"Gilbert never left Bedford Falls. Madeline had her baby, a boy, and then another one, a girl. Day after day she worked at making the Granville house a home, night after night Gilbert came home late from the office, Braginski was bearing down hard.
"Then came a war. Emma and Mrs Beilschmidt joined the red cross and sewed. Madeline had two more babies, but still found the time to run the USO. Lars Mertens made a fortune in plastic hoods for airplanes. Braginski became the head of the draft board. Mr Vargas and Uncle Harry sold war bonds. Berwald, the cop, was wounded in North Africa, and got the Silver Star. Mathias, the cab driver, parachuted into France. Alfred helped capture the Remagen Bridge. And Ludwig? Ludwig Beilschmidt topped them all: A Navy flyer, he shot down fifteen planes, two of them as they were about to crash into a transport full of soldiers."
"Yes, but what about Gilbert?"
"Gilbert? Well, on account of his ear, Gilbert fought the battle of Bedford Falls. Air raid warden, paper drives, scrap drives, rubber drives. Like everybody else, on VE Day, he wept and prayed, and on VJ Day, like everybody else, he wept and prayed again."
"Kiku? Show him what happened today."
"Yes, Sir. This morning, about Ten a.m. Bedford Falls time…"
Gilbert holds the morning's paper up in front of Mathias, "Take a look at that." he says proudly.
"Uh huh," he points to the weather forecast, "It's supposed to snow again."
"Snow? No, not that! This," he points to the headline, Ludwig Beilschmidt to be awarded Congressional Medal of Honor.
"I know," Mathias laughs as Mr Vargas joins them, "I saw it."
"Gilbert," Mr Vargas puts his hand on his shoulder, "Congratulations about Ludwig,"
"Oh, thanks. Here," he takes two newspapers from the stack he's carrying, "One for each of you."
The telephone is ringing as Gilbert enters the Building and Loan. "Who is it?" he asks Lilli.
"Long distance, they reversed the charges."
Gilbert takes the phone from her, "Hello?... Luddy! Congratulations, how are things there?... Mutti and Feliciana had lunch with the president's wife," he says the last part to Lilli and Vash, who are gathered around to hear.
"What'd they eat?" Vash asks.
"What'd they eat?" Gilbert stops himself and glares at Vash, "No, nevermind that. You should see what they're cooking up here in town for you…" he turns to his cousins again, "The Navy's flying Mutti home this afternoon." He focuses on Ludwig again. "No, Uncle Harry's not here right now, he had to stop at the bank."
That triggers a memory for Vash, he tugs on Gilbert's sleeve, "Gilbert, that man is here again," he whispers.
"What man?"
"The bank examiner." Vash nods toward where Eduard Von Bock sits by Gilbert's office.
"Oh. Uh, Luddy, here, talk to Vash," he goes over to the other man, "Sorry about that, Mr. Von Bock, that was my brother, Ludwig, he's in Washington right now,"
"Let's get to business," Von Bock cuts him off, "Has it been a good year?"
"Well, between you and me, we're broke."
"Very funny," he says humorlessly.
"Um, why don't you come into my office?"
"I'm not surprised you're broke, what with reversing long distance calls." he grumbles.
"Gilbert, do you want me to hang up?" Lilli offers.
"No, no. He wants to talk to Uncle Harry."
"I'd like to be finished sometime tonight, Mr Beilschmidt," Von Bock frowns, "I'd like to spend Christmas with my family."
"Of course," Gilbert gestures into his office, "Please, step right in."
Harry checks the envelope full of money to pay for the Building and Loan's mortgage, then the deposit slip to make sure that everything is filled out correctly. Eight thousand dollars, just as it should be. When he turns around he sees Braginski entering the bank, reading the day's paper. He strolls over and takes the paper from his hands, "What's the news today?" he flips to the front page, "Ludwig Beilschmidt to be awarded Congressional Medal of Honor," he reads, "Now that wouldn't be one of those Beilschmidt boys, would it? You just can't keep them down, can you?"
