Original subtitles

I was always jealous of the kids with summer birthdays.

Everyone was at their parties.

And I'll never forget Becky Miller's tenth birthday party

because that's where I met Kevin.

At first, he was just another kid.

I saw him again a few weeks later at Dylan Mason's birthday party.

And again at Katie Johnson's.

And I learned that Kevin and I had something in common.

We had the same birthday.

December 25th.

Now, that might sound kind of cool,

but it's not.

Because kids who weren't born in December got

both Christmas presents and birthday presents.

But every Christmas, Kevin and I were

always the butt of the same bad joke.

Merry Christmas, and...

Happy birthday!

It was technically my first dad joke.

Still definitely the worst.

So on Christmas Eve,

Kevin and I threw our own birthday party.

With ice cream and cake and presents.

And the next year, we did it again.

And again.

We made it a tradition.

And we made a promise.

that even if nobody else ever came to our birthday parties,

we would always be at each other's.

Merry birthday!

Happy Christmas!

Greg, why don't you give us an update

on the Anderson account?

Okay, so as you may know,

my client is a national funeral home chain.

They've got locations in 33 of 50 states.

We've been working on a new slogan,

thinking something with a little humor in it.

We ran a test and got

somewhat favorable results in the Northeast.

And the rest of the country?

Not so much, so, kind of a work in progress,

I'm curious, what's the new slogan again?

People are just dying to get in here.

.

Like I said, kind of a work in progress.

Okay. Um... Sarah, why don't you get us up to speed on Curly Girly?

Yes.

So this client is the owner of a hair salon.

It's that cute little one over on Parker Road.

And what they want to do is a customer loyalty program.

You know the kind where you buy some

subs and then you get one for free.

Now, they had done a loyalty program

before with not so very good results.

I told them sometimes customers give bad feedback

about loyalty programs if it takes

too long for them to get the rewards.

So, what I did was I went over to the frozen yogurt shop

and the chiropractor that's in the same shopping plaza.

And now all three of them are part of the loyalty program.

So, i f somebody buys something at any of those places,

they're going to get a reward at all of those places.

It's a win win.

It's kind of a round-robin rewards program.

Wow, that's a great idea.

We've been running this program four weeks now and already we've seen

double the number of five star reviews at all three businesses.

That's awesome.

Speaking of five star reviews,

I have a five star review of my own that I would like to read.

This came in on the website this morning.

At first, I was skeptical as to whether

or not I needed outside marketing help.

After my very first meeting with Sarah,

I was convinced that I had made the right decision.

Sarah took the time to get to know our business and put

together a creative marketing plan

that has worked wonders for us.

I only wish I had contacted them sooner.

Five stars and very highly recommended,.

Kate B. Curly Girlie Salon.

Congratulations, that's awesome.

If I stop by later,

could you show me how that works?

The repeat customer program?

Yeah. It could be exactly what I need

to get my campaign back on track.

It's a funeral home, Greg. That's a good point.

So, I think that brings us to our next order of business,

the Christmas party. Jocelyn? Thank you.

So, as you all already know,

our Christmas party is two weeks from this Saturday.

So, if you haven't already RSVP'd, go ahead and do that.

Now, if you didn't get a link in your e mail,

just let me know and I'll send it to you.

Please tell me we're not doing ugly

Christmas sweaters again this year.

We're not doing ugly Christmas sweater again this year, Bill.

Thank goodness.

But we are doing a white elephant gift exchange.

So remember to bring your gifts and one for your plus one.

You know, if you have one,

they're gag gifts, so let's not go too crazy.

But, you know, keep it clean. Keep it fun.

Okay? .

Hey, stranger. How are you?

I'm good. How are you?

I'm great.

Good.

It's so good to see you.

It's great to see you too.

So, how's things in Iowa?

Things are going great.

Well, this is a surprise. You're a month early.

Yeah. Well, I've got another surprise for you.

Yeah? What's that? I'm coming back to town.

No way!

Really?

Yeah.

So like, for good?

Yeah. Well, I hope so. That's the plan anyway.

Really?

Yeah.

There's a Doctor I know named Dr. Wilson.

He's kind of been an advisor these last few years.

He's looking to retire, and I'm looking for a place to hang my shingle.

Wow, Kevin, that's fantastic.

Yeah, I know, right?

Well, when do you get into town?

Tomorrow, early afternoon. Tell you what,

you want to grab lunch?

Yes, of course.

I'd love to.

Okay. It's a date.

Well, what time does your flight get in?

I'll come pick you up from the airport.

Oh, I I couldn't ask you to do that.

What are best friends for?

Can't argue with my bestie,

especially when you twist my arm like that.

Oh my gosh. I cannot wait to see you.

Me either.

This really is the best early Christmas present ever.

Thank you for the blessings of family, friends, and health.

I am also grateful for the challenges I have faced,

for they have helped me to grow stronger and wiser.

Thank you for your guidance and strength through difficult times,

and thank you for bringing Kevin back home.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Oh my goodness, you look amazing.

Are you kidding? You look incredible.

So, tell me about this practice.

Yeah, so I was at this conference a few years ago.

That's where I met Dr. Wilson.

He and I started chatting and I found out he was from here.

And we kind of just hit it off. So, over the years

he's given me advice on everything from

medicine dosages to surgery technique.

He's kind of become my online mentor.

He sounds like quite the guy.

He definitely is. He's more of a father

figure to me than a mentor, really.

