MFX:
OPENING THEME UP, THEN UNDER
Anncr:
Auto-Lite and its 96,000 dealers present...SUSPENSE! Tonight, Auto-Lite presents, 'Christmas for Carole'
MFX:
STING
Anncr:
Auto-Lite hopes once again to keep you in...
MFX:
STING
Anncr:
SUSPENSE!
MFX:
DOLEFUL VIOLIN SOLO (9 SECONDS)
Paul:
(narrating) It was dark and silent. The window of the house glinted a little from the Christmas tree lights. Rocky didn't move. He just stood there in the alley, but I wanted to run. (a little more excited) Fast! Get away, and put it behind me!....
Rocky:
Just a second!
Paul:
We've got the money, Rocky! (getting scared) What are we hanging around for? C'MON! LET'S GET OUT IF HERE!
Rocky:
(calmly) I said we wait for the old couple to get back!
Paul:
What for? Why take chances now?
Rocky:
We got SOME money. How do we know it's all of it? Maybe they split it and put it in two places. (pause) We'll wait here and watch for them when they come in. That'll tip it.
Paul:
(pleading) It was eight thousand, that's what he withdrew!
Rocky:
(meanly) You asked for this, kid! Now DO AS YOU'RE TOLD! We'll wait.
MFX:
DRAMATIC BRIDGE
Paul:
(narrating again) I couldn't help being scared. This is my first job. My first AND last. I just wanted that money. I wanted it fast and short, and I wanted to run away from it and forget it. (pause) A one shot. That's why I got a hold of Rocky Peraia. Lucky.... I HAD to be lucky, just this once! For Carole, not for me. (pause) It was for Carole, nothing else I cared about, see? Didn't seem possible now that three days ago I hadn't known Rocky...hadn't needed him.....(voice trails off)
MFX:
STING INTO TRANSITON, FADES OUT
SFX:
DOOR CLOSING
Paul:
What is it, doctor? How 'bout the baby?
Doctor:
(calmly) Your wife must remain in bed.
Paul:
Serious?
Doctor:
N...no, not serious, but she's got to stay flat on her back. (pause) A nurse...you should have a nurse with her all the time.
Paul:
(fearful) Oh! But it's two months away, doctor!
Doctor:
(soothing) It's just a question of keeping her relaxed and quiet, not letting her do any work around the house....lifting...or even walking.
Paul:
OK....OK doctor. And she'll be all right?
Doctor:
Oh, there's one other thing. She was quite worried when I told her about the nurse. I...I got the feeling she's afraid to have the baby.
Paul:
Afraid?
Doctor:
Not for herself. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's having a detrimental effect on her condition.
Paul:
I know what it is, doctor. (pause then sadly) Money.
Doctor:
(slowly) Oh, I see. (long pause) Well, it might not be easy finding a nurse only four days till Christmas.
Paul:
(determined) I'll get one, doctor. Thanks.
Doctor: (begins to walk away) I'll call you this evening.
SFX: DOOR OPENING
Paul:
Thanks again, doctor.
SFX:
DOOR CLOSE
Paul:
(sighs)
SFX:
FOUR FOOTSTEP ON WOODEN FLOOR
SFX:
DOOR OPENING
Carole:
Paul?
Paul:
Sweetheart, it'll be all right! I'm gonna get a nurse to take care of you.
Carole:
I'll be able to get up and around in a day or two.
Paul:
Not if you want that son! The doc said everything will be all right if you take it easy, and you're GONNA take it easy!
Carole:
(protesting) But a nurse!...
Paul:
(interrupting) Look! I gotta get back to the bank. I'm only on my lunch hour, sweetheart. I'll make a few calls from there, and tonight we'll pick out the nurse.
Carole:
How......how much do they charge?
Paul:
What's the difference?
Carole:
(insistent) How much, Paul? (sadly) A lot of money, I know...
Paul:
Fifty, sixty a week. We'll make out all right. Now there's nothing to worry about!
Carole:
Oh, Paul, this was going to be a happy Christmas.
