by Jim Butcher
“Ho, ho, ho,” he chortled quietly. He nodded his head politely toward Maggie, laid a finger aside of his nose, and… just vanished up the chimney.
“Oh, wow,” Maggie breathed. She met my gaze and her eyes were wide. “Oh, wow!”
As if the sound of her voice had been a starting pistol, Mouse bounced to his feet, suddenly awake and looking around excitedly.
“What are you waiting for?” I demanded of my daughter. I rose and rushed toward the front door. “Come on!”
Her little face with her big dark eyes went incandescent with joy and she sprinted after me, Mouse hard on her heels.
We all ran to the front door and I flung it open to the night air.
We saw the snow cascade off the roof. We saw the sleigh leap into the air, reindeer and all.
“Oh wow!” Maggie exclaimed. “Santa’s real! And he left me a bike!”
I looked down at her, and then back up at the departing sleigh, smiling hard enough to break my face.
“Yep,” I said. “He sure did.”
And we heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight.
“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”