't you want Miriam to see the real us?

Hmm?

And don't call her that. Not unless she says it's okay.

It's Mrs. Winters, huh?

Oh, that's her.

Here we go.

Miriam, hi. Come on in.

Grandma M.

You must be Anthony.

Jeremy told me you're a pretty decent point guard.

Maybe even better than he is.

Hardly. He destroyed me the other day on the court.

Don't worry, sweetheart. He'll age out soon enough.

We are so happy that you decided to come early.

I didn't have much of a choice.

Well, the roast is almost finished

so why don't you make yourself at home?

Oh, good.

You know, you have to cook it right or it gets tough.

Everything is delicious, honey.

It really is.

Thank you.

You wouldn't happen to have a steak knife, would you?

Oh sure, Mom. Anthony?

So, Mom realized in the car that she forgot the gifts

that she was going to send to Tasha and Jason.

I could just kick myself.

Well, I'm sure they wouldn't mind

receiving them after the holidays.

Actually, Mom wanted to buy them something new to send,

so, I thought that maybe you could take her

to the craft fair on Sunday.

Uh, you know, honey...

I would love to but Anthony's game is on Sunday.

Well, you can't miss that. Jeremy will take me.

No, I have to be there to videotape it, remember?

Jeremy's making me a highlight reel.

It's kind of a big deal.

You basically need one now to get a scholarship.

Yeah, you do.

Sure.

Yeah, you two go to the game on Sunday

and Miriam and I can go shopping.

Great.

Good.

It really is.

Oh no, Dave. Don't pack the red tablecloth.

We'll need it for Christmas.

Red tablecloth, check.

Mom, what's in this?

Those are the extra decorations

you said you wanted to look through?

Oh.

If you don't want to deal with it now

we can just ship it to New York.

No. Actually, if you don't mind

I have someone I'd like to donate these to.

Are you sure?

I have plenty of decorations in my apartment in New York.

And really, I shouldn't be holding on to a bunch of stuff

that I don't even have room for.

This is good quality.

Oh yes. Very, very good. Very, very, very cute.

Perfect for Tasha.

Good.

I'd get you some,

but I don't get the sense that you cook much.

Really? I cook all the time.

Oh.

Usually when I phone Jeremy he says he can't talk

because you're going out to eat

and they won't hold your reservation.

Oh, thanks Jeremy. Thank you.

...Come and take a picture.

Is there any place we can sit down here?

Oh, yes of course. Just right over here.

Maybe we could get some hot chocolate or something to eat.

Thank you. Merry Christmas.

-Glad you found a table. -Mm-hmm.

I must say that these cinnamon rolls look so nice.

I might have to steal a bite.

Oh, well, they certainly are big enough for both of us.

Hmm.

Okay.

Mm. Ours were better.

Cinnamon rolls were a Christmas staple at our house.

Really?

When Jeremy was little he and I used to get up 5:00 AM

on Christmas Eve and bake, oh, about four dozen.

And then we'd take them around

to all our friends and neighbors.

That was sweet of you.

Mm, I miss those days.

Yeah. Me too.

Anthony used to, he used to bake with me when he was little.

Anthony's at that age now

where he wants to do everything on his own.

Yeah. And that's okay. You can't baby him forever.

Well, I like to think that wanting to be

a part of my son's life isn't babying him.

The worst thing a mother can do is to hold on too tight.

You don't say.

It was all I could do to remain civil.

I mean, who is she to tell me that I'm hanging on too tight.

It's not like she's the most amazing mother in the world.

Jeremy barely takes her calls half the time.

Well, maybe that's why she's saying it,

from experience, you know?

She knows that she was hanging on too tight

and that that's why Jeremy keeps his distance.

Yeah, but she's also overbearing and she complains all the time.

Look it's not about her, right?

Yeah.

Maybe you have been holding on too tight to Anthony lately.

Don't you think?

No, no I'm not.

I have three more years with him.

Three, and then he's gone.

There is nothing wrong

with wanting to make those years count.

Of course, there's not.

But you put so much pressure

on the time that you spend with him.

Trying to force these memories to happen

instead of just letting them happen naturally.

Don't you think if you relaxed a little,

you and Anthony would have more fun together?

But there is no together.

He doesn't want to spend time with me.

He's always, he's off with Jeremy

and they don't include me.

You know, for years he needed me.

And now Jeremy comes into the picture and he-

I just... I can't compete with that.

You don't have to compete.

Listen to me,

your son loves you more than anything in the world.

