The story was written for the 2017 Advent Calendar – Day 11

Summary:  An unfortunate rite of passage.

Rating:  G  (1,790 words)

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.

The Real Hero
~~by thepurplewriter333

“No! It ain’t true– it ain’t!”

Tears streamed out of the youngest Cartwright’s eyes as he backed against the wall reproachfully.

“You’re lyin’, I just know you are!”

“Calm down, Joe. You know we don’t like this any more than you do,” Ben chided softly, and chanced a step forward.

Little Joe only backed away further, sniffing loudly. “Pa, it just ain’t true! I don’t know why Adam and Hoss keep insistin’ it is, but I know it ain’t! They’re lyin’. Just tryin’ to scare me, right, Pa? Say it ain’t true– say it!”

Maybe telling Joe that Santa Claus, the hero he worshiped and adored for the past ten years, wasn’t real hadn’t been such a good idea, Ben reflected. The boy was getting to be hysterical at the prospect of it, refusing to listen to a word they said.

“Little Joe, it’s time for you to know the truth,” Adam said, folding his arms. “Santa isn’t real.”

“No!”

Adam looked over at Ben, clearly exasperated. “Pa, he’s your son. Tell him.”

But Ben could feel himself hesitating. Was it really right to take Santa Claus away from Little Joe? As long as he could remember, the boy loved Christmas because Santa Claus would visit him. The boy even forced himself to be extra obedient as the holiday approached, in high hopes that he would be rewarded with extra presents that year for his good behavior. So maybe Ben could let it slide for another year. Maybe-

“Pa, I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no,” Adam repeated, eyeing his father in disbelief. “He’s ten years old- he shouldn’t go around believing this foolishness any longer than he already has. I never believed in Santa Claus, and I turned out fine!”

Hoss frowned from beside him. “Shucks, Adam, why do ya gotta be so mean to ‘em? He’s barely ten.”

Adam returned the question with one of his own. “Hoss, just when did you stop believing in Santa Claus?”

“What?”

“Just answer the question.”

“ Well, oh, I reckon… hmm… when I was about eight or so.”

“See? Right there, Pa- you heard what Hoss said! Little Joe’s old enough!”

Little Joe stifled a sob. “Adam, stop lyin’ to me! Why are you always lyin’ to me? Santa is real- stop saying he ain’t!”

Ben grimaced. “Joe, I…” But he faltered, unable to go on as Little Joe’s tears continued to rain down pitifully. Never before had he seen his son more emotionally distraught than this, other than at Marie’s death.

The sudden thought of his late wife drew a sharp breath from his lungs. Marie had always loved Christmas, reciting the Bible aloud to her boys by the fire while helping Ben and Hop Sing with the Christmas preparations. Her untimely death shook the Cartwright household to its core, most of all the Christmas season.

“Y-you too, Pa?” Joe stammered, wiping his wet eyes. “I thought… I thought you promised to never lie to me! And that’s what you’re doing right now- lyin’! ‘Cause Santa is real, and I dunno why you’re sayin’ otherwise!” With that, the ten-year-old burst out from his spot beside the wall and bounded up the stairs. The sound of his bedroom door slamming behind him echoed throughout the house.

Adam’s stone expression wavered. “Pa, you know I didn’t mean to upset him like that. I didn’t know he’d take the news so bad. Like a… a…”

“A child?” Ben sighed, pressing his thumb and index finger to his temple. “Because that’s what he is, Adam. A child. I know you never had the opportunity to be one, and I apologize for that, but with Joe… he’s different. He has more childish beliefs than you did, such as Santa Claus. And now that we’ve taken it away from him, he feels lost.”

Hoss kicked at the floor. “Dadburnit… look what we did. We ruined Christmas Eve.”

“We didn’t ruin anything,” Ben argued. “Joe was going to find out sooner or later that Santa Claus wasn’t real. We just came to that bend in the road tonight. I suppose since Marie always loved Christmas, Santa was a special thing to Joe. He lost that special thing tonight.”

“I-I didn’t mean to, Pa,” Adam apologized, suddenly feeling remorseful. “I didn’t know it meant so much to him.”

“Me neither, Pa,” Hoss moaned. “How’re we gonna make it up to him?”

“We could always say we were just joshing,” Adam said.

Ben held up a hand. “No, what you both said earlier was true. He’s old enough now, and he deserves to know the truth.” And, giving a tight smile, he set toward the stairs.

*****

“Little Joe? I know you’re in there.”

“G…go away, Pa. I don’t want to hear any more about S-Santa Claus…”

“I know you don’t, son. But it’s something we need to address.”

“F-fine… come in.”

Ben didn’t hesitate to twist open the knob and open the door, immediately spying Little Joe hunched over on his bed. His eyes were puffy and rimmed red; it was obvious the child had been crying.

