The Christmas Stockings
by Joseph L. Puente
Based on the short story by Maria Alvarez
This screenplay was based on a short story written by my late mother and was made into a short film in time for Christmas 2004. It was my Mom's last Christmas and after she saw the film, she called me to say that it was the best Christmas present she ever received.
1 EXT - CITY STREET - NIGHT 1
Carol of the Bells is heard OS as people are walking the
streets of a medium sized city in winter. They are window
shopping, picking out Christmas presents and enjoying the
holiday season.
2 INT - CITY MALL - NIGHT 2
More people are touring the shops and buying gifts. A child
is laughing as she picks up her new puppy at a pet store. A
group of teenagers are eating and joking at the food court. A
woman is sitting quietly by herself reading in a bookstore.
3 EXT - CITY PARK - NIGHT 3
Couples and families are walking through the city park,
decorated with lights and holiday decorations. Tourists are
having their pictures taken in front of a life size nativity
scene. A homeless man asks a pedestrian for some money but is
turned down.
4 EXT - CITY STREET - NIGHT 4
Deeper into the city streets, the decorations and Christmas
lights are more sparse. There are fewer people walking the
streets and more destitute individuals making it their home.
5 EXT - OFFICE BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 5
A man named JOE, unshaven and dressed in ragged clothes, is
standing outside of a dumpster by an office building. He's
looking around cautiously as rustling is heard coming from
the dumpster. After a few moments, the head of a six-year-old
girl, Joe's daughter, MISSY, pops up from the dumpster.
MISSY
Daddy, please get me out.
Missy puts up her arms for her dad to take. She is holding a
collection of paper and cardboard in her hands. Joe reaches
into the dumpster and picks his daughter up, raising her over
his head, and gently placing her on the ground next to
himself.
6 EXT - CITY STREET - NIGHT 6
As Joe and Missy walk along the dark street, their breaths
come out in little puffs of steam.
Missy is holding her findings close to her chest with one
hand and holding onto her dad's hand with the other. Joe
looks to his daughter and tries to smile but then looks
straight ahead and realizes what little he has to smile
about.
7 INT - HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT 7
Joe, clean shaven, dressed in slacks and a sweater, is
walking down the corridor holding his daughter's hand. He
looks down to Missy with a concerned smile on his face. Missy
pulls her father's hand closer to her and holds it with both
her hands, leaning her head against his arm.
They arrive to a nurses' station where they are already known
to the nurses on duty by their first names.
NURSE
(Speaking quietly)
Hi, Joe. Would you like to see her
now?
JOE
Yes, please.
The nurse comes around the station and kneels in front of
Missy.
NURSE
Missy, would you like to wait in
the playroom?
MISSY
But I want to see my mommy.
JOE
You'll be able to see Mommy in a
few minutes, sweetheart. For now,
why not go with the nurse.
MISSY
But I wantÐ
NURSE
I'll take you in to see your mommy
in a few minutes, alright?
Missy looks up to her dad then to the nurse. She then takes
the nurse's arm and follows her to the unseen playroom. Joe
walks across the corridor to his wife's hospital room
8 INT - HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT 8
Joe's wife, MARY, is lying in a hospital bed, an IV tube in
her arm, miscellaneous hospital equipment by her side
measuring her vital statistics. Joe walks into the room and
quietly moves a chair next to the bed so he can sit by her
side. He takes her hand into his and she awakes. She looks
into her husbands eyes and smiles.
MARY
(whispering)
Hey, stranger.
JOE
(holding back tears and
struggling to smile)
Hi. We came as soon as the doctor
called.
MARY
So, you know already.
JOE
Yes.
MARY
What about Missy?
JOE
(hesitantly)
I couldn't bring myself to... I
just couldn't, Mary.
MARY
Joe, we're going to have to tell
her.
There's a knock at the door. Joe and Mary look to the door to
see the nurse and Missy waiting quietly just inside the room.
MARY (cont'd)
(seeing Missy and smiling)
Hi, baby.
