"Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom there lived a man who was hardly a man." "He had forgotten the way voices sound, so long had he been exiled exiled to a cold, dark hovel at the center of the forest." "It´s been so many years now, this legend is kept only by the faithful." "As for this man you could say he is still living." "But you could also say that he´s been erased from humankind." "Well, I´ll be darned." "Nobody told me you had to take measurements." "I guess there´s no reason we can´t carve it first, then cook it." "Would that be strange?" "Very." "It would still taste the same." "Probably better, in fact..." "...because if you had both sides" "Dad give it up." "Mom had a turkey that was too big once." "She did?" "What did she do?" "She buttered the sides of the foil, pushed it in." "She said, "Once it was garnished, no one would know."" "It´s all in here." "Remember how Mom made the stuffing with the apricots?" "Yeah." "And look, there´s those biscuits with the cheese in them." "Remember that?" "Can we make Thanksgiving like Mom´s?" "You know, sweetheart, your mom was really into these things." "She´d been" "Look, there´s the cinnamon-rhubarb pie!" "You know what, guys?" "I have a brilliant idea." "Yeah." "Hey, Art?" "Andy Brown." "Listen, I´m under an impression Mama Joy´s does Thanksgiving dinners you can pick up." "You do?" "Great." "Good question. I don´t know." "How many pounds would you recommend?" "Twelve pounds, okay." "Morning, Brown." "Where are you off to this early?" "My yearly physical." "Didn´t see you in my appointment book." "I have a chromosome minimum where my own physician is concerned." "He´s in Denver." "And what are you doing with that bird?" "I´m returning it. I ordered Thanksgiving at Mama Joy´s." "Can you return a turkey?" "Suppose we call the New York City Mayor´s Office and find out." "It´s nice to see your wit only sharpens as the Yule approaches." "The Yule." "Don´t tell me you´re like these other seasonal ninnies that string Thanksgiving to New Year´s together into one big, annoying holiday." "Watch it, Harold." "Last guy like this was visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve." "I appreciate the tip, ghosts being your specialty." "Need you to return this." "Return it?" "Or cook it for Irv and yourself." "What´s wrong with it?" "Nothing´s wrong." "I ordered Thanksgiving from Mama Joy´s." "Raised the white flag early, didn´t you?" "It seemed the most merciful decision for everyone." "Here´s the Maxwell file." "He and the missus will be in in five." "Whoa, they saw you coming." "I heard that." "Well, I wish I had better news for you." "You´ve tolerated the dialysis for as long as any of us could hope, Marty." "But with this new development I can´t treat all the secondary symptoms in a comprehensive way." "And I can´t attack the underlying problem without surgical intervention." "In short you need a new kidney." "Are you sure that I can´t--?" "Rox." "Well, we know you´re not a match, Roxanne." "Let me say, you don´t wanna consider an unmatched transplant." "But, I mean, it just seems so unfair." "If I have an extra, why...?" "No, no." "Normally I´d put Marty on the UNOS list." "But since we already anticipate his blood pressure would still be a problem I think the only real option is to find a family member who´s willing to donate." "My dad died last winter." "He was it." "Well, we can always try to get your blood pressure down with new medications but new medication means new side effects." "And even so-- -lt´s no sure thing." "No sure thing." "Well, why don´t we meet again next week?" "All right?" "In the meantime, I´ll do some homework on this, and...." "Marty, your medical file here says that you have a brother." "I´m assuming he´s also deceased?" "Actually, no." "No?" "Great." "Maybe we can set up a conference." "I don´t think that would be possible." "Well, if it´s an issue of distance, we could have his hospital arrange to- lt´s not distance." "Well, then, what is the issue?" "I don´t have a brother, Dr. Brown, not anymore." "Hey, hey!" "What are you doing?" "Get down there. lt´s not sturdy." "The chair was too short." "What are you looking for anyway?" "These." "Mom´s Thanksgiving books?" "Grateful books." "This one´s last year." ""We are grateful for Ephram´s piano playing which sounds like angels dancing on the keyboard." "We are grateful for Nonnie´s successful hip operation."" "The one before is even better." "I used to think these things were stupid." "You said they