Original subtitles

♪ Oh

♪ Oh oh oh

♪ Oh oh oh

♪ Oh

♪ Oh oh oh

♪ Oh oh oh

♪ Oh oh oh

Two bills in and already at 400.

Uh oh, is it bills time?

Mm, you got it.

Just hope my paycheck can cover the important ones.

I mean, of course my paycheck will cover everything.

Including this new gymnastics class

I wanna try out next month?

Oh, and kids in my algebra class,

were talking about doing a Secret Santa.

And, you know, I don't wanna be left out.

Okay, where's this class,

how much is it gonna cost, and who's running it?

One of the teachers at school,

Ms. Sherman, is running it with her sister.

It starts after Christmas and it's only $300.

Whoa.

I'll see how much is left over after I pay the bills, Esta.

Hey, what about Dad?

What about him?

Maybe he can help pay for the things I need.

No.

Why not?

Because I don't need your father's money, okay?

I can figure things out.

But Mom, you shouldn't have to struggle alone

to take care of me.

Look, I'll go talk to him. You won't have to.

First of all, struggle is a strong word.

I'll figure out how to get those classes

before registration, okay?

Okay.

Struggle.

And I need a refill.

Where is she?

I need to talk to her.

Where is who?

Principal Austin. I need to see her right now.

Ms. McKenzie. Mrs. Austin's already left for the day.

What?

No!

No, she can't just lay me off and leave for the day

like nothing ever happened.

I'm sorry, but she's gone.

Well, I need to see somebody.

I need to see an administrator about this.

Okay.

Try and calm down.

Please have a seat.

I'll try the AP, Mr. Matlock, for you, okay?

Calm down.

Need to calm down?

You still have a job.

Oh.

Hey, sweetie.

Hey, Mom, where are you?

I'm at, at school.

Something came up I needed to take care of, why?

Remember, you were supposed to come pick me up.

Oh.

Oh, shoot, honey, I'm sorry.

Give me about 30 more minutes

to wrap things up.

Can you stay at school that long?

Yeah. I'll find something to do.

See you soon, Mom.

Okay. Great.

Bye-bye.

Dalton, what the hell are you doing in my house?

I'm pretty sure this is still my house.

I won it in the settlement, so it's my house.

Right.

Dad.

Hey, baby girl, come here.

How are you?

What are you doing here?

Came to see you

and to pay your mom a little visit.

Well, we don't have anything we need to discuss

so you can get out.

Mom.

Hey, don't worry about it, baby.

She can't get rid of me that easy.

At least not tonight.

We don't have anything we need to discuss.

What do you want?

Dad, can-

- Eh eh.

It's okay.

I'll come get you after I'm done with your mom, okay?

Okay.

Thank you, Princess.

What do you want?

See you got the house all decorated nice and pretty.

The tree is nice, but outside is really amazing, you know.

I can't even front.

You always had a thing

when it came to decorating around Christmastime.

Thanks.

What do you want?

Why the hell did you put a motion for child support?

Because we're divorced.

I've never had a problem with taking care of my child.

I don't need a judge telling me

that I'm on child support.

I don't trust you to do the right thing willingly

so I'd rather have a court do it.

You don't trust me

with money, girl. No, mmnn.

Girl, are you tripping?

No, I don't trust you with money, remember?

You and money are the reason

that we are divorced right now.

Here we go. Or did you forget?

- Here we go. - What?

You're terrible with finances.

What?

I digress 'cause I'm not really trying

to get into all that with you right now, okay?

So listen, I have an account already set up for Esta.

She can pull money from that whenever she needs, okay?

What, you have a what?

Yeah, because I don't need some uptight judge

telling me how much I need to pay

for my child. Ooh.

- My daughter can get- - Freaking.

Whatever she needs from me, okay?

I'm not trying to go back and forth with you right now.

I've had a horrible day.

Who cares?

Nobody asked you that.

And plus this is way more important

than your day, all right?

Plus, you've gotten way more than enough from me

from the judge already.

- I got enough from you? - Yeah.

All I got was this house and a whole lotta bills.

Well, whose fault is that?

Because you asked for this divorce

and you are the one who created these bills, all right?

Am I lying?

Where's the lie?

Tell me I'm lyin'.

Dalton, you either go upstairs and be with our daughter

or get out!

But get out of my face!

You ain't right, girl.

No, you ain't right for this, girl.

Ooh! Ooh, I hate him!

Oh, what am I gonna do?

Come in, sweetie.

This is the form I need you to fill out for gymnastics.

The money's due December 14th

and Ms. Sherman's holding the last spot for me

and she's doing me a huge solid here.

Where are these classes held again?

At the center she runs with her sister.

I think it's up north somewhere. I have the info.

Hm.

Oh, and don't worry about the price that's listed.

Remember she's giving me a discount.

Yeah, 300 instead of 450.

I need to get into this racket.

Mom.

Sorry.

Remember if you can't pay for it,

I'm sure Dad can do it.

I'm sure.

Well, he also said he has an account set up for me

for whenever I need it.

He told you that?

Yeah. Is he lying or something?

I wouldn't know. I don't control your father's money.

Well, he said I can use it whenever I need it.

So might as well use it.

Enough about your father's deep pockets, okay?

Understood.

Not trying to be all in your business,

but why was there so much school stuff in your car earlier?