Missy runs to the side of Mary's bed and holds her mother's
arm. She looks to her mother longingly.
MISSY
Mommy, when are you coming home?
Mary looks to Joe, then to Missy and smiles.
MARY
Sweety, give Mommy a hug.
Joe lifts his daughter onto the bed so she can hug her mother
one last time.
9 EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 9
Joe and Missy arrived at their makeshift home under the
stairwell of the condemned building which had once been their
home. Missy hurried along, eager to get out of the cold wind.
Their shelter was not much more than a lean-to -- a refuge
against wind, rain, and snow constructed of cardboard boxes
and plastic bags stacked in such a way as to camouflage the
entrance and deter the dregs of humanity from prying too
closely. But Missy and her dad had managed to furnish it
with a modicum of comfort if one is to stretch the meaning of
the word almost to the breaking point. The curtains they had
salvaged from their old apartment had been carefully hung to
line the cold, damp walls and create partitions. The area
furthest back had been turned into a sleeping alcove. A
couple of wooden pallets raised the old mattress above the
level of the floor, and an apple box from Mr. Balthazar's
store held a civilizing set of sheets and a couple of towels
while another box held the few pieces of clothing they owned.
An old lidded chamber pot found in the refuse pile of another
condemned building supplied the relief for those needs which
could not wait for the opening of Mr. Balthazar's little
shop. The front "room" contained some makeshift furniture.
An old carpet folded in fours gave the floor a bit of spring
as well
as keeping out some of the cold that seeped up from
the cement. An egg crate full of books (Missy's only ticket
to knowledge) was topped with a piece of foam rubber and
served as the chair. An old TV tray was their table, and a
twisted set of metal shelves which Joe had pounded into
submission held a sterno burner, a kerosene lamp, a small
saucepan, a few meager staples, two cups, and a mess kit.
Everything else they had owned had been hocked, sold,
bartered, or stolen.
Joe looks down at his daughter carrying her newfound wealth
from one dump to another, and could not help a rueful smile.
Missy grows increasingly impatient to get to work on her
Christmas "treasures" as Joe walks in. (He always went first,
just in case there was an uninvited guest who needed
evicting.)
10 INT - ALLEY SHELTER - NIGHT 10
Joe crawls into the shelter. After he turns on the kerosene
lamp Missy walks in stomping her little feet against the
cold. While Joe warms up a melange of soup and beans for
their supper Missy bustles about setting out her work table.
She has no glue, just some paste made from a bit of flour she
mixed with water and set aside. Missy spreads out the
goodies she has fetched out of the dumpster behind the office
building.
There are several sheets of colored paper, some
crumpled giftwrap from somebody's office party, a large sheet
of cardboard, ribbons, bows, a box, and a couple of magazines
which she has managed to hide from Joe. These were going to
be his Christmas present.
Missy gets a pair of scissors with a broken tip from their
hiding place. She draws a Christmas tree on the piece of
cardboard and cuts out its outline as she softly hums
Christmas carols to herself.
She then cuts some of the green paper she has found into
strips and fringes it, gluing the strips on to simulate
branches. Next, she cuts out circles from the crumpled
giftwrapping and glues them onto the tree. A bow on top,
some of the ribbon as garland, and she has a very commendable
tree which she leaned against the corner of the room.
Joe makes it a point not to look at what his child is doing
because he doesn't want to encourage her dreams.
The little girl looks about her decorations and knows that
something is missing. After a moment of quiet contemplation,
she realizes what it is. She takes off her sock and lays it
atop a folded piece of red paper. With a black marker she
draws its outline and cuts it out. Now she has two socks
which she labels with her and Joe's names and trims with
colored bows. She displays them next to the ersatz tree and
admires her handywork while thinking of a Christmas two years
earlier.
15 INT - LIVINGROOM - NIGHT 15
Missy, still sitting in front of the Christmas tree, is
holding the baby Jesus from the nativity scene, examining it
by the lights of the tree. Mrs. Balthazar enters the
livingroom and Missy places the baby Jesus back in his place
in the scene.
