ANDREA ANDREA_HUSBAND ANSWERING_MACHINE BEN CONNOR CUSTOMER_1 DALE EVE GRAHAM JENNA KATHY KATHY_DAD MARIO MIDDLE_AGED_MAN REBECCA SARAH TIM VANESSA GRAHAM Morning, Kathy. KATHY Morning, Graham. GRAHAM How was the ride in? KATHY Great. I love cycling in weather like this. GRAHAM What's in the box? And please tell me it's what I hope it is. KATHY I made my first batch of Christmas cookies last night. GRAHAM Yes! Best boss ever. KATHY So once you get fueled up, let's get squared away on KATHY yesterday's deliveries, before the customer stampede. GRAHAM Things will pick up. The shopping season's just getting started. KATHY Christmas is KATHY two weeks away. The season is half over. GRAHAM Roadies are notorious last-minute shoppers. KATHY Uh-huh. GRAHAM This is your first Christmas at this. You'll see. KATHY This is your first Christmas at this, too. GRAHAM On the selling side. Buying-wise, I'm totally last-minute. GRAHAM Mm KATHY Make sure you check the tension on that derailer. KATHY Dream Cycle. JENNA Hey. Whatcha doin' for lunch? KATHY No plans. JENNA Perfect. You're all mine. JENNA I'm going to pick you up at noon, okay? KATHY Graham, can you cover lunch? GRAHAM Sure thing, boss. KATHY It's a date. JENNA Terrific. I'll see you then. Bye. BEN Morning. JENNA Good morning. BEN So, you talk her into it? JENNA Not yet. GRAHAM Hey, Mario. MARIO Hey! KATHY Darn, I thought we had a customer. MARIO Who says I'm not a customer? KATHY When did you last ride a bike? MARIO Be nice. I bear gifts. Candy canes MARIO and the wife made fruitcakes. GRAHAM People actually make those? KATHY Thank you, Mario. Have a cookie. MARIO Ooh, I love your cookies. GRAHAM Yeah. GRAHAM These are pretty awesome, Kathy. MARIO Mm Mm MARIO So, um, business is still slow? KATHY Up and down. MARIO So maybe you've reconsidered-- KATHY I'm not selling you my lease, Mario. MARIO Okay. Doesn't hurt to ask. Thanks for the cookie. Enjoy the fruitcake. KATHY Thanks, Mario. GRAHAM Is that even possible? KATHY Merry Christmas. JENNA Hi. KATHY Hey. KATHY Why are you driving Ben's truck? JENNA Uh, I have an errand to run. KATHY I can't believe the holiday blitz from Queen Carla's this year. JENNA I know, right? KATHY If it's KATHY not another catalogue, it's an e-mail blast. JENNA Yeah, I mean, why would they buy their cookies when they can have yours? JENNA You are baking cookies this year, right? KATHY I've already started. You're next on the list. JENNA Sweet. KATHY Hey KATHY You didn't say anything about a Christmas tree. JENNA It'll only take a minute. KATHY Not this year. JENNA Maybe you'll find something you like. KATHY I'm not putting up a Christmas tree. JENNA I'm sorry. But I still need one. CONNOR There's your Fraser fir and your Douglas fir. The Fraser has amazing needle retention CONNOR the Douglas a more pleasing aroma. Then there's your blue spruce. It has a CONNOR dynamic pyramid shape and a bonus feature, you can replant it after Christmas. JENNA Okay, so, what do you think? JENNA Needles, aroma, replant? KATHY I think I'm going to check out the gift shop. JENNA Come on, I can't make this decision alone! CONNOR I'll help you decide. KATHY Hello? TIM Could I get your opinion? TIM I'm sorry. Did I scare you? KATHY No, I was just TIM That's my best-seller. TIM "Cinnamon Stick." It's nice, huh? KATHY It's wonderful. TIM Tell me what you think of this one. TIM Awful, right? KATHY Not if it comes with a gas mask. TIM They call it "Winter Bonfire." What they don't tell you is what they're burning-- old tires and doll hair. TIM Trust me. My sister and her Barbies did not get along. Tim Pierce. I own the joint. KATHY Kathy Howard. TIM So the gift shop's new. The profit margin on trees is getting way too tight for little guys like me, so I'm always looking for new ways to turn a buck. KATHY Yeah, I know. It's so hard to compete with the big box stores. They're killing us. TIM Why? What business are you in? KATHY Dream Cycle, on Elm? TIM Sure! TIM Yeah, I was at the grand opening last January, along with tons of other people. I had a nice chat with the owner, seemed like a TIM really great guy. KATHY Scott. He was my husband. TIM Oh. You two KATHY He passed away a month after we opened. TIM I'm so sorry. TIM Um, so TIM content aside, what do you think of the form? Like, cute and quaint, or holiday hoarder? KATHY I like it, actually. It's, um, nonconformist, outside the lines. TIM It's too busy, isn't it? KATHY Way too busy. TIM I should have stuck with trees. Trees I know. Are you looking for a tree, Kathy Howard? KATHY Not this year, but my friend is. TIM Is she out there with Connor? KATHY Is he the kid who's memorized the Wikipedia Christmas tree page? TIM Affirmative. We should probably go rescue her. KATHY Yeah. TIM You all right up there? CONNOR Yup. TIM Okay. CONNOR In here? TIM There we go. TIM Nice. TIM Now, you're sure you'll be able to get that in the house and upright? JENNA Uh, yeah. Kathy here’s gonna help me. TIM Well, call TIM if you can't. Delivery and set-up are free. And Kathy, thank you for the advice. Make sure you come back if you change your mind about a tree. TIM Take care. JENNA "Advice"? He asked for your advice? Come on, tell me everything. KATHY Jenna Let's go. KATHY Hi, Ben! JENNA Look what we got. BEN Oh, hey, ladies. Great-looking tree. JENNA Uh, yeah. Would you, um, mind running that up when you have a second, please? Thanks. KATHY Looking good. BEN Thanks. KATHY Define "flirting." JENNA Oh, come on, you know what flirting looks like. KATHY He didn't flirt. We talked about the uncertainty of the retail business KATHY Christmas KATHY displays, and Scott. JENNA You talked about Scott? You never talk about Scott. KATHY Well, today I did. JENNA What'd you say? KATHY Your tree is up. KATHY Let's get out of here and go get some lunch. JENNA All right, fine, don't tell me. Come on. KATHY Where are we going? JENNA Come with me. KATHY You had this all planned out? JENNA Well, not the "Tim who asked for your advice" part. That was serendipity. KATHY It was nothing. I had a