On Christmas Eve, Georgie stares at the presents under the tree and guesses what they could be. His cookies are hidden in the back of the fridge. Georgie guesses that his gift from Aunt Kayla is a sweater—she sends him one every year, specially made. Georgie is used to getting mostly clothes for Christmas, but his parents always make sure that he has something fun under the tree too.

Georgie and his parents prepare for the Christmas Eve church service. It’s the only time when Georgie looks forward to church. He loves the decorations, the atmosphere, the singing, and the candles, of which each member gets one to hold. It’s a tradition that Georgie cherishes.

Georgie’s father helps him with his tie and tussles his hair. Suddenly, the lights go out, and Georgie’s mother screams.

Georgie’s mother received an electrical shock. She and Georgie’s father are worried about the baby, so they must abandon their plans to attend church to go to the hospital instead. They drop Georgie off at Andy’s house.

Andy’s grandmother Nonna Rosa now lives with his family. She speaks mostly in Italian and greets Georgie warmly. Andy recruits Georgie to help him hang a privacy curtain, dividing his side of the bedroom from Nonna Rosa’s. Everything looks different in the room. Andy is frustrated because Nonna Rosa allows no mess in the room and she keeps insisting that Andy speak to her in Italian.

Andy mentions Russ, and Georgie tries to hide that it upsets him. Russ goes to Andy’s church. Andy says that Russ can start helping with the dogs next week. Georgie becomes upset and wonders why Andy changed his mind about Russ. Andy says that he never agreed with Georgie. Andy is excited because Russ came up with ideas for advertising the business. Andy says that he and Russ can walk all the big dogs and that Georgie can walk all the small ones. Georgie imagines Andy and Russ talking on the phone about how Georgie can’t walk big dogs, and it upsets him. Andy pleads with Georgie, who reconsiders his stance. Georgie thinks that Russ isn’t like the kids who make fun of him, so it might be okay. He relents.

Christmas Eve at Andy’s is not the Christmas Eve that Georgie knows and loves. He thinks about all the things he should be doing with his parents instead. The people at Andy’s church stare at Georgie, and one old man even pats Georgie’s head and asks how old he is. Russ is excited to see Andy and Georgie. He says that he has great ideas for “[their]” dog-walking business, which upsets Georgie because the business was his idea. Georgie stares at his Velcro shoes for the service. Russ and Andy have laces on their shoes.

The narrator returns to instruct the reader to put on some shoes with laces. The narrator wants the reader to curl their fingers in at the knuckle and then try to tie their shoes with the remaining nubs. The narrator says that they tried for 15 minutes with no success and adds that this is why Georgie’s shoes are Velcro.

Georgie’s parents are still at the hospital, so Georgie will have to spend the night at Andy’s house. Georgie is devastated that his last Christmas before the arrival of Baby Godzilla is ruined. He knows that things will never be the same once the baby comes. Georgie borrows Andy’s too-big pajama pants and uses his finger to brush his teeth since he came unprepared.

Georgie and Andy camp out in the living room. Andy asks what Georgie thinks about Russ’s flier idea, adding that Russ is a great artist. Georgie clarifies that the business is his. He does not want advertising, and he does not want Russ to join. Andy argues, but Georgie remains obstinate.

Andy says that he and Russ will start their own business. He adds that they’ll leave all the poodles for Georgie, which is the meanest thing that Andy has ever said to him. Georgie faces away from Andy, and when he looks back, Andy has moved to his bedroom, leaving Georgie alone on the living room floor.

Georgie barely sleeps and considers apologizing to Andy. He almost does, but he worries about waking Nonna Rosa and returns to his sleeping bag. Georgie thinks about how none of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for Baby Godzilla taking Georgie’s parents away on Christmas Eve. Georgie thinks for a moment that he hopes the baby isn’t okay, but he knows it’s a terrible thought and tries to erase it from his mind.

At six o’clock in the morning, Georgie calls his parents and quietly asks that they come pick him up. He tries to write a letter of apology to Andy, as he does feel bad about the fight, but he can’t get the words out before his father arrives. Georgie’s father is exhausted and unshaven. He tells Georgie that they will need to put off presents so that he and Georgie’s mother can catch up on sleep. He also says that the baby is fine and that he thought Georgie might have been worried. Georgie slams the door on the way inside but makes it seem like an accident.

When Georgie’s family opens gifts, Georgie goes straight for what he believes will be his fun gift this year—a book-shaped package that he hopes is the book on rockets he wanted. However, it turns out to be a book on being a big brother. Later, Georgie’s parents reveal that they got him a specially made bike, but Georgie can’t muster the excitement. He declines his father’s offer to help him learn to ride it, blaming the cold.

The next day, Georgie struggles all day to find the words and finally calls Andy at four o’clock. Georgie forgets what he wanted to say, so he invites Andy over for tuna casserole. Andy awkwardly replies that he is going to Russ’s house to watch a movie. He adds that Russ said Georgie could come, but Andy said no on Georgie’s behalf, knowing that Georgie doesn’t like Russ. Georgie becomes angry again and yells that Andy is right—he doesn’t like Russ. Georgie issues Andy with an ultimatum, saying that he can’t be friends with both. Andy angrily replies that he won’t be friends with Georgie anymore, that his family is moving, and that he hopes they move far away from Georgie.

Georgie seeks his parents for comfort, but he finds his father reading the baby book and his mother knitting a sweater for the baby. His parents ask him to answer the door. No one is there, but Andy has left a flier for his and Russ’s dog-walking business.

School is back in session. Georgie sits at his regular-sized desk, outfitted with a pillow behind him to support his back and a crate under his feet. Georgie wishes that he didn’t need the pillow and crate because they make him stand out. Georgie’s teacher announces that the class will be partnering up to work on projects about the presidents. Georgie normally partners up with Andy.

Georgie spent the rest of the vacation alone, bored, and frustrated at seeing fliers for Andy and Russ’s business every time he left the house. Georgie misses Andy, the games they played, and Andy’s family. He wishes that he could talk to Andy about Baby Godzilla. His parents haven’t even noticed that he and Andy aren’t speaking. Georgie watches as Andy and Russ partner up and realizes that he’s been replaced. He acknowledges that Russ and Andy have more in common than Georgie and Andy because they both play sports.

The rest of the class partners up, and Georgie is left without a partner. The teacher asks the remaining unpartnered students to raise their hands. Georgie and Jeanie the Meanie are the only two who raise their hands, so the teacher partners them together.