That Should Be A Movie

A set piece would be when Laura takes Maurice to visit her sister Annette’s family in the suburbs on Christmas Eve. Her niece comes home crying from a friend’s house. When she had mentioned Santa Claus, her friends had laughed at her, saying Santa Clause was not real. She asked her brother and sister if that was true, and they said yes. She began wailing. Later that evening she was dressed in wings and a halo to play an angel in the church pageant, but was still inconsolable, making the family run later. Maurice watches her throw a tantrum expecting that at any moment she would be shouted at or hit by someone. He thought, “She better quiet down before she gets a whipping.” He sees her father, Bruce, approach and just knows she’s going to have a whipping. Instead, Bruce sits next to her, picks her up, puts his arms around her and strokes her hair. Instead of punishing her, he was loving her. Maurice could not believe what he had just seen. He vows to be a father like that someday.