Anyway, he's looking to retire and sell

his practice and I'm looking to start one.

Wow, that's perfect.

I'm so happy for you. Thank you.

I'm still looking for a place to live.

But that's what they say, you know.

Job first, home second.

Oh! My boss has a house for rent.

Really?

Yeah. She's looking for a tenant.

Well, that might be pretty cool.

How about after lunch I bring you over to the office,

and I'll introduce you to the gang?

Yeah, sure. That'd be great. Okay.

Well, this is me. I like it.

This is where you make magic happen?

This is it.

It's got a real creative vibe to it.

It's nice. I'm sorry. You must be Kevin.

I am.

It's so nice to meet you. I'm Jocelyn.

Nice to meet you. Sarah has told us all about you.

That makes me a little nervous.

No, actually, it's all good.

She actually makes you sound like a saint.

Well, well, well. You must be Kevin.

I am.

Carolyn, this is Kevin. Kevin, this is Carolyn.

Oh, the boss.

Well, team lead actually. Well, it's nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you as well.

And welcome to our little home.

It may not look like much,

but we like it.

I love it. It's great.

And I think the work you do here is amazing.

I'm always so impressed with people who do creative work like you.

Well, speaking of amazing,

our Sarah here has been doing some truly incredible projects

with her new marketing campaign. Crushing it.

You really are exaggerating.

No, no, I'm not, I'm not.

And to celebrate, we're all going

out for a little happy hour tonight.

I would love it if you could join us.

Uh, Okay. Sure.

Wonderful. Oh, I'm sorry.

You two didn't already have plans, did you?

No, no, not at all.

Wonderful. Then it's a date. Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

You two have known each other since you were little kids?

Yup. We've been best friends since third grade.

I can barely remember elementary school,

let alone talking about remembering somebody

I actually went to school with back then.

I think we met at a birthday party.

We did, and then we saw each other at another one,

and then another one,

and then we realized we had the same birthdays.

Wait, your birthday's on Christmas?

Both of your birthdays are on Christmas?

Sure are.

Wow. It sounds like you two are made for each other.

It's like a Christmas romance just waiting to happen.

Uh-huh. Well, do you want another one?

Sure.

All right. I'll, um, be right back.

Thanks. So, speaking of Christmas,

you are coming to our Christmas party I hope?

He is.

I have him down as Sarah's plus one.

So, um, Sarah says you're a Doctor.

I'm a vet, actually.

Oh, the best kind.

Thank you. I'm glad you think so.

I have a really special place in my heart for animals.

Yeah? Do you have pets?

Um...

Not currently, no. I'm kind of between pets at the moment.

Oh. Okay.

Yeah.

So, he seems cool. Thank you.

Listen, I had an idea. I want to get your take on it.

Yeah, what you got?

You know how you put together the chiropractor,

the frozen yogurt shop, and the salon?

Mm Hmm.

Well, I was thinking of doing a little

life insurance company, a florist,

and the funeral home. Three related businesses,

Win, win, win. What do you think?

Interesting. You may be running into some

legalities with the insurance company,

but you could be onto something,

not just a pretty face, huh? Don't sell yourself short, Greg.

Sorry if you felt like you were on display tonight.

But, you sure won them over.

They seem like a great bunch.

Greg sure seems to have his eye on you.

Greg can't seem to keep his eye off himself.

So I'm your best friend, huh?

Aren't I you yours?

Well, yeah.

Thanks for everything.

This is the best homecoming ever.

Well, so, where are you staying?

I'm at the Stratton. It's right around the corner.

Well, I mean, if... you know,

you haven't checked in yet and, um,.

I mean, it makes it easier,

Maybe you could--

Good night, Sarah. Good night, Kevin.

Good night.

Nice to meet you.

Well, maybe I should just get my, uh...

Yeah, yeah.

Well, thanks again.

It is really great to have you back.

It's great to be back. See you tomorrow?

See you tomorrow.

Good night.

I am a day after Christmas baby.

And everyone always forgot that I had a birthday.

So, when I had my own child who was born right after New Year's,

we moved his birthday back a month so that

people still had money for presents

and showed up for the party.

But now that I'm approaching my

20th annual 21st birthday,

I no longer care that no one remembers.

My Father in law was born the day after Christmas.

And he never got birthday presents,

he never got a party.

He was always really bummed.

No one ever remembered his birthday. Nobody cared.

When I found out that his birthday

was the day after Christmas also,

we just ditched the family.

We started just going fishing and left my husband with the kids,

and we went fishing. Eat Christmas dinner

and then Grandpa and I were out.

Everybody else could figure out what they were going to do.

We started doing ice fishing trips and catching birthday trout.

He knows the best spot up by Fort Collins where they stock

the lake right before it freezes over,.

so come about Christmas time,

it's just fish after fish after fish all day long.

You catch your limit by 10 o'clock in the morning.

And that's better than any birthday present

anybody's going to buy me.

Unless It's wine. Trash is on Mondays.

You can actually control the heating

and central air with an app on your phone,

along with the alarm.

Internet is included.

There is plenty of street parking and, as you can see,

upgraded appliances. Nice.

So, um... do you like what you see?

Yeah, I love it.

Well then, welcome home, Doctor.

Thank you.

.

.

Carolyn, hello.

You're here.

What's this?

Just a little housewarming gift.

I was on my way to tennis and I thought I would

stop by and give you an official

welcome to the neighborhood.