Paul:
Yeah......a happy Christmas in this dump.
Carole:
Funny, Paul, fifty dollars a week for a nurse. Another two months, funny...you make forty-eight fifty at the bank. We'll have to pay the nurse more money than you earn.
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
(disgusted) Yeah....more money than I earn. (narrating) You know how it is being a bank teller? Feeling, seeing, handling money? Taking in money, paying it out.... When I went back to work, I was seeing it for the first time as something more than a detached feeling. Thinking "I NEED this money! I NEED THIS MONEY! I NEED THIS MONEY!' (pause) HOW I need this money for Carole and the baby. (long pause) It was almost 3 o'clock when Eddie the bookie came in.
Eddie:
Hi, Paul. (little chuckle) I had a good day yesterday! And BIG action in a few days! Santa Anita opens!
Paul:
Yeah! People like to throw their money away!
Eddie:
(proudly) Dey throw it, I catch it!
Paul:
(hesitantly) Eddie.... Could I see you later?
Eddie:
You ready to make a deal?
Paul:
(emphatically) I want to talk to you.
Eddie:
OK, what time you through?
Paul:
Five o'clock.
Eddie:
Meet ya outside at five o'clock.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
(narrating) Eddie Garth, bookie. He quit school in the 7th grade. I held out and went through college. And all these years he's tried to get me to go in with him....to run his office....do the bookwork. He was waiting for me when I finished work. We went to a coffee shop and sat down....
MFX:
BING CROSBY'S 'WHITE CHRISTMAS' PLAYING VERY SOFTLY IN BG UNDER FOLLOWING
Paul:
...and all around us the loudspeakers reminding me what a happy Christmas it was...
Eddie:
How's Carole, Paul?
Paul:
Not so good, Eddie. That's ....that's what I want to talk to you about.
Eddie:
Nawwwwww, no more loans, Paul. You need money? Come with me.
Paul:
(frustrated) Don't you ever give up?
Eddie:
What's so good at the bank? Twenty-five bucks for a Christmas bonus?
Paul:
Look, Eddie....
Eddie:
(interrupting) Come in with me, NOW! With Santa Anita openin', I can work the outside, get new accounts....
Paul:
Eddie....
Eddie:
(insistent) And I'll give you ten per cent of those accounts, Paul. (pause) But I WON'T lend you the money. I'd be a sucker to lend it to you. I'll GIVE it to you if you come in, but I WON'T lend you any more!
Paul:
(sighs) OK, Eddie, forget it. I'll get it some other way.
Eddie:
(puzzled) I don't get it! What's wrong with my deal?
Paul:
Look, Eddie! How many times have you been rousted by the vice squad?
Eddie:
PLENTY!
Paul:
And every time they book ya, and fingerprint ya, and take your picture!
Eddie:
So what? They never have anything on me!
Paul:
It's on your RECORD, Eddie! For as long as you live! Sure! I need money. Maybe I'm getting closer to the time when I'm not too choosy about the way I get it! But it won't be your way!
Eddie:
(surprised) Wha---what are you talkin' about?
Paul:
If I ever break the law, it's gonna be with the right guy, and it's gonna be the right job.
Eddie:
You're dreamin', Paul. You'll still be in that cage ten years from now.
MFX:
BG OUT
Paul:
A hit-and-run! One job! With enough out of it to make it worthwhile. That's the way it'll be, Eddie. A one shot!
Eddie:
(flatly) There is no such thing, Paul. You do something like that, and you're stuck in it. And you're worse off that if you came with me. Think about it, Paul.
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
(narrating) Go home then and fix dinner for Carole, all the time thinking of the money, and Carole, and the baby, and debts. The worry eating at me! And thinking about what I said to Eddie. (pause) Then the next morning old man Forbes made a withdrawal. The first he'd ever made.
Mr. Forbes:
(cheerfully) Hiya, son!
Paul:
(preoccupied) What?...Oh! Hello, mister Forbes.
Mr. Forbes:
I'm gonna miss you, son! Seems like we're good friends after all these years.
Paul:
Miss me?