looked like third-grade art projects." "l was a punk." "She thought it was funny." "Besides she knew you really liked them." "You know, it´ll still be Thanksgiving this year, Delia." "lt won´t be the same." "You don´t know that." "Yes, I do." "Dad just wants to bring the food in in containers." "There´s no parade, and Mom´s not here to make her book." "Well, you can watch the parade on TV." "Dad´s not cooking." "That´s like an early Hanukkah present." "It won´t be any good this year." "I wish Thanksgiving wouldn´t come at all." "Why should this year be any different from last year?" "Or the year before that?" "Or the year before that?" "lt´s uncanny, Harold." "No, no." "Let me guess." "PSA, 1 .5." "LDL, 1 1 8." "HDL, 58." "BP, 1 22/62." "Heart rate, 62." "And weight, eight percent below the insurance guidelines." "You´ve been the textbook male for all the time I´ve known you." "Don´t know why you keep coming back in." "Well, if that´s all, I´ll be on my way." "Until next year, Mason." "Sure." "Just need you to pop back in after the holidays for another mri." "Got any big Thanksgiving plans?" "Pop back in for an mri?" "It´s most likely nothing." "Body scan we took picked up a small...." "l don´t even know what to call it." "A spot." "A spot?" "Growth maybe." "A growth?" "Way to bury the lead, Mason." "This is absolutely nothing to be alarmed about." "Could be anything." "All these new technologies, they have their share of quirks." "Quirks?" "Disproportionate number of false positives." "You know this, Harold." "lf there´s anything you´re not telling" "There´s nothing I´m not telling you." "This is just a precaution." "But I want you to humor me." "Come back in." "That´s it." "Let´s not wait." "Let´s do it today." "I´m booked up." "Come back in after Thanksgiving." "You´re worrying far too much about this." "This is no big deal." "Give my love to Rose." "It´s legendary around here, the story of Marty Maxwell´s brother." "Daniel Maxwell was the most brilliant mind Everwood has ever known a great scholar of romantic literature with a head only for his work and his books." "Real social butterfly, huh?" "Which is why the whole town was stunned when he got married." "But the marriage didn´t last, because one day for no reason at all, Daniel went crazy." "The onset of mental illness is gradual" "He descended into madness..." "...just like the poor ladies he wrote about." "ln a day?" "Left his house on Sumner Square, never came back." "Moved into the woods, has lived out there ever since." "He moved into the woods?" "Okay, this is starting to sound like one of Ephram´s comic books." "Did he own a house out there?" "Did he buy it?" "When did he buy it?" "Escrow takes a month." "What, was he a squatter?" "It´s a legend, Andy, not a realtor´s periodical." "Well, it all sounds very iffy to me." "l saw the shack once." "You did?" "Went out to deliver some food years ago nearly scared me out of my wits, like dropping off food for the boogeyman." "Could you draw a map of where you went?" "You gonna see him?" "You´re a brave man, Andy." "You." "Map." "Draw." "Finally had it with my cooking?" "Oh, I´m practicing the biscuits." "Art said that they were included." "l know. I canceled Art." "Why?" "l´m gonna do it." "The way Mom used to." "l´d do it the way Mom did too, just faster." "l can do this." "You know, Ephram, being Mom isn´t as easy as it looks." "I´ve tried for a year, and as miraculous and wonderful as we all thought she was..." "...we had no idea-- -l know who Mom was." "Need a credit card for groceries." "You want this?" "Because Art´s is fine. lt´d be much easier." "Delia wants it to be like Mom´s." "Okay." "Well, if you´re gonna cook, I´ll help you." "I got it." "You don´t have to do this, Ephram." "Yes, I do." "For Delia." "Lord God, bless this grave and send your angels to watch over it." "Forgive the sins of our brother, Harold Abbott Jr whom we bury here this day." "Rose." "Rose." "Rose, what is going on here?" "Rose?" "Lord God, welcome our brother Harold Abbott." "My funeral?" "But I´m right here." "What is the meaning of this?" "I´m so sorry, Rose." "You?" "What are you doing here?" "Thank you, Dr. Brown." "He was a good man." "You don´t know what kind of man I was, hypocritical windbag." "You have no idea what kind of man I was." "You wouldn´t be here if it wasn´t a chance to steal more of my patients." "I´m sure more people would´ve come if it weren´t cold." "Cold?" "Cold?" "It is positively balmy, and you came, you little pisher." "I just wish