conversation with a guy at his store, period. JENNA Okay. KATHY You're not encouraging me to date, are you? JENNA Well, not encouraging, exactly. KATHY It hasn't even been a year, Jenna. I am nowhere near ready to even think about something like that, especially not at Christmas. KATHY Scott loved Christmas KATHY so much. CONNOR Hey, Mom Dad. SARAH Did he break anything? TIM No, he was fantastic. TIM In fact, I'm going to keep him on for the duration. Pick you up tomorrow morning, 9:00 sharp. SARAH Oh, can't you stay for dinner? Grandma's meatballs. TIM Grandma's meatballs? SARAH Mm-hmm. TIM Seriously? SARAH Mm-hmm. TIM That's tempting. TIM Ooh, they smell good. TIM Mm. Whew! I gotta get back to the lot. SARAH Are you free Saturday? We're having some people over. TIM What's her name? DALE Told you he'd see right through you. CONNOR Lauren. She just started working in Mom's office. TIM Well, I admire the tenacity of your ongoing TIM campaign to try to fix me up, I really do, but I'm not in the market. SARAH Which is so selfish, because you are such a great guy, and there is a great woman out there just SARAH waiting for you. TIM Great! Well, then, you don't need to intervene, and I will meet her when the time is right. TIM 9:00 sharp, bub. Good night, Dale. DALE Hey, hey! DALE When do you close escrow? TIM End of the week. DALE Fingers crossed. KATHY DAD Hey, Kathy, it's Dad. KATHY DAD Just checking in again about Christmas. Your mom and I would love to have you if you can get away. KATHY DAD Look, if you're too busy, we understand, but just think about it, okay? We're only a plane flight away. KATHY DAD We hope you're doing well. Love you, sweetheart. TIM Kathy? KATHY Tim. TIM You here to skate? KATHY Just finished. TIM Oh. So someone let you in on the secret. KATHY What secret? TIM Come here early enough, you pretty much have the place to yourself. KATHY Darn. I thought that was my little discovery. TIM And now you're gonna bike? What are you, some kind of triathlete? KATHY No, just someone who loves to cycle. Soon, it'll be too cold. TIM Yeah. I do love this rink, though. I come here whenever I can. KATHY I'm just getting back into skating. It's been a while. TIM Hmm, well, I'm glad you're getting back into it. KATHY Me, too. It it centers me. TIM I hear you. KATHY Well, have fun. TIM Yeah. TIM Hey, Can I ask you a question, with the clear understanding that it's absolutely none of my business? KATHY Sure. TIM Why no tree this year? KATHY Christmas tree ornaments were always a big deal with Scott and me, from the time we started dating in college. TIM Mm KATHY Every Christmas, we would give each other one commemorating KATHY something we'd done that year or hoped to do the next. We built up a great collection over the years. KATHY And this year, I just can't bear the thought of seeing them. TIM "Memories on branches." That's what my mom calls ornaments. TIM And sometimes, you just don't want to remember. TIM Still, there are other ways to decorate a Christmas tree without ornaments. You've got lights and tinsel TIM popcorn KATHY You just want to sell me a tree. TIM Am I seriously that transparent? KATHY Well, take care. TIM Yeah, you, too. JENNA Well, you could have broken just one cookie. KATHY Help yourself. There's plenty. “JINGLE BELLS” PLAYS to laugh and sing JENNA Goody. JENNA Mm JENNA What do you need? KATHY The silver sparkles. I think they're in there. JENNA In there? JENNA Uh, nope, not in there. KATHY You sure? JENNA Yup, totally sure. KATHY Maybe the bottle got wedged in the back. Here, let me see. JENNA Uh, nope. KATHY Well, let-- KATHY What? What's wrong? Hey! KATHY Why are you acting crazy? Is there a mouse in there? KATHY Do I have mice? JENNA No. No, there's no mice. KATHY Let me look. JENNA You okay? KATHY He had terrible taste, didn't he? JENNA Au contraire. JENNA He was a visionary. He saw the whole ugly sweater fad coming. JENNA He got in on the ground floor. KATHY It's going out. JENNA Why don't you wear it to my ugly sweater party? KATHY No, Jenna. I'm not going to wear something Scott gave me in earnest and make fun of it. JENNA You're right. Of course you're not. JENNA What's wrong with me? JENNA But you are JENNA coming to my party? KATHY Planning to. JENNA Okay, well, that's encouraging. KATHY I'm trying not to hate Christmas this year. I'm really trying. JENNA I know you are. JENNA And I know I can be a little pushy sometimes. JENNA Okay, all the time. JENNA I just want you to be open to possibility, you know? JENNA Keep the porch light on. JENNA Remember telling me that? JENNA You said you never left the porch light on until after you met Scott. KATHY That man was unbelievable. He could trip over a blade of grass. JENNA So leave the light on, for him and for you. He wouldn't want you sitting alone in the dark. KATHY It doesn't matter if I have every light in the house on. I'm still alone. JENNA Ben loves these cookies so much, I get ricochet points just for being your bestie. Could be the only thing still keeping us together. KATHY Thanks for keeping me company. JENNA Anytime. CONNOR There's your Fraser fir CONNOR and your Douglas fir. The Fraser has amazing needle retention, the Douglas, a more pleasing aroma. Then there's your Blue Spruce-- JENNA Hey, maestro. JENNA Where's your boss? CONNOR In the gift shop. JENNA Carry on. CONNOR The Blue Spruce has a dynamic pyramid shape and CONNOR a bonus feature. TIM Welcome back. JENNA Cool shop. TIM I'm trying. JENNA So I need another tree. TIM Is there something wrong with the one that you bought? JENNA Nope. KATHY Tim! KATHY How did you get my-- TIM Jenna. She said that you would be too polite to turn down a tree if I dragged it to your house and I looked really, really tired. TIM Phew! What a day. I am totally beat. KATHY You're a terrible actor. TIM Yes, but I have a beautiful tree. Douglas fir. TIM Do you have any lights? I could help you set 'em up. JENNA Oh, that's okay. TIM So, what do you think? JENNA Maybe you should take it back. TIM Can't. No return policy TIM and it's a