Mr. Forbes:
(chuckles) Take a look at the slip!
Paul:
Ooooh! That's a LOT of money!
Mr. Forbes:
(proudly) Twelve years hard work! That's what that money means!
Paul:
But you're taking it all out?
Mr. Forbes:
Yup. I quit my job today.
Paul:
Quit your job?
Mr. Forbes:
Ada and me, we've been waitin' a LONG time for this Christmas! We're movin' out of the city.
Paul:
Oh?
Mr. Forbes:
Aww we've had our eye on a little farm. NOW we can buy it! (chuckles) Even got the papers drawn up! See?
SFX:
PAPER RATTLING
Paul:
Then you're...you're leaving right away?
Mr. Forbes:
Mmmm, 'bout a week. But Ada don't know yet! I'm gonna surprise her. Kind of a Christmas present.
Paul:
(concerned) But it's not safe to keep so much cash on you! Especially when.....
Mr. Forbes:
(interrupting) Ohhhh, I got a perfect place to hide it, son! No one would think to look there! Besides, I figure I've worked too hard and too long to lose it now. (chuckles) Oh, no, son! It wouldn't happen.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
It stayed with me, and it grew. Like a wheel spinning, gaining momentum. This could be the right job! Eight thousand dollars! Enough for that single shot. It stayed with me, all the time growing (pause) GROWING!
MFX:
STING
SFX:
Cup and saucer rattling
Eddie:
(sigh as if full from lunch) Lunch is on me, Paul, IF you change your mind.
Paul:
(emphatic) NO (pause) I called you, Eddie, cuz I ....I need your help.
Eddie:
What kind of help?
Paul:
Well, you can arrange for me to talk to someone.
Eddie:
(nonchalant) Maybe. (pause) Who is it?
Paul:
(softly) Rocky Peraia.
Eddie:
(amazed) Rocky Peraia! Are you kiddin'? You picked yourself the right guy all right! The COPS don't even know what he looks like! They never mugged him, or printed him...
Paul:
(interrupting) Yes, Eddie, that's right.
Eddie:
(emphatic) You're CRAZY, I tell ya! A million people wanna talk to Rocky Peraia. INCLUDIN' the cops! Nawwwww (pause) No, Paul, I can't touch it.
Paul:
You can, Eddie, if you wanted to bad enough! (pleading) Please, Eddie!
Eddie:
(long pause) (giving in) Allllll Right. (pause) I'll see what I can do.
Paul:
And Eddie, it's gotta be SOON.
Eddie:
You know you'll be takin' a chance. It better be good.
Paul:
(hopeful) It IS, Eddie! Good enough to take the chance for.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
That was two days ago. And this morning, Eddie came through. A certain friend, Rocky's only outside contact told him to keep an eye on a house on Hoover Street. Eddie gave me all the dope, what Rocky looked like, how he'd act, what to expect. and early this evening, I told Carole that I was going out for a while. That I'd borrow the money from Eddie, and we wouldn't have to worry about paying it back for a while. That's what I told her. (pause) But that wasn't the answer. The answer was at the house on Hoover with Rocky Peraia.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
I waited there, hidden in the dark corner behind the incinerator. (pause) I kept thinking, making excuses. (pause) It wasn't up to me anymore. There wasn't any other choice! I needed money! DESPARATELY! I needed help to get the money. I waited more than an hour. Then I heard footstep come up the alley.
MFX:
ONE NOTE STING
Paul:
He stopped before the open patch of light. Just like Eddie told me. (pause) He was careful. Very careful. Making sure no one was staking him. I took a deep breath, and hitched my way forward. I was gonna cut across the open for the back door. (getting nervous) I remember thinking, 'NOW! Do it for Carole! For the rotten, miserable Christmas! DO IT NOW!' (long pause) (then as if calling) ROCKY!
MFX:
STING
Paul:
He froze for a split second. Then almost faster than I could see, he ducked into a shadow and spun around. The street light didn't touch him. It glinted on something metallic in his hand. And even from where I was standing, I could see he had a gun pointed at me!
