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We drive in Luke’s truck with Ainsley in the booster seat he purchased for her. We don’t travel far, and I’m stunned when he parks the car near the entrance of Greenwood Village Park. The vast space that is usually crowded is empty and dark. I can hardly see a thing, except for the town carousel that is uncharacteristically lit up and glowing.
Luke gets out and then walks around my side to open my door. He takes my hand and escorts me outside, then gets Ainsley from the backset.
He takes her hand and guides us toward the carousel.
“Is that for us?” Ainsley asks, pointing wildly at the amusement ride that is playing traditional merry-go-round music.
“I rented it just for us.”
She starts jumping up and down, and her excitement reflects onto Luke’s face.
The carousel operator greets us through the gate. To the left of the ride, under the building structure the carousel resides in, I see a table set up for dinner for three. I turn to Luke with my mouth parted.
He smiles. “A slight upgrade from our picnics.”
The three of us board the carousel. Ainsley selects a brown horse with flowers along its mane. I take the one beside her—a gray pony with blue feathers in a cap. Luke is on the other side of Ainsley on a black stallion.
The ride starts, and we take a go around, the three of us laughing and talking. The music is joyous, as is the beam on Ainsley’s face. When the ride ends, she scurries to another horse and settles on that one. Luke and I follow suit and take other horses as well.
For the third ride, Luke asks if we can take a seat on the ornate bench on the ride. It’s long enough to seat five people, but only Ainsley and I take a seat. Luke opts to stand.
When the ride starts, this time at a slower speed than before, he takes a knee in front of Ainsley. The horses move in an almost-still pace, and the music is a softer tune yet still magical.
“Do you know why your mom and I asked you to get dressed up extra special tonight?” he asks Ainsley, who shakes her head. “Because tonight is extra special.”
He looks to me, seeking permission, and I nod slightly, taking a long, shaky breath.
The confidence of Luke falls a little as he swallows hard and looks at Ainsley like a man about to promise marriage to a woman—nervous as hell.
“Ainsley, have you ever wondered about having a dad?” he starts.
She nods. “Mommy said I don’t need one, and that’s okay because all families are different. I have Mommy and Grandma and Grandpa.”
“You have a daddy, Ainsley,” I explain gently.
She looks from me to Luke with a confused squish to her face. “Areyoumy daddy?”
“Yes.” His lips puff out, and his brows form a deep V. “I’m so sorry I haven’t been there for you. That’s why I wanted to make tonight so special. I plan to make up for all the time we’ve lost because you are the most special girl in the world, Ainsley. If it’s okay, I want to be the best dad in the universe for you.”
Her wide eyes continue to stare at him with a blank expression.
“You’re my daddy,” she states.
“I am your dad,” he confirms cautiously, tears building on the inside of his eyes.
Four-year-old eyes look at him from one eye to the next. She’s appraising him from deep in her soul in a way I didn’t know a child could. As she stares, Luke waits, and his face flushes.
Ainsley’s shoulders fall. His do too. The moment is fraught with tension as they look at each other—his face sad and hers confused.
Then, she lifts her arms up in the air and brings them down in a fierce fist pump as she declares loudly, “Yes!”
Luke sits back on his heels and looks at her with trepidation. “Yes is good?”
“Yes is so good!” She jumps up and throws her arms around his neck and gives him a hug bigger, tighter, and full of more affection than I’ve ever seen her give.
Those tears that pooled in his eyes are now spilling down his cheeks as he wraps his hands around her and pulls her in tightly.
My own view of the father and daughter is clouded in tears as I see the union of the souls that were meant be together. Even before they knew they belonged to one another, they fit.