MRS. BALTHAZAR
Missy, come here. I have a gift for
you.
Mrs. Balthazar sits down on a rocking chair and beckons Missy
to sit on her lap. Missy sits with her and Mrs. Balthazar
brings up the stocking.
MRS. BALTHAZAR (cont'd)
This Christmas stocking is for you,
Missy.
Missy reaches for the stocking but Mrs. Balthazar holds it
just out of reach for the briefest of moments then gives it
to her.
MRS. BALTHAZAR (cont'd)
Now, I told your mother that I
wouldn't let you spoil your dinner.
Of course, if you have just one
piece of candy, I don't think that
will spoil your dinner.
Mrs. Balthazar laughs and Missy laughs with her as she takes
a piece of candy from Mrs. Balthazar's hand. As she chews on
the piece of chocolate, she rests her head on Mrs.
Balthazar's shoulder, content to remain there for the rest of
the night.
16 INT - ALLEY SHELTER - NIGHT 16
The rest of the colored paper has been cut into strips and
glued into interconnected loops which Missy festooned around
the room. Next came her dad's present. Joe is just about
finished preparing their supper, so Missy decides to wait for
a more opportune moment.
Joe serves himself and Missy some soup and starts to eat.
Between bites, Missy tries to bring some Christmas cheer to
her father.
MISSY
Do you like the tree I made, Daddy?
Joe nods in agreement, turning his attention to his dinner.
MISSY (cont'd)
I also made stockings for us. Like
Mrs. Balthazar used to do before
she died. Do you remember?
JOE
(struggling to smile)
Yes, Missy, I remember.
Missy smiles and points to the trimming she has placed around
their shelter.
MISSY
Do you like the paper chain I made?
Mr. Balthazar gave me some paste
for it. Do you think Santa will
like it? Oh, Daddy, do we have any
cookies for Santa?
Joe stops eating. He feels he has to be blunt with his
daughter.
JOE
No, Missy. There are no cookies.
All we have is what's for dinner
tonight.
MISSY
Then can I leave Santa what's left
of my soup?
Joe is getting frustrated. He doesn't want to crush his
little girl's dreams, but he doesn't want to set her up for
disappointment either.
JOE
MissyÐWe have no permanent address;
how is Santa going to find us?
Missy quietly finishes her dinner. When she places her spoon
into the empty bowl, Joe takes it outside to wash in the
snow.
When her father is outside, Missy takes out the magazines she
had found for her father and wraps them in the crumpled gift
wrapping paper.
17 EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 17
Joe washes the old mess kit they used for their dinner as
best as he can in the snow. He tries to dry his hands when he
was finished and turns to the entrance of the shelter,
hesitant to go in despite the cold night air.
18 INT - GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT OFFICE - DAY 18
Joe is sitting across from the desk of a government
CASEWORKER. She is looking over some paperwork then turns her
attention to Joe.
CASEWORKER
You are a widower?
JOE
Yes.
CASEWORKER
Have you been working?
JOE
Yes...well. I've been doing some
odd jobs for a friend of the
family. Mr. Balthazar, I have him
as a referenceÐ
CASEWORKER
I know about Mr. Balthazar. But you
need to be looking for something
more than odd jobs. You have a
daughter that you need to take care
ofÐ
JOE
I am taking care of my daughter.
CASEWORKER
I'm sure you're doing the best that
you can but your daughter needs a
stable home environment. She can't
be moving around from place to
place as she's been doing.
JOE
I am doing my best...
CASEWORKER
No one is saying that you aren't...
Where are you living now?
JOE
(hesitantly)
We just moved in to a new place.
CASEWORKER
Do you have an address for me so I
can update your file?
JOE
Actually, no, not with me.
CASEWORKER
(suspicious of Joe's
demeanor)
Is your daughter currently enrolled
in school?
JOE
(feeling trapped)
Of course she is...Do you think I
would keep my daughter out of
school?
CASEWORKER
perhaps...if you had no permanent
address to put on her records...
