"Previously on October Road..." "How long have you two been a two some?" " Why, you think it's a mistake?" " Thought she had better taste." "I haven't left this house in five years." " Help me understand." " Right now I'm fine." "Now my heart's starting to race." "Chest about to explode." "Okay, that's enough." "I understand." "My Alison and Ikey-- they've been together." "We don't work together." "We're not friends." "We're done." "Will you marry me, Hannah Jane?" "I want you to give us a chance, you know." "Everything about this place reminds me of my mother-- her memory." "The pain of it kept me away." "Time to batten the hatches, western mass." "Santa's not the only one coming to town." "A nor'easter's headin' our way." "Know what that means?" "Lots and lots of snow." "Hey, if anyone knows what the heck it means to "batten the hatches," please give us a call." "Have a holly, jolly Christmas it's the best time of the year" "I don't know if there'll be snow" "But have a cup of cheer" "Have a holly, jolly Christmas and when you walk down the street..." " Thanks for meeting me, man." " Yeah." " It's been rough lately." " Yeah?" "Holidays-- you know what they do?" "They shine a light on where you're at-- who you're buying gifts for, who you're getting 'em from." "Everyone makes a list, checks it twice," " sees what goes on..." " You working the storm tonight?" "It's either that or drinking virgin eggnog with my mom." " What?" " She don't drink during the holidays, not since the Christmas tree fire of '96." "Oh, yeah." "Be right back." "Hey." "What's with the luggage?" "So you movin' in here, or what?" "No." "Heading back to Cali, but I promised my brother" "I'd bring him back home the best buffalo wings in the East Coast." "You ever consider sticking around Knights Ridge for the holidays?" "I mean, nobody does Christmas like the Ridge." "The singing, the fruitcake..." "the revelry." "Have you always been, like, Christmas guy?" "'Cause it doesn't really jive with the whole New York, tortured artist, gray overcoat persona." "Are you kidding?" "I love Christmas." "Growing up, my mom did it like nobody else." "Everything was special-- the food, the decorations, the presents." "How old were you when she died?" "Uh... 16." "Yeah, actually, it wasn't long after Christmas of that year." "You said that it was an aneurysm, right?" "Yeah, yeah, um.... she and my dad were watching "Casablanca" on the couch, and then my dad got up to get more nachos, and... when he came back, she was gone." "No, the good news is, you know, she never knew what hit her." "And my dad always took comfort in-- in knowing that the last thing that she saw was Bogart kissing Bergman." "Well, who could ask for more, I guess, right?" "Here you go." "All set." "Well, off to a snowless Christmas." "Enjoy your snowman made of sand and tears." "You know, it has snowed on Christmas in California." " Right." " It has." "In fact, I have a feeling's going to this year." "Okay, it's a bet." "If it snows in California, I'll give you" " A pony." " A... really?" "I've always wanted a pony named Ginger." "Oh, okay, pony named Ginger." " But if it doesn't snow" " You buy me a drink when I get back." "Whoa." "How is that a good bet for me?" " 'Cause either way, I lose." " You think?" "I see it like if I win, I get a pony, and if you win, you get to drink with a thoroughbred." " Have a good trip." " Thanks." "34 degrees and dropping like dollars in the Big Dig." "Bundle up, people." "This storm is gonna be chilly." "Hey, where's the baboon dressed as Santa ornament?" "You know Caitlin likes to hang that one herself on Christmas morning." "Well, at least some things around here will be the same for the kids." "I wanted to try and make things as seamless and painless for them as possible." "You have an interesting definition of "seamless" and "painless."" "Okay." "I'll come over Christmas morning and spend it with the kids." "You can take Christmas eve." "Can't we be civil enough to spend all of Christmas together with the kids?" "I don't know." "What's funny?" " It's ... nothing." " Oh, no, tell me." "Everything's crumbling as we face our first Christmas as a broken family, and you're smiling?" "It's just, you... you have gingerbread on your lip." "Let me get it." "Well, you won't have to dream about a white Christmas this year." "We've got a big one coming." "Well, that was seamless." "And painless." "I don't know." "Maybe I should have gone with Graham Cracker." "The twins love Graham Cracker, but my mom likes old school." "Tell me we are not about to relive the great chicken stock debate of 90 minutes ago." "I know." "I'm crazy, but I'm cooking for eight people." "I'm overwhelmed." "At least all my Christmas presents are done." "Speaking of which, I meant to ask you-  what did you get Eddie?" " What did I get Eddie?" "Just the best present ever." "How do you describe this present?" "Let's just say nobody else should