Donnie and his mom, Elisa, arrived at their house after another night of hanging out with the Demo Reel crew. Donnie logged on to his computer and looked at the calendar. Shocked to find out Christmas was two days away, he ran to the living room, where his mom was, and told her.
"You and I need to do something special for the holidays, just like old times," Donnie said.
"Like what?" Elisa replied.
"I happen to have a copy of Jingle Sells. We could watch it burn in the fireplace." As Donnie said this, he started to realize how insensitive that was, and his face fell.
Elisa sighed and said, "Come sit down on the couch with me." Donnie obeyed, and his mom wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Jimmy," she said with tears in her eyes. "I made a terrible mistake leaving you the way I did. I wasn't thinking about how you would feel. I was a single mother with no career and no way to support you. You had to support us and I felt like a failure as a parent for that. I should've gone to see a psychiatrist. I should've talked to you about it. I should've told you I was proud of you, and that I loved you. But I didn't, and I've regretted it ever since I was taken to this place. I'm so glad we're back together in this plothole or whatever you call it. The real world may have forgotten you, but I never will, and you will always be my baby boy."
Donnie placed his head against his mom's chest and cried. Elisa calmed herself down and started rubbing his back and rocking him. For Donnie, it felt great to be in his mother's arms again. It made up for all those years she was gone. For Elisa, it felt great to hold her son again, even though he was in his thirties. For once, she was in control of her life.
Once he regained his composure, Donnie sat up, looked up at Elisa, and said, "Thanks, Mom. You know, I never blamed you for what happened. You did your best to take care of me. For the longest time, I blamed Hollywood and sought to destroy it. I learned, however, that doing so hurt me even more and hurt others along the way. I'm glad we're back together as well, and I hope nothing changes that. I'd rather be in the plothole with you than in the real world without you. So I guess what I'm saying is, I forgive you."
The two of them stood up and hugged each other once more. Then, Elisa turned to Donnie and said, "So, are we going to burn that DVD or what?