Peter Aguero

Well, you know, it got to be Christmas Eve, and my buddy Brian came over and picked me up, and we went to a different church for Midnight Mass. When you're under 21, you can't go to a bar, so you go see your friends at Mass. And we split a jug of wine in the parking lot, and the Mass was awesome. It was pretty great.

And afterwards, I come home, and the next morning I wake up, and it's Christmas morning. So I go and I gather up all the little pictures of the gifts that I want to give to my mother, all wrapped up and tied in ribbon, and I put them under the tree.

And afterwards, I come home, and the next morning I wake up, and it's Christmas morning. So I go and I gather up all the little pictures of the gifts that I want to give to my mother, all wrapped up and tied in ribbon, and I put them under the tree.

And afterwards, I come home, and the next morning I wake up, and it's Christmas morning. So I go and I gather up all the little pictures of the gifts that I want to give to my mother, all wrapped up and tied in ribbon, and I put them under the tree.

And I hear my mom stirring upstairs, and she comes downstairs, and her hair's in corkscrews, and she's got this big flannel house coat on and her big red plastic Sally Jesse Raphael morning glasses with the broken ear thing on the side taped up, you know. And I say, Merry Christmas, Mom. And she goes, Oh, honey, oh, hold on.

And I hear my mom stirring upstairs, and she comes downstairs, and her hair's in corkscrews, and she's got this big flannel house coat on and her big red plastic Sally Jesse Raphael morning glasses with the broken ear thing on the side taped up, you know. And I say, Merry Christmas, Mom. And she goes, Oh, honey, oh, hold on.

And I hear my mom stirring upstairs, and she comes downstairs, and her hair's in corkscrews, and she's got this big flannel house coat on and her big red plastic Sally Jesse Raphael morning glasses with the broken ear thing on the side taped up, you know. And I say, Merry Christmas, Mom. And she goes, Oh, honey, oh, hold on.

And she goes upstairs, and she's upstairs for a minute, and then she comes back down, and she has a few. And I give her hers first. And there's the jaguar and the jewelry and the island and a picture of a baby grand piano and a picture of a new dining room set. And a picture of a new mahogany bedroom set. And all these things I wish I could replace for her.

And she goes upstairs, and she's upstairs for a minute, and then she comes back down, and she has a few. And I give her hers first. And there's the jaguar and the jewelry and the island and a picture of a baby grand piano and a picture of a new dining room set. And a picture of a new mahogany bedroom set. And all these things I wish I could replace for her.

And she goes upstairs, and she's upstairs for a minute, and then she comes back down, and she has a few. And I give her hers first. And there's the jaguar and the jewelry and the island and a picture of a baby grand piano and a picture of a new dining room set. And a picture of a new mahogany bedroom set. And all these things I wish I could replace for her.

And she's smiling and laughing the whole time. And then when it's all done, she gives me mine. And there's three of them. There's a picture of a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups. There's a picture of a pair of Homer Simpson slippers. And there's a picture of a karaoke machine. And they were all from the same Rite Aid catalog that was up in her bathroom.

And she's smiling and laughing the whole time. And then when it's all done, she gives me mine. And there's three of them. There's a picture of a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups. There's a picture of a pair of Homer Simpson slippers. And there's a picture of a karaoke machine. And they were all from the same Rite Aid catalog that was up in her bathroom.

And she's smiling and laughing the whole time. And then when it's all done, she gives me mine. And there's three of them. There's a picture of a bag of Reese's peanut butter cups. There's a picture of a pair of Homer Simpson slippers. And there's a picture of a karaoke machine. And they were all from the same Rite Aid catalog that was up in her bathroom.

Because she had completely forgotten about this thing that I thought was going to bring us together. Because she was working so hard. So we're stuck in the middle of this O. Henry story that he never should have written. And I thank her so much for the gifts. And we go upstairs. And my mom makes the best pancakes in the world. You might think your mom does. But I'm so sorry. You're wrong.

Because she had completely forgotten about this thing that I thought was going to bring us together. Because she was working so hard. So we're stuck in the middle of this O. Henry story that he never should have written. And I thank her so much for the gifts. And we go upstairs. And my mom makes the best pancakes in the world. You might think your mom does. But I'm so sorry. You're wrong.

Because she had completely forgotten about this thing that I thought was going to bring us together. Because she was working so hard. So we're stuck in the middle of this O. Henry story that he never should have written. And I thank her so much for the gifts. And we go upstairs. And my mom makes the best pancakes in the world. You might think your mom does. But I'm so sorry. You're wrong.

My mom made the pancakes, but this morning she burned them a little bit.

My mom made the pancakes, but this morning she burned them a little bit.

My mom made the pancakes, but this morning she burned them a little bit.

And I'm sitting in the kitchen eating these pancakes, cutting around the burnt pieces, and I'm looking out through our backyard at everybody else's houses, and all the light in their houses looks like orange and colorful and friendly with all these people, and our house just feels empty and stark and white in the fluorescent light eating these pancakes in silence together, the two of us.