CHAPTER FIVE - A HAPPY ENDING FOR ALL!

Mr Grumpfish may have had the guests of a lifetime, but he was not done yet. He rushed to the window as fast as he could, and yelled out to the first person he saw:

'What day is it today?!'

The first person he saw happened to be a child crab, who looked up at him with confusion (and a dash of horror) on her face. As you would if a strange man shouted at you from a window.

'Uh, Christmas?' She replied. 'I don't know what else it would be.'

Mr Grumpfish smiled like he had never smiled before. And the little girl was just the tiniest bit scared. Everyone passing by Mr Grumpfish's house was a bit scared. And do you blame them? The fish who usually never smiled was now grinning upon them.

'He's lost it…' A lobster man said.

'No I haven't!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'Or maybe I have. But you shouldn't worry! Wait right there!'

He rushed to get ready for the day. His clothes were a mess and his hat wasn't even on straight, but he didn't care about that for a moment. He grabbed all the money he and his pockets could possibly handle and ran into the street. If people weren't looking at him weird before, then they certainly were now. He approached the little crab girl, who was still rather frightened of him, and dropped a big sack of money right at her feet! She wasn't so scared after that.

'Little girl,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'I want you to buy the biggest, freshest, most delicious turkey you can and help me take it to the Cratchits' house!'

'Uh, but Mr Grumpfish,' The little girl said. 'This is a lotta money for just a turkey. Even a big one!'

'Then keep the change! Share it with your friends and family! What do I need all this money for, anyway? I won't be able to take it with me in the end!'

The little girl beamed. 'Why, thank you, Mr Grumpfish!'

And so she hurried along to buy the biggest turkey she could find.

'Don't worry, everyone!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'You'll get your own payments soon! But right now, I have something more important to do. Be seeing you!'

Everyone was still weirded out by this change, but they weren't complaining. Who would complain about some mean old miser turning generous! Mr Grumpfish started swimming to the Cratchit house, but quickly changed his mind and went someplace else. Where, you may be asking? He went to buy a wreath, paying double the money the salesman was offering. And with that wreath, he went right over to his nephew's house.

'Merry Christmas, Goby!' He said, flinging the door right open.

There he saw Goby and Gil, right where Deema showed him they'd be. In fact, he could hear Goby imitating a donkey. The two boys turned their heads and, to say the least, were quite shocked to see him there.

'Uncle Grumpfish!' Goby said. 'We, uh, we weren't doing anything.'

'Wait, wait, I know the answer to this one,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'The answer was me, cause I really am an ass!'

'Uh, yeah. How did you know?'

'Oh, I've heard some jokes. And I think your house needs a little sprucing up!'

Mr Grumpfish hung the wreath on the door for all to see. Now, this wasn't just some cheap wreath. It was gorgeous, made of real leaves and decorated with the shiniest baubles and softest ribbons you can imagine. And Goby was stunned.

'Wow!' He said. 'That's… beautiful. What's with the change of heart?'

'If I told you the story, you'd think your old uncle was crazy!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'But let's just say I had a life-changing dream.'

Gil gave him a rather suspicious look. 'Alright, Grumpfish, what's the catch? No way you'd be so generous without a good reason. What do you want from us?'

Mr Grumpfish chuckled. 'You doubt my newfound generosity? I can't say I blame you. I know I would be suspicious. So, to prove to you that I mean it, have this!'

He dropped a small sack into Gil's hand. The young boy was quite hesitant to open it, but when he did, he saw green bills galore. And it was a good sum of money too! Mr Grumpfish gave another small sack full of money to Goby as well, who took the gift a lot more enthusiastically.

'Thanks, Uncle!' He said. 'I don't know why you're so generous, but I'm not complaining!'

'Well, I am,' Gil said. 'How do I know that you don't want anything in return? Or that this isn't a long con or something?'

'I can prove it to you, young lad!' Mr Grumpfish declared. 'And I need your help. Both of you. It's off to the Cratchits' house for us!'

