1:00 PM PST
Marlene yawned, as she realized she was lying in her bed. She then sat up and mumbled, 'What a nightmare.'
Just then, she felt a sudden gust of wind blowing around the room. This then reminded her of what happened before.
'This is nuts,' mumbled Marlene, as she began to sit up.
As she was about to check the window, she then saw a girl about her age standing in front of her. As Marlene looked closely at the girl, she realized that the girl looked like a teen version of her mother.
'I am the Ghost of Christmas Present,' explained the girl. I have come to show you the results of your recent attitude and actions.'
'All right! All right!' Marlene mumbled, to herself. 'Okay, Marlene, get a grip on yourself. It's all a dream. Just a very intense dream.'
'Marlene!' the ghost called out, a bit sharply. 'I hate to be the one to inform you of this, but this is not a dream. I really am here. Now come follow me.'
'Oh, all right,' Marlene said, sighing. She then reached out for the ghost's hand. The scene then changed around her. 'Where are we?'
'We're at the homeless shelter,' explained the ghost. 'This happened two days ago.'
Marlene then saw Harmony walk into the room.
'Well, hello, Harmony!' gushed a middle-aged brunette.
'Hello there, Holly,' Harmony said, as she threw her arms around the brunette. 'Where are the kids? I have a special Christmas present I would like to give you all.'
'Oh, what is that?' Holly asked, smiling. 'You are such a wonderful friend, my dear.'
'I would like to give you 100,000 dollars,' Harmony said, smiling, 'so that you and your family can move into a nice house in Hilldale. I understand that Hilldale is a neighbourhood with a rather bad reputation - but it's a really nice house for a rather reasonable price. It has three bedrooms and two baths in it. It's a pretty big house.'
'Oh, Harmony!' Holly gushed, blushing. 'It's so nice of you to think of us, but are you sure you really want to do this? I'm not so sure I could accept such a huge gift!'
'I feel so guilty, now,' Marlene said, blushing. 'I guess I should have gotten to know Hope a little better. I know she is good friends with Harmony and Marty.'
'Just listen,' the ghost insisted, as she put her finger over Marlene's lips.
'Oh, I insist,' protested Harmony. 'The least I could do for some dear friends of mine is to provide you guys with a place to live. You and your kids really do deserve it.'
'Oh, thank you so much, Harmony!' cried out Holly, as tears filled her eyes. 'It's so nice to have a wonderful friend in you. I must say, you really have a heart of gold.'
'Thank you,' whispered Harmony, as she threw her arms around Holly. 'Well, listen, Holly, I should start heading for home now - but tell the kids I said hi, okay?'
'Will do, Harmony,' Holly replied, smiling. 'Thanks once again for everything.'
'Hey, don't worry about it,' Harmony replied warmly, as she hugged Holly once more. Harmony then waved, as she left the room to head for home.
Tears then came to Marlene's eyes, as she felt really ashamed. 'I'm so sorry I yelled at Harmony, okay?' Marlene said, quietly. 'I guess my brother is right. They did need a house more than we needed a pool.'
'You're just realizing this, now?' the ghost asked, shaking her head.
'Please!' Marlene cried out. 'I feel bad enough already, okay? You don't have to make me feel even more bad. Why are you doing this to me?'
'It's important for you to know how important generosity is,' explained the ghost. 'Now there is something else I need to show you. Hold my hand.'
Marlene then held the ghost's hand, as the scene changed again.
oooooooooo
Marlene was stunned, as she realized where she was. It looked like Emerald Green standing in front of her. Then she realized that it was Emerald Green, as she was sitting across from her actor husband, Andrew Vincent.
'I can't believe I actually get to see Emerald Green up close!' Marlene said, excitedly.
'Don't get too excited,' the ghost said, firmly. 'There is a reason I brought you here.'
'So did your cousin and his family get the home?' Andrew was asking.
'Unfortunately, no, they didn't,' Emerald replied, sighing. 'However, I really admire Harmony Brown. Her heart definitely was in the right place. Anyway, you know how the popular saying goes, it's the thought that counts. I'll have to meet this wonderful girl. It's a shame that the manager refused to sell the house to them, for his own bigotted reasons. I hate to do this, but I'll have to press some charges against him.'
'Emerald is related to Hope Green and her family?' Marlene gasped, stunned. 'I don't know why I didn't even think of that. They have the same last name, after all.'
'Yes, they are,' the ghost said, quietly. 'Listen to what they are saying, though.'
'Yeah,' Andrew said, nodding in agreement. 'What he's doing is illegal. I wonder if he would have sold the house in a flash, if he knew that they were related to you.'
'He might have,' Emerald said, slowly, 'but he would be doing the right thing for the wrong reason. I never was one to lord my celebrity status over anyone. One lesson that I've learned from the great Michael J Fox is this. Don't let this stuff go to your head. Don't think you're better than anyone else.'
Marlene felt herself blushing, as she realized she would in fact have spend more time with Hope's family - had she known they were related to Emerald Green. Of course, she would have done so in hopes of getting to meet Emerald. Then, with shame, she realized that Emerald herself would not have been too impressed. With a pang of sadness, she realized that her favourite star would have been disappointed in her.
'He's such a sweet fellow, isn't he?' asked Andrew. 'With the advanced technology we have nowadays, it looks like we'll have a cure for Parkinson's disease by 2017, at the very latest. I really like the way dear Michael maintains his optimistic attitude.'
'Yeah, he is so personable,' Emerald said, nodding. 'I wish I could have met him in the '80s, when he was filming Family Ties. Alas, I was not even born yet. Still, I did get the pleasure to meet him on many occassions. He's such a generous man, too.'
'He certainly is,' agreed Andrew. 'Say, isn't Harmony Brown the granddaughter of Dr. Emmett Brown? I never had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Brown. We probably would not be as advanced as we are, if it wasn't for him.'
'Yeah, I believe so,' replied Emerald. 'I also remember that Dr. Brown was a good friend of Marty McFly. He was the fellow I toured with ten years ago. You know, I haven't contacted him in several years. I should maybe check up on them again. I wonder how his kids are doing. I heard that his son is the splitting image of him.'
'Well, actually, both of his children are,' corrected Andrew. 'The daughter - I think her name is Maureen - has her father's face, but her hair is a little lighter and she has brown eyes. She takes after her mother, in that respect.'
Marlene felt her heart skipping a bit, as she realized that her favourite star was about to talk to her. She always admired Emerald - but what would Emerald think of her?
'Actually, her name is Marlene,' said Emerald. 'She was born one year before her brother was. From reading Marty's interview with Rolling Stone two years ago, his son has aspirations to become a rock star like him. His daughter, however, seems to be more of a teeneybopper. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure she's a nice person, but she doesn't seem to have the same appreciation for music as her father.'
'I really reading once that she wanted to be a pop star,' explained Andrew. 'However, her singing voice isn't exactly of professional quality.'
Marlene felt mortified, as she remembered the criticisms of her voice levelled towards her when she sent in her demo.
'Well, anyway,' Emerald replied, sighing, 'I'd better make a phone call to my road manager - and figure out when to do our next tour.'
'Okay, Marlene,' urged the ghost, as she reached out for Marlene's hand. 'We'd better move on, now.'
Marlene reluctantly reached out for the ghost's hand, as the scene changed around them once again.