"And how does slacker Gilbert feel about all of this?" Braginski sneers.
"Oh, very jealous," Harry says sarcastically, folding the paper in the same hand that's holding the money, "Gilbert would have won two, if he had been allowed to fight. Bad ear, you know. But, not every villain was in Europe or the Pacific."
Braginski angrily snatches his paper back and stalks to his office.
Harry goes up to the counter and hands his deposit slip to the teller, who looks at it, then back up at Harry, "Aren't you forgetting something?" he asks.
"What?"
The teller taps the deposit slip, "It's customary to bring your money when you want to make a deposit."
A look of confusion spreads across Harry's face as he searches his pockets.
Braginski sits at his desk and reopens his paper, only for an envelope full of cash to fall out. It doesn't take him long to realize where it's from. He opens his door a few inches and watches as Harry searches his pockets, then the area around where he filled out the deposit slip. Braginski closes the door and smiles.
Lilli looks up as Gilbert and Von Bock exit Gilbert's office, "You wait here," Gilbert says, "And I'll get those books for you." Before he can, the front door opens, and Marianne Bonnefoy comes in.
"Gilbert, can I talk to you?" she asks quietly, glancing around the office, "In private?"
"Oh, sure," he motions her into his office and turns to the bank examiner, "I'll just be a minute, Mr Von Bock."
Just as Gilbert closes his door, the front door opens again and Uncle Harry enters, looked a bit frenzied.
"Oh, Uncle Harry, here, Ludwig's on the telephone," Lilli takes it from her brother and hands it to the older man.
"Hello? Oh, yes, Ludwig, everything's fine." he hangs up and disappears into his own office. "It's got to be somewhere," he mumbles as his door closes.
"Oh, if I had any character," Marianne complains as Gilbert counts out the small amount of money she has.
"Now, hold on," he objects, "It takes a lot of character to leave your hometown." He pulls some more cash from his own wallet, "Here."
"Gilbert, I can't take your money!" she shakes her head.
"You're broke, aren't you? What do want to do? Walk to New York?" he gestures to her coat, "Sell your furs? Besides, don't think of it like that: it's a loan, that's my business. You'll get a good job, and pay me back when you can. And no sooner." he walks her to the door.
She kisses his cheek, "Oh, Gilbert, I'm glad I know you." He opens the door, leading her into the main office. "Thank you," she says sincerely. "Oh! Here," she uses her handkerchief to wipe her lipstick off his cheek. "Goodbye," she says sadly.
"Bye…" Gilbert watches her leave before remembering where he is and looking at Von Bock, "Oh, right, the books," he points to his Uncle's door and addresses his cousins, "Uncle Harry back?"
They both nod, and he opens the door to find that the room is more of a mess than it usually is, and Uncle Harry himself is behind the desk, searching through the papers on the floor. "Uncle Harry, the bank examiner is here," he says slowly, "What's the matter?"
"Oh, Gilbert, come here," Uncle Harry waves him in. A minute later, Gilbert comes back out, only to go into the safe, and return after another minute.
He goes over to Vash, "Vash," he asks quietly, "Did you happen to see Uncle Harry with any cash recently?"
"Yeah," he nods, "He was counting it at his desk last night."
"Alright, so you had it last night?" Gilbert asks as he and Uncle walk across the snowy sidewalk between the bank and the Building and Loan.
"Yes."
"Did you take it home with you?"
"Yes."
"And you had it with you when you left?"
"I think so,"
"Did you put in it a pocket? Did you buy anything?"
"Maybe, I don't know!"
"You had it at your house, that's where we'll go next."
Uncle Harry's house looked like it had been ransacked. Every drawer had been emptied and searched. Uncle Harry's cats were wandering through the wreckage, probably wondering what was going on.
"We've got to find that money," Gilbert was somewhere between frustration and rage, and trying not to show it, "Don't you realize what will happen if we don't? Now think: do you have any secret hiding places?"
