Young Emmet’s widowed mother, Dorothy, toiled by day in a dress-factory in Buffalo, New York. By night, she took in laundry, scrimping and saving the extra cash to book a single room at the Saranac Mountain House every Christmas Eve.
During the day, they would hike, play in the snow and go sledding. Dorothy, once a figure skater on the Norwegian Olympic Team, would dazzle the crowd on the frozen lake, performing toe-jumps and donut spins. Later, they would curl up hearthside in the Lobby, sip cocoa, and imagine just how wonderful life would be if all those brightly wrapped gifts tucked under the hotel Christmas tree were for them. At midnight, they would retire upstairs, cuddling together in a twin feather bed, then awaken at first light on Christmas morning to exchange modest gifts.
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