gift. Bad karma to return a gift. JENNA I can't accept a gift from you. TIM It's not from me, it's from Jenna. TIM Oh, uh, but when TIM you do get around to trimming it TIM tell me how this looks. TIM I had one just like it when I was a kid. It was TIM our family's favorite ornament. It was the first one that we put on the tree every year. TIM To me, it was like the official start of Christmas. JENNA It's beautiful. Thank you. JENNA Can I get you JENNA a cup of coffee or something? TIM No, thank you. I've gotta go. TIM Now, I've put that in a stand for you TIM so a quart of cold water every morning, and it'll stay fresh all day. The tree's still living, even though it's been cut down. KATHY I can relate to that. TIM Merry Christmas. EVE This isn't good, Kathy. EVE Not good at all. KATHY I was counting on a big December, but it just isn't happening. EVE Without an appreciable bump in sales, you are headed over your very own fiscal cliff. KATHY I haven't tapped out our line of credit yet. EVE And, as your accountant, I strongly advise you leave it that way. EVE Look, I know how much this store meant to Scott. KATHY It meant everything to him. EVE Really? Seems to me, you did. EVE But, yeah, Dream Cycle was definitely his passion project. EVE Question is, is it yours? KATHY It doesn't matter. KATHY I have to keep it going for Scott. EVE But he wouldn't have wanted you to, not if your heart wasn't in it. KATHY Why does everyone keep presuming to know what Scott would or wouldn't have wanted for me? EVE Because we knew him and how much he loved you. EVE I'm-I’m EVE sorry. I have another appointment. KATHY I know. Thank you for coming over. EVE I assume that Mario is still interested in taking over your lease? KATHY Oh, yes. He is dying to expand his empire. EVE Well, if you can negotiate wisely and liquidate at the right price, then you should be able to walk away clean. KATHY And do what? EVE Something you're passionate about. KATHY You're wrong, Eve. Dream Cycle is my passion project, too. I'll figure out a way to keep it going. EVE Okay. All I can do is advise. I'm here for you, whatever you need. KATHY Thank you. GRAHAM Hey, Eve. EVE Graham! Happy holiday. GRAHAM You, too. GRAHAM Sorry it took so long. That place was a madhouse. Holiday shoppers. GRAHAM Half nonfat GRAHAM green tea latte, extra hot. KATHY Thank you. GRAHAM You okay? KATHY I'm fine. KATHY I'm trying, sweetheart. KATHY I really am. CONNOR Excuse me. Coming through. Coming through. Ah, there you guys are. MIDDLE AGED MAN Excuse me! Can I get some help over here? CONNOR I'll be right with you guys. TIM Blue Spruce is a beautiful tree. Did you find everything okay? TIM All right. And that, too. Sure. Whoa! Okay. There you go. TIM Yeah, that's $47, please. TIM Hi! MIDDLE AGED MAN Could you hurry it up here? TIM Yes, um, sure, sorry. CUSTOMER 1 Yeah, seriously CUSTOMER 1 man. Come on. TIM Right on this, too. KATHY Would you like a cookie while you wait? I got chocolate, vanilla KATHY gingerbread. KATHY Enjoy. KATHY How about you. Would you like one? KATHY I love the gingerbread one. KATHY There you go. KATHY It's on the house. KATHY There you go. KATHY Oh, come on, just one more. I won't tell. MIDDLE AGED MAN Thanks. Can I buy some of these to take home to my wife? KATHY No, sorry. MIDDLE AGED MAN Too bad. Well, thanks again. You two have a terrific Christmas. TIM You too. TIM For some reason, everyone picked today to buy their Christmas tree. I was swamped and you saved the day. KATHY Well, the cookies did. These were for you. TIM For me? KATHY You deliver a tree personally, you get a personal thank you. TIM Hmm. TIM Okay, that's not fair. I'm serious. That is too good. You have just completely ruined me for every other cookie on the planet. You have a secret ingredient, don't you? Something bizarre that nobody else would guess. KATHY There are one or two surprises in there. TIM Is it ranch dressing? My mother puts ranch dressing in everything. KATHY I'm guessing you're not a baker. TIM Neither is my mother. But that guy was onto something. Have you ever thought about selling these? KATHY I've toyed with the idea. TIM Well, you should. TIM They're good. Really good. KATHY Thanks. TIM I've been meaning to ask you. Why don't you wear any gloves? KATHY Oh, I do, but I lose them. It happens every winter. I go through about four pairs. TIM That's pathetic. KATHY Totally. TIM Hey, bud. TIM Aw, man, that's too bad. No, no, don't worry about me. Just feel better. Okay. Yeah. You, too. TIM Connor's got the belly whumpers. KATHY Hope it's nothing serious. TIM Too much Christmas candy is my guess. KATHY What's with all the trees? TIM I have a bunch of deliveries to make. The two most misleading words in the English language, "free delivery." TIM There's actually nothing free about it. It costs me time, gas, patience KATHY Why do you offer it, then? TIM Because all the mega lots do TIM and now I gotta do it alone because Connor called in sick. TIM Hey, I don't TIM suppose KATHY I have to get to work. TIM And so do I. TIM But delivering Christmas trees goes so much quicker when you actually have somebody there to help you out. KATHY Is this another acting job? Are you going to guilt me into coming along? TIM I just thought it would be nice for the little guys to help each other out. KATHY Oh the "all for one" pitch. You have no shame. TIM Did it work? KATHY You got GPS? TIM That would be you. KATHY Okay. KATHY So left on Avalon, two blocks to Lyon, another left, and the house will be KATHY halfway down the block. TIM You are so much better at this than I am. KATHY Now who's pathetic? TIM Don't make fun. I read in an article that Albert Einstein would get lost if you took him more than four blocks from his house. KATHY But he had other strengths, relativity speaking. KATHY Sorry. TIM Okay. I have a lousy sense of direction. Do I at least get some points for copping to it? KATHY Sure. KATHY You are the first man I've ever met who'd admit to that. The next light is Avalon. KATHY You'll wanna go left, Einstein. TIM