MFX:
LONG TRANSITION
Paul:
(excited and afraid) ROCKY! DON'T SHOOT! (pause) (more calm) It's a good thing I said it. His gun was aiming front and center. He crouched there, looking at me; his eyes flat and hard. Then his voice, deep and tight and deadly.
Rocky:
(off mic) (gruffly) Who are you?
Paul:
(excited) I'm not a cop, Rocky!
Rocky:
(still off mic) Come closer, so I can see ya better.
Paul:
(afraid) Sure, Rocky. I..I just wanna talk to you.
Rocky:
(ON mic) You call me Rocky---You been talkin' to anyone?
Paul:
I've been watching you. I KNOW you're Rocky Peraia.
Rocky:
You been watchin' me? What for?
Paul:
You're wanted, Rocky, and you need money!
Rocky:
(suspicious) Who are you? Where did you come from?
Paul:
That doesn't matter, Rocky. This is a business deal. (getting excited) I've figured it out very carefully! You need money, well (pause) so do I! And I got a way to get it!
Rocky:
Just like that, huh?
Paul:
And Rocky, I'm not staying! This is a one-shot deal.
Rocky:
A one-shot (chuckle) There's no such thing.
Paul:
(insistent) That's the way it's gotta be! We do this job together, and we're through. We never see each other again.
Rocky:
(snidely) I sure ain't gonna go lookin' for YOU! (pause then self- assured) But you won't quit. Not if it comes off easy.
Paul:
I'll quit, Rocky.
Rocky:
What's in this for me?
Paul:
Half! Four thousand dollars!
Rocky:
(chuckles) Well, kid, you ain't dumb by any means, stakin' me out like this. Almost smart enough to be a collar. You got guts, too. (pause) Tell me, you got a family?
Paul:
(nervously) There's no one to stop me! I have a job that doesn't pay enough. This'll raise my salary.
Rocky:
You want this one haul, then it's back to your job, huh?
Paul:
Yeah. Is it a deal?
Rocky:
What's the job?
Paul:
I have a car, I'll tell you on the way. If you go for it, OK. If not, we forget the whole thing.
Rocky:
OK, kid, I'll listen to it. Let's go drivin'.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
I told him what I had planned, and why I needed it. And he agreed to come with me. We drove to the Forbes's house. It was a small and old house. Just big enough for the two of them. I drove down to the corner and parked and we started back.
SFX:
TWO SETS OF MEN'S FOOTSTEPS UNDER FOLLOWING
Rocky:
Lucky there's no one on the street. Let's go up the alley.
Paul:
Yeah, Rocky. There's the back door. (pause) Look! No lights! They're not home.
Rocky:
Well, that makes it a cinch!
SFX:
FOOTSTEPS OUT
Rocky:
Well, go on, sack it! It's your baby.
Paul:
(hesitant) Rocky.....ah....I'll have to break a window.
Rocky:
Yeah. (chiding) You want me to hold your hand?
Paul:
I'll wrap my jacket around my fist. That'll keep the noise down.
Rocky:
(annoyed) Why don't you write me a book!
Paul:
(still hesitant) OK, OK I'm going.
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
I was lucky, the side of the house was hidden from the street by a big tree. And there was light to see with from the Christmas tree in the living room. I wrapped the jacket around my knuckles and with a short, sharp jab, broke through the window.
SFX:
WINDOW BREAKING IN BG
Paul:
(nervous) Sounded like a canon! The street being so quiet before, I was scared it would rouse the whole neighborhood. But like I said, I was lucky. I scrambled up the sill and dropped into the living room. (pause) I was pretty clumsy. I pulled out drawers,
SFX:
DRAWER OPENING
Paul:
looked behind pictures, under cushions. I went in the kitchen and poked around the cabinets. I looked in the cookie jar, and I found a rolled up wad of bills.
MFX:
STING
Paul:
It was money, all right, but only forty dollars. The old lady's secret treasure. I put it back and went into the living room again, looking around. Nervous, I stumbled on the Christmas tree and knocked it over.