Wow. Fresh baked cookies. How thoughtful.

Tennis?

.

Um... racquetball.

I play. Occasionally.

So I don't want to keep you,

but I just wanted to stop by and say welcome,

and let you know that if you need anything at all,

and I mean anything,

you call me. Okay?

Okay. I will.

Okay. You do that. Okay.

Well, you kids have fun.

Ta-ta!

If she really fresh-baked those cookies,

I'll eat her cute little hat. What's that?

Nothing.

Hey, Mrs. Olson, your pizza is here.

Your ranch is here.

You must be having a party, because--

Oh.

You're not miss Olson.

No. Kevin. Just moved in.

Steve. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Thank you.

I should have known something was up.

Mrs. Olson always orders a personal pizza, but--

Anyway, Mrs. Olson was a ranch fiend,

so here's a boatload of it.

Oh, wow. Thank you, Was Mrs. Olson a good tipper?

Are you kidding me? She could hardly even...

Actually,

she was a really good tipper.

All right. Well, here you go.

Thanks.

You look familiar.

I was going to say the same thing.

Huh.

Okay.

Well, have a good night.

Thanks.

Pizza's here.

I hope you like Ranch.

This is the best part of moving.

Agreed.

So. Feeling good?

Yeah. It'll be nice to get settled in, you know?

Yeah, For sure.

How about the practice? You got any plans for that?

Well, I officially take over next week.

I was going to send postcards and

emails out to the existing clients,

let them know it's under new ownership.

That's good. You got any other marketing plans?

Not yet. I thought I'd feel that out for a bit.

I could help you.

Yeah?

Yeah, for sure. Do you have all your due

diligence and business record stuff?

Yeah. Yeah, I have that. Come by the office.

We could do a market analysis,

we can come up with a solid plan.

I'm not so sure I have the budget for that at the moment.

You could owe me. I already owe you.

Yes, you do. I'm keeping a list. So you are.

Oh, you bet I am.

Good.

Well, thanks again for everything.

Don't mention it.

Seriously. I don't even know what I'd do without you.

What are best friends for, right?

See you tomorrow? Yeah. See you tomorrow.

All right.

Good night.

Okay, are you ready? And...

I'm ready.

Ta-daa!! Go ahead and look. Perky pets?

Do you like it?

I love it.

Rally?

Yeah, it's great.

Great. Okay. So this is going to be the exterior

for the outside of the building. We're going to put this above

the reception desk,

and then we'll use this as your business card.

This is so cool.

I'm glad you love it. So, I talked to my friend Stacy.

She's at the Chamber of Commerce, and she looked in

the database of all the customers that purchased products

at the local pet store.

And we cross referenced that with

your database of the customers

that have already come to your clinic.

So, we're going to send them invitations

to your grand reopening.

Sarah, this is, this is amazing. Thank you so much.

I told you she was amazing. She's awesome.

So am I to take it that Dr. Duncan is an official client now?

Well, um--

Because, you know,

we have an unwritten rule here.

We take all our important clients to lunch.

Oh, come on. Don't make me beg.

It'll be fun.

Okay. Okay, lunch it is. Perfect.

I will pick the place.

I think Kevin always knew he wanted to be a vet

even before he actually realized it.

He was always nursing poor,

innocent little injured animals back to health.

That's true. It's true.

Do you remember the squirrel? With the broken leg?

Yes. Yeah. We had him up in the treehouse,

and Sarah was afraid that he was going to try to leave and fall,

so she snuck him into school in her lunch box.

He got loose and terrified everyone in class.

That was pretty embarrassing.

Oh. Sometimes I wonder how many times

we narrowly avoided rabies as children.

Right?

So, what's your most embarrassing Sarah story?

Seriously?

Come on. It'll be fun.

I might want to set that one out.

Well, actually,

there was one day Sarah wasn't in school,

so after school, I stopped at her house

to make sure she was okay.

She was in her room crying,

bawling her eyes out, inconsolable.

I asked her what had happened.

She said she got into her dad's wallet

and saw the expiration date

on his driver's license and she thought that was the day

he was going to die. I know, right?

So I told her I thought that couldn't possibly be true.

She didn't believe me.

She didn't want to tell her dad

because she was afraid she would get in trouble

for snooping around his wallet.

So I told him. He told her that

he wasn't going to die on the expiration date

on his license,

but she didn't believe him either.

Classic.

And so to prove he was totally fine,

he went to get a physical.

Well, it turns out he actually had endocarditis,

which is a pretty serious heart infection.

So they caught it and treated it early.

But in reality, she probably saved his life.

Wow. Good save.

Thank you.

So you save humans and you save animals.

Something like that. Oh Kevin, that reminds me.

I want to make a donation to an animal charity and I

was hoping that you could make a recommendation.

Wow, that's fantastic. Let's see.

There are a lot of great organizations but you can never

go wrong with the Furry Friends League.

Oh, that's really great of you, Carolyn. Thank you.

You know, like I said, I am a sucker for animals.

I wish more people felt the same.

You know, the world would be a better place, right?

It would.

Cheers to that.

Cheers.

How about this?

How much?

Uh, fifty bucks.

Over budget.

Can't break the rules.

Cat tarot cards.

Cat tarot cards?

Yeah. They're like tarot cards, but with cats.

Okay. Uh, how much? Twelve dollars.

Alright. So one down, one to go.

Alright.

So, I find it kind of strange that

Carolyn doesn't have any pets.

