v12-final1

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“But mommy doesn’t let me drink soda,” she said, this time
a quiet whisper. She looked toward the hall, still hoping her mother
didn’t know she was up.
“Let’s ignore the rules for a while,” he said, and his voice was
equally secretive. “It’s Christmas. This is our special night.”
The two of them crept into the kitchen. He took a two-liter bottle
of Coca Cola out of the refrigerator and poured a glass for both of them.
They sat at the table with their drinks and began eating the cookies that
had been left out for Santa Claus.
“I helped mommy bake these,” she said, her mouth half full.
“I can tell,” he said. “They’re delicious. Chocolate chip is my
favorite!”
“How did you get here so fast?” she asked. “I just talked to you a
few hours ago. You were in Iraq. I thought you said the plane ride to get
there took you a whole day?”
“It’s really far away,” he said, chasing a bite of cookie with Coke.
“I used the magic of Christmas. You know, like Santa does to be able to
deliver toys to boys and girls all over the world in one night.”
“I knew it was all real,” she said, a stern look on her face. “Stacy
at school said that Santa wasn’t real.”
“Don’t listen to her,” he said, taking another cookie from the
plate. “Besides,” he said, glancing over his shoulder toward the living
room. “It looks like Santa already came.”
She looked under the tree as well, her cookies forgotten as she
rose from her chair and walked into the living room. “I didn’t even
notice. I was so surprised to see you.”
“Open one,” he said, nudging her toward the gifts.
“Should we wake mommy?”
“No,” he said. “This is a very special Christmas, just between us.
I’ll see mommy later.”
“Ok,” she said, dropping to the floor, grabbing the closest package