It's Christmas Eve, and the narrator tells us that he's been busy making plans for the family's upcoming holiday. He's got a lot on his mind, including the fact that the twins are playing the donkey, which has caught a cold. The narrator doesn't want his landlord to know about it, so he tells him to snap out of it. He also tells the narrator that the donkey needs two people to play the back end. The donkey's lame, but the back is the most important part of the donkey. The twins are gone, so the donkey will have to wait until the next day to play it again. Finally, the narrator announces that Maria is expecting a baby boy, and that she's going to give birth to him soon. He tells her that she can have the baby as soon as her dad comes home for the holidays. She's happy to hear that, because she'll be able to celebrate the holidays with her family without worrying about her landlord. She also tells him that her dad hasn't come home yet, so she feels "crap" right now. She asks the narrator not to call her by her first name, since she used to know him as a jerk when she was a kid. She tells him not to worry, though, because they're having a big Christmas dinner together. She invites him to come over and play the piano.