we could´ve filled the seats." "There´s some full ones." "No one came to my funeral?" "No one but my family and this horse´s ass?" "is there nothing sacred?" "Where is everybody?" "Harold." "Harold, you were having a bad dream." "l´m alive." "For now." "Try and get some sleep." "Rose?" "Yes, Harold?" "Would you say I´m a good husband?" "The best, Harold." "Good father?" "The very best." "Would you say I´m popular in Everwood?" "I love you, Harold." "Now, go to sleep." "Okay." "Went past the cluster of oblong stones." "Of course, with all this snow, they could´ve been deer droppings." "Then I did 50 paces." "But then what is a pace, and whose paces are they?" "Okay, now I just hook a left at the big pine." "Which pine?" "This is such a crappy map." "Nina." "Oh, okay. I take it back." "There it is." "That´s it." "It´s a big pine." "All right." "My kingdom for a machete." "Hey." "Where´d you go?" "What´s the difference between "condescended" milk and evaporated?" "Don´t know." "Get the one on the list." "lt just said "canned."" "Well, get both." "Okay." ""Fat separator." What the--?" "Hello, Ephram." "Mrs." "Abbott, Amy, hey." "I´m gonna pop across and get cranberries from the stand." "You get the nuts your father likes for the dressing, okay?" "Doing the shopping yourself?" "Not exactly." "I got all of them." "Hey, Delia." "Hi, Amy." "At Mama Joy´s, they had apple pie, pumpkin pie and pecan pie." "Well, I think we only need one." "Mom used to have three kinds of pie, remember?" "Okay." "Okay." "All right, fine." "Go get them." "There." "lt´s her favorite holiday." "l can see that." "My dad´s not into it, so...." "lt´s cool of you to do this for her." "Try saying that after she dies of food poisoning." "Sometimes I think Thanksgiving itself can be kind of a natural disaster." "I´m about to scientifically prove it." "It can be fun, though, under the right circumstances, making a mess and all." "Cooking´s like mud pies for grown-ups." "Well, I´ll try and think of it that way." "Hey, if this isn´t just a brother-sister thing, I could help if you wanted." "Sure." "Hello?" "Mr. Maxwell?" "Okay." "All right." "Are you the kind of bear where I´m supposed to run or play dead?" "A simple blink will signify your answer." "She´s harmless." "She´s been hanging around since she was a baby." "Are you coming in?" "Yes." "Yes." "Yes, I am." "Thank you." "You´ve really got a great collection here." "I ordered the ones with the leather binding, book of the month but this is the real deal." "Read a lot, do you?" "You know, for a shack in the woods, this place is really cozy." "But I wonder if you have a problem with insulation in the winter. I notice that these" "Why did you come here?" "My name is Andy Brown." "I´m a doctor, and I´m treating a patient by the name of Marty Maxwell who, I´m led to believe, may be your brother." "As you may or may not know, your brother is very sick." "He needs a kidney transplant, so we´re looking for a donor." "Now, I know you haven´t exactly been in contact with Marty." "But his quality of life has been very poor of late and is deteriorating by the day." "If you´d be willing to be tested and possibly donate you could save his life which would be the optimum outcome." "If you don´t give a kidney, what I´m saying-- l´m not interested." "His prognosis is not at all good." "His wife was so concerned that she offered to" "You can go." "Look, won´t you please--?" "Why don´t you ask my brother´s wife why I don´t want to listen?" "Leave." "Do you think maybe you could walk me past the bear?" "I don´t think she´s fond of me." "Splendid morning, isn´t it?" "Beautiful morning." "Robert, look at you." "Fetching ensemble." "There you are." "A 1 0?" "God bless you, doctor." "Mavis, let" " Mavis." "Let me help you with this." "I´m trying to" "Thank you, Mavis." "And a happy Thanksgiving." "Happy Thanksgiving to you all!" "Here´s the choices:" "Give out turkey at the soup kitchen." "Sign up for the all-you-can-eat buffet at the St. Lauren." "Or third, and my own personal favorite get the Hungry Jack Festive Frozen Turkey Dinners on special promotion for 3.99." "Or a fourth option." "Mother, I wanted to ask you and Irv if you´d do my family the honor of joining us for a Thanksgiving meal." "Come again?" "lt would mean the world to the kids and to Rose and, of course, myself." "is this one of those hidden-camera shows?" "Irv, I especially hope you can come." "We never had a chance to spend" "Oh, wait a lousy second, Junior." "Since when did you