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“Fuck, Papa, enough,” she mutters to herself, and I smile the muscles in my face getting sore from overuse.
She tears open the envelope. “Is this really… This isn’t a joke, right?”
She looks up into my eyes, and I shake my head. “No joke. You asked for it, you get it. As many lessons as you need to get your pilot license.”
“W…when is my first lesson?”
She turns the ticket around in her hands, but I wrote it myself. There’s no restriction, because I’m going to pay for all the lessons she needs. If she wants to fly, that’s what she’s going to get. Although, she doesn’t know it yet, but I’m going to be there for every fucking lesson.
No way I’m letting my baby girl up in the air without me.
I make a dramatic show of pulling back my oversize Santa sleeve to look at my watch, making her giggle, then meet her eyes. “Now. If you like.”
* * *
The airfield comesinto view as I steer the Range Rover down the entry to the small airport, a haven of low hangars and control buildings against the backdrop of snow-capped wooded mountains. The single runway is a dark ribbon, meticulously cleared of snow even today.
Carina is grinning as we climb out of the cab and head for the hanger where her instructor is waiting. The place is decorated for Christmas, with festive red and green ribbons visible in the buildings as we pass.
“Don Sabato, over here!” I recognize the voice well, older now than I remember, but then aren’t we all? Valentina retired from official duties, but she’s the best pilot I know and now has her instructor’s license. She grins as we turn and walk towards her. “Little Carina Sabato. You’ve grown.”
Carina shakes her head, eyes wide and Valentina laughs, looking at me.
“Valentina was the pilot that brought you here,” I explain. “She brings all our people north, when it’s needed. Or did, before she retired. She’s the only person I trust to give you flying lessons.”
“I know who she is. I’ve wanted to be like her from that day.”
“Being a pilot isn’t hard. If you can dance, you can fly. Your grandfather paid me well to be here today. But, truth is, he’s not the kind of man you say no to.”
After that, everything goes by in a whir of excitement and joy.
It might be her first lesson, but Carina gets to fly the plane. Sort of. Valentina is at the controls, co-piloting, but Carina gets to feel what it’s like, the joy of being up in the air and seeing the ground a few thousand feet below.
“Leonardo would love this,” she says, laughing as we come in to land. “As soon as we get back, I’m feeding him and telling him all about it.”
Valentina looks at me with a quizzical expression, and I explain, “Leonardo is her pet reindeer.”
“Ah, well, in that case, he’ll be extra interested. Given that Santa over here hasn’t taught him to fly under his own power yet.”
The landing goes smoothly, with a little help from Valentina, and Carina is bouncing with joy as we step out of the plane. But as my old friend makes herself scarce, knowing what I have planned, I’m get fucking nervous.
Not about what I’m about to do. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life, and I know that Carina will feel the same way I do. I’m not nervous about what’s going to happen, or about our future. But I am nervous about the words I’m going to say, how I can get across the feelings inside me so that she knows. So that she understands what this means.
I take her hands in mine and drop to one knee. I’ve taken a knee in front of her, and it feels like home.
“Carina,” I say, drawing a deep breath as the words come, my breath a vapor hanging in the cold air. I look into her beautiful eyes and let it all go. “I love you. I loved you as the little girl I had to protect and I love you now as the woman who’s changed my world. You are my sun and sky and the stars that will guide the rest of my life. In five generations, this will be the first marriage that’s based on love and love alone. No political alliances, no convenience. Just you and me and the rest of our lives together.”
I pull the box from my back pocket, and she gasps when I open it up. Then I slide the ring onto her finger and kiss her knuckles.
“I love you,” she whispers. “I love you so much. But what about Chicago? What about—”
“That will always be a part of who we are as a family, but I’ve done my time as boss. I don’t want it. All I want is here. All I want is you. And the truth is…” I hesitate, but now is the right time. She needs to know it all, so that we can go into marriage with a clean slate. “The truth is Lucy has been helping me run things for a while now. With my help, but she has her own ideas.”
“Wait, Lucy? My sister is the Don? Or…whatever?”
“I’m not sure what the female version of a don is, but yes. She will be. So you see, there’s nothing to stop me staying here, where I’m happy. Our love will soar higher than any of these planes, Carina,” I tell her, glancing around at the pilots that have stopped their pre-flight checks to watch. “Let’s make history. Let’s do this for the right reasons. For love. For family. For forever. Marry me.”
She’s nodding, tears making glistening rivers down her cheeks as I pull her into my arms, standing, kissing the top of her head as those watching cheer, giving their congratulations before they return to their own lives.