So was I right? Was it worth coming in? KATHY Absolutely. You know that adorable man hanging tinsel? He's 92. TIM That's Dan Missilden. He used to be a history professor. KATHY Still could be. He's sharper than I am. TIM His vision's pretty good, too. He told me twice how pretty you were, and I agreed both times. KATHY You know, I might take that compliment more seriously KATHY if I hadn't seen you flirting with that cute old woman KATHY wearing the chenille bathrobe. TIM The lady in the bathrobe has actually had her eye on me for three Christmases now. KATHY She's got good taste. TIM Well, thank you very much. KATHY I was talking about the bathrobe. KATHY All right, let's go. TIM That was good. KATHY Apartment 632. KATHY Sixth floor. TIM Piece of cake. TIM I did five flights with a tree in each hand once. Nothing can dampen my holiday spirit. KATHY I noticed. You take your Christmas trees very seriously. TIM Oh, yeah. TIM Ever since I was eight. I read this book about a runty little sapling that wanted to grow up and be this big, beautiful Christmas tree. And it was about growing and believing, and holding tight to your dreams, and even at eight years old, I knew that that was the spirit of Christmas. KATHY You don't think that's oversold a bit? Unrealistic expectations? The ‘tis the season hype? TIM You obviously have never read The Scrawniest Spruce. KATHY You said it yourself KATHY that's for kids. TIM We're all kids at Christmas. You just got to forget about the hype and hold onto the fun. KATHY Stop stalling. We've got three more flights. KATHY Even the best cook needs to be organized, so you have to make sure you have all your ingredients handy and read the recipe from start to finish before you do anything. ANDREA I want everything to be right. We're hosting his parents. KATHY Is this your first Christmas together? ANDREA Yeah. We were married in June. KATHY You're in love. You've already got it right. ANDREA HUSBAND Honey ANDREA HUSBAND does this look straight to you? ANDREA Yup. ANDREA HUSBAND Excellent. TIM Nice. ANDREA Such a gorgeous tree. ANDREA I wish we had more to put on it than a few little ornaments and some popcorn strings ANDREA but money's tight. KATHY Whatever you put on it will be beautiful. It's not what the decorations look like KATHY it's what they mean. ANDREA Can I show you something? KATHY Sure. ANDREA Tell me what you think. ANDREA To celebrate our first Christmas together. ANDREA I got one for us and one for both our parents. Too corny? KATHY No. It's perfect. KATHY I smell like a Christmas tree. TIM I have pine needles in my socks again, and I have no idea how that happens. KATHY Well, I better scoot. TIM Hey TIM That last stop, the one with the newlyweds. TIM That can't have been easy for you, and you really stepped up, big time. KATHY I just offered support. TIM No, you celebrated Christmas TIM in spite of everything you've lost, and I can't even imagine how enormous that loss must feel. KATHY I'll see you around the rink? TIM I'll see you around the rink. TIM Let's get to it! CONNOR Uncle Tim, ready to test the new machine? TIM Let 'er rip! CONNOR Ready, set, snow! TIM Yes! TIM I love Christmas! CONNOR Whoo-hoo! ANSWERING MACHINE You have 23 new messages. KATHY And it's got these great side pockets. KATHY Excuse me. KATHY Dream Cycle. Hi, Tim. KATHY Are you serious? Wow. TIM Okay, thank you. TIM I told you we should be selling these. KATHY These are all I have. I made them for the Christmas party at my church. TIM Well, lucky for us you haven't delivered them yet. The phone hasn't stopped ringing. These are as good as sold. KATHY All from word of mouth on the ones I handed out? TIM Yes. TIM I told you how good your cookies are. Can you bake more? I'll put 'em on display for sale, you can make a little spending money. KATHY "Make money." What a concept. KATHY That's a fine-looking KATHY Santa. BEN Yeah. BEN I wanted to put him in the living room, but Jenna said there wasn't enough BEN room in there for two of us, so BEN it was either him or me. KATHY Well KATHY I think you made the right choice. You'd look awfully silly standing out here all day long. BEN Good point. She's in there somewhere. KATHY Okay. JENNA Where did you get all this fabulousness? KATHY Notions Eleven, off Main downtown. JENNA I love their stuff. So, uh, were the boxes Tim's idea? KATHY Mine. Word of mouth is great, but I think we could get more impulse buys if the presentation is cool. JENNA So what do you plan to do with these? KATHY Well, I thought maybe we could dust it with gold glitter and then sprinkle them with clove oil. Engage as many senses as possible. JENNA That is a brilliant idea. KATHY Or should we use the metallic cones? They're shinier. Although I really like the glitter, except it gets all over everything. KATHY We could paint the real cones gold? What do you think? JENNA I think you're really into this. KATHY I am. I need to make some money. JENNA No, I think there's something else going on here. KATHY Like what? JENNA Like maybe you're trying to impress Tim. KATHY Well, yeah, to sell more cookies. JENNA No, not the merchant, the man. JENNA I think you're-- you’re a little too nervous and scared JENNA to dress up for him yourself, so you're making all these pretty boxes, hoping he'll notice. JENNA These aren't just decorations. They're perfume, lipstick, blush. KATHY Don't be silly. JENNA He is a cute, sweet guy, Kathy. It's okay to like him. KATHY Of course I like him. JENNA You know what I mean. KATHY You're pushing again. JENNA No, I'm not. You are. CONNOR Have a fantastic Christmas! KATHY What's this? TIM You don't want to know. TIM It's a, uh, it’s a musical toilet seat. "Jingle Bells" plays when you TIM sit down on it. KATHY Are you serious? You really think people want to hear Christmas music at that moment? TIM I'm going to put that somewhere where no one will ever, ever see it again. KATHY I don't mean to be overcritical, but there is no sense of organization here. It's like going through Scott's closet again. TIM He was