For how much she loves animals. I know, right?

Animals. Racquetball. Baking.

She's just full of surprises, isn't she?

Well, she seems to be putting her money where her mouth is.

Yeah. More like laying it on pretty thick.

What do you mean?

Oh, come on, Kevin. She's totally coming onto you.

What? No way.

Uh, yeah. It's totally obvious.

She's just being nice.

Yeah. Well, she seems to want to be awfully nice to you.

By the way, you're not actually thinking of

going to that fund raising event with her, are you?

I mean, it's not like it's a date,

it's a networking opportunity.

Oh, this is just getting better and better, isn't it?

Sarah, It's the Furry Friends League.

You're the one who suggested that I

invite them to the grand opening.

You're so oblivious.

Wait, do I detect a hint of jelly?

Me, jelly?

Me, jelly.

Seems kind of like it to me.

Oh, you're never gonna change, are you?

I don't know what you mean.

Oh, come on Kevin. Carolyn could totally

show up at your place in nothing but bunny ears--

Jelly!

Huh. "Prehistoric Preserves".

Quite possibly the best white elephant gift ever.

You're probably, right.

Hey, Dad.

Hey, kiddo. Everything okay?

Yeah. I just was thinking about you

and I wanted to give you a call and say hi.

Oh, that's very sweet of you.

Everything good? Work okay?

Yeah. Work is good.

Well, I'm glad to hear that.

So, are you going to bring Kevin over

or are you going to keep hiding him from me?

I'm not hiding Kevin from you, Dad.

I know how busy you guys usually are,

but if you don't have any plans,

maybe the two of you could come over

for dinner this weekend?

Yeah, I'd love that.

I'm sure Kevin would love that too.

I'll check with him. Well, good.

It'll be nice to see both of you.

Yeah, it'll be really great to see you too, Dad.

I was born on December 23rd, and Oh my goodness.

Christmas was always really fun for me because

my mom would make it special because

my brother was born on Christmas Day.

And, she would come out and do up Christmas

with stockings filled with nuts,

with fruit, with candy, with little toys.

She would wrap or presents with huge bows

made out of real fabric, not the ones that you get,

like the bows that you get in the store,

like generic stuff.

She would make it so special and beautiful.

The Christmas tree was decorated so wonderfully, and

my brother being on Christmas and my birthday on the 23rd.

It just was like a special time for everybody.

The food, the people that we had over, so yeah,

everything. The decorations, the lights outside on the house.

It was really cool. As you get older,

the presents get less and less.

And then people when you want to go celebrate your birthday,

nobody has time for you, and

everyone's busy.

In Colorado, it snows,

and nobody wants to go out, it's too cold.

I grew up in California,

so when I was younger I had Christmas out there.

The weather was great, but then in the wintertime

in Colorado, it's super snowy. Sometimes we get snowstorms

and there's there's nothing to do.

Nobody wants to go out.

People are spending money on other things.

I thought about having my birthday changed

just to say my birthday's in the summertime.

Yeah. But I never did that.

So, maybe this year I'll do it.

Well, good morning.

I've got a special delivery for.

Doctor Duncan. Ooh, the Doctor is in.

What do you think?

These are so cool.

You like them?

I love them.

Just wait till you see the really cool stuff.

Yeah?

Are you ready?

Oh, I'm ready.

Let's go!

Let's go.

Hey, Kevin, good to see you.

Hey, Mister Miller.

Good to see you too.

Hi, Pumpkin.

Hi Buddy. Come here Max. Come here.

It's good to see you, dude.

Come on inside. Heavenly Father,

we thank you for this food we're about to receive.

We thank you for bringing us all together again.

We ask that you watch over us and our loved ones,

and that you guide us to live

in a manner that brings glory to you.

In Jesus name we pray.

Amen.

Dad, this is incredible.

Seriously, Mr. Miller. This is very good.

I'm glad you guys liked it.

You know, I don't get a lot of company anymore,

so I don't get to make a whole pan of lasagna.

You guys may have to come and dinner more often.

Twist my arm. So Sarah says you've got a

grand opening coming up.

Yeah. Yeah, it's right around the corner.

You excited? I was pretty nervous at first,

but with the way Sarah pulled all this together,

I'm sure it's going to be a huge success.

The work she did was just amazing.

I couldn't have done it without her.

Well, that's my girl. I may be a little bit partial,

but I think she's pretty amazing.

Dad.

So who's ready for my famous Tiramisu?

I'm stuffed, but I can't say no. All right.

Mr. Miller, let me help you.

Actually, no, you stay here,

and I'll make you a deal.

You don't call me Mr. Miller, and I won't

call you Dr. Duncan.

How's that?

Okay, fair enough.

This is nice. Yeah, it's just like old times.

Yeah.

Hey. So who's that girl in the picture

with the lab coat on in your office?

Oh, that's Jamie.

Is she like, a niece or something?

No, no. Jamie had a guinea pig named Rosie.

And, Rosie wasn't feeling very well.

Not eating, lethargic.

So, they brought her into the school

and I gave her some antibiotics.

And not long after, she bounced right back.

Oh.

So, a few months later, Jamie had

this school function where the kids

dressed up as their heroes. And she went as a vet.

Her mom sent me that photo.

That is so sweet.

She's a great kid.

She has a great hero.

Hi. You look beautiful.

Thank you.

Shall we?

It really is great to be back. I can imagine.

Long distance relationships can be so hard.

