Summary

On the first Sunday of December, the residents of New Ross gather outside the Town Hall to watch the holiday lights come on. The Furlongs, hoping to stay warm, wander through town; Eileen admires a pair of shoes and a handbag in a store. At the holiday celebration, the youngest Furlong daughter, Loretta, begins to cry when she sees Santa Claus. Furlong reminds her that “tis just a man like myself, only in costume” (19). He finds that he “could not help but wonder if [Loretta would] be brave enough or able for what the world had in store” (19).

That evening, the family bakes a Christmas cake. The daughters write letters to Santa Claus, asking for certain gifts. As the family spends time together, Furlong notes that everyone “carried mechanically on without pause, to the next job at hand” (21). He wonders how life would be...