messy? KATHY A disaster. His sock drawer KATHY his desk, his closet was the worst. You couldn't find anything. TIM Did you guys argue about it? KATHY Never. KATHY He had so many wonderful qualities, I didn't dwell on the bad ones. TIM Well, he was very lucky to be loved like that. KATHY He loved me like that right back. It was a real gift. TIM He didn't take the gift with him, you know. If you can love once, you can love again. KATHY You really think it's that simple? TIM Of course not. If it was that simple, we'd fall in love every day. KATHY How about you. Ever married? TIM Almost. TIM Almost. Her name was Rebecca. About three years into the relationship, she said I didn't know her. She was right, but I thought she was committed to us and to our future. TIM Turns out her future was with a lawyer named Luke that she met in spinning class. KATHY Ouch. TIM Yeah. It was over a year ago and I still miss her sometimes. But I think that when you really love somebody, it's hard to let go. TIM But then I think about what you've been through, and I just, uh I can't even imagine. CONNOR Uncle Tim! I ran out of-- CONNOR I just need to get some twine. CONNOR All right then. TIM Okay. Bye. TIM That is just plain terrific. KATHY Let's hope it helps us sell some cookies. TIM Cookies Me want cookie! TIM Mm CONNOR Thanks. Merry Christmas. TIM I have something for you. TIM Mittens! The ladies at that seniors' center knit them, and I, uh, I have them on consignment. KATHY Do you like them? TIM Oh, they're not pretty, and by the way, they usually don't fit. KATHY So why do you stock them? TIM Not only do I stock them, but I pretend to sell them, just so the ladies feel good about themselves. KATHY So you give them money from these pretend sales? TIM Of course! You sell something, you expect payment. KATHY And it costs you to stock these terrible mittens? TIM Only financially. I get reimbursed in other ways. KATHY Free mittens? TIM And a felt stocking, a pomander ball, and something I think is a placemat, but might be a really small quilt. KATHY You're a nice man, Tim Pierce. I think Rebecca made a big mistake. KATHY I will wear these with pride. KATHY Come by my house in the morning. I'll have more cookies ready for you. TIM Okay. TIM You decorated TIM the Christmas tree. KATHY Yes, I did. TIM This I gotta see. KATHY That one was from me. It was a struggle to raise the money to open Dream Cycle KATHY and that was my way of saying, "Think positive. Angels are watching over us." TIM And somehow the money came through. KATHY Yes. So, he gave me that last KATHY Christmas to let me know. KATHY I will bake cookies all night every night if it helps keep his dream alive. TIM Why don't you bake cookies all night every night to help keep your dream alive? KATHY What do you mean? TIM Well, I've heard you say that you TIM love to bake cookies, but I've never actually heard you say you love the bike business. KATHY I haven't said it, is all. He could be very clever with these. KATHY You know, order one month in advance and then arrange to have it delivered on Christmas Eve. TIM Hmm. KATHY This was one. TIM Hmm, what does it mean? KATHY "Keep the light on." TIM I see you put up the butterfly. TIM It fits. KATHY Yeah, it does. TIM Look, Tim's Trees doesn't open until Tim says it does, and Connor's coming in late this morning. Do you have an hour? I'd love to take you on a nice TIM drive. KATHY Sure. KATHY Are we almost there? TIM Almost. Keep your eyes closed. Are you peeking? Can you see? KATHY No, I can't see anything, I promise. TIM Okay, right here. Ready? TIM Okay, open your eyes. KATHY Wow. It's beautiful. KATHY Is this where you buy your trees? TIM I used to, but this'll be the last year. KATHY Why? TIM Next year, I'll be selling them. Right here. I just bought the place. Deal closed yesterday. KATHY This is yours? TIM Come on, let me take you on the first official tour of Christmas-Go-Round. TIM I've had my eye on this place for a long time. The owner was getting ready to retire, and six months ago, he did just that. KATHY I thought the Christmas tree business was risky. TIM Not if you're the guy growing the trees. That's recession-proof. No matter how tight things are, everybody finds money for a Christmas tree. TIM But my dream is it’s a lot bigger than that. TIM Ooh! Ooh You okay? KATHY Yeah. TIM Did you already lose the mittens that I got you? KATHY I forgot to bring them. TIM You forgot to bring them, really? TIM So right over there is where I'm gonna build the horse barn, and back this way will be, uh, Santa's workshop. And then right over this ridge over here, I'll have a little place where you can make your own wreaths. Like, I want-- I want Christmas-Go-Round to be just that, a year-round Christmas experience. That's why I called it Christmas-Go-Round. Sleigh rides, Santa Claus, the whole deal. TIM And this is where we're gonna sell your cookies. KATHY Whoa, slow down. TIM Hey, a guy can dream, can't he? TIM Come on. KATHY So all of this was inspired by The Scrawniest Spruce? TIM Well, it did take me a while, though. TIM I mean, I tried the usual route, with the cubicle job, and the benefits, and the stock options, and all of that. Over the years, just drifted away. Went freelance, bought the tree lot on the side. In a way, everything was just kind of leading me to this. TIM I'm gonna create something really special here, a hands-on Christmas experience. KATHY That's what Scott wanted, to create something really special. TIM And what do you want to create? KATHY A cookie business, if I listen to you. TIM So do. TIM I'm working on a really cool logo, too, for Christmas-Go-Round-- TIM Did you just TIM Did you--? TIM Are you serious? Oh, you are-- You are-- TIM Look out. TIM Oh, ho! Okay! I’m down. KATHY Oh, no, not fair, not fair! My hands are freezing! TIM Okay. TIM All right TIM Here. KATHY Did you have these the whole time? TIM For when you lost the other pair. KATHY Why didn't you give them to me? TIM Because I was enjoying holding your hand too much. TIM Am I moving too