It's just extra stuff I don't need in the classroom.

Decided to store it there.

Okay. Gotcha.

You need to go to bed.

We have an early morning.

What, why? Tomorrow's Saturday.

Yeah, we're setting up the food pantry

at the new church, remember?

This'll be great for the church and the community.

Um, I'm so sorry,

but I totally forgot to tell you

that I'm doing breakfast tomorrow with Dad

so he can help me with my algebra

and yeah, can I make it up to you, please?

Sure.

Thank you, Mom, good night.

Fine.

Well, things are really looking good here

at the food pantry.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

I really enjoy doing this.

And you are?

Oh, sorry. I'm Noel Preston.

Pastor Preston.

Oh! Oh my goodness.

It's an honor to meet you.

Thank you for allowing me to do this for your church.

Oh no, no, no, no.

When you contacted us about doing this,

trust me, we were the ones blessed.

It's important to bless others

when we're in a position to do so.

Yeah?

Amen, sister.

Amen.

Well, I guess I should let you get back to work

as I have some work to do myself.

As I will down the hall in my office

if you need me.

Okay.

You have a great rest of your day.

Thanks. You too.

Hey.

Hey.

Your dad help you with your homework?

He sure did. Dad's awesome.

I really miss us.

I know, baby, but for now we need to detangle these lights

so we can get up in the backyard.

Mom?

- Hm? - I really miss us.

Especially during Christmastime.

Not spending Christmas together as a family

is gonna be different.

Like I don't even know how to do that.

I know, baby,

but we just have to learn how to deal with that.

But do we really?

Mom, I wanna spend Christmas together as a family,

even though we aren't.

I know it's the one thing I want for Christmas.

What if your dad isn't available?

How could he not be available for Christmas for me?

How could you not wanna do this?

I want my family for Christmas.

It'd be the bestest gift ever.

Hm.

We'll see.

But for now let's get the yard decorated

so we can have a festive atmosphere around here.

Need more lights.

Okay.

What child doesn't want their parents together

for Christmas?

Oh.

Oh.

Still works.

Dalton bought this for me when Esta was born.

Oh.

Hey, Dalton.

Hey.

You got time to talk?

What about?

You know, holiday plans,

you know, since it's the first year

we won't be together and all.

Yeah, well maybe we should.

Oh really, we should?

Esta mentioned it to me

and maybe we should hang out with her for her sake.

Okay.

That sounds cool to me.

I, um, I'll hit you back later.

I'm kind of in the middle of something.

Yeah, okay.

Cool. We'll just talk about it later.

Okay. Bye.

Good morning, Mom.

Good morning.

I just need something quick to take

because Shayda's mom is on her way to pick me up.

That's fine.

You're not even gonna warm it up?

Nah, I'm good.

Why are you still here here? Usually leave before me.

I just have something

to take care of before work, so yeah.

Okay.

Oh, Shayda's here.

Gotta go, Mom. Bye.

Bye.

Love you.

Love you too.

Be good.

I will.

Okay.

It's December 10th.

Got laid off on Friday.

So that means I get one more check.

Hm.

Ooh.

Hey, good morning.

Good morning to you.

What's that? I'll get that for you.

- Thanks. - All right.

Uh, what brings you here so early?

I called to check in and they said Mr. Joe

was sneaking cans of corn out under his shirt.

I said, let him take the corn.

I'll bring some more.

Of course, that's what we're here for, right?

Yeah.

So, what do you do during the day?

I teach at a school, but not today.

Crazy situation.

Well, you wanna tell me about it?

I'm good with counseling people.

I do it for a living.

I, I don't think I need counseling, Pastor.

I just need to stay busy to keep my mind

off of certain things. Okay, okay.

I totally understand.

I mean, I know what you're going through.

I don't think you know what I'm going through, Pastor.

Listen, you have the power to fix

whatever it is that's troubling you at the moment.

Just find it within yourself.

Oh no, I got it.

Just gotta find another job

before the little genius figures out anything.

Oh, Mom, you're home.

Yeah. Been home about five, 10 minutes.

You musta flew outta work when the kids left.

I guess so. How was school?

It was school.

Remember that Secret Santa I was telling you about?

Well, that's happening.

The class agreed on spending no more than $20 on a gift.

$20?

When I did it, it was five.

Some kids wanted it to be a hundred.

What kinda jobs do these kids have?

Oh, and Ms. Sherman asked about the money for gymnastics.

She wanted to know if I was still interested.

I told her yeah.

Just waiting on you to hand over some money.

I'll get it. We have time.

Okay.

I'm gonna go start doing my math project.

Oh. Need help?

No. Dad's the math whiz.

I'm good.

Dad's the math whiz.

Finance whiz. Secret handshake whiz.

Might as well knight him Sir Dalton McKenzie.

Hey, Dad.

What are you doing tomorrow after school?

Um, I wanna go over there and talk to you.

Bye.

Pasta. You cool with that?

Yeah.

I'm gonna hang out with my dad tomorrow.

You cool with that?

Why?

Because I wanna spend time with him.

Is there a problem?

Nope.

Cool.

"I wanna spend time with him. Is there a problem?"

Dalton said you were supposed to be good luck.

Right now you just feel like a hoodoo doll.

Everything that could go wrong is going wrong.