SFX:
CHRISTMAS TREE BEING KNOCKED OVER.
Paul:
Then I remembered what the old man had said! A Christmas present for his wife! And I KNEW it was somewhere on that tree! There were Christmas stockings and favors and little red boots in and around the tinsel and the lighted bulbs. And I found the eight thousand dollars! (getting excited) Hidden deep in one of the stockings!
MFX:
ONE NOTE STING
SFX:
DOOR OPENING
Paul:
(triumphantly) GOT IT, ROCKY!
Rocky:
Lemme see it.
Paul:
(excited) It's there, Rocky! It's ALL there!
Rocky:
(agreeing) Yeah, eight grand. (pause) I guess I'll hold it.
Paul:
(getting nervous) C'mon, let's go!
Rocky:
Take it easy! We're gonna stick around for a while.
Paul:
(amazed and fearful) Stick around? What for?
Rocky:
Well, we got SOME money. How do we know it's all of it? Maybe they split it, and put it in two places. We'll wait here and watch when they come in. They'll tip it.
Paul:
It was eight thousand! That's what he withdrew.
Rocky:
(demanding) You asked for this, kid! (meanly) Now do as you're told! We'll wait!
MFX:
STING
Paul:
I couldn't help being scared! My first job! My first and last! A one-shot. I wanted to get away fast! Run and put it behind me. But Rocky just stood there. Like he didn't have a worry in the world.
SFX:
DISTANT CHUCH BELL TOLLING (8)
Rocky:
(on third chime) (chuckle) Listen, kid! They're ringin' for us! They're wishin' us a merry Christmas! (soft laugh) (long pause)
SFX: KEYS RATTLING IN DOOR
Rocky:
(whispers) There they are. They're unlocking the door.
SFX:
DOOR OPEN pause CLOSE
Mrs. Forbes:
You know, Harvey, the Christmas services were SO beautiful!
Mr. Forbes:
(agreeing) Sure! This year in particular.....
Mrs. Forbes:
HARVEY! LOOK! The tree! Someone's been in here! (devastated) A burglar!
Mr. Forbes:
A burglar!
Mrs. Forbes:
My cookie jar I've got my house money hidden there!
MFX:
BRIDGE
Paul:
The old lady ran to the kitchen. Forbes knew where to look. And he KNEW it was gone. rocky was grinning. His face lit up like flood lights. (pause) Let's go, Rocky! We've seen enough!
Rocky:
No, no, hold on a minute.
Mrs. Forbes:
(off mic) It's all here, Harvey. I wonder what he was after?
Mr. Forbes:
(off mic) Ada! It's gone! ALL the money!
Mrs. Forbes (off mic) All WHAT money?
Mr. Forbes:
(off mic) (on the verge of tears) Eight thousand dollars! I took it all out of the bank. Ada, I....I...I quit my job! It was going to be a surprise!
Mrs. Forbes:
(coming to mic) (shattered) NO!
Mr. Forbes:
(coming to mic)(slowly) Every penny we had in the world!
Mrs. Forbes:
(beginning to cry) Oh, Harvey! All that money!
Mr. Forbes:
(trying to console Ada) Now, now, now it will be all right, Ada!
Mrs. Forbes:
(sobbing as she talks) Twelve years you worked so we could have something! (continues crying)
Mr. Forbes:
(sighs) Well, I can keep on working, Ada. I'll do it all over again.
Mrs. Forbes:
(still crying as she talks) Oh, you CAN'T work anymore! The doctor...(sobs) Oh! What's a person to believe? You worked so hard, and we do without things for twelve long years! AND FOR WHAT? (gasps) In ONE minute, some good-for-nothing hoodlum takes it all away from us!
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
I looked at Rocky standing there next to me, his face split by that grin. It was funny to him; something to laugh about, to gloat over. That's why he stayed! Suddenly, I knew I couldn't go through with it. ME, the guy who needed the money so bad! The guy with the bright one-shot idea!
Rocky:
(pleased) Quite a show, eh, kid? C'mon, let's go.
