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thing that Saint Nick does is to bring kids presents. It’s all very simple. See?” Even Aaron seemed to question the words he’d just spit out.
    “So,” countered Madhu, quicker than reindeer feet on a cold Christmas night, “what you are saying is that Christmas is only about Santa bringing Christian children rewards and by so doing has qualified himself for sainthood. Is that it? That is most interesting.” His sarcastic tone suggested he wasn’t buying Aaron’s explanation.
    “Yes,” muttered Aaron. “I mean, no. It’s just that . . . I mean . . . I dunno what I mean.”
    Madhu didn’t want to trivialize Christmas through his persistent questioning. Nor did he want to contend with our beliefs. Rather, he genuinely wanted to know why Christmas was so important to us and how Santa fits into the picture, given that the stated cause for the celebration was the birth of Jesus Christ.
    As the two older boys sat analyzing what the other had said, it dawned on me that there was, perhaps, a potential connection between the modern-day Santa and baby Jesus.
    “Hey, I got it!” I shouted.
    “Got what?” asked Madhu.
    “I think I know why Santa is part of Christmas and why he gives gifts. Maybe he was a wise guy!”
    “What are you talking about?” Aaron asked.
    “You know, the three wise guys! He was probably one of them that brought Jesus gifts when he was born.”
    “Those were the wise
men
,” Aaron snorted. “They followed the star from the east to Bethlehem. Why would he be one of them?”
    “I was just thinking that maybe after bringing baby Jesus a special gift, he decided to keep giving gifts to children every year as a way for us all to remember.”
    “Well, I’m not very familiar with the story,” said Madhu thoughtfully. He was rubbing his chin with his index finger as he stared at me. “But if what you say is true, it would make more sense than anything else I’ve heard tonight about Santa Claus.” He winked and smiled at Aaron.
    “Well, if you think his idea is so interesting, you should join the Christmas pageant with us.” Aaron sounded only slightly miffed that Madhu favored my explanation of Santa Claus more than his own. “I bet they’d let you be one of the wise men, and that way you could learn all you want about them.”
    “Yes, most definitely! That is a wonderful suggestion Aaron. I would very much like to learn about the men from the east who were wise.”
    That settled it. Madhu would join us in the pageant.
    The only other mention of Christmas during our time with him that night was when we asked him about his Christmas list. To our surprise, he’d already ripped up the infamous red paper and thrown it away in the garbage, claiming that the thing he wanted most in the world was not within Santa Claus’s power to give. He also said that even if Santa
could
give him what he wanted, he probably wouldn’t because Madhu is not Christian. I didn’t think that was right but didn’t press the matter.
    When it came time to end our visit with Madhu, I secretly wished we could stay there and listen to him chatter away just a little bit longer, partly because I was dreading our final stop of the evening. I knew from experience that Katrina was nothing like Madhu. Whereas he had been happy, she would be sad. Where he found the positive, she positively would not.
    “Hello,” I said quietly as I knocked on Katrina’s door, half hoping I wouldn’t be heard. “Katrina, it’s Molar, the elf from the other night. Are you in there?”
    “Don’t come in!” she shouted loud enough for the whole floor to hear. “I don’t want visitors!”
    “Wow,” said Aaron under his breath. “She’s got some serious lungs. At least we know she’s here.”
    “I can
hear
you, you know! And of course I’m here. Where else would I be? I’m not dead yet!”
    This was already starting off worse than I’d feared. “Dr. Ringle lied,” I whispered softly back to my brother. “He said this