A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Christmas and says, "I hate to ruin(毁坏) your day, but I have to tell you that your mom and I are divorcing, forty-five years of misery(不幸) is enough."
"Pop, what are you talking about?"the son screams.
"We can''t stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We''re sick of each other, and I''m sick of talking about this, so call your sister in Chicago and tell her about it."
The son calls his sister. "Oh, heck(见鬼), they''re getting divorced," she shouts, "I''ll take care of this." She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don''t do a single thing until I get there. I''m calling my brother back, and we''ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don''t do a thing, do you hear me?" and hangs up.
The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they''re coming for Christmas and paying their own way."(about 190 words)
