Tooth or consequences

I fear Carter's imaginary world is shattering around him. Just a week after he inquires about the validity of Santa and the Tooth Fairy, he is about to uncover the truth ... but not if we can help it.

Last evening, Carter mentioned he had 2 loose teeth. I felt them both and figured we had a few days to go. A child doesn't always realize a tooth can feel loose for quite awhile before it's ready to come out.

When he went to bed, I told him not to spend the night wiggling the tooth or he'd be up all night. His response was that he wanted to be sure he was the one who pulled it out, not Daddy, because then he might get more money.

More money?! When I was a kid, I got a nickel or a dime or a quarter. We had been giving Carter 50 cents -- but that last time upped it to a dollar since there was some pain involved. Carter insists, however, that ALL his friends get $5 a tooth. 5 bucks?! What the heck?

I didn't even have a good answer so I changed the subject. (We parents are good at that.) Then, I didn't give the matter another thought until this morning.

Carter comes out with spots of blood on his T-shirt and crying. What on earth happened? "I lost my tooth last night and put it under my pillow and the Tooth Fairy didn't come!"

Did you tell Daddy? I asked. "No. I wanted to prove my friends were wrong, that it wasn't our parents."

Oh crap. Why does he have to be such a fact finder? (You'd think his parents were former newspaper reporters or something!)

In the way that parents can lie creatively on the spot, I told him I suspected it was too late at night when he lost the tooth and the Tooth Fairy had already passed over our house. Daddy said the same thing, but Carter was adamant that so-and-so down the street loses her teeth late at night and the Tooth Fairy still comes.

What can we say? Here we are defending something that doesn't exist! (Now I know how those public defenders feel when they don't believe in their clients.)

We told Carter we'd try again tonight. Now, the question is: Does our client deserve extra compensation in damages for his undue pain and suffering?

For the record, I checked on www.toothfairy.org (yes, such a Web site exists) this morning, and the going rate for a tooth these days is a dollar ... so we're right on track. We all know the Tooth Fairy wouldn't lie, right? I think she leaves that up to us parents.