fast? KATHY No. I just wasn't ready for anything like this. TIM Me neither. KATHY Why me? TIM The angel. KATHY What angel? TIM I was watching you on the day we met from the doorway as you wandered through the gift shop, and you saw an angel ornament on the very edge of the table. You pushed TIM it back so carefully so it wouldn't fall and break. TIM That simple act, that little kindness, it said everything to me. KATHY I should get to work. TIM Me too. TIM Careful. Careful GRAHAM There you go. Thanks for coming by. GRAHAM Oh, have a great holiday. GRAHAM Hey, boss. KATHY Thanks for holding down the fort. I'm sorry I'm late. GRAHAM Wasn't hard. GRAHAM That's our first customer today. KATHY A good start. GRAHAM Not really, she bought GRAHAM three spokes and a patch kit. Eight bucks. KATHY Oh. KATHY Tell me something, Graham. Have you ever thought about what you might do if Dream Cycle had to close? GRAHAM Sure. Ragbrai. KATHY What is Ragbrai? GRAHAM It's this GRAHAM really cool week-long bike race across Iowa. I've always wanted to do that. GRAHAM Okay, um, after Ragbrai, what would you do? GRAHAM I don't know. Get another job, why? You thinking about taking up Mario on his offer? KATHY Just curious. GRAHAM Oh, I'm sorry. We're, uh, closed REBECCA Hi, Tim. TIM Rebecca. REBECCA How are you? TIM I'm, um TIM fine. Are you here for the holidays? REBECCA No, actually. I just moved back to town. TIM When? REBECCA A couple weeks ago. I'm staying with my sister until I find a place of my own. REBECCA Is that hot chocolate? TIM Yeah. REBECCA Any left? TIM So why are you back? REBECCA Things didn't work out with Luke. TIM I'm sorry. REBECCA Yeah. Turns out he has a fatal flaw. REBECCA He isn't you. REBECCA Sorry. I promised myself I wasn't going to go there, but REBECCA there I went. Oh, and for the record? REBECCA I've sworn myself off spinning classes for life. REBECCA Look, Tim. I know I have no right to barge back into your life like this, especially after what I did to you REBECCA but REBECCA I miss you. A lot. REBECCA I just wanted you to know that. REBECCA You always wanted to have a gift shop in here. Good for you. REBECCA Are you still selling those "Jingle Bells" toilet seats that always made you laugh so much? TIM I tried, but they were pretty much a non-starter. REBECCA I bet. TIM And I bought that Christmas tree farm that I've always had my eye on. REBECCA Tim, that's fantastic. "Christmas-Go-Round," are you gonna do it? TIM Mm-hmm, yeah. REBECCA Double good for you. As long as we're catching up, I have to ask. REBECCA Are you seeing someone? TIM Not exactly. TIM Maybe. REBECCA Well you were closing up when I did that barging in, so I will let you get back to it. TIM Sure. REBECCA And I'm sure it goes without saying, but REBECCA if "Not Exactly Maybe" doesn't pan out let me know. REBECCA Take care of yourself, Tim. “JINGLE BELLS” PLAYS Oh BEN Okay, everybody, say "eggnog!" BEN Nice. BEN Good one. BEN Oh, my gosh BEN Cheese! BEN Hey, two ugly sweaters, that's amazing. Nice job. BEN Kathy, hey! BEN I’m getting BEN a lot of positive feedback on the inflatable Santa. KATHY I bet you are. Jingle all BEN I'm thinking, next year BEN I'm going to get him a snowman to keep him company. KATHY I'm sure Santa would appreciate that. BEN Oh, let me help you with that. KATHY Thanks. BEN Whoa BEN that is big-time ugly. KATHY Thank you. BEN Nice. I think Jenna's in the kitchen. KATHY Okay. BEN Hey, I'll take one of those. Okay, group shot. Are you ready? Get close together. JENNA Hello, your ugliness. You came! KATHY I had to. KATHY Apparently, my late husband was an ugly sweater party visionary, so I have to uphold the family tradition. JENNA You're just in time to help me with these. KATHY Okay, but there's something I want to run by you first. JENNA Okay, run away. KATHY So KATHY Have a look at this. JENNA Do I have to? I'm tired of looking at that woman. KATHY So imagine she's not there. Imagine it's a picture of me, and instead of "Queen Carla's Cookie Kingdom," it says, "Cookies by Kathy." JENNA You're thinking of going into the cookie business? KATHY Yeah. KATHY Dumb idea? JENNA No-- Th-- this is the greatest idea I've ever heard! KATHY People seem to like my cookies, and I really love baking them-- JENNA Okay, you don't have to sell me JENNA on any of this. Your cookies are amazing. JENNA But JENNA could you do this and Dream bikes? KATHY Probably not. JENNA Wow. This is headline! KATHY It's just something I'm thinking about. I haven't made up my mind about anything. JENNA Right. Yeah JENNA of course, but-but still Wow. JENNA You, uh, you have Tim to thank for this, don't you? KATHY I guess I do. MARIO Thank you. Merry Christmas. MARIO Kathy, hi! KATHY Hi, Mario. This is Eve Atkinson. MARIO Oh. MARIO Nice to meet you. EVE You, too. KATHY Eve is my accountant and business manager. MARIO Uh-huh? EVE Kathy tells me you're interested in buying her lease. MARIO Keenly interested. EVE Well, she, uh, might be interested in selling, so let us know when we can talk. MARIO How about now? CONNOR Did you go skating this morning? TIM No, not today. CONNOR Why not? TIM I don't know, I just-- just didn't. CONNOR What's going on, Uncle Tim? TIM Nothing's going on. CONNOR Yeah, there is. CONNOR You like that girl, Kathy. TIM We're just, uh we're just friends. CONNOR Well, whatever. CONNOR But that's why you go skating, and this morning you didn't and you're acting all mopey. CONNOR So what's going on? TIM Do you remember my girlfriend Rebecca? CONNOR Yeah. Didn't she, like, dump you and move away? TIM Well, she's back, and she came to see me last night. CONNOR Oh. TIM It was upsetting to see her. CONNOR I know what you mean. You know, I liked this girl. Darcy? She's really hot. You know, we hung out for a while and it was awesome. And then she started blowing me off, and I was like, "Dude, what's up with that?" CONNOR But then I got interested in this other girl. CONNOR Nicole? And that was cool, till Darcy started coming around and she was all interested in me and everything