Is there a Santa Claus?

DECEMBER 2ND, 2006

2000 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB HOUSEHOLD
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

Clara Mackenzie-Rabb was four years old when she found out the truth about Santa Claus.

It was eight o'clock on a Wednesday. The kids had been put to bed and Harm and Mac were snuggled under a blanket together, watching television. The entire living was decked out in Christmas decor, so much so that it looked like the set of a Hallmark movie. Neither of them had been too keen on expressing holiday spirit until they had kids, but now Harm and Mac had a family together they felt more inclined to go all out for the holiday season.

"I think this stuff is actually growing on me," Harm mused, looking around at the garlands, colorful lights, and wreaths that adorned the room. A huge Christmas tree (an artificial one, because they'd discovered two years ago that Clara was allergic to real evergreens) was in the corner, decorated from head-to-toe with a menagerie of different ornaments. The most recent additions were two hand painted snowmen, created by their two children. Clara's was neon green, because that was her favorite color at the moment. Being only five months old, Adam had to have his snowman painted for him. Clara had graciously agreed to do it, so his was neon green as well.

"It does look great," Mac agreed. "You did a good job, Sailor."

Harm chuckled. "That's because I had your help, Marine."

They shared a kiss, and then another.

"There's no mistletoe," Harm murmured.

"Since when have we ever needed one?" Mac asked.

"Good point."

Harm paused when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Mac followed his gaze and turned around to see what it was.

"Hi baby," she said. Harm looked over his shoulder. Clara was standing in the entryway in her flannel pajamas (an early Christmas present from Trish), with her favorite stuffed animal tucked under her arm.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Harm sat up, and Mac stealthily slid off his lap.

Clara shuffled forward so she was standing in front of her parents. "I have something to say," she said. Three days earlier she'd lost a tooth, so there was now a gap right in the middle of her top set of teeth.

"What is it?" Mac asked.

"I know something."

"What?"

"This may come as a shock," Clara said, an adorably serious look on her face. Harm and Mac exchanged looks.

"We're prepared," Harm nodded. "You can tell us, honey."

"Okay," Clara took a deep breath. "Santa Claus isn't real."

"Oh…"

Harm and Mac paused, their eyes widening. They looked at each other again, trying to telepathically figure out what they should say. They knew they would have to have this conversation eventually, but they weren't expecting to have the conversation started by their daughter.

"What makes you say that, sweetie?" Mac asked. Clara took it upon herself to climb onto the sofa between her parents, tucking her legs underneath herself.

"Because," she said. "It doesn't make sense."

"How come?"

"Mommy," Clara looked up at Mac. "There's no way he could get around the whole world in one night. It's not possible."

"He uses magic," Harm explained. "That's how he does it."

Clara turned to look at him. "Really?"

Harm nodded, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "Uh-huh."

"I don't think that's true."

Mac pursed her lips and reached down to smooth down the hair Harm had messed up. "Honey-" she started.

"Mac," Harm interrupted, looking at her with raised eyebrows. Are you sure we should do this? He mouthed.

Yes, Mac mouthed back, It's time. She's not gonna let this go.

Harm shrugged and reclined back, draping his arm over the back of the sofa, around Clara and Mac.

Mac cleared her throat. "Honey, we have something to tell you…"

DECEMBER 15TH, 2011

1830 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB RESIDENCE
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

Adam Mackenzie-Rabb was five years old when he found out the truth about Santa Claus. He was helping his mother load the dishwasher after dinner, which had been Harm's spaghetti (a family favorite). Clara was doing homework and Harm was putting Lily to bed. There was only a day left before schools let out before winter break, so it was a relaxed, excitement-filled evening in the Mackenzie-Rabb household.

"Are you excited for winter break?" Mac asked as she passed Adam a plate.

"Uh-huh," Adam nodded.

"What about school tomorrow? Are you doing anything fun?"

He shrugged. "We're having a class party, remember?"

"You are?" Mac's eyes widened.

"Yeah. I'm bringing pretzels."

Mac paused, feeling her heart drop. "We don't have any pretzels, honey."

Great. Now I'm going to have to go the grocery store after this-

"Yeah we do. Dad got me some."

"Oh," Mac breathed a quiet sigh of relief. "That's good."

Just then, Harm came walking down the stairs and into the kitchen. From where he walked in, he couldn't see Adam standing beside Mac.

"Hon, when are we gonna tell Adam that Santa isn't real?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen.

Mac whirled around. "Harm-"

"Because Clara found out when she was four when she found out, and Adam's five. So I was just wondering-"

"Harm!"

Adam peeked out from behind Mac, looking up at his father with a petrified expression. It was then that Harm finally noticed Adam. He froze. A few seconds passed by where no one said anything. Finally, Adam asked, "Dad? What are you talking about?"

Mac gave Harm a pointed look. "Yes Dad, what are you talking about?"

Harm sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He was getting too old for this.

DECEMBER 10TH, 2017

2010 EST
MACKENZIE-RABB RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA

Lillian Mackenzie-Rabb was eight-years-old when she found out the truth about Santa Claus. Since she was their last 'baby', Harm and Mac were a little reluctant to have her grow up. For the past few years, at the beginning of the month, Harm and Mac would make the decision that that year would be the year. But they kept putting it off until the last minute, and then they would decide to just wait until next year. However, they knew they couldn't put it off anymore.