Unless...

Wait, are you two actually dating?

Uh, I guess not. Not really.

Were you ever?

I'm sorry,

I'm getting way too personal.

No, no. It's it's fine.

Speak of the devil.

Taking good care of him?

Am I ever?

You know,

just a little interrogation style action.

I better go make the rounds.

So far so good? Sure.

Are you having fun?

You're not bored, are you?

No, I'm having a good time.

Yeah. 'cause I feel like I have a phobia of

being at office Christmas parties.

No, Really.

I'm having a great time. I would tell you.

Yeah?

Um... all right. Probably not. But I am having a good time.

Okay. Whatever you say,

I'm gonna go freshen up. Okay.

Well, hello, Doctor.

Carolyn.

You're all by yourself. Where's your BFF?

I saw her a few minutes ago.

She's around here somewhere.

Well, I can hardly believe she left you

all alone in the crowd.

Hey, listen, I need to say thank you

for your referral.

Referral?

Yeah. For the Furry Friends League.

I had a meeting with them yesterday.

Right. Great group of people.

They offered me a spot on their board of directors.

Wow. That must have been quite a donation.

We can't really put a price on our furry

little friends, can we?

Amen to that.

So, um, listen. They are having a

fund-raising gala next week.

You know, black tie, that sort of thing.

And I would love to be able to bring

an actual expert on the health and wellness of animals.

It would mean so much to me if you would join me.

Wow. How can I say no?

And you know, the board of directors

are having a meeting in a couple of weeks

and I would love to not look like a complete idiot.

So maybe you and I could get together

in the next couple of weeks and you could

tutor me on,

you know, like, the animal nature?

Uh, okay.

Wonderful.

. Cheers.

Cheers.

I'll be in touch.

Sounds good.

Excuse me.

Excuse me. Wait, what's that?

What's what?

That. What is that?

It's uh...

Well, it looks like...

Seriously?

What? Do you just wait right here and just

wait for people to come by to pounce?

Sorry. Not my rules. Yeah.

Not my rules either.

.

Hmm.

It's a...

It's a creepy little Santa bird.

Okay. So you can keep that or you can

trade it for someone else's gift.

Uh...

Gourmet coffee.

All right.

I'll take the gourmet coffee.

That's no... it's no ordinary coffee.

What?

Nothing.

What did you do, Greg?

It's Chinese cat poop coffee!

Chinese cat poop coffee?

Chinese cat poop coffee.

What's wrong with you?

Hey, in some places it's considered a delicacy.

I've actually heard of that. The coffee beans

pass through the bowels of an animal

and they're later dried,

harvested, and ground into coffee grounds.

Chinese cat poop.

It's actually not a cat, it's a civet.

"Si-vus"

They are found in China, but they're actually.

Indigenous to pretty much all of Asia.

They're not feline at all. They're small carnivores,

more closely related to a mongoose...

or a weasel.

Anyway, Merry Christmas.

Well, this is me.

Oh, I hope you didn't have too awful of a time tonight.

I had a great time. Good.

Sorry about Greg. Ah. Greg, I can handle.

It's Carolyn I have to worry about.

Hey, I have an idea.

Oh, yeah?

I haven't put my new kitchen through his paces yet.

Can I cook you dinner? Like right now?

Um--

I'm just kidding. I would love that.

Okay. Good.

Okay, good night.

Good night.

Sarah. Yes?

Sweet dreams.

You too.

Everyone shows up.

Happy birthday. Merry Christmas.

See you next year. And then they dittch you for like 11 months.

So what we did,

is push my birthday back like

half a month so that people have time.

To get me birthday and Christmas presents.

There's four feet of snow on the ground.

I can't go outside.

Birthday in summer would be great.

Because the parties,

you can have barbecues,

everything you can do, the whole thing.

My friend Dennis, his birthday is in June.

Dennis got to go outside and play.

Dennis got a slip and slide.

I've always wanted one of those.

If you don't know what a slip and side is,

it's basically this thing that shoots out

water onto you as you're going down a slide,

like on the ground.

Can you imagine trying to use a slip and slide

In the snow?

The water would freeze inside of the tank thing.

That they have on the side of the slip and slide

before anyone got to use it.

I'll get socks. Hey Kevin, thanks for coming.

Of course. So, what's going on with him?

Hey, bud. He's had a hard time breathing,

wheezing, just not being himself.

Okay.

Does he feel like he's running a bit hot to you?

Now that you mention it, yeah.

All right. We'll take a look.

Okay.

Come on Max.

Good morning, ladies.

Good morning.

Sarah, may I see you in my office when you have a minute?

Of course, I'll be right there.

Hey, what's up?

How are things?

Good.

Yeah. Things are good.

Good. I had a conversation with Kate from the salon,

and she still has nothing but wonderful things to say about you.

She's such a sweetheart.

I think we're in a really good groove right now.

Well, you know what? I think you're actually in a really good place

with all of your clients and that is why I wanted to talk to you.

I feel like it's time that we mix things up a little bit.

You know, expand your scope of responsibilities,

if you will.

Bring it on.

Okay. So, as you know,

the Anderson account is our biggest client ever.

As you also probably know,

Greg has been struggling to make progress with them,

and so that's why I want you to be on that account.

You're gonna fire Greg?

No. Gosh, Heavens--No, no, no, no.

I want you to work with Greg.

Oh, you want me to work with Greg?

I want you to guide him. Mentor him,

you know, take him under your wing like I did with you.