bother exchanging presents." " That's how good it is." " Whoa." "I can't believe you're actually trash-talking Christmas presents." "What is it?" "You're not gonna tell me?" "I told you what kind of pie crust my mom likes." "And we both know that's a secret I've been chasing after for years." "Last one." "Can I go wrap presents now?" "No, we got salted butter." "I need unsalted butter for the pies!" "Sal's deli." "Open till 4:00." "Unsalted butter." "Stat." "It's not too late to, uh, trim the guest list." "Bet your parents haven't left from the Cape yet." "No, I've always wanted to do this-- the big dinner, all the kids running around, my parents..." "I just want it to be perfect, so it's a lot." "Are you sure you don't want to tell me what you got Eddie?" "You know, best friend stamp of approval?" "Not necessary, but I will say this-- it is going to be life-changing in the best possible way." "So she wipes the gingerbread off my lip, and the next thing I know, we're makin' out." "Explain to me again how gingerbread, the most innocent baked good in history, leads to sex." "Most likely, it was the rum-laced eggnog." "Here." "All I know is it's the first time I looked at Alison" " without seeing the ghost of Ikey." " That's a step." "That might be the sorriest-looking tree I've ever seen." "It's got a bald spot and maybe tennis elbow." "It was the last one on the lot, and I like it." "Anyway, I decided I'm gonna do Santa for the kids, head over there tonight with a bagful of presents." "Does the commander still have that Santa suit he used to wear when we were little?" " The one with the candied yam stains?" " Yeah." "We could look for it." "I gotta find decorations, anyway." "It could be big for you, huh?" "Like, reunion big." "I just know I don't want to be mad anymore." "I'm tired of being mad." "Hey, dad, what was the name of that song that you and mom danced to that last Christmas?" "What are you doing?" "Putting up a tree." "Well, I can see that." "Didn't you ever think there wasn't a tree for a reason?" "I just assumed you guys didn't have any stuff around 'cause it was just you and Ronnie, but..." " you know, now that I'm back" " We don't do Christmas." "Why not?" "It upsets your brother." "It, uh, reminds him, you know?" "It does?" "I had no idea." "Maybe if you asked a few questions before you went out and bought this sorry-looking tree." "It was the last one on the lot." "And now it's the last one in the living room." "Get it out of here before your brother gets home." "I can't believe I don't get to meet your parents tonight." "And I can't believe you made a reindeer out of a soda can." "He's beautiful." "He?" "Santa's reindeer are all male." "Are not." "They have strong, masculine names, like Dancer," " Dasher, Prancer, Comet" " Nope." "No sale, bub." "Male reindeer lose their antlers long before december 25th, while females retain theirs until january." "So?" "So the reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh are always shown with antlers, which" " makes them female." " See now I could argue that, and could get into this whole disputation on gender bias and caribou, or I could simply rejoice in the fact that my girlfriend possesses that kind of arcane knowledge." "And I could rejoice in the fact that you just called me your girlfriend." "Well, you are." "You are the wind beneath my hooves." "Maybe I should bail on Vermont." "Maybe I stay here, meet your folks..." "Maybe we get snowed in." "Oh, how cool would it be to have a legit reason not to leave the house?" "Yeah... but, uh, it sounded like your aunt and uncle really wanted to see you." "It's true." "You should probably hit the road before the storm starts." "Yeah." "Well, I gotta say, Phil, your parents must be pretty great." "I mean, most of the time it's the kids who fly home." " It's nice that they get you." " Definitely." "Merry Christmas." "Call me when you get there, okay?" " Okay." " Okay." " I'll see you in a couple days." " All right." "Drive safe." " She gone?" " She's gone." "Let's get to work." "Oh, hey." "I was just, uh, just taking this out." "Uh, I'm no expert, but being that it's Christmas eve, isn't it supposed to go the other way?" "Yeah, but dad told me about your thing with Christmas, so I was just..." " trying to respect that, you know?" " What's my thing with Christmas?" "I got a thing with Christmas?" "I love that I got a thing with Christmas." "What... you don't like it." "I don't... well, I don't really remember much about it." "I mean, we haven't-- we haven't celebrated since... you know." "So Christmas doesn't upset you?" "The memory of mom?" "Truth is, I-I don't really remember much about mom." "I try to." "I mean, I look at old pictures, but it... it's weird, huh?" "I don't understand." "Why would dad lie?" "I don't really talk about that sort of stuff." "I mean, maybe he just assumed." "No, it wasn't an assumption." "It was more like a declaration." "Well, if