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“Another Christmas over,” Jim said, forlornly, as he sat on a stump in their yard next to his older brother.

It was after midnight, and they really should be in the house and in bed but they had no school so Mom had given them permission to stay up a bit late.

Jim was six and Sam nine.

“I’m glad.”

“Don’t say that Sammy.”

Sam snorted. “Now the grandparents can go home. And Mom’s new boyfriend too. I hate all those people in my house.”

“I like them,” Jim insisted. “Grandma and Grandpa anyway. I don’t like Mom’s boyfriend.  Besides what if Daddy comes back?”

“I’ve already told you Dad’s not ever coming back. He died, stupid.”

“But I wished on a star!”

“Wishes don’t work. And guess what? There’s no such thing as Santa. That was Mom.”

“What? There’s no Santa?” Jim was on the verge of tears.

“The sooner you grow up the better off you’ll be. Dad’s gone. Santa doesn’t exist and Mom’s gonna marry that guy and ruin all our lives. Life isn’t fair, Jimmy. It’s just life. And you live it. And sometimes good things happen, but mostly bad things do. You just gotta accept it.”

“But—”

“And Christmas sucks.” Sammy rose from the stump he’d been on and went slamming back into the house, leaving Jim to sit by himself, now in tears.

He sat there for a while wondering why Sammy hated him. Because he must. Sammy was always mean to him, Jim thought.

He was still there when his grandpa came t sit with him on the stump beside him.

“Getting a little cold out here, isn’t it, champ?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got some cocoa brewing right now, so when we go in you can have some before bed.”

“Grandpa?”

“Yeah?”

“Daddy really isn’t ever coming back, is he?”

“No, I’m afraid not. Your daddy passed away. But he saved a lot of people and was a hero. We’re very proud of him and you should be, too. And his spirit is always with us. All of us.”

“And Santa?”

“What about him?”

“Sam says there’s no such thing as Santa.”

His grandpa put his hand on Jim’s knee. “Sam doesn’t know everything, Jim. He only thinks he does. You believe me when I tell you Santa is real.”

Jim brightened. “It’s true?”

“You bet it is. Now let’s go in and get that cocoa, all right?”

“Okay.”

They got off their stumps and Jim took his grandpa’s hand as they went back inside the house. He felt much better. And didn’t care what Sammy said. Santa was real!