Paul:
He moved off a few steps, but I just stood there knowing what I was going to do.
Rocky:
(Insistent) C'mon, I said! LET'S GO!
Paul:
(determined) KNOWING what I was going to do!
MFX:
ONE NOTE STING
Paul:
NO! No, Rocky! We're NOT going!
Rocky:
Huh?
Paul:
I SAID, we're not going! And neither is the money.
Rocky:
What th....
Paul:
(interrupting) Don't, Rocky! I've got a gun, too!
Rocky:
What's got into you?
Paul:
I'm gonna give that money back, Rocky. I....I can't stomach this.
Rocky:
(surprised) Give it back! YOU'RE CRAZY!
Paul:
No, Rocky, I....I just didn't see deep enough. Old people like this.....
Rocky:
(interrupting) This was YOUR idea, I ain't responsible for it!
Paul:
I know, Rocky, but I can make it right!
Rocky:
(threatening) Suppose I don't give you the money?
Paul:
(coldly) Then I'll kill you, Rocky.
Rocky:
OK, kid. You got the gun.
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
He gave me the money. All the hate showing in his eyes. I turned and started for the house, and gave him my back for a target. But he didn't use it. (pause) I knocked on the door.
SFX:
KNOCK ON DOOR
SFX:
DOOR OPENING
Mr. Forbes:
Yes? Who is....(surprise) PAUL! (pause) From the bank!
Paul:
(trying to act excited) I...ah...just had a fight with a guy, mister Forbes, I saw jump in your window! I chased after him!
Mrs. Forbes:
(off mic) OUR window? (ON mic) You saw him?
Paul:
Yes, ma'am! I was walking past. I kinda figured he had just finished robbing you.
Mr. Forbes:
Well, did you catch him?
Paul:
(nervously) Well, I.. er couldn't hold on to him, he broke away. But not before I got this.
Mrs. Forbes:
Why, Harvey! The money!
Paul:
Yes, ma'am.
Mr. Forbes:
(amazed) Why, Paul! BLESS YOU!
Paul:
(embarrassed) Oh, forget it! I'm only sorry I couldn't hold him.
Mrs. Forbes:
You...ah...you say you FOUGHT with this burglar?
Paul:
Yes...ah... he broke away before.....
Mrs. Forbes:
(interrupting) WE (pause) (then more softly) We want to thank you, Paul.
Paul:
Forget it. I'll.....I'll be going now.
Mrs. Forbes:
Wait, Paul, we want to give you a reward.
Paul:
(nervously) Oh, n..no. I don't want a reward. I'll have to be going.
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
I stopped there on the porch for a minute, afraid to go back to Rocky. Suddenly terribly afraid of what he'd do to me. The old couple was still talking loud, like old people do...
Mr. Forbes:
(off mic) Yes, Ada, it all happened so fast!
Mrs. Forbes:
(off mic) I'll always wonder about that boy! What made him bring the money back?
Mr. Forbes:
(insistent) He's honest, Ada! I know him from the bank!
Mrs. Forbes:
Oh, fiddlesticks, Harvey! He didn't fight with anyone!
Mr. Forbes:
(puzzled) What do you mean, Ada?
Mrs. Forbes:
Well, his clothes...why, the whole story he told us...your young friend took the money in the first place.
Mr, Forbes:
Why (long pause) (then amazed) Ada, I believe you're right!
Mrs. Forbes:
Of COURSE, I'm right! (pause) Now what on Earth made him change his mind like that?
Mr. Forbes:
(slowly) It's Christmas, Ada. (cheerfully) Merry Christmas!
MFX:
MINOR KEY BRIDGE OF 'JINGLE BELLS'
Paul:
(surprised) She'd known! The old lady had known all along! But it didn't make any difference! But...but she'd even offered to give me a reward! Suddenly I felt something strange, like....like being clean inside. Like being able to see something that wasn't there before. And the tightness, the fear eased a little. (long pause)
Rocky:
(flatly) Well, let's go, kid. The car...
Paul:
Rocky...