it doesn't bother you, maybe we can bring this tree back inside." " Nicky, this tree is" " It was the last one on the lot." "Really?" "I'm surprised they had such a nice one left." "I hope you said being the lead architect qualifies you to make those decisions." "No, what I said was, "if you don't agree to new hardwood," ""in three months, you're gonna have a bathtub in your living room."" "How did you tell him?" "You don't speak italian." "Oh, I always have a translator when I work in Europe." "A translator." "Imagine that, Lynn." "Your son has a translator." "How do you say, "you make me very proud" in italian?" "You-a make-a me very-a proud-a." " Oh." " Excuse me." " Surprise!" " Uh, hi." "What are you doing here?" "The roads were getting really bad, so I turned around and..." "What's going on here?" "Mom, dad..." "I'd like you to meet someone." "I don't know." "I mean, maybe dad lied because he doesn't like Christmas." "Dad loved Christmas." "He and mom had this one song that they danced to the last Christmas." " You don't remember?" " I kind of remember them dancing, but I don't remember a song." "Man, I wish I knew the name of it." "I remember how if dad was upset about something-- work, whatever, some bonehead he had to deal with, mom always said the one thing that made everything okay." "How great is that?" "Find the person who says the one thing that makes it better." "Here you go." "I'm sorry we didn't get anything for you, dear, but as I mentioned, we didn't know that Philip was seeing anyone." "That's okay." "Christmas is all about learning new things." "I'm gonna go get some more desert wine." "Anyone else want anything?" " I'm good." " No, not for me." "Thank you." "All right." "Open." "Hey, what, uh..." "what are you doing here?" "Truthfully?" "Having my mind blown." " You met the parents." " I did." "How is it possible they have no idea he's a shut-in?" " Phil's resourceful." " And you help him." "Well, it's not a regular thing." "Just around Christmas." "Yeah, don't you just love this time of year?" "Throw a yule log on the fire, put the poinsettias on the hearth," " lie to your loved ones." " It's not a total lie." "Phil was planning on becoming an architect before all this happened." " Ski goggles." " Perfect!" " Ski goggles?" " Oh, he-- he didn't tell you about our trip to the Alps last year?" "I gotta run." "I just came by to get their bags out of the car." "Whatever, dude." " What's that?" " It's from ma to dad." ""Well, we made it to Christmas." "Who would have thought?" "Caroline."" "What do you think that means?" " I don't know." " You don't think that they were having problems?" " What do you mean?" " I mean they..." ""made it to Christmas."" "Doesn't that sound a little grim?" "Okay." "Ready?" "Open it." "I didn't know we were doing this now." "I don't even have your present with me." "That's okay." "Remember you told me how when Rocket died, the hardest part for you was plowing because he was always by your side?" "Middle of the night, you two and the snow?" "You got me a dog?" "You got me a dog." "You don't..." "It's not, um..." "A dog is a-- is a tremendous responsibility, Janet." "You don't..." "I mean, you can't just give someone a dog." "Well, I figured because you had a dog and, you know" "I didn't have a dog." "I had Rocket." "And there's a reason that I-- that I didn't replace Rocket." "It's because he couldn't be replaced, at least not until I'm ready, and..." "I'm not ready." "I'm sorry." "I didn't mean it as a..." "I can take him back." "What-- where did you get this dog?" "Monk McGillicuddy came into the bar last week with a litter of puppies." "Monk McGillicuddy, who set fire to the church our senior year of high school?" "Um, I guess." "Why?" "No reason except that, uh, this is not a puppy." "What do you mean, it's not a puppy?" " It's a wolf." " What do you mean, it's a wolf?" "I mean, it's a wolf." " I got you a wolf?" " Yeah." "You got me a wolf." "You got him a wolf!" " I got him the worst gift ever." " No, a dog is the worst gift ever." "A wolf..." "I don't even know how to respond to that." "It's not funny." "He got mad at me." "About the dog or the wolf?" "First about the dog, then about the wolf." " Where is the wolf now?" " In my garage." " Doing what?" " I don't know." "I just hope he doesn't huff and puff and blow my house in." "Or worse, try on your grandma's clothes and wait for little red riding hood to come by." "Sorry, she was..." "Janet gave her... forget it." "Oh." "Forgotten." "So listen, change of plans." "Unfortunately, Christine's being very difficult." "She's insisting I bring the twins tonight instead of tomorrow." " Ray, it's Christmas eve." " I know, but... there's the roofing emergency I need to deal with at the rec center, so I figured, you know, it's better to give in." "Besides, it'll be easier on you-- less work without them." "I guess." "You'll be back soon?" "Yeah, I won't be late." "Mmm, I