Oh, okay.

Sarah. Your work is excellent,

your performance is beyond question.

But true leadership comes from being able to

inspire and develop that excellence in others,

and I see that potential in you. Well, thank you.

I know you're going to make me proud.

I'll do my best. -Okay.

Great. Good.

Sarah, one more thing.

What's Kevin's situation?

Um... his situation?

Yeah. You know, his..."situation".

Um, well, actually, I'm not really even sure myself.

Oh, okay. I was just curious.

Thank you. -Thank you. -Bye bye.

Good talk.

Hey, bud. Hey.

Well, I'm pretty sure it's pneumonia.

Pneumonia, really? Mm hmm.

I wonder how he got that.

It could be from a virus.

A bacteria. Even eating the wrong thing.

Is it bad?

It's not great,

but we'll put him on some antibiotics and it should clear up soon.

Well, that's good. I'd kind of like to have

that old boy around a little bit longer.

Amen to that.

I still remember when Max was a puppy.

Doesn't seem like that long ago.

No, it doesn't.

In fact, I think we got him the year

you went to England for the summer.

Yeah, I think it was. Sarah and you were inseparable.

She was so sad when you left.

In fact, I think that's the reason we ended up

getting Max in the first place.

Really?

The day you came home, she sat by

that window all day until your mom's car

pulled up in the driveway.

Wow, I had no idea.

You've always meant a lot to Sarah, Kevin.

Maybe more than you know.

Jazz music Well, hello.

Welcome to "Chez Kevin". Hello.

Table for two?

"Right ziss way, Miss".

Well?

Mm hmm.

What's the verdict?

It's awesome.

Really?

Yeah. It's really good.

Yes. Man of many talents.

Right? Mm hm.

So, I talked to my Dad today,

He told me about Max. Thank you so much for taking care of him.

Yeah, of course.

You know, I wanted to name him Kevin.

What?

Yeah, yeah, totally.

But he wouldn't let me.

That would have been so awesome. Here's a question.

How come some human names are okay for dogs but others are not?

Wow, great question.

You know, Max? Pete?

Carolyn?

Honestly, I've literally never wondered that before.

These are the mysteries that keep me off at night.

Wow. Well, um, speaking of Carolyn,

she gave me a raise today or whatever you want to call it.

What do you mean?

Well, Greg's been having a problem with one of his accounts.

So she wants me to mentor him,

take him under my wing as she put it.

Well, maybe it's a good thing.

I mean, she's probably impressed with your work and your skills.

I mean, she should be.

Maybe.

You should take it as a compliment.

Well, we would be traveling alone together,

Greg and me, just the two of us. Okay.

Doesn't that bother you a little?

I feel like the right answer is yes.

Sarah, come on. What's wrong?

Oh, gee. Um, I don't know.

My supermodel boss wants to go

on a date with you and send me out of town

to go on vacation with Greg. What could possibly be wrong?

It's not a date. It's a networking opportunity.

Okay. Never mind. Sarah.

Carolyn asked me what your situation was

today and I didn't know what to tell her.

What are we? What are we, Kevin?

We're best friends.

Is that all we are?

We're two people who care very much about each other.

What are we doing? Is this a date?

I guess? I don't know.

Well, isn't this something we should know?

Shouldn't we know that?

Dear Lord,

I come to the end of this day with a heart full of gratitude.

Thank you for your love and grace throughout my life,

and thank you for the challenges I have faced,

for they have helped me to grow stronger and wiser.

Thank you for your guidance and strength through difficult times.

And Lord,

if you could please get a message to my Mother,

if she's watching, please tell her that

I try to live my life in a way that would make her happy.

And I try to follow the example she set for me in the

short time that she was here.

That I hope I make her proud.

And that I really miss her so much.

In Jesus name,

Amen.

I was born on Christmas Day, 4:44 A.M.

Everyone says I was like this angel baby,

So, merry Christmas to me, and my parents.

But yes, it's fun having a Christmas birthday.

And then as I got older, I was like, wow,

this is so exciting, it's my birthday and Christmas.

And then as I got a little bit older,

I was like, wait a second, probably getting gypped here.

And then as I hit middle school, high school.

It's a problem. Like it's really not okay.

I don't think it's fair for anybody born around

the holidays to not have your birthday celebrated.

Seriously, I think it needs to be addressed,

and I think it needs to be addressed worldwide.

And I really want to bring a light to this matter

because it's your birthday.

You should be celebrated.

And yes, we can celebrate the holidays.

But I think it needs to be formally addressed

in some sort of committee worldwide.

So, I've been married 23 years,

and when my husband proposed,

we had been together about two years,

and then it was that Christmas time

and we celebrated Christmas.

He flew his parents over from New Zealand

and we had a great party.

And then I was like, okay,

is there going to be a surprise like,

where's my birthday cake? Never happened.

Um,

really didn't happen. So by the time New Year's hit,

and I'm like, oh my God, this is seriously not happening.

He just thought my birthday was part of Christmas and not okay.

We almost didn't get married because of it,

and now every year we have Christmas,

and then my birthday celebration.

Hey, I just sent you that thing I was telling you about.

Thanks.

Hey,

are you okay? You seem a little off.

Yeah, Yeah, I'm okay. Kevin?

I told him about my promotion and that I'd be

spending a lot of time alone with Greg,

and he didn't seem the least bit concerned.

Should he be?