again. TIM So what did you do? CONNOR I'm still trying to figure it out. CONNOR Women. It's so confusing. TIM Copy that. TIM The cookie collector's here. KATHY Come and get 'em. TIM Okay. Tim All right. KATHY How was your day? TIM Busy. Could definitely use some more cookies. You practically sold out. KATHY Oh, that's great! You know, I've been thinking about your cookie shop idea, and, well, maybe going into the cookie business full-time. TIM That's a terrific idea. KATHY I'd love to talk to you about it. TIM Sure. KATHY I could brew us up a KATHY pot of coffee, or pour us a glass of wine? TIM Actually, could I take a rain check on that? I'm-- I'm pretty beat. KATHY Of course. TIM I'll give you a call later tomorrow, and TIM I'll let you know if I need some more. KATHY Okay. TIM Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Um a lady TIM came by for a tree and she sampled your cookies, and she flipped over them. TIM She wants you to bake a batch for a Christmas Eve party that she's having. KATHY Oh, great. I'll give her a call. TIM Okay. I'll, um, talk to you tomorrow. KATHY Oh, uh, will you be at the rink in the morning? TIM I don't know. We'll see. SARAH Connor overslept. He'll be out in a minute. TIM Okay. What's going on? SARAH Connor says Rebecca's back in town. TIM Oh. Yes, she is. SARAH And? TIM And what? TIM I've seen her once. SARAH Are you planning on seeing her again? TIM I don't know. SARAH Please don't. SARAH Look, I like Rebecca. I-- I really do. SARAH I remember how good you two were together SARAH but I also remember how devastated you were and how long it took you to get happy again. TIM She made a mistake. SARAH And I don't want to see you make one. TIM I'm a big boy, Sarah. SARAH No, you're not. You are my little brother and don't you ever forget that. TIM Truthfully, I don't I mean, I don't know how I feel. TIM It was-- it was really good seeing her again and I can't deny that. SARAH Well, I gave you my two cents. Spend it in peace. CONNOR That was weird. TIM Yes, it was. EVE It's a generous offer. EVE He really is keen. KATHY What about the inventory and the payables? EVE Well, inventory-wise, you'd want to wait until after the holidays, when your competitors will need to restock, but, um, I've made some inquiries, and the numbers they've floated should more than cover your outstanding obligations. KATHY So I could walk away free and clear? EVE Maybe even a little ahead. KATHY But not enough to start a new business. EVE Well, that's what business loans are for. EVE All of that will work itself out. EVE The only question that really matters is, um are you ready to let go? EVE Forgive me for saying it again, but EVE no one would have wanted this for you more than Scott. KATHY I never thought I'd say this-- or believe it-- but you're right. KATHY When Scott was alive, we were a team. KATHY His dreams were my dreams. I was as excited about this store as he was because it was ours, but there is no "ours" anymore. KATHY For so long I thought if I didn't keep the store going, I would be letting Scott down. KATHY Now I think I'd be letting him down if I keep it. GRAHAM I wanted to give you my week's notice! KATHY Did you say what I think you said? GRAHAM Yeah. KATHY But the week after Christmas is bound to be busy. Returns, people cashing in KATHY gift certificates. GRAHAM Oh, no, sorry, not this week, just whatever week you need it to be, you know, when you finally close up shop. GRAHAM Just let me know. KATHY I guess I don't hide secrets very well. GRAHAM This has been a long time coming, and as your number one-- well, only one-- employee, I say go for it. Whatever you do next, it's gonna be amazing. JENNA Hey, guys. Are we doing this? KATHY Thank you. JENNA Wow. This is amazing. KATHY I know. JENNA So Tim owns all of this? KATHY Yeah. Isn't it beautiful? JENNA Yeah. KATHY Here, let me give you the tour. KATHY So you've got your spruces over here KATHY And this is where he envisions my shop being. JENNA What an excellent spot. KATHY Come on. KATHY So my idea is that you don't just buy cookies at Christmas time, but all year round. JENNA I like it. It's perfectly symbolized by your soon-to-be iconic flagship store JENNA which is on a Christmas tree lot, where nonstop Christmas is a reality. KATHY Exactly. JENNA I lied. I don't like it. I love it. JENNA So, you're really going to do this? KATHY I really am. REBECCA Hi. TIM Hi. REBECCA I'm not stalking you, I promise. I just I came to buy a tree. TIM Oh. Okay. Well, what are you in the market for? REBECCA Give me the spiel. Please? I always loved it. TIM Sure. TIM We have a variety of trees to choose from. We have the Fraser fir and your Douglas fir. The Fraser fir has excellent needle retention TIM and the Douglas has a more pleasing aroma, like this one JENNA Well it could be his sister or a cousin. KATHY Let's go. JENNA Don't jump to conclusions, okay? KATHY Let's go. REBECCA That always REBECCA looked so great. TIM Thanks. TIM Look, um TIM I'm not doing this, Rebecca. REBECCA Not selling me a tree? TIM It is really good to see you again, and I-- I mean that. And if there's anything that I can do to help you get back on your feet here TIM I'm there for you. TIM But we're not getting back together. I I will not let that happen. REBECCA It isn't "not exactly maybe" at all, is it? I mean, you know. TIM Yeah, I know. REBECCA Well I hope she feels the same because if anyone deserves to be happy, Tim, it's you. REBECCA See you. KATHY I knew something was wrong. He was KATHY different, avoiding me, but I didn't want to believe it. JENNA Why don't you just call him, okay? I'm sure there's an innocent explanation. KATHY Christmas-Go-Round, selling the business, Tim it was all a mistake. Scott sent me a sign and I ignored it. JENNA A sign? What are you-- what are you talking about? KATHY The ornament Tim gave me? It fell, it broke. Scott was warning me. JENNA No, Kathy. That-- that's-- that's crazy. KATHY No, no, no. It's the clearest thing in the world. Scott was warning me and I ignored it. TIM