There are stars, and then the moon—and also the aurora borealis—the northern lights. When we’re back in the warm, I can show you photos on my phone.”
“So you’ve seen him?”
“No, I haven’t seen him. I was always in bed asleep when he came. Which is exactly where you will be.”
Ella relaxed a little, but Tab still wasn’t convinced.
“But how does he get round the whole world in one night?”
“Exactly.” Gayle stood stiff and miserable. “It isn’t mathematically possible.”
“It could be, although some factors remain unconfirmed of course.” Brodie dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper. He pushed his glasses farther up his nose and then focused on Tab. “The earth rotates—did you know that? It turns. Slowly, so you’d never know.”
Still clinging to Samantha, Tab shook her head and he stooped and picked up a pinecone.
“We’ll pretend this is the earth. This is where we live. And it moves like this—” He turned the pinecone and then handed it to Ella and scribbled on the paper in his palm. “If you do a calculation, taking into account the rotation of the earth, wind direction and—er—” he cleared his throat as he scribbled down a series of complicated equations “—speed and relative weight of the vehicle, in this case a sleigh, it’s possible.”
Tab stopped rubbing her eyes and stared at Brodie’s scribbles. “What about the weight of the presents?”
“Smart question.” Brodie changed a couple of numbers. “But the weight of the load carried is part of the overall weight calculation. So it’s all good.” He was so convincing that Ella almost believed it herself.
She was breathless with gratitude and admiration, but Tab was still suspicious.
“So why doesn’t Nanna believe?”
“This is—er—very complicated maths.” He sent Gayle an apologetic look. “Not always easy to understand—”
Gayle opened her mouth but Samantha spoke first.
“Which of the reindeer is Buzzard again?”
Tab pointed, her arm wavering. “The one with half an antler.”
“Shall we go and stroke him?” Samantha whisked Tab to the reindeer at the front, protecting her from whatever it was Gayle had been about to say.
Brodie followed, which gave Ella the chance to speak up.
She couldn’t let this pass. She just couldn’t.
She wasn’t sure where to start, but Gayle made it easy.
“I know you’re angry with me, but I was thinking about what’s best for Tab. She asks these endless questions and you’re doing her no favors by offering up lies in response. It’s not right to encourage her to believe that life is a fairy tale.”
“I decide what’s right. I’m her mother, and I decide.” Ella’s voice shook as much as her hands. “I don’t care what you think. It doesn’t matter what you think.” She couldn’t believe her mother would say such a thing, although why should it surprise her? This was her childhood all over again.
Her mother was tense. “All I’m saying is that bringing up a child to believe in a magical benevolent being creates false expectations. You think I’m the killer of joy, but I’m trying to protect her.”
“The difference between us is that you try and suppress joy because you’re so afraid of losing it, whereas I want to savor joy wherever I find it. Yes, life sends dark times, but that’s all the more reason to feast on the happy times and store them up. I’m not teaching her to believe a lie—I’m teaching her to enjoy the moment.”
“I think—”
“It doesn’t matter what you think. Tab isn’t your child, and this isn’t your decision.” Ella stood her ground. She’d never set boundaries for herself before, but she discovered it was remarkably easy when it related to her daughter. “This is my life, Mom. My choices. My decisions. You don’t get to decide for me. I don’t need or want your opinion on my career choice, my relationships or the way I raise my daughter.”
Her mother was pale. “But if you—”
“There is no ‘but’ on this one. If I want to indulge Tab with a Christmas stocking and tales of Santa and flying reindeer, then I’ll do it. And if one day I regret taking that approach, then that’s on me. But in the meantime, you’ll go along with it. It was your choice to spend Christmas with us, Mom. You insisted. So these are the rules. That’s it. That’s all. If you don’t like it, then perhaps this isn’t the best place for you to be.”
Her heart was thudding so hard she felt dizzy and faint.