Gil was still suspicious - who can blame him? - but Goby was quite convinced. And if Goby thought it was a good idea, Gil was liable to agree. Goby said goodbye to his guardians and the boys headed out onto the street. It seemed even cheerier than usual outside. Mr Grumpfish was enamoured by all the happy people lining the street and singing their joyful carols. Usually, the very thought of a carol made him want to grumble. But now, he was surprised to find that he actually enjoyed them.

'Because tonight is a holiday, Happy Holidays!' He sang, much to his own shock. 'Wow, that song is actually kind of good!'

'Okay,' Gil said. 'Who are you, and what did you do with the real Mr Grumpfish?'

'Come on, lads! We have someone we have to visit!'

When Mr Grumpfish arrived at the Cratchits' house, he was delighted to find a small crowd of people already gathered there. Exactly as he wanted. The little crab girl had bought a massive turkey, as she was told, and had it wrapped up in a bag.

'Let's go in!' Goby said.

'Now, wait a moment,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'I want to build up to it. Everyone, back away until I tell you to join me. Let's pretend this visit isn't so different from the usual, shall we?'

Everyone understood, and hid away from the doors and windows so the Cratchits wouldn't see them. Mr Grumpfish put on his grumpiest face - which was very grumpy indeed - and knocked at the door with his cane. It took a lot of willpower on his part not to smile and give the whole bit away.

'Miss Cratchit!' He shouted. 'Come out this instant!'

The crowd didn't make a sound, aside from Goby's stifled giggles, when the door opened. There stood Molly, staring up at Mr Grumpfish like a kicked puppy might. No offence, Bubble Puppy.

'M-Mr Grumpfish?' She said. 'Oh, please, I just want to celebrate Christmas with my sister. I-I don't know how many Christmases I'll have her for, and-'

'That's enough, Molly,' Mr Grumpfish said. 'I'll be having no excuses. I've been looking at your behaviour, and I've come to one conclusion.'

'Wait, are… are you going to fire me? You can't do that! You let me have a day off!'

Mr Grumpfish could see, in the corner of his eye, Mia swimming into the room with that little cane for support. The urge to smile at the little girl was so strong! But he fought against it.

'It looks like I'll have no choice, Molly…'

Molly lowered her head and prepared herself for the news. So she didn't see Mr Grumpfish's demeanour change, or that big smile on his face.

'But to double your pay!' He said.

'I'm barely making enough money as it-' Molly pleaded, before she realised what he said. 'Wait, WHAT?!'

'But you've been working for me for so long that we need to catch up!'

He dropped a big bag of money in her hands. Molly was so surprised that she just barely caught it in time. For a moment, she was convinced that she was dreaming. And who wouldn't be!

'Merry Christmas, Molly!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'And a very merry Christmas to you, Mia!'

'Mr Grumpfish!' Mia cried, with a smile that went from ear-to-ear.

Thanks to the help of her cane, she was able to swim up to Mr Grumpfish easily. And what did she do when she made it? Most people would've taken advantage of the position to, well, punch him. But Mia instead gave him the biggest hug a little girl like her could manage.

'I knew you weren't such a bad guy!' She said.

'Y-You were right,' Molly said. 'I can't believe it, but you were right. And this money oughta be enough to cover our bills for months.'

'Come in, everyone!' Mr Grumpfish said.

If Molly found Mr Grumpfish's change of heart surprising, imagine how shocked she was when all her friends poured in through her door with all sorts of foods and presents in hand! Believe it or not, but someone was even carrying an entire Christmas tree! The people behind them carried the box of decorations.

'Happy holidays, Miss Cratchit!' Goby said, placing a present under the tree. 'You too, Little Mia!'

The crowd decorated the walls with all sorts of gorgeous, well, decorations, and placed all sorts of presents under the tree along with Goby's. And Molly didn't move. She was too busy staring in shock!

'I-I-I…' She stammered. That was all she could say.

Gil, too, was in shock! Just maybe not as much as Molly.

'Alright,' He said. 'This isn't a joke. You really meant it.'

'I really, truly did!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'Now, let's serve that delicious turkey already!'

While the turkey was cooking, everyone placed all sorts of delicious food on the table. Molly couldn't believe her eyes. She had never seen so much food! Mia moved as fast as she could and snatched up a piece of Christmas pudding. No one could bring themselves to tell her to wait for dinner.