“Joseph?” Ben said softly, coming over. “I want to speak to you about your tone with us earlier.”

Joe wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m sorry, Pa, but… but it just can’t be true. You always told me that Santa Claus was real, and now that you’re saying he ain’t, I just don’t know what to believe.” He looked up at Ben with sad, heavy green eyes. “Is what Adam said true? Is Santa Claus really not real?”

Ben sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Come here, son.”

After a slight pause, Joe scooted over to his father’s side. “Pa…?”

“I know you want me to tell you straight out what’s true and what’s not, but let me answer your question with one of my own.” Ben let a few moments pass to see Joe’s reaction; the boy was listening closely. Satisfied, he continued. “Do you remember what it said in the Bible about the night Jesus was born?”

Joe nodded. “Mhmm. He was born in a manger ‘cause there weren’t no more room in the hotel.”

“Yes. And three shepherds nearby were told by an angel to go and find him, which they did. Tell me, Joe, what do shepherds do?”

“Shepherds, they… they…” Joe furrowed his brow in concentration before his eyes lit up. “They watch over their flock by night and day, right?”

“That’s right, son. Shepherds protect their sheep, or their own, just like it says in the Bible.” He cupped Little Joe’s chin. “That’s what I have to do with you threeboys. Protect you. And sometimes that means not telling the entire truth so that something can last a little while longer.” He hesitated. “You see, Joe, Santa Claus has been a legend around the world for many, many years, told by many parents to their children to make Christmas a little brighter. Little Joe, didn’t the holidays always seem a bit more magical to you because of Santa Claus?”

“I-I reckon so, Pa…”

“Then you can begin to understand why I told you he was real.”

“I guess. But…” Joe wiped his nose again. “But why did you lie to me about it? And… why tell me about Santa, but not Adam?”

“Adam… grew up differently than you. He had to grow up fast, and didn’t have time for Santa Claus like you and Hoss did.” A smile played across Ben’s lips. “But for you, son, I wanted to give you that special belief, as well as Hoss. I knew one day you both would find out that Santa wasn’t real, but for the time being, you did love him so much. It was one final gift from me to you for Christmas. It was something your mother would’ve wanted.”

Little Joe blinked slowly, his green eyes swirling with confusion. “So, Santa ain’t real?”

“No, son. He’s not.”

“O-oh.” Joe looked away for a few moments, before he turned back to Ben with a sharp breath. “Well, I reckon…I reckon I always kind of knew that. After all, ain’t God the only one who has magic?”

Ben couldn’t help but laugh aloud. “Not magic, son, but yes, you’re on the right track. Christmas is celebrating baby Jesus’ birthday. It’s not about the presents, or the candy, or even about Santa Claus.” He touched the place on Joe’s chest where his heart was. “It’s about Jesus, your real hero.”

“My real hero?” Joe seemed to think this over, and then slowly allowed a nod. “Yeah. When it comes down to it, I guess Jesus really is a whole lot better than Santa. He forgave everyone for their sins, puts others before Him, and always loves us, even if we’ve been bad. I-I don’t think I could do that, Pa, even with Adam and Hoss.”

“You’re right, son. And God knows that, so that’s why He does all of that for us.”

Ben was relieved that his talk had seemed to work. Maybe this Christmas Eve his family could enjoy the true meaning of Christmas- Jesus- without Santa Claus stealing the glory.

He smiled, rubbing the boy’s arm. “Are you going to be all right, son?”

Joe paused. “Yeah. But… but, Pa…” His emerald eyes locked with Ben’s chocolate ones. “Don’t never lie to me again about anything like that. In a way, it’s almost as bad as Hoss’s snoring!”

Unable to help himself, Ben laughed loudly. “All right, all right, I promise. No more lies. And no more teasing your older brother about his snoring, either!” Ruffling Joe’s unkempt curls, he grinned. “Now can we go celebrate Christmas?”

“Wait. Christmas?” Joe seemed as if he was noticing the word for the first time. “Christmas? Like Jesus Christ?”

“Yes, son,” Ben agreed, thoughtful. “Exactly like that.”

Joe nodded slowly to himself. “Huh. So that’s what Christmas is supposed to be about, then. Jesus.” He scrunched up his nose with distaste. “Now I feel sort of silly for believing in Santa Claus. He ain’t even real!”

“No, he’s not,” Ben conceded, before he smiled. “But he was buried deep inside your heart. And, son…” He met the boy’s eyes. “Now it’s time for Jesus to be there, too.”

He offered Little Joe his hand.

And, smiling, the child took it.

Best of Christmas wishes this year, everyone!

Faust and the Librarians would like to thank thepurplewriter333 for participating in the 2017 Advent Calendar.

Link to the 2017 Advent Calendar – Lords a Leaping by A_Starry_Night