So...

I need you

to be good luck.

Come on in, baby.

Come on.

Dad, your tree is naked.

I know.

I just picked it up yesterday.

I knew you was coming

so I figured we could decorate it together.

Excellent.

What's wrong, baby girl?

I gotta talk to you, Dad.

About what? What's the matter.

I wanna join gymnastics,

but I asked Mom to pay for it

and she isn't giving me the money yet.

Oh, so now you just coming to ask me for the money, right?

Well, yeah. You are my dad.

Plus I just don't think that Mom

has the money for it right now.

She's always talk about paying the bills first.

Mama's become, I don't know, weird about money.

All right, but, you gotta understand now

she's the head of the household over there now, you know.

And it's not easy.

So you gotta cut her a little slack.

I guess.

It's just gymnastics, right?

Well, why don't you just give me the money instead?

It's only $300.

$300? For gymnastics?

It's for a private class.

Anyway, let's talk about something else.

Well okay, I don't blame her.

I can teach you how to flip. You know that, right?

Well, look, what about Christmas?

Mom said she would actually be fine

with the idea of us bringing in Christmas together

as a family.

Really? Are you?

Yeah. Of course I am.

I get to be with my baby girl. What do you think?

What about seeing Mom?

I mean, that'd be nice too I guess.

You guys trip me out.

Where's all this talk...

Where's this coming from, little girl.

You two. I don't get why y'all are not together.

Can you explain it?

There's a lotta details that happened

between me and your mom, okay?

But you don't need to know all that

because you're too young anyway.

Well, tell me this.

Do you wish it never happened?

Come here.

To me when it comes to your mom,

there's a lotta things that I wish didn't happen, okay?

I told Mom

that I wanted to spend Christmas together

but that's not the only thing I want.

I want us back together as a family, Dad.

Do you ever feel like that?

Yeah, of course I do.

Look, I never wanted any of this separate holiday stuff.

I mean, it's weird.

You know, you got a tree at your mom's house, a tree here.

This is never what I wanted for us.

Then fix it.

I can't. I mean, it's not all on me.

It's your mom, and you know your mom.

She gets what she wants.

And I guess this is what she wanted.

Let's just say it's time that we get what we want,

our family back together.

Yeah.

Look, you're doing all this talking.

Are you gonna help me with this tree or not?

I need you to get it pretty for me

'cause I'm not gonna do it by myself.

- Okay, okay, Dad. - Come on.

I'm gonna go upstairs and change clothes.

Good. Yeah I can't wait to eat it.

It better be good.

Well, it's about time.

Hey, Mom, we brought dinner.

Dinner's cooking.

You should've called and told me if you were bringing food.

Come on, Roz. It's just food.

It's always something with you.

Mom, come on.

Esta, go upstairs.

Bye.

Really? Was all that really necessary?

Is it necessary for you to bring her home late?

Roz, it's only eight o'clock.

She has school tomorrow.

Well, she's already done her homework

and I know it's right, because I helped her,

so why are you tripping?

Are you finished?

No, actually I'm not.

She tells me that you can't buy some of the things

that she needs.

- What? - Yeah.

You having financial issues again?

If I am having financial issues again,

it's because you're refusing to pay child support.

So, which is it?

You can pay for the things she needs

or you can't because I won't give you

your little child support money?

It's both.

I can hold things down here,

but you gotta take care of your daughter.

Whoa, whoa. I take care of my daughter

and I will get her whatever she needs, okay?

- Good. - Yeah. Good.

I just don't think I need to be

on child support right now.

Well, I do and that's that

so let's get up on outta here.

Come on.

Really?

After you.

Wow.

Is all this really necessary?

Yep.

Okay.

Cute. Real cute.

And I will drop her off

after we have our breakfast on Christmas morning.

No, no, no.

Esta thinks that we're spending Christmas together

as a family.

She's already excited about it. Come on.

She'll get over it.

Wow.

Hurry up.

You got no right telling your father

I can't pay for anything.

Mom, I didn't tell him that.

Whatever you told him, don't do it anymore.

How dare you literally give him the ammo

to use against me.

I...

Oh. Hey.

Hi. Looking good.

Thanks.

You care to sit?

Sure.

It's been a weird couple of weeks.

Lost a job that I loved.

Like it feels

like everything is coming down on me at once.

Like life is just tough in general.

Until I come here.

I always feel better when I leave.

It's, it's the spirit of Christmas.

And this building.

It brings a lot of joy for a lot of people.

Well, I have some work to do in the pantry.

So I'm gonna get started- Mrs. Roz McKenzie.

Miss Roz McKenzie.

Please, forgive me, Miss Roz McKenzie.

Things are gonna get better for you.

I know it's all gonna work out and if you need anything

and I do mean anything,

I'll be around.

I'll keep that in mind.

Oh, you're in a good mood.

I suppose so.

Breakfast?

No thanks. You know what's in the bag.

Oh.

Hey, I wanna apologize for the other day.

I shouldn't have snapped at you and I'm sorry.

It's cool, Mom.

Don't be late.

Oh.

Love you, Mom.

I love you too.

You look so cute.

Thank you.

I'm a great shopper.

Miss McKenzie, you could come in.

Okay. Hi.

Thank you so much.

You sure you don't need a ride?

Nah, my mom's on her way.