become--?" "We´d be delighted, Harold." "Thank you for including us." "Splendid." "Splendid." "Dinner´s at 3 then." "Splendid." "Attention." "Attention, everyone." "I´d like to invite each and every one of you to join my family my mother and my stepfather, my wife and children and of course, myself for Thanksgiving dinner." "We want to take this opportunity to show you all how much we appreciate the members of this community who have welcomed us into their homes and hearts throughout the years." "So Thursday at 3 then." "Just bring your appetites." "We´ll supply the rest." "Good Yule to you all!" "Splendid." "Splendid." "Guess it finally fell out." "What did?" "That stick up his ass." "We didn´t mean for it to happen." "It just did." "It sounds terrible and cruel when I describe it." "Marty´s not the kind of man to steal another man´s wife." "He loved his brother." "He still does." "Daniel was my husband, but he was absent." "While he was in Boston delivering his umpteenth such-and-such memorial lecture, Marty was here watering begonias in the yard." "We were just two friends who needed each other." "We didn´t choose to fall in love any more than Daniel chose to go insane." "I left him, Dr. Brown." "I left my husband for his brother." "And it destroyed him." "Well there goes one kidney." "Maybe if I went and talked to him-- -l doubt it´ll work, Roxanne." "But if you do, bring some bear spray." "Yeah, I had no idea how much work she put into these things." "These books are beautiful." "You´ll always have them, that part of her." "Stuff I did looks terrible." "No, it doesn´t." "It looks like you put a lot of effort into it." "I don´t even know why I´m bothering this year." "If you´re not grateful for anything, what´re you to put?" ""Grateful my mom died"?" ""Lost the house we grew up in"?" ""Moved to a town where l don´t know anybody, so my crazy dad--"?" "Got it." "Let´s make an ungrateful book." "I´ll put:" ""Colin, the accident, the Harts saying he´d recover better without me, my brother."" "You know, Ephram this year I felt, like, for the first time, I´m not in control of anything." "And, well, even though things aren´t the way I want them to be I´m still grateful for some things." "You´ll have to stop doing that, you know." "What?" "Saying things that make me want to kiss you." "You too." "Ephram." "We need to get more cranberries." "Oh, okay." "Why?" "The old ones turned black." "Can it wait?" "We gotta go now." "They were running out at the stand when we were there." "It´s Thanksgiving." "They won´t run out of cranberries." "She´s right actually." "Every year there´s a run on cranberries." "By Thanksgiving mealtime, you could trade a pack for a new stereo." "Get your coat." "Now, which way do I slice this thing, Nina?" "Thank God." "The master of this grand plan is here. I can rest easy." "Careful." "There are no small cooks, only large kitchen fires." "Good point." "You seem unusually chipper, Ephram." "Oh, what´s not to like?" "It´s a great holiday." "Must be Elijah." "That´s a different holiday, Dad." "l´ll get it." "Thanks for letting us join you today." "The more, the merrier." "Your dad said that." "Great minds think alike." "Did he call me a great mind?" "Nina, I think you and Sam should come over every day." "What is it?" "Daniel." "It´s all right, sweetheart." "This is Daniel, a friend of mine." "Why does he look like--?" "Go help Nina in the kitchen, honey." "Sorry about that." "She´s not used to company." "Would you like to come in?" "is everything all right?" "The bear." "There´s something wrong with her." "Well, Daniel, I´m not a veterinarian." "I think she´s very ill." "Ephram, do you mind if I...?" "Oh, no, it´s fine." "Just be back by dinner, yeah?" "Okay." "What--?" "There you are." "What is Dad doing, Mom?" "Having a midlife crisis, dear." "Rose." "Should I take another pass?" "Take a rest, Harold." "Go help Amy set the table." "It is so life-affirming to experience the warmth of this community here in our home on this special" "Dad, you don´t have to pretend to like people." "We love you anyways." "I like people. I adore people." "I´m starving." "Where´s the food?" "You said 3:00, and it´s 1 0 after." "Holiday meal prep is an art, Mr. Jensen, not a science." "I could have stayed home and watched the game." "Well, yes, you could have, Mr. Jensen but you chose to come here and enjoy our hospitality." "Yeah, just give me some corn nuts or something to tide me over." "Here, Mr. Jensen." "I think I have a nice nut mix in the den." "What