What happened? Did you forget to water it? KATHY I can't talk right now, Tim. I've got a lot of cookies to make for that Christmas Eve order. TIM I brought you something. TIM There's a few days left in the season put it to use. TIM And then, after Christmas, you can take it apart and you can spend the rest TIM of the winter losing all the pieces. KATHY It's so sweet. Thank you. TIM What's going on, Kathy? What's wrong? KATHY I saw you with that woman. TIM What woman? KATHY You were showing her trees? Obviously, you guys were close. TIM Rebecca. You saw me with Rebecca? KATHY Rebecca? KATHY That explains it. I'm glad she's back in your life. I know how much you care about her. TIM No. TIM She is not back in my life, not like that, and it's really disappointing that you would think so. What, did you think I was just jerking you around? TIM Like, looking for a holiday fling? KATHY That's not fair. TIM Of course not, because this isn't really about Rebecca, is it? This is-- this is TIM about you. If you-- If you want to stop seeing me, you-- KATHY I can't do this right now, Tim. Can't you see that? TIM Can't do what? KATHY This conversation KATHY for starters. KATHY I was going to prepare this great speech about KATHY timing, and it was going to be touching and real, and at the end of it, you were going to understand and respect me and wish me well. And we were even going to end up friends. TIM Then make the speech. Go ahead, convince me. KATHY No, I can't! KATHY It’s a cop-out! The truth is I don't know why I can't do this right now. I mean, maybe if you had KATHY come into my life at Easter, or KATHY the Fourth of July, maybe I would be ready, but KATHY I'm not ready right now, not this Christmas. KATHY You are an amazing man, Tim KATHY and I'm so grateful for your support and encouragement, but all I can offer you right now is gratitude. TIM Okay. Well, you're welcome. TIM No, you know what? Listen to me. Love it's not-- it’s not a bus or a train. It doesn't run on schedule. It's unexpected and it's-- it’s inconvenient TIM and sometimes, you have to wait your whole life for it to show up, but when it does TIM you grab tight and you hold on, because those bumps, and the twists TIM and-- and-- and the stomach lurches, those are what TIM make you feel like you're still alive. TIM I would have given you all the time in the world to be ready to take a ride like that with me. TIM All the time in the world. CONNOR She still hasn't CONNOR called? TIM No. CONNOR Bummer. CONNOR So, like, nobody's come in today. Can we close early? I haven't done my Christmas shopping yet. TIM You waited until December 24th to do your Christmas shopping? CONNOR Dude, I'm a teenager. TIM Sure, let's, uh Let's call it a day. CONNOR I'll go flip the sign. VANESSA I was bowled over when I ate your cookies. I'd never tasted anything like them. KATHY That's so nice of you to say. VANESSA Oh, I mean it. I've been baking my whole life. That's a long time, trust me. VANESSA I could never dream of making cookies as good as yours. Is this your invoice? KATHY Yeah. KATHY Vanessa, you look so familiar to me. Have we met before? VANESSA I get that all the time. You've probably seen me on this. KATHY You're Queen Carla? VANESSA No. I was the model hired to represent her. KATHY I always thought it was your company. VANESSA Oh, goodness, no. It's a corporate concoction, phony as a $3.00 bill. VANESSA Have you tried their cookies? KATHY Yeah. I'm not a fan. Sorry. VANESSA Don't be. I wouldn't eat them on a dare VANESSA which is why it's so great they are finally going to have some competition. KATHY Oh? Who's that? VANESSA You. Aren't you? VANESSA Well, that's what Tim said. Hey VANESSA tell me something. I buy my tree from Tim every year. Do you know if he's single? Because I have an age-appropriate daughter who is KATHY He is single. VANESSA Oh. KATHY But what did he tell you? VANESSA Oh, that you were thinking of opening a retail cookie business. VANESSA And by the way VANESSA if you're looking for investors, give me a shout. KATHY That's so nice. Thank you. VANESSA Again, I mean it. VANESSA You are the real deal, sister. You have a gift. VANESSA How lucky for the rest of the world you're going to share it. VANESSA Merry Christmas. KATHY Merry Christmas. Bye-bye. VANESSA Thank you. JENNA Hello? JENNA Kathy, you home? KATHY Jenna! JENNA Hey, where have you been JENNA for the last few days, you? KATHY Sorry, I went off the grid. JENNA Well, I came to drop off your Christmas giftie. KATHY Jenna, I don't know why you put up with me. Of course, I'm gonna do Christmas-Go-Round. JENNA You are? KATHY It's a brilliant idea. You said so yourself. JENNA Well, I know, but what made you change your mind? KATHY A conversation with Queen Carla. JENNA A what with who? KATHY And a thumbs-up from Scott. JENNA And a thumbs-up from This is the greatest Christmas gift ever. KATHY I know, I know, but I can't really talk right now, so I'm going to have to call you back, okay? JENNA Okay. KATHY I love you, Jenna Lowe. JENNA Love you, too, babe. KATHY Tim, it's Kathy. I'm at the lot. It looks like you closed down for the season. Um, anyway, call me back. We need to talk. DALE Mm, that turkey looks fantastic. CONNOR Uncle Tim! CONNOR Come on, it's time to eat. TIM Why, it's TIM the scrawniest spruce. KATHY Actually, it's a fir. I don't know if it's a Douglas or a Fraser. Where's Connor when you need him? TIM I'm sorry I just walked in. The front door was unlocked, the porch light was on. I took that as an invitation. KATHY It was. TIM So, you you wanted to talk? KATHY Yeah. I’m I'm so sorry I pushed you away. It was never about you. TIM I know. KATHY I thought I would have to say goodbye to Scott. I thought I would have to lose him to make room for you. TIM And now? KATHY Now I know I don't. KATHY And I'm ready. TIM Ready for what? KATHY Everything. For old memories, new beginnings unexpected gifts. You. If you'll give me another chance. TIM That's not necessary. I am still under the spell of our first extraordinary chance.