Where's your mom been?

What do you mean, at work?

Nope, my sister goes to the school

that your mom works at.

Yeah, I know.

Your mom ain't been there in like a week.

Wait, what?

She's up every morning cooking breakfast and-

- Your mom's classes were split

with the other second grade class.

Oh, your mom's coming up. See you tomorrow.

Got your popcorn.

Yay!

You know, Shayda told me something that blew my mind.

Let's talk.

You know she has a little sister

that goes to your school, right?

She says that you haven't been there in a week.

Hm.

Isn't that crazy?

She says that your class got split

into other second grade classes.

Mom, isn't Shayda wrong?

Right?

Esta, I did not want you to find out this way.

Mom, why aren't you at school?

What's going on?

I got laid off.

What? When?

Last Friday.

But you're up every morning

dressed like you're going to work.

Where have you been going?

I've been going on interviews

and helping out at the food pantry.

Wow, Mom.

Let me start from the beginning.

Remember when you asked why I had all the classroom stuff

in my car?

Yeah.

You said that you had to bring home some extra stuff.

It wasn't extra stuff.

That was the day I got laid off.

No, no, no, no, no.

They can't do that to you. You're a first year teacher.

They said they didn't have enough students

to justify keeping my position open.

But they did when you first got it.

Why is it different now?

I don't know, baby.

It's just the, the drama of working in public education.

You're so calm about this.

- Mm. - How?

Well, I have to be, or else I would be worrying

and, and it would rub off on you and you'd be worrying

like you are now.

It's gonna be okay, baby.

We'll get through this. I even had an interview today.

And how did that go?

It went really well.

It went great.

Haven't heard back from the principal yet,

but I should hear something soon.

Oh.

Cry.

Do you really believe that, Mom?

Do you really believe that we're just fine?

Do you really just tell yourself that at night

and actually believe it?

Esta.

Esta, I have to.

I have to.

Or else I'd be worrying about,

about food and bills

and things that we need

and it'll be okay.

We've gotta stay positive about this.

All right?

No wonder why you couldn't pay for the gymnastics.

I feel awful stressing you about it.

No, no.

No, you deserve to do what you want.

And if you really wanna take those classes,

I'm okay with you asking your dad.

I know he won't have a problem giving it to you.

Really?

Yeah.

Yes, dry those tears.

Okay.

I'll go call him.

Why don't you do that.

Hey, Mom.

- Hey. - Wanna take me

to school today?

Uh, I can if you need me to.

Oh, I'm just messing with you.

I have a ride.

What are you gonna be up to?

Oh, stuff.

Maybe plan out our Christmas breakfast menu.

Search for a little present.

Mom. I don't want anything.

Honey, yes, you do.

Okay, I want what I told you before

about our family.

But don't spend any money.

Sweetie, I put a little something aside

for Christmas gifts, okay, Love?

We don't have to worry about that.

Mom, yes we do.

You have to keep your money for the real things.

Don't you ever worry about running out?

You let me worry about the finances

and you handle school, okay?

Okay.

Oh, Shayda's outside.

- Oh. - I'll see you later, Mom.

- Okay. - Bye.

Bye, honey. Have a good day.

You too.

Messing up my hard work?

Oh. No.

Hi, Pastor.

Hi.

Christmas is just days away.

Yes, indeed it is.

Time flies too quickly.

Ah, so what's going on?

Same crap.

Life.

Uh...

Feel like I'm on a hamster wheel sometimes

just running in place.

Do hamster wheels ever go backwards?

Sure feels like it.

You know I got laid off from my job last week.

And I've been trying to interview

for other teaching positions.

I even had one on Friday.

Yeah.

I thought it went great.

Thought for sure I'd get it.

Then I get word this morning

that they went with someone else.

Oh.

So I just don't know.

Yeah, well, getting laid off.

Unfortunately I know about that.

I was laid off my first year in education.

You were in education?

Yeah. I was a teacher for 10 years.

I had third grade my first year

and yeah, I got laid off, you know, budget cuts.

Then I got hired at another school

and had a fifth grade for nine years.

I would've never guessed.

Oh, well, I kinda stumbled into it.

My mother was a teacher

so I think I just stayed on that path.

I, um, it was hard for me too,

after they laid me off,

so I started to question if education was my calling

and started focusing on the philanthropy

and ministry work.

You know, the summer they laid me off

I really started to struggle

with wanting to open my own church,

being a minister or yes, going back to education.

I take it you chose ministry?

No, actually both.

Manage all my mission work

and I didn't wanna stop helping people.

Think I went back to teaching

because of that and wanted to help children

and keep them on the right path.

Yeah.

I miss working so much.

Just too much time

to spin out of control especially emotionally.

Yeah.

I've gotta keep a cool head for my, my daughter.

Don't want her absorbing all this energy,

but it's getting harder.

Well, I can only imagine.

Does she know?

Uh, she found out before I could break it to her.

Oh. No, how?

One of her nosy little friends

told her everything.

Oh, it's gonna take time, but it will work out.

It'll work out?

- Yes. - How?

How?

I've got a teenage daughter

who needs things, lots of things.

Legal fees, the ghosts of student loans past.

Pastor Noel, it's expensive to breathe.

Okay, Roz, I get it.

We've all been there.

