Not far away, Kevin wandered along the dark cold empty streets feeling the same way. For a while he'd felt really good about helping to capture the bad guys and returning the money meant for the Children's Hospital. But as the hour grew late he once again felt like a lost kid in New York with no place to go and no one to be with. He was glad he'd done his good deed, but it seemed as if it still wasn't enough to erase all the bad ones that had preceded it.
Outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, he stopped and looked up at the tall spires as the bells rang in Christmas. From inside he could hear the choir singing "Joy to the World." But there was no joy in Kevin's world tonight. He bent his head down and kept walking.
In the hotel room, Kate turned another page of the magazine and stared down at a full-page photo of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, adorned with lights, tinsel, and decorations. She'd always wanted Kevin to see it.
Then, suddenly, she had the oddest feeling . . .
Kevin also had an odd feeling . . . as if he were being drawn somewhere. He crossed Fifth Avenue, went around a corner, and found himself staring up at the biggest, most beautiful Christmas tree he'd ever seen. Kevin looked at it in awe. Somehow he sensed that it was no accident that he'd found his way to this place. And yet, when he looked around, he saw that he was still alone.
"Maybe I don't deserve a Christmas even if I did do a good deed," he said, gazing sadly at the huge five-pointed gold star at the top of the tree. "But if I can get anything, I don't want any presents. All I want is to take back every mean thing I ever said to my family. Even if they don't take back the things they said to me. I don't care. I love all of them. Even Buzz."
Kevin took a deep breath and watched the vapor leave his lips. As the church bells rang in the distance, he knew there was more he wanted to say: "Listen, if it isn't possible to see all of them, could I just see my mother? I swear I'll never want another thing as long as I live. I just want my mother. I know I won't see her tonight, but just promise me I can see her again sometime . . . anytime. Even if it's just once for only a couple of minutes. Because I need to tell her I'm sorry."
Kevin waited for a moment, as if hoping that by some miracle his wish would come true. But even he was old enough to know it wouldn't. Then he lowered his head. The cold wind picked up some loose newspapers and swirled them around him in a circle. He was just about to walk away when he thought he noticed something. The church bells sounded different. Closer, but smaller.
Kevin slowly turned around. Standing fifty feet from him was a woman who looked an awful lot like his mother. And she was ringing a bell. It looked like she was smiling at him. Kevin rubbed his eyes and looked again. It couldn't be, could it?
"Mom?" he gasped in a hoarse whisper.
Kate put the silver bell back in her pocket and stepped toward her son. She felt tears start to roll down her cheeks. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."
As Kevin ran toward his mother, he thought of the wish he'd just made and looked back at the tree in amazement. Wow! he thought. That worked fast!
A moment later Kate kneeled down and hugged him tightly.
"How'd you know I was here?" Kevin asked.
"I know you and Christmas trees," Kate said as she rubbed a tear out of her eye.
"I guess this is the biggest one around, huh?" Kevin said.
Kate smiled. "Let's go tell Dad you're all right."
"Where's everyone else?" Kevin asked.
"At the hotel," Kate said, sliding her arm around his shoulders.
"They're in New York?" Kevin gasped, wide-eyed.
Kate smiled. "They didn't like the palm trees either."
Christmas Morning
Duncan's Toy Chest
1 A.M.
E. F. Duncan stood on the sidewalk wearing a suit and a gray cashmere topcoat. His wife stood beside him, clutching his arm, dressed in an emerald green gown covered by a brown mink coat. They'd been called away from a Christmas party by the police, and now watched quietly as two glaziers replaced the broken window of the store.
Inside, a team of evidence specialists combed through the broken glass and mangled cash registers looking for clues to the crime. The Duncans knew that a great deal of cash had been stolen, money that was supposed to go to the Children's Hospital.
Suddenly a police car pulled up in front of the store and a cop jumped out.
"It's all over, Mr. Duncan," he said.
Duncan frowned. "What do you mean?"
"We apprehended the thieves and recovered your money."
Mr. Duncan's jaw dropped and his wife squeezed his arm with delight.
"Thank you," he said, happily shaking the officer's hand. "Thank you very much!"
The cop went back to his car. Mr. Duncan and his wife were about to go home when one of the evidence specialists approached him carrying a brick and an envelope. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Duncan?"
"Yes?" Duncan turned, surprised.