And Jeremy loves you just as much.

So, maybe, you should think about just taking a step back

and letting them create a bond with each other.

You know I figured you of all people

would understand where I'm coming from.

I do.

I don't think so.

Simone.

Thank you so much.

Hello?

Oh wow! This looks great.

Hey Nicky.

You know what's funny?

Derrick was just talking about you.

Oh?

Actually, I mentioned your parents.

Yeah. I just got off a call with the seller's realtor.

He accepted your parents' offer.

That's fantastic!

Oh wow!

Can we go tell them right now?

Of course. Absolutely.

Jeremy, you should tell her about the party.

Oh yeah. Anthony thought it might be fun to have some people

over here on Christmas Eve when we surprise Simone.

She would love that. That's a great idea.

Hey, you know, maybe you can sing.

I so regret telling you that story.

Okay.

We'll be back in 20 max, all right?

-Okay. Come on. -Okay, bye.

Bye. Have fun.

-Thank you. I appreciate this. -No problem, are you kidding?

Does Derrick... Does Derrick like Nicky?

What makes you say that?

Sometimes the way he looks at her.

It's the same way you look at Mom.

Well, you pick up on a lot for a 15-year-old.

Hey. 15-and-a-half.

All right. 15-and-a-half.

Gotta be specific. Look at that.

-Oh, yeah. -That's great.

Doesn't that look good?

A couple of hard workers here.

Mom?

What are you doing here?

Oh, I figured I'd come see your big surprise for Simone.

I heard you two on the phone. Couple of spies you're not.

Well, what do you think?

It's pretty awesome, huh?

Oh, it's a beautiful home.

Although it looks like you've lost a bulb up there.

Oh, yeah.

Sometimes it's easier to see things

when you're not so close to them.

Hmm.

I think it's really nice what you're doing for Simone.

I'm sure she'll love it.

I hope so.

We spent a lot of time getting it ready.

-Maybe too much time. -What do you mean?

Well, you think she'd be any less surprised

if you didn't take time to do all these decorations?

Not really.

She might even like helping you out.

Spending time working on it together.

I don't know Simone that well,

but no one likes to be left alone.

Especially during the holidays.

She's right.

We've been skipping out on a lot to focus on this.

I guess, we should've thought about that before.

Well, like I said, it's easier to see something

when you're not so close to it.

Hmm.

I haven't been to a Christmas concert in forever.

Well, you're going to see something really special.

Ring out wild bells, to the wild sky

The flying cloud, the frosty light

The year is dying in the night

Ring out wild bells, and let him die

Ring out the old,

ring in the new

Ring, happy bells, across the snow

The year is going, let him go

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Woooo!

-Wow! -Amazing, right?

Yes.

Amazing for an eight-year-old, huh?

I bet you helped her parents find a house.

Well, not yet, but I'm working on it.

Mm-hmm.

No, no. Truth be told, actually her mom and I

graduated from high school together so...

Oh, yeah? Where'd you go?

Lakeview. Yeah, same as you.

Were you there when I...

No, no, no. I graduated a year before you.

Oh. Right.

You're right-handed, right?

Yeah, yeah, I am. Why?

No. I was just curious. I've meant to...

Oh!

Oh no. I got it, hey. That's ok, I got it.

No problem.

Uh, this is uh... It's old.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, it's nothing.

It's just a Christmas card someone gave me a long time ago.

And you, uh, you've been carrying it all these years?

No, no. Oh, my gosh.

No. Um, I mean, I have it now.

It just... it's that I found it

at my parents' house in an old box and so I just...

I don't even know why I have it with me really, to be honest.

It's just... It's that, it's the thing.

Never mind. Anyway um, I'm going to donate.

-Right. -If you don't mind.

Oh, uh, listen.

Sorry, listen, I gotta take this.

It could be about your parents' house.

-Oh, yeah. -Yeah great.

Hello? Derrick here.

Hey.

You're going to need more icing than that.

Okay.

Here, let me do it.

You know what? Thank you, Miriam. Thank you.

Hey honey. Are you going to go to the gym

and practice basketball with Jeremy?

Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to go

to the Handmade Holiday Fair.

I haven't been and it's the second last day.

I would love to, honey,

but Miriam and I have to finish this up.

Oh, no, no, no. Please. You two go.

I'm more than happy to do this on my own.

Are you sure?

Positive.

I'll mix up another batch.

Okay. Thank you.