But maybe you're looking at this all the wrong way.

My eyes don't deceive me when I open up the mail.

Yeah, but your focus on how fast

you need to get another job might be wrong.

Look, sometimes we need to lose something

to truly figure out what and who we need in our lives.

Good things are gonna happen for you though.

- Daddy, oh my god, come in! - Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- Come in! - Hey!

I got your message, why are you rushing me

over here like this?

- Because Mom's not home. - So?

Come on. I gotta talk to you.

Come here! Oh ooh.

Okay, baby girl,

tell me what's going on.

You in trouble or something?

No, Dad, gosh.

Then what is it?

I need money for teenager things.

Money?

You coulda called me and told me that over the phone.

It's better to happen in person

because it's gotta happen before Mom comes home.

Why are you so worried about Mom coming home?

I need $2,000.

$2,000?

Girl, you talking crazy.

You're too young to be asking for money like that.

What you need, bail money or something?

You said you have an account set up for me

for whenever I need things,

and well, I need things.

$2,000 worth of things?

Uh uh.

No, no, don't you try to hit me with the big eyes trick.

I'm not giving you $2,000

unless you tell me what's going on.

Mom lost her job.

What?

No.

A friend told me, but it's true.

A few weeks ago.

I mean, who fires someone before Christmas?

Wait, so you saying

she's been out of work for weeks?

Yeah, but you can't tell her that I told you.

Just gimme the money to give to her, okay?

2000 bucks?

And then what?

You don't even get an allowance.

Where you gonna magically get $2,000 from?

She's struggling, Dad.

You guys barely even talk

so she ain't gonna ask you.

This is the only way.

All right, wait, look, calm down, okay?

I'll handle it. Just let me handle it.

No, no. You can't tell her.

It's okay, if she says something,

I'll take the heat for it.

Don't worry about it, all right?

Okay, look, I'm gonna go talk to her, all right?

Calm down.

Just finish your work.

Stop stressing out.

You're too young for that, all right?

Dalton, what are you doing in my house again?

Esta let you in?

Yeah, she did.

She's home early.

She is. What about you?

Are you okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Just long day.

Tired and hungry.

At work, right?

Why? You don't care.

Come on.

You know that I care.

Just can't turn feelings off for somebody,

especially after 14 years of marriage.

No? Try.

Try.

So work, you said it was crazy today, right?

The usual, but I'm good.

'Cause it's funny,

'cause I called your school today.

I wanted to talk to you about Esta.

She okay?

Esta is fine.

But they told me that you weren't there today.

So?

So?

I don't feel like playing games with you, Dalton.

Well, I don't feel like playing games

with you either, Roz.

Come on. I know you got laid off of work.

Who told you that? It's not true.

Are you, are you gonna do this right now?

Come on.

So you're gonna sit up here and lie to me?

Talk to me, tell me what's going on.

Fine.

I got laid off a few weeks ago

and I've been lying about going to work.

There. You happy?

So go ahead.

Talk your trash, make your insults, go right ahead.

Roz, I don't wanna insult you.

I'm not gonna talk trash about you.

- That's hard to believe. - Why do you think

I wanna do that?

Roz, can you just cut the tough girl act out

for one second and let me know what's going on with you?

You don't have to do everything alone, okay?

You're not superwoman.

Stop it.

Are you serious right now?

Yeah, I'm serious.

No, Dalton, I know you and you love to be right.

Come on. Roz.

Listen, I'm serious, okay?

To lose your job the way that you did

right before Christmas,

I know this has to be hard on you, all right,

so just let me know what you need.

Dalton, I don't want your pity.

I can handle this. I'll find another job in no time.

Then why haven't you found one yet?

I've been looking.

But I can handle this on my own.

That's the point. It's not about you, all right?

Look at me.

Esta's involved, okay?

And that little girl is worried sick about you.

She's too young to be stressing out like this.

And she doesn't need to see you scrapping and fighting

trying to get things together before Christmas.

I don't wanna see that either.

And regardless if you believe me or not,

you don't have to do everything on your own, okay?

So if you're not gonna do it for yourself,

then please at least do it for Esta.

No.

Nope. I don't want your money

and I want you out of my house.

Roz, come on.

No, Dalton.

Get out.

Can we please not do this right now?

Oh, we're not doing this right now.

Take your coat.

Get out.

Regardless of how you feel,

the offer still stands.

I wanna help you.

Goodbye.

Esta!

Where's Dad.

I threw him out.

Mom, why? He can help us.

Somehow he knows

I got laid off.

He said he called the school looking for you today,

but I don't think that's true.

I told him, okay?

Esta, why?

Mom, he can help us.

Even if it's for a short time,

he can help us.

Dad won't care.

He's not trying to be mean or trying to show off.

He's just trying to take care of us

until you get back on your feet.

Mom, you gotta let him help us.

Please.

Gotta think about, this young lady.

But right now we need to have a sit down

about what happens in this house stays in this house.

Come on. Go.

Roz.

What happened?

Talk to me.

Yesterday was not good.

He knows.

About what, your job situation?

Yep.

How? Did you tell him?

No, my daughter did.

I see.

Are you okay with that?

No, I'm not okay with that.

I understand why she did it.

She's always worried about me, us,

concerned about what might happen,

but I can't help but feel like I'm living

with a little mole.