"I can't," Uncle Harry shakes his head, "I can't think anymore."
Gilbert grabs Uncle Harry, "Where's the money, you silly, stupid, old fool?!" he shakes him, "Don't you realize what this means? Bankruptcy, scandal, prison, that's what! One of us is going to go to jail, and it isn't going to be me!" Gilbert leaves angrily, slamming the door behind himself.
When Gilbert gets home, Madeline, Peter, and Christopher are decorating the tree, while Sofia plays 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' on the piano. "Hello, Vati!" Peter calls, "Do you like the tree?"
Gilbert sneezes before he can say anything.
"Bless you!" the children all exclaim.
"Did you bring the wreath?" Madeline asks, coming over to him.
"What wreath?"
"For the door,"
"No, I left it at the office."
She brushes the snow off his shoulders, "Is it still snowing?"
"Yes," he pushes past her into the sitting room.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing." he sits down and Christopher comes over to him. Gilbert pulls his younger son onto his lap.
Madeline goes back to putting tinsel on the tree, "Isn't it wonderful about Ludwig? I must have gotten fifty calls today about a parade. Your mother must be so excited-" she stops when she looks at Gilbert, who's still holding Christopher.
Christopher starts to wiggle and Gilbert lets him go. He points to Sofia and the piano, "Must she keep playing?"
"I have to practise for the party tonight." she says, without stopping the music.
"Mama said we can stay up 'til midnight and sing Christmas carols!" Peter adds.
Christopher looks up at his father, "Can you sing, Vati?"
"You'd better hurry up and shave," Madeline instructs, "The families will be here soon."
"I don't want them here," Gilbert grumbles.
She looks at him again, even more worried now, because he really isn't acting like himself. "Why don't you come into the kitchen with me while I finish dinner," he begrudgingly follows her. "Hectic day?"
"Oh, it's been another red letter day for the Beilschmidts."
Peter goes after them, with Christopher trailing behind him, "Vati, did you see the new car next door? They-"
"What's the matter with our car?" Gilbert snaps, "Isn't it good enough for you?"
Peter takes a step back, "Yes, sir."
Madeline steps in between them and kneels so she's at the boy's eye level, "Why don't you two go upstairs, and check on Charlotte?"
"Okay!" both boys scramble off, racing up the stairs.
"What's wrong with Charlotte?" Gilbert asks as he follows Madeline into the kitchen.
"Well, she got a flower at school, and didn't want it to get crushed, so she didn't button up her coat on the way home, and caught a cold," she wanders around the kitchen, checking on the dinner as she speaks. "Now, it's just a cold, the doctor said-"
"The doctor was here?"
"Yes, I called him."
"Is she running a temperature?"
"Just a teensy one: 99.6, she'll be fine."
"It's this old house," Gilbert complains, "I don't know why we don't all have pneumonia in a drafty old barn like this, it's like living in a refrigerator! Why do we have to stay here, in this measly, crummy, old town anyway?"
Madeline looks at him in shock, "Gilbert, what's wrong?"
"Everything!" he throws his hands up in frustration, "You call this a happy family? Why do we have to have so many kids?"
Just then, one of the kids, Peter, comes in, "Hey, Vati, how do you-"
"How should I know?" Gilbert cuts him off, "Ask your mother!" he walks out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Madeline calls after him.
"Upstairs, to see Charlotte!" As he goes up the stairs, the knob on the bannister comes off in his hand. He groans as he replaces it, it does that every time.
"Hello, Vati," Charlotte is getting out of bed when Gilbert comes into her room.
"Hey," he picks her up, "Where do you think you're going?"
"I want to give my flower a drink," she holds up a slightly wilted rose.
He tucks her back in, "I'll do that," he gently takes the flower from her, but when he does, a few petals fall off.
"Look, Vati," she picks them up and hands them to him, "Paste it?"