Well, no. But he knows how Greg feels about me.

And it bothers you that he's not jealous?

It bothers me that the thought of me spending a lot of

alone time with Greg doesn't bother him.

Maybe that just means that he trusts you.

Well, yeah, he trust me.

I know he trusts me. I just don't want him to just trust me.

I want him to--

I don't know what I want.

Hey buddy, how are you doing?

Let's give you a listen.

He is sounding much better. I think he's in the clear.

That is good news. He's acting a lot more like his old self as well.

Oh, good. I just wish there was something I could do to repay you.

Actually, maybe there is something you could help me with.

Hey. -Hi there. -What's up?

Look, I'm not crazy about how we left things last night.

Me neither. I want to make it up to you.

Will you meet me for dinner?

Okay. Your place again.

I'm texting you the address.

Kevin, this is my dad's house.

Hi.

Hi.

Listen, I, I want to apologize about last night.

You have no reason to apologize.

I've been doing a lot of thinking

and I'm really the one that needs to apologize.

What do you mean?

You've always been there. Ever since we were kids.

I always knew where and I always knew when.

And I guess I had these expectations.

I never considered how you felt.

And I took you for granted.

Sarah.

I have never felt like you took me for granted.

I just always assumed you felt the same way.

Maybe we do, maybe we always have.

I mean, no one knows you better than I do.

Well, maybe that's the problem.

I mean, everybody just always assumes that we're more than we are.

My dad, our friends, maybe even us.

I mean, I've always just put you into that slot.

My Christmas party "plus-one".

I always thought we were something

bigger than that, but maybe I was wrong.

I mean, is that all you want?

Is to be my Christmas party "plus-one"?

Sarah--

You know what?

You don't even have to answer that. And that's the point.

You. Us.

I took everything for granted.

And it's not fair to you and it's not fair to me.

Maybe it's just time that we're honest with ourselves.

So what do we do now?

We don't force anything.

We just let whatever this is be whatever it is.

You're such a happy guy, Max.

Why can't humans be as simple as dogs?

Wow.

Thank you.

Uh, what are you doing here?

Well, Carolyn wasn't able to come,

so she asked me to fill in last minute.

Oh, okay.

Good. I hope you don't mind.

Being as this isn't a date and everything.

I will drink to that.

Thank you.

So how's it going?

It's going pretty well.

Okay. I have absolutely no clue what I'm doing here.

Don't worry. I came armed.

You're packing?

Business cards.

Yours.

What would I do without you?

Well, if you're lucky, then you might not find out.

Well, first things first.

May I?

Why not?

Do you remember Junior Prom?

Yes.

This takes me back.

Spiked punch and dub-step.

I think this is a bit of an upgrade.

I'm still dancing with the prettiest girl in the room.

Dr. Duncan.

Mrs. Bailey.

Please, call me Liz. And you must be Carolyn.

Hi, I'm actually Sarah Miller.

Carolyn couldn't make it. I work with her.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

It's a pleasure to meet you as well.

Liz is on the board. Oh.

I was wondering if I could bend your ear for a moment.

We're looking to increase our online presence,

and I understand that you are specialist at just that.

I would love to help.

Kevin, do you mind if I steal her away for just a bit?

Not at all.

.

If your birthday lies anywhere between December 1st and January 15th,

I think you're just a non entity altogether.

My birthday is exactly one week after Christmas, so

when I was a kid, my mom was really good about

making sure that I celebrated my birthday,

but once I hit 18, that was pretty much all over.

Now it's like, oh, it's your birthday.

Oh, well, you got your present at Christmas

or we celebrated with you on New Year's Eve.

I've tried to take it out to June,

and then I forget about it now,

I just throw myself a big birthday party at the end of January.

After I was 18.

I had to rely be an advocate for myself in order to enjoy my birthday.

So I plan all my own parties and I give myself gifts.

So if your birthday is after Christmas,

it's a lot worse than before Christmas,

because before Christmas,

everybody is in a festive, party mood.

So it's like, oh, it's just like one more party.

You get to go to, right?. It's a little hustly and bustly,

but people try and fit it in.

After Christmas, everybody is super tired,

they're super broke,

they're just literally over the whole holiday season.

So, they're like, oh, we have New Year's.

But after New Year's,

it's just "womp-womp" you know, like,

oh, your birthday is on the third?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I can't do that.

So I think they're just over partying.

And, when I was a kid, it was always the day we

returned to school from our school vacation.

Every single year. So you always had to go to school

on your birthday,

unless it was on a weekend, which only happened

once every seven years.

People want to be recognized and celebrated

on their birthday like they matter.

They exist. And if everybody forgets your birthday

every single year,

you don't exist anymore.

Well, hey pumpkin, what's going on?

Oh, I just came over to check on you and Max,

see how you were doing.

Well, Max is doing a lot better thanks to the good Doctor.

I, on the other hand, might be a lost cause.

Oh, Dad.

I was thinking about putting some coffee on. Care to join me?

I'd love to.

Okay.

Here. Dad let me. Okay.

No offense, but I can stand a spoon up in your coffee.

Fair enough.

So I saw some pictures on line of you Kevin last night.

Pretty fancy.

Oh, yeah. Well, it wasn't a date, just so you know.

He was supposed to go with Carolyn.

Carolyn, your boss?

Yeah. And she couldn't make it last minute,

so she had me fill in.

Well, you looked fantastic. Thanks, Dad.

Kind of reminds me,

when you two went to junior prom together.

