by Monique Nelson

Created on: December 15, 2008

The Neighbor's Driveway

Characters: Maggie Spensen, Jake, her son oldest son and Johnathan, her two year old son; Eden and Taylor Martin

Scene: It's three days before Christmas and Jake enters, home late for dinner. His mother is putting on her jacket.

Maggie: Jake! Where have you been? You're late, again. When will you start taking some responsibility!? I have to be at work in exactly 8 minutes and your brother is upstairs screaming. Do you really think I can make it across town in 8 minutes? Go get your brother; we'll deal with this tomorrow.

Jake: Mom, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I just had to take care of something, it won't happen again. I'm sorry, Mom.

Maggie: Jake, sorry will only cover you so many times. I have to go.

Maggie leaves for her night shift at the hospital and Jake goes upstairs to calm down his baby brother. As his mother walks to her car, she doesn't notice the shovel in her driveway, or her son's wet boots by the door.

The next day, Jake woke up early and
snuck out of the house, wrapped up in his winter boots, gloves, toque and jacket. He grabbed the shovel from its place in the driveway and ran down the street to old Mr. Martin's house. Taylor Martin had stopped Jake yesterday after school, offering to pay him to shovel his driveway. Jake took one look at the old man's shaking hands and accepted immediately.

Not wanting to upset his mother again, he decided to shovel the driveway before she even knew he was awake. When he finished Mr. Martin's driveway, he ran home and began on their driveway. As he stamped his boots off by the door, he heard his mother inside banging dishes around.

Jake: Hi, Mom! How was work?

Maggie: Oh, you know. It was the emergency room. It sure would be nice to come home one morning and have breakfast waiting for me, instead of having to make it for you. Where were you anyway?

Jake: Sorry, Mom. I wanted to shovel the driveway. I'll go get Johnathan.

Maggie was having a hard time getting in the holiday spirit this year. She had spent the last two years trying to make her sons believe that Santa was real, but the numbers just weren't adding up this year. Night shifts at the hospital and taking care of two sons during the day were wearing on her. She didn't mean to take it out on Jake, but it had been happening more and more frequently, the closer to Christmas it became.

The next morning, Jake went back over to Mr. Martin's to shovel his driveway again. It snowed all morning, adding three inches to the ground throughout the day. Jake,

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