Three Wise Men and a Baby

For various reasons, all three of the adult Brenner brothers currently live with their single mother Barbara in the family home. Stephan lives in the granny suite in her back yard as a place to hide out. He's an animal therapist and believes that animals are more reliable than people; he is anxious around humans, especially in crowds. Taylor, a video game engineer, lives in the basement as the irresponsible, disruptive one who always manages to sabotage good things in his life. And firefighter Luke, who lives in the main part of the house, is only there temporarily while he builds his own house; so far "temporarily" has lasted 10 months, as he is easily distracted and works on projects for other people. Barbara's goal is for them and their Aunt Louise to spend Christmas together, despite the brothers having pulled away from each other ever since their father abandoned them when they were children; they don't usually help her decorate the house. Five days before Christmas, someone leaves a baby named Thomas at the firehouse specifically for Luke, probably the mother: the note pinned to Thomas only implores Luke to look after Thomas until Christmas, when she promises to come back for him. Luke, certain that Thomas is not his son, doesn't know who the mother could be or why she chose him as Thomas' temporary caregiver. He decides to look after Thomas with Barbara's help until Christmas, and if the mother doesn't return by then, he will take Thomas to Family Services. As Barbara is called away shortly thereafter on an emergency, the three brothers need to care for Thomas on their own, something they are ill-equipped to do. But with Thomas in their lives, they are forced to examine their inter-relationships, including the underlying issues of why they have never really appreciated self-sacrificing Barbara.—Huggo