Jared
A girl, maybe six or seven years old, with short, blond pigtails and a yellow nightgown stepped off of the last stair and into the living room. She bounced on her toes, but didn't come any closer. There were an awful lot of people in her living room, and she was a tiny girl who was supposed to be in bed.
Jared knew exactly what Santa Command did in this situation. He kept his eye on Sasha, expecting the Inkling to yank some dust from her bag and toss it into the kid's face. But that didn't happen. Sasha stood perfectly still, watching Chris in much the same way the little girl was watching him.
Chris knelt down on one knee and waved the little girl toward him. “Hello, Sophie. Are you ready for Christmas?”
She ran over and jumped on his knee.
Chris wobbled a little, but kept his balance. “Whoa, there,” he said. “I'm an old man you know.”
Sophie reached one finger up to touch his beard. As soon as she touched it, he said, “Boo!” and she yanked her finger back and giggled.
“You're the real Santa, aren't you?” she asked. “You know, not the fake ones from the malls and stuff. I have to know. It's important.”
Chris wrapped his arms around her, holding her steady on his knee. “Why do you ask?”
“Well, my dad…” She stopped and scrubbed her fingers under her eyes. Then she clammed up again.
Chris filled in the rest for her. “Your dad said he had something for you, didn't he? That only the real Santa could deliver it.”
Sophie's eyes lit up. “Yes! He said it in a dream. He couldn't tell me in person, because he's not…” She looked from Jared to Tracy to Sasha, then leaned in to Chris as if she were telling him a secret that the others weren't supposed to hear. But Jared was standing right next to Chris, and he heard her whisper. “He's not here anymore.”
Jared felt a knot form inside of his chest. There were pictures all over the living room of Sophie with her mom and dad. He wondered how and when she'd lost him, even though he didn't want either thought in his head. He knelt beside the tree and started arranging the presents they'd brought, just to get his mind on something else.
“Jared,” Chris said, “hand her that blue one, will you?”
Jared picked up the flat, rectangular present and gave it to Sophie.
She carefully pulled back the shiny blue wrapper. Inside was an old picture book with part of the cover torn off so only half of a sand castle was visible. Sophie clapped her hand to her mouth like she was afraid her excitement would escape.
Jared didn't understand what was so special about an old book until Sophie opened the cover. There, on the first page, was a message scrawled in blue ink.
My dearest Sophie, I know how much you always loved this book, and I hope that every time you read it, you will think of me and remember the times I read it to you. All my love. Daddy
Sophie threw her arms around Chris' neck. “In the dream, he said the real Santa would give me the present. He said I already knew what it was.” She wasn't whispering anymore, but even if she had spoken only to Chris, Jared would still have known what she said. He would have known, because just over one year ago, he'd had the same dream. He once thought it had been brought on by Mary's hot chocolate, but he was wrong.
Jared felt like his lungs didn't work anymore. He grabbed on to his knees and sucked in as much air as he could.
Tracy knelt down beside him. “Are you okay?”
Jared didn't know anymore. All he knew for sure was that Chris was the real Santa.