Christmas Comes Twice

Um... Cheryl?

Almost done. Just checking the connection.

You have people for that.

Ah, there you go.

You know I can't help it.

I'm hands-on.

Oh! Deputy Director!

Merry Christmas, Senator!

Merry Christmas.

And this must be - your granddaughter, Josie! - Yes, it is.

Josie adores science.

Ah! You remind me of me.

You're an astronomer?

Well, I used to be.

How did you end up here?

Well, I'll tell you.

You see, I bumped into Cheryl while I was visiting family

in Wellsboro a few years back.

And I read her very impressive resume, and...

And here I am... And here I go, I'm afraid.

Director Phillips, maybe you would like to show the Senator and Josie

the visitor's center? And I'll sneak off and finish my work,

All right. - Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Yes, and I've never seen him before.

Cheryl, where are you going?

I haven't finished reviewing the grant proposals

and I need to finish it by the end of the year.

But you'll miss the party!

Story of my life.

I'll meet you upstairs.

At least let me help with the grant proposals.

You've already gone above and beyond, Janice.

I can handle the rest.

I just wish I didn't have to reject so many.

I can only play Santa once

for every 99 times playing Scrooge!

Sounds like Christmas couldn't come soon enough.

You still heading to your parents' tonight?

If I can make my bus in an hour.

Why not drive? Wellsboro's not far.

But if I drive, I can't review next year's budget,

return Senator Mihara's emails--I see your point.

How about that...

My comet.

You have a comet?

Almost.

In grad school, I was trying to prove

a comet exists behind Pluto's orbit.

Looks like a team in Norway just confirmed it.

Sorry.

But this might lift your spirits.

What's this?

A Christmas present.

For someone who's always short on time.

Thank you. Janice, you're the best.

Hey! Trish!

Merry Christmas!

Cheryl! Welcome home!

I didn't think you were gonna be able to get away.

And miss a hometown Christmas?

Not a chance.

Has work lightened up at all?

It's more like a black hole. Nothing escapes

its gravitational pull.

It's because it's so important.

You fund cutting-edge research!

Like that bio-fuel thing you were telling me about last year.

That has major breakthrough potential,

it could lead to sustainable energy!

Well, I am just happy that you are here,

and Mom and Dad can't wait to see you.

Me too.

Fold-out couch in the den, here I come.

They stored most of the Christmas decorations,

so it won't be like old times.

What's this?

What's what?

"Trish's Bistro"?

I took the plunge.

I signed the lease yesterday.

I open my restaurant in two weeks.

Congratulations!

You have been talking about that for years.

Are you sure you're ready?

Okay, go on. You might as well say it.

I can tell you have something on your mind.

It's just opening a restaurant is risky.

And you've already tried it once.

That was a snack shack, and I learned a lot from that experience!

Exactly, so why repeat it?

You're big-sistering me again.

It's called looking out for you.

Restaurants have a lot of competition,

and a really slim margin,

and it's just-- it's such a big risk.

Well, my restaurant has to succeed,

'cause I already bought 500 fondue forks!

So fingers crossed.

I really miss it here.

In the city, you can barely see any stars.

The Christmas Carnival starts tonight, right?

Yep. Runs all five days till Christmas.

You wanna check it out after dinner?

Absolutely! I'm there.

And it brings back such great memories.

Nothing changes here.

Hey, plenty changes.

For instance, we finally finished the new city hall,

thanks to the youngest mayor in town history.

Terrence finally got what he wanted...

Mm-hmm.

I still haven't gotten used to the idea of someone else living in their house,

but the new owners are really nice.

You should meet them.

I'm sure they are.

I would just rather keep my memories of our house as it was.

Mom and Dad needed to downsize.

I know. Time moves on,

no matter what I have to say about it.

They may have downsized, but I see the snowman did not get the memo.

Do not get in the way of Mom and her Christmas decorations.

Okay.

It's such a nice surprise.

We missed you so much. Sweetheart,

we're so happy you're home.

Well, I couldn't miss another Christmas

and by all the decorations, neither could you!

These were just the ones I could squeeze in.

Most of our lawn reindeer are in storage

till we figure out what to do with them.

Well, the best thing about your new place

is it brings all of us closer together.

I know it takes some getting used to.

Like not seeing

Grandma's crystal angel on top of the tree.

I miss that, too.

I put your luggage in the den.

Honey, are you sure you don't mind sleeping on the fold-out couch?

Of course not, Dad!

Okay, dinner will be ready soon, guys.

Perfect.

Look what I found going through boxes today.

Look, that's the year that we went caroling with the church choir.

Ms. Nelson.

That's the day I won the Science Fair.

Remember?

It's hard to believe she's been gone for five years.

I just wish I'd seen her more.

Well, you did always make a point

to drop in on her at Christmas.

Except for the last one. I was too busy.

If only I'd known.

Oh, honey,

no one could have known about her heart condition.

She was my inspiration.

And look who's is in that photo.

Is that George Campbell photobombing your victory shot?

Oh, that's George, all right.

He got runner-up.

He never missed a chance to try to outdo me.

Science fair, spelling bee,

student body selections,

George always had to prove he was better.

Dinner's ready, guys!

And I hope you're hungry!

I am.

Just remember to save room for dessert at the Carnival.

97 years, and the Carnival's still going strong.

I love the Carnival.

It's our own little snow globe, frozen in time...

Over there's

where I ran into Dr. Phillips five years ago...

sent my life spinning in a whole new direction...

Five years ago? That was the year

the freak snowstorm hit, right?

I remember.

Closed all the roads out of Willoughby.

We've had the most amazing volunteers this year...

Speaking of the past, look who's here.

...and so, I'd like to thank everyone

for making this new city hall a reality.

And now,

as Mayor of Wellsboro,

it is my pleasure to declare

this year's Christmas Carnival officially open!

I still can't believe Terrence Fletcher is the mayor.

Mayor or not, he's still cute.

And still single.

You should ask him out?

Oh, we went on a date once,

that same Christmas I ran into Dr. Phillips.

You had a date with Terrence?

What happened?

It would have gone great,

but...

I spilled my latte on him,

tripped him on the ice rink,

and to top it off,

he was allergic to my angora scarf...