[Kevin is in the church; Marley is sitting in a nearby pew and asks Kevin if he can sit with him. The choir is singing “O Holy Night”]
Marley: Merry Christmas. May I sit down? That’s my granddaughter. The little red-haired girl. She’s about your age. You know her?
Kevin: No.
Marley: You live next to me, don’t you? You can say hello when you see me. You don’t have to be afraid. There’s a lot of things going around about me, but none of its true. Okay? You’ve been good this year?
Kevin: I think so.
Marley: You swear to it?
Kevin: No.
Marley: Yeah. Well, this is the place to be if you’re feeling bad about yourself. Kevin: It is? Marley: I think so.
Kevin: Are you feeling bad about yourself?
Marley: No.
Kevin: I’ve been kind of a pain lately. I said some things I shouldn’t have. I really haven’t been too good this year. Yeah. I’m kind of upset because I really like my family. Even though sometimes I say I don’t. Sometimes I even think I don’t. Do you get that?
Marley: I think so. How you feel about family is a complicated thing.
Kevin: Especially with an older brother.
Marley: Deep down, you’ll always love him. But you can forget that you love him. You can hurt them, they can hurt you. That’s not just because you’re young. You wanna know the real reason why I’m here?
Kevin: Sure.
Marley: I came to hear my granddaughter sing. I can’t come hear her tonight.
Kevin: You have plans?
Marley: No. I’m not welcome.
Kevin: At church?
Marley: You’re always welcome at church. I’m not welcome with my son. Years back, before you and your family moved on the block…I had an argument with my son.
Kevin: How old is he?
Marley: He’s grown up. We lost our tempers, and I said I didn’t care to see him anymore. He said the same, and we haven’t spoken to each other since.
Kevin: If you miss him, why don’t you call him?
Marley: I’m afraid if I call, he won’t talk to me.
Kevin: How do you know?
Marley: I don’t know. I’m just afraid he won’t.
Kevin: No offense, but aren’t you a little old to be afraid?
Marley: You can be old for a lot of things. You’re never too old to be afraid.
Kevin: That’s true. I was afraid of our basement. It’s dark. There’s weird stuff down there, and it smells funny. That sort of thing. It’s bothered me for years.
Marley: Basements are like that.
Kevin: I made myself go down to do some laundry…and I found out it’s not so bad. I worried about it, but if you turn on the lights, it’s no big deal.
Marley: What’s your point?
Kevin: My point is, you should call your son.
Marley: What if he won’t talk to me?
Kevin: At least you’ll know. Then you could stop worrying about it. You won’t have to be afraid anymore. No matter how mad I was, I’d talk to my dad. Especially around the holidays.
Marley: I don’t know.
Kevin: Just give it a shot. For your granddaughter anyway. I’m sure she misses you. And the presents.
Marley: I send her a check.
Kevin: I wish my grandparents did that. They always send me clothes. Last year I got a sweater with a big bird knitted on it.
Marley: Oh, that’s nice.
Kevin: Not for a guy in the second grade. You can get beat up for wearing something like that. I have a friend who got nailed because there was a rumor he wore dinosaur pajamas.
Marley: You better run home where you belong. Think about what I said. All right?
Kevin: Okay.
Marley: It’s nice talking to you.
Kevin: Nice talking to you. What about you?
Marley: Me?
Kevin: Yeah. You and your son.
Marley: We’ll see what happens. Merry Christmas.
Kevin: Merry Christmas.
[He walks up the aisle. The bell rings for eight o’clock; he remembers what time Harry and Marv will strike at, and runs through the town, to back home, getting in shortly after the lights come on.]
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