I know Christmas is only a couple days away

and it's too late for a Christmas card

but if you'd really like a picture of me with Santa

we can do it.

Really?

What made you decide that?

You love that tradition.

I do. But I love you more.

I just want to spend time with you.

We don't need to include Santa.

Really?

Because I'd rather go look at snowboards

and skip the whole craft fair.

Okay, snowboards it is.

And maybe grab lunch afterward, just you and me?

Yes.

Honey, these are the things that I'm going to miss

when you're gone someday.

Just 'cause I leave doesn't mean I'm gone, Mom.

Aww, kiddo.

I just styled it, Mom.

But it's so pretty.

Ugh.

You never let me touch your hair anymore.

-Santa's here. -Hi.

Okay, okay.

Woah! Yeah!

Are these all for us?

-Yeah. -Thanks.

Well, my mom and I went shopping yesterday.

Aww.

And also, it's a bit of a peace offering.

Our last conversation was a little tense.

No, you were absolutely right

about Anthony and Jeremy needing space. It's fine.

Yes, you were.

-Okay. -Okay.

-Thank you. -Okay.

Yeah.

Um, Miriam and I are playing trivia.

Want to come on in?

-Yes, I do. -Okay.

Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your game.

Perfect timing. I was losing anyway.

Uh, Miriam, this is my best friend, Nicky,

also the Maid of Honor.

Nicky, this is Jeremy's mom.

Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Winters.

Call me Miriam, please.

Here honey.

Sit down and play this Christmas trivia game with us.

Oh.

Simone, we have to start over now that we have a third.

That is convenient.

I'll just have to beat you both.

I need to find a game she isn't good at.

Oh, I've tried.

-Yeah. Good luck with that. -Yeah.

Nik, we have been discussing how difficult it was

when Jeremy and Jason went away to college.

Oh, I missed them both like crazy.

Now Jason, he phones every couple of days.

But Jeremy on the other hand,

if he doesn't feel like talking

he just doesn't answer his phone.

It's true.

At least I have the pictures.

Oh, yeah.

Miriam says she has old photos I haven't seen yet.

Photos from when Jeremy was young?

-Yes. -Mm-hmm.

You know, if they're embarrassing

we could put them up on the wall at the rehearsal dinner.

That would be great.

When I get home, I'll find the box they're packed away in.

Perfect.

Mm. Speaking of things packed away in boxes,

did you find out who wrote that card?

Nothing yet.

Card?

It's just an old Christmas card.

No, it is an anonymous love letter from high school.

Oh!

You have it, don't you?

Oh, Miriam you have to see it.

I just wasn't able...

It is so sweet and sincere.

He even quoted Romeo and Juliet.

Let me see.

Oh.

What?

Oh.

Nothing.

No, really, tell us.

Well, uh, it's just that... I recognize the writing.

You do?

Whose is it?

It's Jeremy's.

Um...

wrote this?that Jerey

It can't be.

It is.

I spent weeks working with him on his penmanship.

See how he makes his R's?

Never did get 'em right.

He does do his R's that way.

Oh, no. I'm sure lots of people do their R's like that.

And he is left-handed.

My fiancé was in love with my best friend. Great.

Okay. No, no, no, no, no.

We are not jumping to conclusions here, okay?

What we're going to do is we're going to ask Jeremy.

Ask him what?

What's going on?

Hi, um...

Did you write this?

Oh.

Oh, yeah, I did write this. I'd forgot all about it.

No. No, no, no.

I mean, yes. Yes, I wrote the card.

But I uh... someone gave me this card,

and they, they gave me a piece of paper

with what I was supposed to copy down and asked me to do it.

Why in the world would he do that?

Uh, because they had terrible writing.

I mean, you would've needed a degree in hieroglyphics

to decipher it.

So, uh, who was it?

I can't tell you that.

I... I promised I wouldn't.

Wha?

Oh, come on, honey.

Nicky's been trying to figure this out for three weeks.

She really wants to know.

I mean, it's been 22 years.

Yeah, I know.

But, I uh, I made a promise and I keep my promises.

See? That's the boy I raised.

Thank you, Mom.

I'll talk to him tonight.

Listen, I know that you said you weren't going to tell Nicky,

but I am your fiancée. So...

I promised I wasn't going to tell anyone.

She felt like an outsider in high school.

It would be really nice for her if she,

she knew that somebody liked her.

It would just... it would mean a lot to her, you know?

Yeah.

I think that Nicky should focus less on the past

and more on the present.

What do you mean?