The specialist pulled the envelope from the brick and handed it to him. "We found this inside. Looks like a kid broke your window."
Duncan looked down at the envelope and frowned. It was addressed to him in a child's handwriting. He tore it open and found a letter written on a sheet of Plaza Hotel stationery:
Dear Mr. Duncan,
I broke your window to catch the bad guys. I'm sorry. Do you have insurance? If you don't, I'll send you some money when it snows some more (if I ever get back to Chicago).
Merry Christmas,
Kevin McCallister
Mrs. Duncan tugged on her husband's coat sleeve. "What is it, dear?"
E. F. Duncan smiled and said, "Turtledoves."
Christmas Morning
The Plaza Hotel
7 A.M.
The sky was gray at dawn. Up in the McCallister's suite, Kevin slept in a double bed with Fuller and Brooke. The other McCallisters were spread out on the floor and in the living room. Suddenly Fuller opened his eyes and sat up.
"Holy smokes!" he gasped excitedly. "It's Christmas morning!"
Next to him, Kevin rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Don't get your hopes up."
Fuller looked puzzled. "Why not?"
"I'm not sure Santa Claus goes to hotels," Kevin said, a little sadly.
"Are you nuts?" Fuller replied. "He's omnipresent. He goes everywhere."
Fuller jumped out of bed and started yelling, "Wake up, everyone! It's Christmas!"
All around the suite Kevin could hear people grumbling as Fuller woke them up. Maybe a hotel wasn't the greatest place in the world to have Christmas, but at least Kevin was back with his family and that's what mattered most.
Suddenly he heard gasps and startled exclamations coming from the foyer of the suite. Curious, he got out of bed and went to look. At first he couldn't see anything because the whole McCallister clan had crowded into the small foyer. But as he squeezed past them he found himself staring at a beautiful Christmas tree surrounded by more gifts than he'd ever seen.
"Wow!" Kevin gasped.
He couldn't imagine where it all had come from, but then he spotted the decorations celebrating the twelve days of Christmas . . . the same decorations he'd seen on the tree in Duncan's Toy Chest.
"Are we in the right room?" Buzz asked in amazement.
"Get the camera!" Uncle Frank cried.
Fuller and Brooke waded into the sea of gifts and started tearing open the presents.
"Careful with the wrapping paper," Aunt Leslie warned them. "We can reuse it."
The other members of the family started to reach for the gifts, but suddenly Buzz raised his arms and shouted, "Stop, everyone!"
They turned and stared at him.
"Listen," Buzz said. "If Kevin hadn't screwed things up so bad again we wouldn't be in this most perfect and huge hotel room with a truckload of free stuff. So it's only fair that he gets to open the first present. Then I'll go, and then the rest of you."
Buzz bent down and picked up a big box covered with green and red wrapping paper and handed it
to Kevin. "Merry Christmas, Kev."
Everyone started to applaud. Kevin took a bow and then started to open the present. But something didn't feel right. Suddenly he realized what it was, and ran back to the bedroom. He found his blue coat and felt the pockets. The turtledoves Mr. Duncan had given him were still there.
A little while later Kevin walked into Central Park, wearing his coat over his pajamas. Ahead he saw the pigeon lady tossing seed to a hundred hungry pigeons on the ground around her.
"Merry Christmas!" Kevin waved at her.
The pigeon lady scowled, then smiled. "Merry Christmas, Kevin."
Kevin stepped through the sea of birds, then took the seed bucket from her and set it down. He opened her dirty hand and put one of the turtledoves in it. The pigeon lady looked confused, so Kevin showed her his turtledove.
"Now I have one and you have one," he explained. "As long as we each have a turtledove, we're friends forever."
The pigeon lady blinked with surprise. "Thank you, Kevin."
Kevin gave her a hug. "I won't forget you. Trust me."
"I do," the pigeon lady said with a big smile. Kevin smiled back. Everything had worked out great. The kids at the Children's Hospital would get their money. His family got all those presents from Mr. Duncan. The pigeon lady now had someone she could trust . . .
And as for Kevin, well, he didn't really need to get anything. Except the satisfaction of knowing that after all was said and done, it really was the thought that counts.
About the Author
Todd Strasser has written many award-winning novels for young and teenaged readers. He is a frequent speaker at junior and senior high schools, and conferences. He and his wife and children live in Westchester County, New York, and try to avoid the city during the holidays.
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