promise." " Bye, Janet." " Bye." "Okay, I just" " I- I have to get him something new." "Erase the memory of the wolf." "I'll get him the opposite of a wolf-- a sheep." " I'll buy him a sheep." " Okay, we need to..." " relax." " Relax?" "Have you ever gotten a guy a wolf?" "I haven't gotten a guy a wolf, which is why I'm the person to listen to right now." "Okay, thought I didn't need help." "I need so much help." " What do I do?" " Nothing." "You wanna know the opposite to getting someone a wolf?" "You play it cool." " You wait it out." " What if I really messed up?" "He seemed so upset." "I upset him." "What if he's rethinking everything?" "Look, I don't know what Eddie's thinking right now, but sometimes people screw up, and sometimes they... they buy each other wolves." "It happens." "And if it's not something he can handle, you should find out now, because if there's one thing I can promise you, every relationship has its share of gift wrapped wolves." "I thought I told you to get rid of that." "You also told me Ronnie hates Christmas." "My mistake." "What was going on with you and mom her last Christmas?" "Were you having problems?" "Where did you get this?" "Is that the real reason why you don't do Christmas?" "Because you and mom were having problems and..." " it's too painful?" " I don't want to talk about it." "Oh, you don't want to talk about it, right, so it never gets talked about?" " Yeah, that's pretty much it." " I have a right to know." "Oh, you have a right." "What right do you have?" "Because I have my own life and my own ideas, and they're my memories, too, dad." "If, for some reason, I don't have the full story, well..." "Your mother and I had some trouble." "Yeah, that's right." " Is that what you want?" " Look, I just want the truth." "The truth is..." "I told you I didn't want to do Christmas!" " Can't you grasp" " I can't find the old Santa suit anywhere." "Do you have any idea where it is?" "There's one place I didn't look yet." "Listen, dad..." "Dad!" "The white chocolate mousse on the top is an experiment," " so I can't vouch for its consistency." " Oh, I'm sure it's delicious." "So... pizza delivery." "That sounds like a helpful job, while you're in school." "What do you plan to do afterwards?" "I'm not really sure." "Lately, I've been making jewelry and housewares out of found objects." " Come again?" " Take, like, a shopping list someone left on the floor in a supermarket, something forgotten" " I laminate it and turn it into a bookmark." "Um, not just bookmarks, though." "Lots of stuff." "I turned an old lobster trap into a coffee table with lobster bibs as place mats." "Art is everywhere-- I mean, even in mundane things." "I wanna try to elevate the simple and overlooked into something unique and interesting." "Lynn, isn't there an empty bag of potato chips in the car?" "Maybe we should bring it in and get ourselves a tea tray." "No." "Just ignore him." " That's fine." " She knows I'm kidding, don't ya?" "Look." " A telescope." " Dad." "You know, people take different paths to find out what they want to do." "Someone like Phil-- he just was lucky in that he knew what he wanted to do from an early age." " Yeah." " It's not like that." "And who knows?" "That $5 million home Philly's building in Aspen might just need a doorstop made out of a cereal box." " Dad..." " Relax, Philly." " We're playin', right, sweetie?" " Sure." "Fun times." "Well, in that case, um, check this out." "An edible paperweight." "I haven't left the house in six years." "It's true." "Six years." "Shut-in." "Me." " What do you mean?" " What I just said." "Six years." "I'm not an architect." "I do not have a translator." "I am the neighborhood weirdo." "My greatest accomplishment-- when the kids on this block play catch, if a ball rolls onto our lawn, they leave it there, because they're too scared to retrieve it." "Why didn't I get chains?" "After the towers fell," "I sat inside, watching everything I could, reading everything I could." "I didn't leave." "And the more I didn't leave, the more I couldn't leave." "It's hard to explain, and I know it's hard to understand." "I'm gonna give you a dose of reality, because obviously no one else around here wants you to have one." "You know what it sounds like?" "It sounds... like you're a coward." " Randall" " No, he's right." "I am." "I..." "I just don't understand why you lied to us." "You wanted an architect." "So... every Christmas I give you an architect." " But why?" " I didn't wanna disappoint you." " And now..." " Oh, sweetheart, you don't understand." "We're not disappointed in you." "We're disappointed for you." "Hey!" "You think Alison will like this?" "I want 'em all to be surprised, but not in a bad or a weird way." "I think I'll just walk in and-- and say, "ho-ho... ho."" "Look what I found in the pocket of the candied-yam-stained Santa suit." "Merry Christmas to all... to all, a good night." "Merry