Rocky:
(interrupting) You did what you wanted! You just forgot that HALF of that money was MINE! (ordering) NOW MOVE!
SFX:
TWO CAR DOORS OPENING pause THEN SLAM SHUT
Rocky:
(ordering) Get it moving!
SFX:
CAR ENGINE CRANKING THEN START AND RUN UNDER FOLLOWING
Rocky:
What was it you said? You need me, Rocky.
Paul:
(regretful) Rocky (pause) I made a mistake.
Rocky: (chiding) I want to team up with you, Rocky, you need money. I got a way.
Paul:
I was wrong!
Rocky:
Maybe the next job you won't get soft in the head!
Paul:
There's not going to be a next one, Rocky, I'm through!
Rocky:
THROUGH? (meanly) You think I spent Christmas Eve with you cuz I like you? I'm out FOUR GRAND!
Paul:
I'm sorry, Rocky, but there's NOT going to be a next time!
Rocky:
Ya think so, huh? (long pause) (ordering) STOP THE CAR!
Paul:
All right.
SFX:
CAR ENGINE SLOWS AND STOPS
Paul:
But I'll never see it different, Rocky. I found out tonight if it's not THESE old people, then it's someone else taking it just as hard.
Rocky:
You're sure? You're sure it's not Christmas doin' this?
Paul:
I'm sure! It's not for me, Rocky!
Rocky:
Hmmmm. (long pause) You know I'm kinda glad it turned out this way.
Paul:
You're what?
Rocky:
You're through, ain't ya? You're goin' back to your job.
Paul:
(unsure) Yeah, rocky...sure.
Rocky:
Good! Then I figured it right.
Paul:
(puzzled) What?
Rocky:
I didn't think you'd go through with it.
Paul:
(surprised) SAY! WAIT A MINUTE!
Rocky:
Yeah?
Paul:
You're not Rocky Peraia!
Rocky:
(soft laugh) I said you was smart, kid!
Paul:
Th...the way you acted, so careful! Sneaking in the alley and.. (long pause) Say! Who are you?
Rocky:
Weisman's the name.....Police lieutenant Richard Weisman, gangster squad.
Paul:
You're a cop? But where's Rocky?
Rocky:
We picked him up this afternoon, kid. He had a couple of guys workin' with him, and I thought maybe you were one of 'em. Now I know different.
Paul:
(disbelief) A cop!
Rocky:
I don't expect I'll run into you again, kid. So take care of yourself. (pause) (off mic) And Merry Christmas!
MFX:
TRANSITION
Paul:
Lucky! All the breaks! But I was no better off than this morning. There was still money, two months paying the nurse, there was still the worry for Carole.
SFX:
DOOR OPEN pause THEN CLOSE
Doctor:
Oh! Mister Shayne! We've been expecting you. Congratulations!
Paul:
(fearful) Doctor! What's the matter? Why...
Doctor:
(chuckles) Nothing's wrong. Quite the contrary. Your wife just had a baby.
Paul:
Baby? Carole?
SFX:
FOUR QUICK FOOTSTEPS
Doctor:
(over footstep sounds) She's perfectly all right! So's your daughter.
SFX:
DOOR OPENING
Paul:
Carole! Oh, Carole, darling, are you all right?
Carole:
Oh, sweetheart, I'm fine!
Paul:
Carole, is the....
Carole:
(interrupting) We won't have to borrow the money now, Paul. It's turned out for the best after all.
Paul:
Oh, Carole....
Carole:
And it always will, my dear! We have so much, you and I. We have each other. And now, we've got a daughter.
MFX:
A CAPELLA OF 'THE FIRST NOEL' SNEAKS IN UNDER
Carole:
A fine, healthy little girl. The rest will come, Paul. Let's live the day we have. (pause) Your little girl's over there, Paul. Tell her we're very, very happy she's in the family! And wish her a merry Christmas. (pause)
MFX:
UP FOR A MOMENT, THEN BACK UNDER
Paul:
Look, Carole! Look! (pause) She's smiling!
MFX:
UP TO FINISH