Mole? Why?

Because he's my ex-husband.

He doesn't need to know everything.

Hello, boundaries.

Yeah, but whatever you're going through

affects him because of your daughter.

Don't you think he has a right to know?

No, it's not his business.

And, and, and get this,

he wants to help me.

My ex-husband wants to help me.

Can you believe that?

Wait a minute, Roz.

What is so wrong with that?

Why would he wanna do that, huh?

Maybe because he cares.

He doesn't wanna see you in a bad situation.

Oh, please.

He wants to stick it to me.

That's what he wants to do.

Wants to make it seem like I can't,

I can't make it without him, Mr. Auditor.

Why do you think the only way

he wants to help you is financially?

How else would he help me?

Emotional support.

Huh? Being there for you and Esta?

Maybe, maybe he just wants to be in your corner

while you're going through this.

Nope.

No, he wants me to feel bad.

He wants to swoop in like a savior.

He's been doing that the last few years of our marriage.

I'm not gonna give him that satisfaction, not anymore.

Seems like you resent him as a provider.

What?

No.

No, he always tried to make it seem

like I was wasteful and reckless

and he had to save me with another balance transfer.

No, not anymore.

- You know what? - Done.

With all due respect, Roz,

I think you have a few hangups

and perhaps some projections

that come from your own actions.

What if you are looking at this

through the wrong lens?

I have 20/20 vision, Pastor.

With all due respect.

Look, your husband is being concerned about you.

And he just wants to help

and it seems to me with no strings attached.

Why would he do that?

Hm? Because he still cares.

And he loves you.

And deep down I know you know that I'm right.

If he didn't have these feelings for you,

then he wouldn't have offered to help you in any way.

Now, even you can admit that.

Yes?

All right.

All right, all right.

You don't have to admit it, but, Roz,

don't be ashamed to accept help from him.

Sometimes we have to realize that not everyone

has an ulterior motive or are out to stick it to us.

Think about it.

If the people who came in here to get food

from this pantry were too proud and too ashamed

to accept help from anyone,

they'd be out there on the streets

doing God knows what trying to survive.

Sometimes you have to just let go of being proud.

Talk to him.

And just talk to him

and see what help he'll truly offer.

Roz, look at me.

Look at me.

You need this.

Hey.

May I come in?

- Yeah. - I'd like to talk.

I mean, you wanna take your coat off or-

- Uh, I don't know.

Not, not yet.

Right now I just need you to listen.

Can you do that?

Yeah, I'm listening.

Okay.

First I just want to apologize

for how I reacted the other day.

For which part?

A good part of it.

But you gotta understand this.

How, how much it might sting for my ex

to see me down and out.

I wouldn't feel no type of way about that.

Yeah right.

All right, maybe I would just a little or something,

but I wanna apologize too.

'Cause I'm sorry for the way that I came at you.

Thank you.

Yeah. I just didn't want

you to know.

Didn't want anyone to know, Esta included.

That's my point.

Why would you even wanna go through all that,

you know, alone when you don't have to?

You gotta understand this.

I need to go through this alone.

I can't have you bailing me out of another financial jam.

God knows I didn't care for it when we were married, Dalton.

Is this some type of insult?

Does it sound like one?

Yeah, when you say it like that.

Listen, you have to understand,

I didn't get you out of financial jams

because I was trying to belittle you

or make you feel like less of a person.

I did it because I care about you.

You're my wife.

I mean, my family.

I am supposed to take care of you.

All right, I know I am, I was, you were my wife.

Okay? But it made me feel

so small, Dalton.

Like, like you didn't trust me

to handle any responsibility for anything.

Do you know, my dad used to give me an allowance

and then hold it and then ration it out.

Why would you give someone something

if you're just gonna control it, hm?

Yeah.

It was like he didn't even trust me.

And all I wanted was some ice cream.

You didn't trust me either, Dalton.

Admit it.

Well...

Not gonna admit that,

but I will admit

that I let my business rollover

into our marriage a little bit.

Yeah, Mr. Auditor.

So way to go. Auditor.

Oh my gosh, I married my dad.

Wait, whoa, whoa.

Slow down now. No, no, no.

You know what I mean

in a child psychology sense. Oh, right.

But with you, it felt like I wed the entire IRS.

The IRS, right?

At least the reception was a little exciting.

Not one of your people had any rhythm.

Not an ounce.

So are you telling me

you didn't want me to find out

about you losing your job

because you thought I was gonna treat you

like a spreadsheet?

That, yeah.

And it just, it's not your business, Dalton.

It's none of my business?

No.

Look, I need a drink 'cause you stressing me out.

I need a drink too, 'cause you're stressing me out.

Well, I guess we gonna be drinking.

It's none of your business?

Did you forget

about that little beautiful, brown, big-eyed girl

that we have together?

She is my business, okay?

You losing your job affects her.

So in turn, that affects me, okay?

You missing out on checks,

next thing you know you out on the street

with my daughter?

Uh uh.

I don't care what we got going on,

the past or whatever,

we're here right now.

And you have to understand something about me.

I will never let that happen.

I understand that about you,

but you have to understand why you have to at least

let me try to handle this.

You will handle it.

You'll get another position.

Come on.

I've seen you struggle before

but I also seen you reach all your goals.

Just like you made it through school

when I was hitting you up and all over your line.