were you saying about adoring people, Dad?" "That wound is definitely infected." "I´ll find out which antibiotics are appropriate, how much dosage." "And then I´ll just have somebody come up here and deliver it to you." "You know there are a lot of stories floating around about just how you came to live up here." "That doesn´t surprise me." "I´m the town crazy." "People talk." "I don´t think you´re crazy." "I know about your wife." "You think you know." "Marty didn´t steal Roxanne from me." "She left me." "He just happened to be in the right place when it happened." "is that the way you see it?" "The reason women leave is always the same." "I´ve made my life studying the heroines of romantic literature." "And the end is always tragic." "I was a brilliant scholar of love." "And I just never knew what I had." "Neither did I." "I had a wife." "She´s gone now too." "I didn´t know what to do once I´d lost her." "People thought I was crazy." "Are you lying to me?" "No." "Maybe I was just mad with grief." "I think I just couldn´t see a way to tomorrow." "And then?" "And then my children needed to be fed." "And tomorrow just showed up." "We don´t choose who we love any more than choose when it ends." "I think our destinies sweep us along and we´re just here for the ride." "Fate takes what she wants from us." "And there´s nothing we can do about it." "Don´t forget your map." "Corn nut, you Philistines." "Little too much togetherness for you?" "You." "I suppose you´re starving with a complaint to register about how we make the food." "Not at all. I just came out here looking for a little quiet." "Well, that makes two of us." "You ever think about tearing this old thing down?" "Bright still likes it." "I don´t know what you´re trying to prove with this shindig, Junior." "I´m not trying to prove anything, Mother." "l´m opening my home to the community." "We appreciate the gesture, Irv and I." "And the rest do too, I bet." "But this" "This generosity, this "man of the people" thing well, it´s just not who you are." "Says who?" "Harold." "You and I have very little in common other than a few errant genes." "And we´ve found little to admire in one another over the years." "ls this your version of a pep talk?" "But the one thing I´ve always been proud of is that you from the moment you were born, have always known exactly who you are." "You gotta respect a man who knows who he is and doesn´t waver." "You´re right, Mother." "I do know who I am." "I am a man who is unloved and who will be unmissed when he´s gone." "You are not unloved, Junior." "It only takes one." "Mother, that is one of the kindest-- l meant Rose." "It´s like this." "It´s a campaign of limited resources." "There´s only so much in the supply tent to go around." "And what you´ve got, you give to your wife and kids." "And you give more than just about any father and husband I´ve ever seen." "And that ain´t half bad." "Anything missing?" "No." "Unbelievable." "This is just awesome, Ephram." "Now we say grace?" "Good idea, Sam." "Who wants to say grace?" "Wait." "Real quick, one thing first." "I knew it was too good to be true." "What did we forget, potatoes?" "There must´ve been 1 00 different potatoes on the counter." "Look." "We finished it, just in time too." "lt´s not like Mom´s." "Yeah, yeah." "Sure, it is." "Look." "We got different things to be grateful for." "No." "None of this is like Mom´s." "What´re you saying?" "We got her potatoes, her stuffing." "lt´s not hers." "Delia, Ephram tried really hard to make it just the way we remember it." "The book isn´t like hers, the food isn´t hers and they shouldn´t be here." "Stop it, Delia." "Nothing´s like it was. lt´s ruined." "Look." "Give it a chance." "Look, the first one´s about you." "l don´t wanna look at it!" "Delia, pick up that book." "No!" "l said, pick it up." "Can I talk to her?" "l have to" "Please?" "You´re right, Delia." "Nothing is the way it used to be." "Nobody knows how to be your mom." "And no one could ever replace her." "Your dad and Ephram wanted to make Thanksgiving nice for you." "They know how much you love it and because your mom loved it." "But you´re right. lt´s not the same." "It´s okay to be sad that it´s not." "It´s okay that you miss her." "Your daddy misses her, and Ephram misses her too." "And she misses you." "But she wouldn´t want you to be sad forever." "She only wants those good, happy things for you." "And it´s all right to feel bad because she was so important to you and because she loves you very much." "There