Well, Derrick seems to have taken an interest.

Really? He's such a great guy.

I know.

But Nicky doesn't seem to be picking up on the signals.

Oh, well. I'll just talk to her. It'll be fine.

-No. -Yeah.

No.

I know you love her,

but this is something they need to figure out on their own.

But, you know, the thing with her is

she just needs a little nudge, like the tiniest little...

Ugh, fine. I will stay out of it.

You're not any fun.

So.

So, how'd it go today?

Was Nicky here to run interference?

No, actually.

Your mother and I are getting along quite well.

I think I understand her a little bit better now.

Yeah. Um, in fact,

I think that you could be a little bit more attentive.

-Me? -Mm-hmm.

I'm attentive.

Yes, of course.

But, you know, this week I have spent more time with her

than you have.

Well, in my defense we didn't expect her this early,

and I've been... I've been busy.

Okay. Well, why don't you take her calls?

I... I love talking to her.

I just... she always calls at the worst possible moment.

And when would the right moment be?

Because you know,

you're always at work or here or with Anthony.

And she gets left out.

You're right.

A mother needs to spend time with her son.

That sounds a little familiar, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

Hey!

Happy Christmas Eve, kiddo.

What do you want for breakfast?

I'll make anything you want.

-Really? -Mm-hmm.

Anything?

Yes. I think it's time that we come up with

some new Christmas traditions together.

Waffles? Omelettes?

How about both?

Yes!

Womlettes, waffles.

Wafflettes! Huh?

Okay.

You get to crack the eggs.

All righty.

Okay.

-The best part. -I only need...

-Two? -Careful.

All right.

This goes in at 350.

-That gets turned down to 275. -To where?

-The prime rib. -275.

And then what...

-Don't burn the house down. -Did you?

I just touched that.

Oh. We need to get the cake out of the fridge.

Right.

And then once the water's boiling then we do the crab dip.

I gotta tell you, Nicky. I love your efficiency.

Well, it is my job.

It's also who I am.

Alright. I hope you don't mind if I drop and run.

I got a mammoth to-do list.

No problem.

I was able to get the roasting pan out of the house

without Simone cluing in.

Fantastic.

Are you guys sure everything will be ready by 7:00?

I told her we have reservations.

Guaranteed.

Okay.

Oh, and don't forget to turn the outside lights on

so that she can see them when we pull up.

Jeremy, Jeremy, calm down. We got it.

All right.

Thank you guys both so much.

I mean, there is no way I could've pulled this off

without you two.

All right, I am off to pick up dry cleaning and a tree skirt

and about 900 other things left on my to-do list.

Jeremy, we got it.

Okay.

Okay.

And Nicky, I just, I wanted to say again how sorry I am

I can't tell you who, who wrote that card.

I understand.

A promise is a promise.

Okay. I'll see you guys tonight.

Yeah.

Drive safe.

Okay.

That was uh... was Jeremy talking about that card

that fell out of your purse?

Yeah, he was.

You know, I know you said earlier that it was nothing,

but it sounded like there's a story there.

I shouldn't have said it was nothing.

It was really sweet, actually.

In high school someone slipped a Christmas card

into one of my school books.

Uh-huh.

It was actually more of a love note.

And, um, anyway I just found it the other night.

Wait... you just found it?

On Thanksgiving. Can you believe that? Yeah.

Anyway, I was trying to figure out who had given it to me.

Jeremy knows and he won't tell me.

Will you hand me the stars?

Uh, yeah, yeah. Sure.

You got some, some cranberry on there.

Oh, yeah. That's right.

So, if you can't get it out of Jeremy

how are you going to find out who this person is?

I'm not.

I was just trying to figure it out

because I wanted to have something good from high school to remember.

It doesn't matter now.

What changed?

Me.

I changed.

I realized that high school

wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

Can we put those on the other tray?

Right, yes.

Yeah.

Um, so, let me get this straight.

So, you... you're totally okay with not finding out

who wrote you the card?

Yeah.

I really am.

Hmm.

I have to get the crab dip going.

Right.

Okay, let's see.

How's, how's that look?

Perfect.

You know, I forgot how much fun this is.

We better get going on those deliveries.

You don't want to be late for your big surprise.

Right.

Anthony, come on. Jeremy and Miriam are waiting.

Right.

Oh, honey. You made it almost on time.

Don't want to miss our reservation.

Oh, good.

Hey sweetie, do you think we have time

to drive by my favorite house on the way?

Yeah. I think we can.