Harm and Mac were standing in the doorway of Lily's room, trying their best to not look so conspicuous. She was sitting at her desk, writing her annual letter to Santa.

"Are you going to tell her?" Clara asked from behind her parents, causing both of them to jump.

"Shhh," Mac hissed. "Keep your voice down."

Clara looked up at her parents with raised eyebrows. "You guys need to tell her," she said. "She can't go on like this."

"We will," Harm nodded. "Don't worry."

"You've said that for the past three years."

"We're just working up our courage," Mac said, draping an arm over Clara's shoulders. "You don't know how hard this is."

"Of course I don't," Clara scoffed. "I found out on my own. I'm surprised she hasn't."

Mac shrugged. "You were always more like a mini-adult than a child."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"Take it as a compliment," Harm told her. "You were our guinea pig. It's a miracle you turned out this well."

He reached out to ruffle Clara's hair, which she dodged, shouting, "Dad!"

That caught Lily's attention. She slowly turned around from her desk to look at the three of them. "What are you guys doing?"

"Mom and Dad have something to tell you," Clara said, nudging Harm and Mac forward before they could stall any further.

"What is it?" Lily looked up at Harm and Mac with her big doe eyes. That made her parents feel even worse about how they were about to tell her.

"Well, sweetie…" Mac bit her lip. "You're eight now."

Clara groaned from the doorway, pressing her forehead against the door frame. Lily, oblivious to the tension in the room, nodded. "Yeah, I am. Is that it?"

"They need to tell you something about Santa," Clara told her.

Lily's eyes lit up. "Really? Because I almost finished my letter-"

"Honey," Harm crouched down to her eye level. "That's the thing...Santa's not going to get your letter." Lily's smile instantly dimmed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Santa isn't-" Clara started from the doorway, but Mac cut her off with a quick glare over her shoulder. Lily still heard her.

"Santa isn't what?" She looked to her parents.

Mac tried to smile. "Santa isn't real, baby."

Back when Clara first found out Santa wasn't real, she hadn't really had a reaction. Since she already suspected the truth, when Harm and Mac finally gave her confirmation, she mostly just felt satisfaction at being right and moved on with her life. When Adam found out, there had been some denial, but he'd been able to come to terms with it relatively quickly, just in time to tell his entire kindergarten class the next day.

Even though Clara and Adam's had been different, neither of them had experienced the outrage that Lily did.

"What?" she demanded, looking at Harm and Mac with pure disbelief. They both cringed.

"No," Lily shook her head. "You're lying. You have to be lying."

She waited for Harm and Mac to tell her they were joking, but they didn't. "You're not lying?"

Harm shook his head. "I know this be shocking-"

"Shocking?" Lily stood up, grabbing her letter and crumpling it up into her fist. "You've been lying to me!"

"Lying?" Mac's mouth dropped open.

"Yes! I've been lied to for the past eight years of my life!"

Clara shrugged. "She has a point."

Mac whirled around. "I thought you were on our side," she hissed.

"I'm the neutral party here," Clara leaned against the doorway, settling in to watch the show that was about to unfurl.

"And you," Lily turned to glare at her older sister. "You lied to me too!"

"Me?" Clara blurted in shock. "I was just going along with them!" she gestured to Harm and Mac. "Believe me, if it was up to me, you would've found out years ago."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Lily demanded, folding her arms across her chest and glared up at Harm and Mac. They both floundered.

"We didn't want to burst your bubble," Mac finally said.

"You just always got so excited," Harm added.

"So you lied to me?"

Mac sighed. "Honey, it wasn't lying-"

"Then what was it?"

Mac paused. There were a few beats of silence. "It was….stretching the truth."

"Maintaining the holiday spirit," Harm supplied.

"Lying," Clara corrected, which earned her a glare from Harm and Mac.

Lily chucked her balled up letter into the wastebasket. "I can't believe this!" she exclaimed. "This is-this is-"

"A tragedy?" Clara asked.

"Tragic!" Lily announced at the exact same time.

"At least they told you now, instead of waiting longer," Clara said. "If you had gone to middle school still believing in Santa, you would've gotten eaten alive."

"That's true," Harm nodded. "We're looking out for your best interest."

Lily didn't say anything for a few moments, with Harm, Mac, and Clara anxiously waiting for her response. For a few dreadful seconds, it looked like she was about to cry. Thankfully though, she didn't. She looked up at Harm and Mac with a small sniffle. She decided she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"I know what I want for Christmas now," she said.

"What is that?" Mac asked.

"New parents," she answered. "Ones that won't lie to me!"

Clara laughed, but Harm and Mac weren't that amused. Lily stormed out of her bedroom, and a few seconds later they heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"She does have a point," Clara told Harm and Mac. "It is technically a lie."

"I know, but we weren't trying to lie to her," Mac said. "That wasn't our intent."

"Try telling Lily that," Clara said with a shrug. She straightened up and departed to her own room, leaving Harm and Mac to reflect on what just happened.

Mac looked at Harm with worry in her eyes. "Do you think we're horrible parents?" she asked.

"I don't know," Harm replied. "I would say we'd get some coal in our stockings, but since Santa isn't real, I don't think we have to worry."

"You're not funny."

Thanks for reading! Hope you all have a happy holiday season!

-Harper