'Thank you, Mr Grumpfish!' She said in a sing-song voice. 'I love it!'

Mr Grumpfish could feel his heart swelling. I suppose you could say that his heart grew three sizes that day. Of course, that's an entirely different Christmas story, but it still works for this one, doesn't it? He was so full of joy, in fact, that he cut himself a slice of pie without hesitation. Doesn't sound so strange, but it was something he had never done before. As soon as he was done, he turned around and almost bumped into someone.

'Sorry!' Came a strangely familiar voice, belonging to the person he almost bumped into.

'Oh, no need to say sorry!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'If anyone should apologise, it's me. I'm the one who-'

But he was rendered speechless. And why, you might be asking? The person he had nearly bumped was very familiar indeed. She looked and sounded exactly - and I do mean exactly - like the Ghost of Christmas Past. The little pigtailed girl politely swam around him to get herself a slice, and Mr Grumpfish stared at her with his mouth agape.

'O-Oona…?!' He murmured.

Oona giggled. 'Yep! That's my name.'

'I-I…'

He had never seen this little girl around in the streets before. And yet, here she was, clear as day.

'I swear,' He said. 'We've met before. Anything about 'Christmas Past' ring a bell?'

Oona thought about it for a moment. 'Uh, nope! Sorry.'

Though she said 'no', she had a smile on her face. And a rather cheeky one at that. Mr Grumpfish watched her swim away in total shock. That smile was far too knowing. She had to have been the same ghost from his visions. He tried swimming after her, but someone stopped him and got in his way. And this someone was just as familiar as Oona. That curly yellow hair could only belong to the Ghost of Christmas Present!

'I love what you've done with the party,' She said. 'Seriously, if I didn't know that you worked doing some boring money stuff, I would've thought you were a party planner! Could be a nice career change.'

'Deema…' Mr Grumpfish said. 'You're here.'

'I have no idea how you know my name, but thank you for noticing me. You wanna know my favourite part of this party? The presents!'

Mr Grumpfish gasped, and watched the young girl swim over to Oona. He was certain that she knew what she was doing. Why else would she emphasise the word 'present' so much? But then he told himself that he was probably looking way too deep into things. At least, that's what he thought until he turned around and saw - oh, I'm sure you can guess who he saw standing right behind him. That's right - the third spirit who had visited him that fateful night.

'Hello,' Nonny said, simply.

'Okay, this is not a coincidence!' Mr Grumpfish said. 'You and those girls over there look exactly like the ghosts who visited me in my dreams last night. Now how can that be possible if I've never seen any of you before?'

Only once he said it out loud did he realise how insane he must have sounded. But Nonny didn't look at him weird or laugh. Just stared.

'Your friend is doing well now,' He said. 'She begged to be let go so she could warn you, and now she too has been given the chance to change. How lucky that you were given the chance before your death.'

'W-Wait…' Mr Grumpfish said. 'So you guys-'

'I would suggest that you don't ever bring this up again. People might think that you've lost it.'

And that was all Nonny said. He gave no more elaboration and went to join his friends. Fellow spirits, perhaps? Mr Grumpfish wasn't sure what to make of any of this, but there they were. Seemingly in the flesh. He was trying his best to ignore it, but that was an impossible task. Especially when Oona called out to him.

'Hey, Mr Grumpfish!' She said. 'I think you might know this person.'

She swam towards Mr Grumpfish with someone else's hand in hers. And Mr Grumpfish was very shocked to find that this someone else was none other than - can you guess - Zooline!

'Z-Z-Zooline?!' He cried.

Yes, indeed, there she was. His best friend from all those years ago was back. A few decades older, of course, but she had aged just a bit more gracefully than Mr Grumpfish had. Those years of being a mean old miser weren't so good for the scales. Zooline wasn't so surprised to see him here. She didn't look so happy about it. But she didn't look angry either. In fact, she didn't look like she knew what to feel at all.

'Hello, Leonard,' She said, sounding as confused as she looked.

'I-I never thought I'd be seeing you around here again,' Mr Grumpfish said.