"Sure," he turns away from her so she can't see him tuck the petals into his pocket, "There," he drops the flower into a glass of water on her nightstand. "Now will you do me favor and try to get some sleep?" he whispers.
"I'm not sleepy," she whispers back, "I want to look at my flower."
He gently covers her eyes, "Go to sleep, and you can dream about a whole field of flowers."
Downstairs, Sofia is still practicing, Peter is writing, and Christopher is putting more tinsel on the tree when the phone rings, "Telephone!" all three of them call.
"Thank you," Madeline laughs before answering in the hall, "Hello? Oh, hello, Mrs Edelstein… Yes, Charlotte will be fine, she'll be out of bed in time for Christmas dinner."
Gilbert came down the stairs in time to hear part of her conversation, "Is that Charlotte's teacher? Let me talk to her," he abruptly takes the phone from his wife, "Hello, Mrs Edelstein? This is Gilbert Beilschmidt, Charlotte's father. What kind of teacher are you?" he asks angrily, "What do you mean, sending her home half-naked like that?" Madeline's eyes widen in horror, "She'll probably get pneumonia now! Is this what we pay taxes for?" Madeline tries to take the telephone from him, but he pulls it away from her, "Just to have teachers like you? Silly, stupid, careless people who send our kids home without clothes?"
"Gilbert," Madeline whispers, trying to cover his mouth, but he pushes her away, glaring.
"My kids might not be the best dressed, or have any decent clothes, but-"
Madeline finally pulls the telephone away from him, "Hello, Mrs Edelstein? I'd like to apologize, I- Hello?" she taps the switch hook a few times, but doesn't hang up, "She hung up." she tells Gilbert.
"I'll hang her up," he threatens.
"Who do you think you are, saying things like that?" a male voices comes from the receiver, Madeline looks at it in horror for a second before Gilbert takes it back.
"Who's this?... Oh, Mr Edelstein, well, let me tell you what I really think!"
"Gilbert, stop that," Madeline insists, slightly terrified.
He pushes her away again, "Get out of here and let me handle this. Listen," he says to Mr Edelstein, "Anytime you think you're man enough… Hello?" he slams the phone down, "He hung up."
Peter, oblivious to what had just happened approaches his father, "Vati, how do you spell-"
"How would I know?" Gilbert explodes, "Do I look like a dictionary? Sofia, stop playing that stupid song! Stop it, all of you, just stop!" He pushes over his work table that sat in the corner, destroying his model bridge and architectural sketches. He runs his hand through his hair, breathing heavily.
Madeline gathers Peter and Christopher to her. All is silent for a long moment.
Finally Gilbert realizes what he's just done, takes a deep breath, and faces his family, "Listen, I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. Sofie, go on, keep practicing. Peter, what was it you wanted to know?"
Peter shakes his head, "Nothing, Vati," he say quietly.
"Sofie, I told you to practice, now go on, play!"
"Oh, Vati," she sobs, turning away from him.
"Gilbert, why must you torture the children like this?" Madeline snaps, "Why don't you just-" she stops herself, but the damage is already done.
Gilbert, feeling like a monster, leaves, running out into the snow again. As soon as the door closes behind him, Madeline goes to the phone, "Hello, Operator? Get me Bedford Falls 2-4-7."
"Mama, is Vati in trouble?" Peter asks.
"Yes, Peter, I think he is,"
"Do you think we should pray?"
"Yes, Sofie, pray very hard."
"Me too, Mama?"
"You too, Christopher." she smiles at her youngest when the other end of the phone call is picked up, "Hello, Uncle Harry?"
Eduard Von Bock (Carter, the bank examiner) - Estonia
Peter (Peter) (age 9) - Sealand
Sofia (Janie) (age 8) - fem Kugelmugel
Charlotte (Zuzu) (age 6) - Wy
Christopher (Tommy) (age 3) - Ladonia
Mrs Edelstein (Mrs Welch) - Hungary