If memory serves, that wasn't a date either.

Yeah, he got stood up, so I was being nice.

Well, I seem to recall that you two had the time of your life.

Kind of reminds me of my senior prom.

Did you go with Mom?

As a matter of fact, I didn't.

I wasn't going to go. She did, but not with me.

I thought you and mom were high school sweethearts.

Yeah. But not at that moment.

I was pretty much a loner in school,

and she was one of the popular girls,

had an on again, off again thing with one of the football players.

It turns out they were broke up right before the prom.

I could've asked her out. Should've, but I didn't.

Why not?

Nervous, I guess.

Really?

Chickened out.

Beat myself up pretty bad about it.

I wasn't even going to go, and a couple of

my buddies kept hounding me,

so I decided to tag along with them.

So what happened?

I was pretty much a wallflower.

I decided I was actually going to leave early,

and just as I was heading out,

I saw your mom outside crying.

I asked her what happened, and she said they broke up again.

So, I gave her a shoulder to cry on,

and I admitted that I had a crush on

her and that I'd wanted to ask her out.

What did she say?

She said you should have.

So, no, we didn't go to the problem together.

But we left that way.

It seems like fate stepped in and gave me a second chance.

If I hadn't tagged along with my buddies,

I never would have seen your mom out there crying.

And, while our time wasn't destined to last forever,

it was a wonderful gift and I wouldn't trade it,

or you,

for anything in the world.

Anyway.

Hey.

Hey. What's up?

I wanted to talk to you. Okay.

I've been thinking a lot about what you said

about expectations and not taking each other for granted.

Yeah.

And?

And I realized you were right,

and I think I've been just as guilty of that, if not more so.

It's no one's fault,

it's just human nature.

Yeah. Maybe that's why I became a vet.

Humans are so complicated.

Animals are much simpler.

Everything just seemed so much simpler when we were kids.

Somewhere along the way, it got complicated.

Yeah. Adulting can tend to have that effect.

But everything was so easy.

Our friendship. We took that for granted back then, didn't we?

And it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

We were kids, Kevin.

I don't know.

Maybe things are just different now.

Wait, where are you?

Hi.

Well, come on in.

You kissed me on the cheek in fifth grade. Do you remember that?

Yeah. Of course I do.

Well, the truth is that ever since then,

I've known exactly how I feel about you,

and that's never changed.

You've been my best friend for as long as I can remember.

I guess I was just afraid.

I didn't want to risk ruining that friendship.

Maybe it's worth the risk.

Maybe it is.

You never know unless you try.

Right.

Singing "Happy Birthday To You"

"Happy birthday to you"

Merry birthday. Happy Christmas.

This is so much better in person than on a video call.

Agreed.

Okay.

You first. Okay.

I was just going to get you the mug,

but then I learned of your exquisite culinary skills,

so I had to get you the oven mitt.

So now you have a matching set.

Uh, okay. I think we have a theme here.

Your turn.

"Dibs on the veterinarian"?

Oh my gosh, this is perfect.

I'm gonna wear it next time I'm around Carolyn.

Well, I have something else for you too.

What?

No way. The rules are only one per person.

I know,

but sometimes the rules need to be broken.

You've always been my best friend.

You've been there for me since we were little kids.

I can't even remember a time without you in my life.

A long time ago, I made you a promise.

That one day out of every year would be our special day.

Today, I'd like to make you another promise.

To make every other day just as special.

Sarah?

Yes, of course I will. Oh my gosh.

I don't know if we could ever put our friendship at risk,

but I do know that I look back at

all the happiest moments in my life,

and you're in every single one.

All I know is I'm happiest one with you.

Oh, Kevin. It's perfect.

See, we were made for each other.

Are you quoting Greg?

Am I?

I'm pretty sure you are.

He's actually a pretty smart guy.

What? What are you talking about?

I just think he's really misunderstood.

Oh my goodness.

Merry birthday. Happy Christmas.

Thank you.

Well, it is so nice to have both of you here for Christmas.

It sure is.

Um... Daddy, we have some news.

Mister Mil--uh--Pete--

Kevin proposed.

And she said yes, We're getting married!

That is wonderful news.

I can't say it's a surprise,

but it is wonderful news.

I kind of wish this was champagne now,

because this calls for a toast.

Sarah, I've always been so proud of you

and I love you more than anything.

And Kevin, you've always had my trust,

and my respect.

Watching you guys grow up and grow closer together,

it always made me feel so good knowing that you had each

other for friendship and for support.

I guess the only thing better than heading off on

this journey of marriage with your life partner would be being

able to do it with your very best friend.

Kevin,

a long overdue welcome to the family.

And to both of you, congratulations.

This is about the best gift a guy could ever ask for.

.

Thank you.

Bring it in for a hug.

Are you okay, Dad?

Just some fuzz from Max, or something.

Speaking of gifts...

Merry Christmas.

Thank you, Daddy. And Merry Christmas.

Thank you so much. And... and...

Happy birthday!

Oh, no, sir.

Really? Oh, you're so sweet.

Thank you.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

Oh my gosh.

Thank you. Do I open it?

Can I open it? Really?

It's kind of hard to open.

Oh, that's awesome.

This is a really nice gift. Thank you so much.

A gift before my birthday?

That never happens, honestly.

Oh, tarot cards.

Cat tarot cards. These are great.

What is this? Like a dinosaur?

Coffee?

What is a civet?