Joe, I'm not here to judge you. I'm
just trying to help you.
(taking a business card
from her desk and handing
it to Joe)
Here's a place in town where I
think you might find some
work...And when you get a chance,
call me or stop by with the address
to your new...place.
JOE
Of course... thank you.
Joe gets up, obviously upset, and walks out of the office.
19 INT - GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT OFFICE CORRIDOR - DAY 19
Missy is sitting quietly on a bench outside of the office.
Joe comes out and takes her hand. They start to walk down the
corridor but Joe pauses by a wastebasket. He looks at the
business card the caseworker gave him, then throws it away.
They continue down the hall.
MISSY
What was that, Daddy?
JOE
It was nothing sweety.
MISSY
...Daddy, when can I go back to
school?
JOE
Soon, Missy. I promise.
As they continue down the corridor, the caseworker comes out
of the office in time to see them slip around a corner.
20 EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 20
Joe finally decides to go inside the shelter.
21 INT - ALLEY SHELTER - NIGHT 21
As Joe enters the shelter, Missy is already in bed pretending
to be tired. She lets out an animated yawn and lies down
facing the wall so her father can't see her crying.
Joe sits on the "chair" and holds his head in his hands. His
eyes grow dim and lose their life as he ponders the future.
Slowly, he raises his head and looks at the flickering light
of the kerosene lamp. His eyes well up with tears.
JOE
(longingly)
Please...
Hunched over with cold and worries he rises from his seat,
blows out the flame and crawls into bed beside the sleeping
child.
22 EXT - BALTHAZAR'S STORE - NIGHT 22
Through the front window, in the back of the dark store, Mr.
Balthazar closes the door separating his store from the small
apartment in the back he had moved into when his wife died.
23 INT - BALTHAZAR APARTMENT - NIGHT 23
Mr.Balthazar sits down to a simple meal of bread and milk
while his old mouser timidly tastes the contents of the bowl
from the other side of the table.
After a few moments of picking at his food, the old
storekeeper gets up from his seat and paces the confines of
his minuscule living quarters. In his pacing, he comes across
a Polaroid snapshot of Joe, Mary and Missy taken the last
time they had visited him and his wife on Christmas Eve. He
picks up the Polaroid and walks to a picture on the wall of
his deceased wife.
MR. BALTHAZAR
MamaÐYou've got to help me. It's
Joe and Missy. Ever since Mary
passed away, they've been having a
really hard time of it.
Their apartment was condemned, Joe
hasn't been able to find work.
They're living under a stairwell
for God's sake...If you can call
that living. Mama, I don't know
what to do. If only you were
here...You always knew what to do
in times like this.
Mr. Balthazar looks down at the photo again and thinks for a
moment. He then gets his coat and cap and goes outside.
24 EXT - CITY STREET - NIGHT 24
Mr. Balthazar shields himself as best as he can against the
cold night air and walks down the street toward the alley
where Joe and Missy are staying.
25 EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 25
Mr. Balthazar approaches the old stairwell slowly,
contemplating what he is going to say or do. As he
approaches, he hears the sounds of a man crying. He stops and
thinks for a moment.
JOE O.S.
Please...
Mr. Balthazar can't bare to go any further. Thinking there
must be something he can do, he turns around and walks back
to the street.
26 EXT - CITY STREET - NIGHT 26
Mr. Balthazar walks back in the direction of his store. He is
across the street from it and looks at it thinking. He walks
on.
27 EXT - CHURCH - NIGHT 27
Mr. Balthazar walks ahead looking down at the sidewalk. He
then lifts his head and sees a small church. It had just
opened recently across the street from his store. From
inside, he hears Christmas carols. He walks toward it.
28 INT - CHURCH - NIGHT 28
Mr. Balthazar walks in and takes a seat in the back of the
church. The
little congregation is singing a carol while the
minister's wife accompanies them on a second-hand keyboard.
When the song is finished, the minister walks up to the
podium.
MINISTER
I have a very special announcement.
