"Harry...."
"Mm?"
"Do you still think these twenty years were wasted?"
I slipped an arm around her waist. "It isn't fair to ask me that on a night like this.... But if they were, I'm glad we wasted them together."
She leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Thank you, Daddy. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Mommy."
Next morning, I donned my pillow-stuffed Santa uniform and itchy white whiskers and stood with Mommy on the Auditorium stage, beaming into a bright sea of expectant faces.
"Merry Christmas, everybody. Mer-r-r-y Christmas! Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
"Merry Christmas, Santa Claus!" came the answering chorus.