Christmas Wishes, Part 3
The happy ending!
Catch up on Part 1 and Part 2.
At the hospital, Mom’s surgery is touch and go. Mom has a conversation with Patient’s wife where she laughed and said he never gave up believing in Santa, so maybe it’s a good omen that this is happening Christmas Eve. When Mom finishes up the surgery, she’s not sure whether it will ultimately be successful. But when she sees a sparkle out the window, she makes a Christmas wish that Patient will live and go home to his loving family.
In the apartment, Neighbor is woken in the night by the sound of jingling. She eats the cookies and milk that Daughter left, and reads the letter. She smiles at the poems and comics. Then she gets to the end, where Daughter lists her Christmas wishes. Neighbor expects it to be a bunch of toys, but instead the letter says that even though it’s been a tough year with Dad leaving, Daughter is actually really happy with Mom and loves their new apartment and finds it safe and peaceful. She doesn’t have a lot of space in her new room and likes video games more than toys anyway. So for her Christmas wishes, she’s wishing for good things to happen to the people around her. She wants Mom to get lots of rest. She wants her friend at school to win the essay contest. And she wants Neighbor to get Cat back. That sparkle appears out the window again, but Neighbor doesn’t see it. She’s staring at the letter. Somebody cares about her after all.
Mom says goodbye to Patient’s family, who urges her to go home to Daughter, and says she’ll be back to check on all of them. She pulls into the parking garage and runs toward home and Daughter. But in the alleyway, she hears a meow — it’s Cat, whose paw is stuck behind a dumpster! With a heroic effort, Mom pushes the dumpster aside, but Cat is losing blood. Grabbing her medical bag, Mom begins a roadside emergency operation. As she begins to stitch up Cat, a crowd gathers. When she completes the final stitch and Cat meows happily, the crowd cheers. It’s a Christmas miracle!
Mom walks in to find her entire apartment decorated like a Christmas wonderland, all the gifts wrapped and under the tree. Daughter is sitting under the tree. She jumps up when Mom walks in. “Santa came!” she says.
“Look who I found,” says Mom, showing her Cat.
Daughter grins. “I know,” she says.
Neighbor is asleep in Mom’s bed. Mom thanks her and gives her Cat. Neighbor stares at her. “Am I dreaming?”
“Smell him and see,” says Mom, smiling.
Cat smells like disgusting garbage. And Neighbor knows she’s not dreaming. She runs into the living room and gives Daughter a big hug. “Thank you,” she whispers.
“What am I, chopped liver?” says Mom. But Neighbor and Daughter know who to thank for Cat’s return.
Mom and Daughter snuggle by the tree. Mom says she’s sorry for being gone, and Daughter says she’s proud of Mom for saving people’s lives, and she’s okay with sharing Mom sometimes because she knows how important Mom’s job is. She says Mom is kind of like Santa. She’s always rushing around trying to do nice things for people. And Daughter gives her a Christmas gift, a picture she drew of the two of them in front of the Christmas tree with hearts.
Neighbor bathes Cat and comes back to the apartment for cinnamon rolls. Cat leaps on the tree and starts playing with the ornaments, and they all laugh and drink hot cocoa. As the movie ends, a sparkle can be seen out the window.