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Zoey looks up at me, nothing but love shining back in her eyes as I lean down to Hailee’s eye level and nod. “The telescope is set up specifically to find Saturn. You want to go look?”
Her eyes flood with tears as she tries unsuccessfully to blink them away. “I’m gonna see Saturn?”
I bring up my hand, swiping the tear away that’s fallen on her cheek. “Yeah, Starshine, you’re going to see Saturn.”
Her bottom lip trembles as she launches forward into my arms, almost knocking me on my ass, but I somehow keep my footing and embrace her back. “Thank you, Blake, this is the best presentever!”
Smiling, I glance up at Zoey, her hand to her chest while she fights back the tears. I wink at her as I pull back from Hailee and stand, leading her toward the telescope. The patron said it was all set up in the right direction, all we have to do is look through, and it will be visible. So I grab the footstool and slide it under the telescope so Hailee can reach the right height. I hoist her up on top of it, and she takes a deep breath. “You ready, Starshine?” I ask, and she bounces on her toes in the way she does when she is excited.
“So ready!” She pulls off her Saturn hat and hands it to Zoey, the ring I gave her at the wedding still sitting on her finger proudly. It makes me smile as she slowly places her eyes to the telescope. She inhales deeply like she’s in awe and lets out a little squeal. “Oh my God, I see it, Blake. I see it!”
My heart races as her hand darts out, grabbing mine in her excitement, and she squeezes tight. “Tell me what it looks like.”
“It’s small, but I can see the planet is like a creamy, yellow color, and the rings are almost like a glowing blue… it’s so pretty, Blake, just like I imagined him to be.”
I chuckle. “Saturn is a boy?” I ask.
“Of course, silly,” she says, glancing back at me with a great big smirk.
I glance at Zoey and shrug. “Of course, I should have known… what else can you see?”
Hailee focuses back on the telescope and hums under her breath like she’s concentrating. “I can see Alpha Centauri, hanging above the horizon of Saturn, at least I think it is. It’s really bright, so I think that’s what I’m looking at.”
Raising my brow, I’m actually impressed. I knew Hailee loved the stars, but I didn’t realize how much she knew about this stuff. So now it’s time to break out the big guns. “Hey, Hailee, if you look to the right of Saturn a little, see that other star there, the bright binary one?”
She hums under her breath, looking around, then stops and nods. “Yes, I see it. It’s beautiful!”
I turn to Zoey and gesture for her to hand me the folder on the table beside her. “Cupcake, can you hand me that?”
She furrows her brows but picks it up and hands it to me. I tap Hailee on the back, and she pulls her eyes away from the telescope to look at me, and I hand the folder to her. “Hailee, the binary star represents you and your mother. Two bright sparks in my life. And because you are so connected to the stars, Starshine, I wanted you to forever feel like you’re up there hanging in the sky.”
Hailee purses her lips, staring at me. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
Smiling, I flip open the folder showing her the star chart. “The binary star is yours, Hailee. I bought it for you. So you have something from me to connect you to the stars for you and your Mom.”
She lets out a small gasp, her eyes flooding with tears as she flips through the pages in the folder showing her all the details on how the star, with a long name full of numbers and letters, now belongs to her. It’s in her name, and it’s completely legal done through the International Astronomical Union and not one of those online places pretending to be NASA.
“I own a star? A real star?” she whispers so quietly I almost don’t hear her.
Nodding, I place my hand on her shoulder. “You do. Merry Christmas, Hailee.”
She closes the folder, handing it to Zoey, tears streaming down her face as she quietly slides in, embracing me. Smiling, I hug her back as she cries, almost sobbing. So I hold her tighter to me, stroking her hair, wondering if maybe she doesn’t like it as much as I thought she would.
I pull back from her, stroking her face. “What’s going through your mind, sweetheart?” I ask.
Hailee sniffles, wiping her face, trying to calm herself down. “It’s just… this is just… the best gift I have ever gotten in my whole, entire life.”
My anxiety begins to relax as I smile at her. “So, you like it?”
She nods, swiping under her running nose. “It’s the best. You’re the best… I love you… Dad.”
My entire body tingles hearing her say that, and I have to try to keep my shit together. I pull her to me, hugging her tight. “I love you, too, Hailee.”
Zoey tries to fight back her tears, but I hear her sniffling behind us as she steps up and wraps her arms around us in a group hug. “You guys are so freaking adorable,” she states, making Hailee and me chuckle.
Hailee lets me go and grabs her mother’s hands. “Did you see, Mommy? I own a star. No, I owntwostars!”
Zoey can’t fight back her smile. “I saw, baby. Blake spoils you.”