Christmas, Owen." "This was it." "This it that song-- the one you danced to." "Yeah." "I remember that." "I knew it was a mistake getting him that camera, Car." "Well, this way, you guys will always remember never to forget." "I love you." "This way, you guys will always remember never to forget." "You weren't having any problems in your marriage." "She knew she was gonna die." "Didn't she?" "What?" "That's what "we made it to Christmas" meant." "She knew?" "We both knew." "But how?" "The aneurysm came out of nowhere, right?" "No." "It wasn't." "It was a... condition." "It was inoperable." "When we found out, the doctor told us it was just a matter of time... and that we should consider ourselves lucky if she made it to Christmas." "Was she scared?" "You knew that... she was gonna die, and..." " you didn't tell us?" " She didn't want you to worry." "So you let us walk around, not knowing that our mother could die in any second?" "We made a choice." "You were kids." "I was 16!" "No!" "No." "You okay?" "Not really." "I'm stuck in the snow." "My phone won't work." "My kids are with my mother, and, uh..." "I need to get home." "Uh, I got my truck." " I'm not getting in your truck." " Alison, it's Christmas eve." "You're stranded." "Let me give you a ride." "If Ray doesn't make it home in time, it might be you and me having Brandy and cigars after dinner with my dad." "Sure." "I'll be back soon." "I'm going to Doodie's to drop off his present." "Now?" " It's snowing pretty heavy out there." " It's three blocks." "Okay, fine." "Just be back soon." "Hello?" "Oh, sure." "Hang on a sec." "It's him." "Attempt to be cool." "Hello?" "Hi, Eddie." "Now?" "Um, well, I'm kind of helping Hannah with some" "Okay." "That's fine." "I'll see you in a bit." " Eddie wants to go for a ride." " Oh, this is great." "I don't wanna leave you alone, though." "I mean, all your hard work..." "Are you kidding?" "It's one less person to clean up after." "I'm fine." "Okay, here's what you need to do." "Mom, I understand." "No, I don't want you and dad driving in the storm, either." "I love you, too." "Merry Christmas." "Thank you for protecting me tonight." "Thank you for defending me tonight." "I am merely the wind beneath your hooves." "It's always meant a lot to have them be proud of me." "But tonight something shifted, and I saw myself through your eyes, and I didn't care what they thought anymore." "I wanted you to be proud of me." "Merry Christmas, "Physical Phil" farmer." "Merry Christmas, pizza girl." "I wanted to get you a leopard, but they were fresh out." "How did you know my middle name?" "I know I haven't told you... on purpose." "Hey, I can do some research..." "Edith." "I'm sorry for the way I reacted before." "I just wasn't expecting a present so..." " It's a lot to get a wolf." " Tell me about it." "It's a lot to give a wolf." "Try this instead, for your long night." "One thermos is, uh, tomato soup, and one thermos is hot chocolate." "Wow." "That's great." "Thank you." "But, um... you know what I really want?" "Not a dog..." "or a wolf... but... for you to come with me." "Now I know cleaning the streets of Knights Ridge isn't the most festive way to spend the evening, but it is" "Exactly what I wanna do on Christmas eve." "What are you doing?" "I don't know, actually." " You?" " Don't know." "It's the last place I thought I'd find myself on Christmas eve-- alone, on the street." "Yeah." "Me, too." "You okay?" "Not really, Hannah." "Well, what is it?" "Turns out that my mother knew that she was gonna die-- she and my dad, and... they never told us." "Oh, my god." "I get it, you know?" "I mean, they were trying to protect us, but... but we... we could've said good-bye, and... we never got the chance." "I am so sorry, Nick." "Yeah." "God, it's the worst that we don't get to control when people leave us, but you know what she got?" "She got to know that her kids weren't living in fear." "So it turns out that you gave her the best gift possible." "I mean, what could be better than that?" "You know the last thing she saw was Bogart kissing Bergman?" "That sounds pretty awesome, if you ask me." "Our next lucky victims." "Kiss, you two." "No, we're good." "Come on." "You have to." "Do you want bad luck for the new year?" " You gonna be okay?" " Yeah." "Hey." "And, uh... just for the record, I... really didn't think there was anything that could make me feel better tonight." "Thanks for finding the one thing that did." "Merry Christmas, Nick." "Merry Christmas, Hannah Jane." "It's gonna be a monster tonight, huh?" "Pfft." "Big-time." "Merry Christmas, Ikey." "Merry Christmas, Eddie." "Everything okay?" "You know what I'd like?" "What's that?" "For the three of us to sit here... and for you guys to tell me about my mom." "What do you say, pops?" "I'd say..." "I can't think of anything in the world I'd rather do this night." "Whew." "Well, here's one for you, Ronnie." "When you were a little boy..."