The bike accident had taken us by such force and shock that we never thought about finding a way to jovialize the incident, so instead of doing what most parents would do and stuffing the shiny tooth under our child’s pillow, we had stuffed the tiny white bone in a clear plastic jar in the back of our fridge in case, by some magical chance, the dentist would call and say, “Hey, you still have that tooth? We’ve got a way to pop ‘er back in.”
It wasn’t until a recent overdue fridge clean-out that I gathered the courage to finally toss the tiny tooth in the trash.
Neither Clayton nor I had the thought to do the whole Tooth Fairy thing until Caroline became engrossed with Peppa Pig, 5-minute bedtime stories: The Tooth Fairy. In the story Peppa’s tooth falls out while she’s eating dinner with her family. She tries to stay up and wait to meet the fairy but instead falls asleep and wakes to find a coin from the Tooth Fairy. Sorry for any spoilers there.
On the 37th read of the story, Caroline sprung up.
“Is the Tooth Fairy real?”
“What do you think,” I asked?
“Yes. I think it is. It’s sometimes a boy and sometimes a girl.”
With a curious bend between her brows she asked where her tooth was and if she could write her own letter to the Tooth Fairy.
I froze for a moment.
“Oh! That old thing, I threw it out three weeks ago because I was met with drama and rage every time I saw it, the sight of it an immediate replay of the accident: watching you barrel down the hill, unable to help you.
I tried hard to think of what exactly to say.
“Oh, the Tooth Fairy! Yes- sugars, I forgot about that little detail. Why? Because well, I just got over grieving your sweet baby smile that I’ll never see again with two front teeth.”
I wasn’t sure how long I was standing there trying to think of something.
“Oh, and I’ve also been bothered by how bothered I am about a silly tooth. So, maybe we’ve just ignored the whole Tooth Fairy Thing because we’re a little bitter and how would we even go about it? So, no, I don’t have the tooth, we will do the Tooth Fairy thing when the next one falls out.”
What I really wanted to say was,
“Do you really want me to lie about a magical fairy coming into your bedroom at night while you sleep?”
But all I could say was, “Oh honey, I’m not sure where it went. But if you want to write a note to her we could try and see if she will come! I’m sure she will understand why the tooth won’t be there.”
She nodded and asked me to help her draft the letter on lined paper and black sharpie.
“What should we write?” I asked.
In one long breath she confidently declared:
Dear Tooth Fairy,
I have been waiting for you to come, but I didn't put my tooth under my pillow.
-Caroline
She completed the drawing with a portrait of herself and the Tooth Fairy and carefully tucked it under her pillow.
After she was long asleep, I scoured the house for some coins. A quarter, a dime, a nickel– nothing. I began to panic and asked Clayton if he had any change or else this kid was going to think the Tooth Fairy left twenty dollar bills. He found a wrinkled dollar bill in his jeans. I nervously crept into her room and slid the paper from beneath her pillow in exchange for the dollar bill and my best guess at whatever the Tooth Fairy may say in a note.
The next morning she came running into our room waving the note. “HE CAME!”, she exclaimed with magic in her eyes, “I am keeping this in my treasure box so Kate won’t get it!!”
She ran off in pure joy. Hum, maybe I do get the point of these magic little made up things.
The next evening, the magic of the Tooth Fairy still wafting through the house, I eagerly reminded her that Christmas is coming soon. “And you know what happens then,” I grinned, “Santa comes!”
“Mom, is Santa real?” Caroline asked.
“Hum, what do you think?” I responded, just like before.
“No. There’s no way, it just wouldn’t work.”
Merry Christmas.
Thank you
for making time on CHRISTMAS EVE to look at this one!
What a chuckle this gave me, Emma! So incredibly delightful.
She’s so real. I love these vignettes. Sweet reminders for me, now that I’m in the middle school years…. keep the magic going! You’re doing great.