It has come to my attention through
the good offices of the
superintendent in this building
that his basement apartment, as
well as his job, have become
available since he is retiring and
moving to Florida with his
daughter. Now I have seen this
place, having visited the good man
as part of my pastoral duties, and
I just know that there must be
somebody out there who could
benefit from such a situation as
has been placed in our hands
through the great mercy of the
Almighty. Let us pray. . ."
The service ends and the congregation slowly files out, but
Mr. Balthazar hangs back, waiting for an opportunity to speak
to the pastor.
MR. BALTHAZAR
Reverend, I own the little shop
across the streetÐ
MINISTER
(smiling)
Yes, of course, I stopped by for
some supplies for our service this
morning. What can I do for you,
brother?
MR. BALTHAZAR
That announcement you made earlier,
has anybody made a request for it?
The minister's wife approaches the two men. Other members of
the congregation have stopped their march out the door to
hear what the old man has to say.
MINISTER
No, nobody has said anything to me,
how about you, dear?
MINISTER'S WIFE
No, I haven't heard either. Did you
have somebody special in mind, sir?
MR. BALTHAZAR
(hesitantly)
I have this father and child, their
mother is dead...The apartment
building where they lived has been
condemned and he hasn't been able
to find work. And the child hasn't
been able to go to school because
they have no permanent address.
MINISTER
Where are they now?
MR. BALTHAZAR
They're livingÐif you can call it
thatÐin the stairwell of their old
building.
The minister turns to the congregation.
MINISTER
Brothers and sisters, who among us
can possibly go into a warm house,
fill our bellies with good food,
and crawl into a soft bed while a
father and child suffer such want
as this? The superintendent has
given me permission to hire his
replacementÐÐand I can think of no
worthier soul.
Members of the congregation look to one another and one by
one set forward.
PARISHIONER 1
Minister, I can bring in some food
for this family.
PARISHIONER 2
And I've got some clothes I was
going to give away, they can have
them.
PARISHIONER 3
I've got some extra pots and pans.
PARISHIONER 4
I have a bed that's not being used,
Minister.
The other parishioners offer what they can as the minister
and Mr. Balthazar smile.
MINISTER
This is wonderful. Brothers and
sisters, bring what you can right
back here as soon as you can.
(to Mr. Balthazar)
My friend, bring this father and
daughter here. They needn't stay
one more cold night like this under
a stairwell.
(he takes a key out of his
pocket and gives it to
Mr. Balthazar)
Here is the key he will need.
29 EXT - CHURCH - NIGHT 29
Mr. Balthazar leaves the little church with a new spring in
his step. The restlessness which had once pursued him now
became purpose, an urge to get his plan into action before
this holy night was over.
30 EXT - BALTHAZAR'S STORE - NIGHT 30
In a few quick steps Mr. Balthazar reaches his store. He
unlocks the front door and goes in.
31 INT - BALTHAZAR APARTMENT - NIGHT 31
Mr. Balthazar enters his small apartment and rummages through
some old boxes he finds a couple of the stockings like the
ones his wife would give to the neighborhood children. He
fills one with candy, some coloring pencils, a notebook, and
a little bottle of hand lotion. The other, he simply drops
the key into. He walks out of his small apartment.
32 EXT - APARTMENT BUILDING ALLEY - NIGHT 32
Mr. Balthazar walks down the cold alley and peeks under the
stairwell where Joe and Missy are trying to sleep. After a
brief moment, Joe comes out into the cold, surprised to see
the old storekeeper. Mr. Balthazar holds up Joe's stocking.
Joe takes it and turns it upside down, dropping the key onto
his hand. He looks to Mr. Balthazar, asking for an
explanation. Mr. Balthazar explains and Joe hugs him. He then
peeks into the stairwell himself to bring Missy out. The
little girl comes out of the stairwell and Mr. Balthazar
gives her a stocking. Joe kneels beside her and explains the
situation. Missy hugs her father and he picks her up.
Together, they walk out of the alley.
THE END
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