you are." "It´s burnt." "I´ll get it." "Hello?" "Yes, this is he." "Yes, I´m here for Dr. Lewis." "Hello, Mason." "Happy Thanksgiving to you as well." "You did?" "A lab error?" "I´m well?" "I can hardly believe it." "Oh, no." "No, no, it was a bit of an inconvenience as you can imagine, but I was not nervous." "In fact, I´d completely forgotten it in the holiday festivity, as you can imagine." "Yes, well, all right then." "I will see you again next year, Mason." "Happy holidays to you." "Everybody out." "What?" "Freeloading party is officially over." "Out." "Out!" "Out!" "Move it!" "Go on." "Jensen, go home to your corn nuts." "Slop trough is officially closed." "l´m so" "All of you, hit the bricks." "I´m sorry, Rose. I´ve had it." "And a happy New Year." "I think he found that stick." "Oh, Harold." "More pie?" "They offered to help." "What were we thinking?" "It was nice having them, or it would have been if-- l really admire what you did, by the way." "What, make a Thanksgiving meal so disastrous my little sister had a meltdown?" "I think, in her heart, Delia believed it was gonna be the same." "I told her it would be the same." "instead, I made everything worse." "Welcome to my world." "You didn´t make things worse." "I believe you make things better every time you let her know you love her." "You know, I wanted it to be the same too." "I know." "We´ll just have to create new traditions." "Why don´t you go see if your sister wants to come downstairs?" "Are you looking for Dr. Brown?" "Or a shower maybe?" "Daniel." "I´ll give it to him." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "I´m sure." "Ephram, come in." "Happy Thanksgiving, Dr. Abbott." "And to you." "l assume you´re here for Amy." "Yes, sir." "I´m afraid that she´s gone off to Denver with her mother." "Oh, will you give her this for me?" "Absolutely." "Tell her I made it." "I certainly will." "Have a good weekend." "Dad, I don´t know what to do." "Let´s just say there´s a person in your life who you were in love with." "And then something happened, and he was gone for a while." "And then you met another person, and you started to have feelings for him." "is it possible you can have feelings for two people at the same time?" "Very." "What´s not possible is to be true to two people at once and Ephram has feelings of his own." "I don´t want to hurt him." "Don´t toy with him." "I´m not." "Amy, I know this year has been incredibly difficult for you." "And I know Ephram´s been a friend when you really needed one." "You care for him, possibly as more than a friend." "But if you don´t intend to pursue those feelings and I don´t believe you do you have to let him go." "So...." "Do I just push it?" "Yeah." "When I start, hit this red button." "Okay." "Ready?" "Dad!" "Hey." "What are you guys up to?" "Ephram had an idea." "We´re making a tradition." "A whole tradition?" "And what, pray tell, is this tradition?" "We record ourselves saying the best thing that happened to us this year." "lsn´t that fun?" "Sounds like it." "Could I have my credit card back?" "l said when me and Edna made it home with no gas in the tank." "So I know God exists, though he didn´t take the cookies." "Excellent choice, Delia." "What about you?" "l haven´t gone." "Don´t let me stop you." "Wait. I want you to hold the grateful book you made me, okay?" "Sure." "l´ll go get it." "And what about you, Dad?" "Me?" "Yes." "You´re next." "What´s the best thing that happened to you this year?" "The best thing that happened to me this year is that I met my son." "Once upon a time, in a faraway kingdom..." "...there lived, not one, but two kings." "Season´s greetings." "One, who knew not what he had." "The other, doomed to remember what he had lost." "Here´s the green one." "All right." "And there was a fearless giantess and a wood sprite who liked to play in her shadows moonglow illuminating her eyes." "There you are." "lt´s beginning to look a lot like Christmas." "There was even a wizard who knew how best to tame wild things." "And a handsome prince and a beautiful princess who could not know how their fates were destined to cross." "And the lovable oaf with his spun-glass flute." "And there were others too in this distant place not unlike the place you knew as a child where tales were told and legends were written." "It´s possible the true name of this kingdom will never again be spoken and has nearly been forgotten by time and memory." "For all the charmed creatures within its realm have only ever called it home." "[english]"