Yeah.

So you'll get it done,

but in the meantime-

- You still wanna help me?

Yeah. I do.

Christmas is in what, nine days?

Not 'bout to have our daughter stressing out

over me and you and our problems.

Why can't you stop being so proud for one minute?

I'm not being proud. I'm being cautious.

Cautious? Cautious for what?

What are you being cautious for? Don't.

Why can't you just take it as a,

a genuine offer, you know?

Good guy in the spirit of Christmas.

Does that work for you?

Please, just take it as a genuine offer

'cause I don't want anything from you in return, all right?

All right, I'm lying.

I do want something from you in return.

What's that?

Can you please just not see this as a rescue operation

and acknowledged the only reason

why I'm doing this

is because I still really care about you.

Okay.

Okay. Deal.

Deal.

I um, I really appreciate this.

Don't worry about it.

And I promise I'll pay you back.

You don't have to pay anything back.

You know the account we opened for the house in emergencies?

You can just pull the money from there.

You didn't scoop your portion out right away?

'Cause I did.

Trust me, I know you did.

And no, the money is still there.

I left it for emergencies

for Esta and you.

Good on you.

- Yeah. - Wow.

Speaking of Esta,

what are you getting that girl for Christmas?

I asked her what she wanted the other day

and she said she didn't want anything I had to buy.

However, she did mention one thing.

She wanted us to be-

- Back together-

- For the holidays, right. - Yeah. Mm hm.

That's our baby girl.

Yep.

Do you know when you got laid off,

she asked me for $2,000.

She said it was for personal things.

Really?

Really.

She was gonna take all of that money

and she was gonna give it to you.

Hm.

She's something else.

Yes. She is something else.

Just like her mother.

You know what?

Maybe we can give her what she wants for Christmas.

Maybe we can spend time together as a family.

Maybe you're right.

She's a good girl.

Right.

We certainly put her through the ringer with our issues.

I think that'll, that'll be just fine.

I think it'll be great.

I should go.

Yeah. Gonna rush out, bad?

You know, I gotta go do something about my life.

You sure?

Yeah.

And, and, and you know, whatever I use,

I'll put back.

You don't owe me anything, Roz.

Yeah, and, and I'll call you

and figure out where we spend Christmas.

Hm. I really appreciate that.

Hm. Okay.

I guess I should get outta here.

Okay, talk to you later. Bye.

Yeah.

Wah hoo!

Mom.

I went to see your dad.

Really? Uh oh.

Don't worry.

It wasn't bad.

I apologized to him.

Say what?

Yeah.

And he told me about the $2,000 you asked for.

You're crazy for that.

But thank you.

You're welcome, Mom.

So are you gonna let Dad help us?

I am.

Really? So we don't have to struggle anymore.

What did I tell you about that word struggle?

We just hit a bumpy patch.

He's gonna help smooth it out a bit, temporarily.

See, Dad isn't so bad.

I never said he was, not to you.

You know, Mom, he still cares about you.

Do you know that?

He said something like that.

Do you still care about him?

All you need to know, my dear,

is that our Christmas plans are back on track.

Yep.

We're gonna spend Christmas together like a family.

Just like you asked.

Because we still are a family, Mom.

It doesn't matter if you guys split up.

Which, why did you guys split up again?

Why did we split up?

Hm.

Y'all just need to get it together.

You just need to stay

out of grown folks' business.

Yes! Go Dad!

Hello?

Yes, this is Roz McKenzie.

Oh no. It's not too late.

Tomorrow.

Yeah. 1:15?

I'll see you then.

Woo!

Oh my gosh, Mom, what's going on?

I just got a job interview

for tomorrow, baby. For real?

Yes, for real.

Oh, Esta, I feel like this could be it.

It has to be.

I really hope you get it, Mom.

Me too.

What should you wear? I gotta find something

to really wow this principal for tomorrow.

Oh, I...

Which one?

The black blazer is fine.

Yep.

Well, Roz, it's been a pleasure

spending this time with you today.

You'll hear from us one way or the other, okay?

Okay. Sounds good.

But, you know what, wait.

Let me show you around.

I'd love to see the school.

Well, thank you, Sophie.

Oh, we'll get back with you.

Hello, Pastor.

Roz, hello.

Wow, you look so much more happier today.

That's because for once I really am.

I just came from an incredible job interview,

second graders, right before they turn into gremlins.

Oh, that is good, Roz.

You know that position is yours. Accept it.

Oh, the principal said she had one more interview

to do that day and she'll let me know

first thing tomorrow morning.

Yeah, well, she's going to hire you.

How can you be so sure?

I just know.

Thank you.

You know, feels odd when I'm in your presence,

almost like you know me

and what's going to happen in my life.

Ah.

You a psychic?

No.

No, no, I just think that if it's the right thing for you,

then it'll happen.

I mean, look at me, I am a testament to that statement.

Yeah.

By the way, how things go with you and Dalton?

Oh, we worked out the help thing.

I'm going to accept his offer. Not gonna fuss about it.

Because he still cares deeply for you?

You ever wonder why the two of you got a divorce

when you clearly still love each other?

How do you know these things?

I mean, love is love, right?

Well, I guess so.

Honestly, sometimes I do wonder about the divorce

and if I acted too hastily.

I don't know.

