“Here, Astrid,” Ryan says, holding out a familiar gold envelope. “This one’s from Uncle Finn.”
She shoots me a playful smirk. “Thanks, Uncle Finn.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumble. “Just open your damn present.”
She chuckles. It hits me, as she’s peeling open the envelope, that this gift made a hell of a lot more sense before I got here. She takes a few seconds to read the card—signed, love, D—then holds up the American Airlines gift card, loaded with two thousand dollars.
“Finn...” She looks at me with wide, bewildered eyes.
“I’d hoped you’d spend it on a first-class ticket to visit me in Nashville. But I didn’t want to assume that’s where you’d go with it, so...this seemed more versatile.”
She turns the card over in her hand. “Well, now I feel bad. The ice-cream maker only cost fifty bucks.”
I cradle her cheek. “I’d spend every penny I have to bring you home.”
Her lip trembles. She folds her arms around me, burying her face in my neck.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she whispers. “I love you.”
“I love you more, baby girl.”
Once all the presents have been opened and the wrapping paper collected, our group disperses to spend the rest of the day however we please. I give Astrid a couple of hours to visit with the family before the secret searing a hole in my pocket drives me to steal her away.
“Let’s go for a walk,” I tell her.
She looks up from the puzzle she’s working on with Dory at the kitchen table.
“Go on, sweetheart,” Dory says with a smile. “Get some fresh air.”
I hold her coat open so she can slide her arms through the sleeves.
It’s a cold, clear day outside. Bright and sunny, with mounds of white clinging to the trees. I take Astrid’s gloved hand in mine as we crunch down the long and winding drive.
“Did you have a good Christmas?” I ask.
“I did. Though I still say you were way too generous.”
I sigh. “You know, I had a feeling my present wasn’t going to land the way I’d intended.”
“Finn, I love your present. You didn’t just toss air miles at me. With the gift card, you’re also giving me the freedom that comes with planning my own trip.”
“Still, now that I know you’re coming to Nashville, I can just buy your ticket.” I bring us to a stop in front of a small cabin with a red SUV in the driveway. “Which is why I pulled a few strings and got you something else.”
Astrid frowns. “Finn, I don’t need any more presents.”
“I get that,” I say, reaching into my pocket. “But I also think you’re gonna need one of these sooner or later.”
I lay the set of keys in the center of her palm. She eyes them warily.
“What are these for?”
“They’re for you.”
“Okay, but what do they go to?”
I hook my thumb in the direction of the driveway.
She blinks. “Whose car is that?”