It was half an hour before midnight

It was half an hour before midnight on December 24th last year. I was a ticket-counter supervisor（主管）for a major airline and was looking forward to the   36  of my shift （轮班）at Stapleton International Airport in Denver. My wife was waiting up for me at home so that we could   37  our gifts for Christmas.
Just then, a very   38   gentleman went up to me.  He asked how he could get to Cheyenne, Wyoming. He had just arrived from Philadelphia and   39  his connecting flight. I pointed him to the ground transportation area, where he could rent a   40 . And then I called my wife to let her know I would be home   41 .
About fifteen minutes later, the gentleman   42  and informed me that all the buses were full and there were no cars   43 . I told him that he had to stay for a night at the airport. Hearing that, he burst into   44 .
I tried to make him calm down. He explained that his name was Tom, and that his only son was   45  ill at home and was not expected to   46  another year. He expected that this would likely be the   47  Christmas with his son.
I told Tom to   48  his luggage and wait for me at the gate. I was driving to Cheyenne. I called my wife Kathy, telling her about it and not to wait up for me. I drove fast   49  and we arrived in Cheyenne around 2:30 a. m.
Kathy was still   50  me when I got home in the early morning. We traded gifts and then our conversation   51  Tom. For Kathy and me, there was no   52  that driving Tom to Cheyenne was the   53  choice.
A couple of days later, I   54  a Christmas card with a picture of Tom and his family. In it, Tom thanked me for the special   55  he had received that holiday season, but I knew the best gift was mine.