-Thank you, love. -Yeah.

-All right, let's go. -Yeah. Let's go.

You are going to love this house.

I'm telling you, it is probably one of the best houses

I've ever seen.

Oh, look.

They changed their decorations this year.

I love what they did.

Yeah. Yeah, me too.

We should tell 'em.

What?

Come on, we should tell them we like their decorations.

No, I don't...

-Jeremy, what are you doing? -Come on, let's go tell them.

This is a horrible idea.

Jeremy, you can't just pull into somebody's driveway.

Yes, you can. It's, it's Christmas.

Come on.

Your son may be losing his mind.

It was only a matter of time.

Okay, let's go say hi.

No.

Come on!

Come on, Mom.

Like Jeremy said, it's Christmastime.

Oh, my gosh! This is crazy.

We don't even know who lives here.

Yes, we do.

No, no, no, no, no, Jeremy. I really don't want to do this.

The joke is funny but it's-

Oh, this is humiliating.

Okay. Come on. Let's just go say hi.

Ok. You ready?

Oh, my gosh. You are actually in.

I mean, my goodness. It is exactly as I imagined it.

What are you doing?

Surprise!

What is happening?

What?

Jeremy, what is this?

It's your Christmas gift, Mom.

What?

For the last two years you've made me drive past this house

every time we've been in the neighborhood.

I know you've dreamt about it for a long time,

and I've dreamt about having someone as incredible as you

and Anthony in my life for, for just as long.

It seems like the perfect place for us

to start our new life together.

-I love you. -I love you.

Well, I couldn't have done it without this guy.

Oh, my sweet guy.

You were just putting up with mama, right?

He's so weird.

And, of course, Derrick.

He went to such great lengths to get this house.

Thank you.

And Nicky, who somehow managed to keep it a secret.

-I'm so happy for you. -Thank you.

Oh wow, I'm just so happy and overwhelmed

and I don't know what to say but, yay!

Mom, come check out my room.

Have fun!

Thank you everyone. Eat, drink, enjoy yourself.

What do you think? You think she likes it?

It's hard to tell, right?

Just a little bit.

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

And then the look on her face when she came through that door.

I mean, I couldn't believe she was so surprised.

Hey Nicky! Come here.

Oh, excuse me.

I want to take a picture

with you in front of the Christmas tree.

Yeah.

Honey, can you take a photo?

-Oh, yeah. -Great. Thank you.

-Isn't this so exciting? -Yes.

Okay, at least we're not wearing matching outfits

like we did when we were kids.

Yes. There's definitely been progress.

Okay. On the count of three say Christmas.

One, two, three.

Christmas.

-Love you. -Love you too.

Watching for Santa?

A star to wish on?

Well, they do both bring you what you want.

I was just thinking about that.

But I have everything I want.

I don't need to keep striving for more.

I should just learn to be grateful and enjoy it.

What about someone to enjoy it with?

If the right person came along, yes.

Oh, okay.

And what would make him the right person?

Would he have to write you a romantic Christmas card?

Because, um...

I don't like to be upstaged.

-Thank you. -You're welcome.

What...

If you can't read my writing it says "Love Derrick."

I can read it.

But you didn't... you didn't write anything.

At least I signed it this time.

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,

"for stony limits cannot hold love out."

You? That was...

Yeah, I probably should've put it in your physics books

instead of your calculus.

I tested out of calculus in the first semester.

Of course, you did. Of course, you did.

Look at those two.

But you weren't on the basketball team.

That's true, I wasn't. And, and you're right.

Mountain Point did have a great basketball team.

But they weren't so good in debate.

I beat 'em every year.

You were right.

They needed to work that out themselves.

Yep. Yep.

Sort of, yeah.

Wait a minute. What did you do?

Well, sometimes Derrick needs a nudge.

Just a little, little tiny nudge.

You!

Why didn't you say anything at the church when the card fell?

What was I supposed to say, Nicky?

I mean, I was stunned.

I still couldn't believe

that we were spending all this time together

and that you were still holding onto a card

I wrote to you years ago.

It was overwhelming.

Nicky, 22 years ago I,

I didn't have the courage to tell you how I feel.

But I do now.

Well, 22 years ago I probably couldn't have heard it.

Maybe not seeing that card back then

gave us a second chance, huh?

Nicky.

I've always believed that you were special and amazing,

and that you deserve to be happy.

I'm so glad that it was you.

And I am so glad that it is you.

-Merry Christmas. -Merry Christmas.