'Neither did I. But fate can be funny like that.'

'Listen, Zooline, I'm so sorry for what I did all those years ago. It was stupid of me. I shouldn't have-'

Zooline put her hand up to tell him to stop. And stop he did. The three 'spirits' - if that's what they really were - watched in silence. Well, mostly in silence.

'Aaawk-waaaard…' Deema said, as Deema often does.

'Deema!' The other spirits scolded, much to her embarrassment.

'I know what you're thinking,' Zooline said. 'And no. I don't think I'm ready to forgive you for how you acted those years ago. It's taken you decades to realise that you were wrong. Better late than never, I suppose.'

Mr Grumpfish let out a sigh. 'That's all I deserve, really. To say I screwed up would be an understatement. I'm glad you came to visit, though!'

Then, Zooline did something that Mr Grumpfish wasn't quite expecting. And something I wasn't quite expecting either! She reached out, held his fin, and gave him a smile.

'I may not have it in my heart to forgive you,' She said. 'But I know you're trying to change. I never would've thought you'd put up a party like this! You're not as heartless as I thought you were.'

'... Thanks?' Mr Grumpfish said, unsure if that was a compliment or not.

'But enough of us. Let's have a feast!'

Gil popped up with a smile. 'Did someone say, feast? Let's do it!'

Everyone gathered around the table as Goby put the cooked turkey upon a massive plate. The little girl really had grabbed the biggest turkey she could find. It was simply gigantic! And the rest of the food wasn't bad either. Mr Grumpfish, as the host, was the one to cut the first slice. Everyone was quite surprised when he handed a big piece over to Mia! But I don't think you are very surprised, are you?

'You deserve this, Mia,' He said. 'A little girl like you needs all the food you can get. Now eat it all up, and you'll grow up big and strong!'

Mia took the plate without hesitation. 'Is that true, Mr Grumpfish?'

I'd be lying if I said that Mr Grumpfish didn't feel a twinge of pain looking into her eyes. All he could think of was Molly crying over that pile of stones with the crane in her arms. He couldn't help wondering if that cruel future would still come to pass. But - somehow - he knew that Mia was going to be just fine now.

'Of course!' He said. 'Maybe you'll never quite swim like the others, but that's okay. As long as you're happy and healthy, then that's all that matters!'

'Thank you, Mr Grumpfish!'

He had been receiving thanks all day, for the first time in decades it seemed. But when it came from little Mia, it hit a little differently. While she devoured that delicious turkey, Molly gave Mr Grumpfish a big hug. Much to his shock.

'Thank you so much…' She said, sounding like she was about to start crying tears of joy. 'I-I know it isn't much, but I can never thank you enough for this. I-I was so worried about Mia, because it was so hard to get her good food, and I was afraid that… that I'd lose her. But look at her now! I think she'll be fine, won't she?'

Mr Grumpfish placed his fin on her shoulder. 'I think she will be. I think she'll be just fine.'

Mia finished off her meal in just a few seconds. I can't blame her. I know I'd devour my food like a dog if I had gone so long without a good meal! As soon as she was done, she hopped onto Mr Grumpfish's back like it was a horse at a fairground. And Mr Grumpfish, who would've pushed her to the ground just a week ago, let her stay there.

'Merry Christmas, Mr Grumpfish!' She said, to everyone in the room. 'And merry Christmas to you all!'

And, well, that's all there really is to the story. Mr Grumpfish had truly changed his ways that day, dedicating his life to fixing up all the mistakes he had made. Miss Cratchit was paid well, and she never regretted working for him again. Zooline never truly forgave him, but they were able to fix their friendship just a liiittle. And little Mia - who did NOT die - continued to be the happiest little girl in the world.

All there's left for me to say is… merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!

Author Notes - And I'm back! So what was that about me finishing this story 'mid-January'? Wow. I was a month late... to being a month late. Typical. But all jokes aside, I had a lot of fun writing this one. Except for the scene where Mia had died. That was tough and I don't plan on doing something like that again. Don't be surprised if I write another story where Mr Grouper is the narrator. I don't know how or well, but I guess if I find another classic story for them to do, that's how we'll do it.