Ah, yes, you did.

But it's okay.

He gets it now and so do you.

Now after you work out the budget

and figure out which of the finances are a priority,

you will develop a tool

to be more savvy with your finances.

You might be on to something there.

What do you know about that job

I just interviewed for?

Only that it's yours.

Hm. Time for another grocery run.

Mom, your phone keeps vibrating.

Someone must really trying to get in contact with you.

Whoa, these are school system numbers.

Two? Go, Mom.

Good morning, Ms. McKenzie.

This is Ms. Mosley calling on behalf of Mrs. Austin.

If you have not accepted

another position, she was wondering

if you would like to return to work.

Mom, you got your job back!

Whoa.

That is unexpected.

Sure is.

I mean, they put you all through this mess

only to want you back.

Who does that?

Shh, shh, there's another one.

Hello, Mrs. McKenzie.

This is Miss Miller calling you back

in regards to the interview.

After reviewing all of the other candidates,

it would be my honor to offer you the position.

Oh my gosh!

- Oh! - If you could call me

back today, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you. And I hope to hear from you very soon.

Oh my gosh, Mom, you got two jobs to choose from.

Whoa. What are you gonna doing?

I'm gonna sit down before I pass out.

So Mom, we don't have to worry anymore, right?

We can just enjoy our Christmas

and you don't have to stress about finding a job.

Esta, this is the best news ever.

Right?

And well, if I had to make the decision,

I already know what I would choose.

Oh yeah?

It's not easy for you?

Well, it's 50/50, maybe 90/10.

Do I wanna go back to a school that laid me off?

That principal didn't even have the decency

to tell me to my face.

Oh, are you serious?

She left a note in my mailbox.

Wow. That's cold.

That school would never see my face again

unless I was truly desperate.

And we are never desperate, honey.

You're not even gonna toast it?

Nope.

Let me call them back before they give my job away.

Yep.

Hi, Principal Miller please.

Hi, this is Roz McKenzie.

Miss Miller, about that job offer.

I absolutely accept.

Oh, sure.

See you soon.

Bye.

Oh.

Ah, hello, Roz.

How do you do that?

Ah, it's just a little trick I learned

over the years.

It's for you.

Oh.

Thanks for the gift.

It's my pleasure. You're welcome.

Oh, you are so different now.

Hm.

You're in a better place.

You got that right.

I got the job.

Oh, I knew you would.

You know what's crazy

is that I wanted to cry today I was so happy,

but I contained myself.

Feels great to be back.

Yeah. I am so happy for you, Roz.

The crazy thing is,

is that the clerk from my old school called the same day

the new principal called.

They wanna give me my old job back.

I'm not going back to a place that let me go.

- I'm glad. - Yeah.

I told you that if it's meant to be you'll get it.

You sure did.

Does this mean

I'm not gonna see you around here anymore?

Oh, no.

No, I definitely wanna continue my volunteer work here.

I wanna help you continue this pantry

throughout the whole year.

Oh, that's perfect.

I love it.

You gotta meet my daughter too.

That would be nice.

Does she and your ex know about your great news?

Esta definitely knows.

Haven't told Dalton yet, but I will tonight.

Excellent.

Well, in case I don't see you again,

I wanna wish you and your daughter

and your husband a Merry Christmas.

Husband?

No, Pastor, you will see me again.

I told you that.

Merry Christmas to you too.

Well, off to the next person

who needs a friend.

I may be turning into Miss Auditor.

Ah. Yep.

I can do this.

Still allergic to hats and gloves I see.

Ha, you got all the jokes.

Can I come in?

- Come on in. - It's cold.

So where's Esta?

She's upstairs, but I need to talk to you alone first.

What's up?

Come on.

Online with all of her friends

I had to upgrade my internet service because of her.

Oh, Lord.

For starters, I got the job!

Wait, what?

I mean that's great.

When did that happen?

Oh, quickly.

I saw the post online, applied on Monday,

hired on Tuesday.

How awesome is that?

It's awesome. I'm really happy for you.

Thank you.

And I thought we might revisit the child support issue.

Come on, do we have to?

I mean, I kinda thought we progressed,

and, you know, it was moving in a positive direction.

Why? Because you hit me with a,

"You can stay over if you want"?

No, I mean, you know, that was a spur of the moment thing,

but also yeah, come on. Oh.

Anyway, I was thinking we might be at a point

where we can handle things on our own.

- Okay. - Maybe put

the legal stuff on hold.

Just keep your word about being there for her.

I'm always gonna be there

for both of my ladies.

Maybe now we can get in those gymnastic classes.

- Yeah. - Yeah that'll make her happy.

She would love that.

And for Christmas I was thinking

you could spend it over here.

Really?

Yeah, with us.

Dalton, I...

I can honestly say that I miss you

and I miss us.

Well, that's the best news that I've gotten

in a long time.

'Cause I miss you.

And I miss my family.

Then it's set.

Wanna stay for dinner?

Dad? Is that you?

Yeah, it's me, baby girl.

Just let me know when it's ready.

I, I was thinking

maybe we can hang out first alone.

Yeah. He'll be up in a second.

Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad,

for one of the greatest gifts of my life.

You're welcome, sweetie.

Merry Christmas, Roz.

Merry Christmas, Dalton.

Merry Christmas.