Elin’s room looked like a warzone, so here he was in the middle of it all building himself a new one with some blocks that Van gave him. He hummed a happy little tune that didn’t have any rhyme or rhythm as he built up one wall, broke down another, and stuck a window in a third. The boy gave his creation a kind of undivided attention that wasn’t seen often in him, and this was one of few moments where he could sit still and focus. It was almost a shame that Van felt the need to interrupt him now.

“Hey Elin! Come here for a sec.”

The little boy didn’t seem to hear him, perhaps too focused on his dream room, and kept on building. This continued until Van called for him a second time and finally showed up in the doorway of the little bedroom.

“Whoa, little man, you gotta pick up this place once in a while,” he commented, finally breaking Elin’s concentration. “Come on. I need your help with something.”

The little blond boy picked himself up off the floor and followed Van out, his expression wide-eyed but otherwise blank. Van took a seat on the couch in the library and Elin did the same, letting his feet swing back and forth and colliding with the piece of furniture with a dull thud each time.

Van took his sweet time, letting out a sigh and running a hand through his hair before saying anything, so Elin returned to his usual impatient self. “What do you need, daddy?”

‘Daddy’ let out another sigh and finally got to the point. “You know I really like your mom, right?”

“Mmm-hmm!” Elin started nodding enthusiastically. “And mama really likes you too.”

“Well, I hope so,” Van said with a nervous laugh. “Anyway, I was thinking about asking her to marry me. You’d be okay with that, right?”

Hearing that question, Elin’s just like up brighter than Christmas. “Does that mean you’d get to be my daddy for real?”

“Let’s hope so.” Van ruffled the boy’s hair a bit.

“Wait. Isn’t mama supposed to do stuff like that?”

“What?”

“Yeah. The girl’s supposed to ask the boy if they wanna get married. Right?”

“Maybe?” Van started to blush. “It’s kinda the other way around where I’m from, though. You think your mom will mind too much?”

“I guess not, if she really really likes you.” Elin shrugged. “So, you want me to ask her for you?”

“No, not that. I’ll do the asking. I just gotta figure out what to say first.”

“How do I help you do that?”

“Just listen for a bit. You think you can do that? Sit there and listen?”

“Okay.”

Van got to his feet and pulled something out of his pocket. Elin leaned forward to get a better look at the small plastic package that was being unwrapped in front of him. Van put the crackling shell back in his pocket to reveal what looked like a ring with a very large red stone.

“Wow,” Elin murmured.

Van smiled at him. He didn’t think it was best to tell him the ring was candy just yet; t would likely just distract him when it was already hard enough to make him concentrate.

“So what’s the ring for?”

“Well, were I’m from , you give a girl a ring if you want her to marry you. Now, just listen and tell me what you think.” Van took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and began. “’Lita, I’’”

“Hey, I’m not Lita. That’s mama!”

“Yes, I know. This is what I wanna say to her. Now just listen.”

Elin settled back into the couch. “Okay.”

“Good. Now: ‘Lita, you know I really love you - at least I hope you do by now - the point is, you’re really important to me. Elin, too.’”

“Hey, what kind of ring is that?” Elin reached over for the ring, grabbing hold of the oversized gem. Van didn’t let go of it, and Elin lost his grip. He then noticed that his hand was now strangely sticky and smelled like fruit.

“Is that ring made of candy? Cool! Can I have it?”

“Focus, Elin! Focus!” Van let out a loud sigh. “Yeah. I’ll give you this ring if you be quiet and help me for a bit. Okay?”

“Okay!”

Right, well… You heard the first bit, right? So I don’t need to go over it again?” Even Elin could tell that Van was a real case of nerves at the moment; his blush had grown steadily darker as he kept talking and he was even shaking a bit.

“You okay, daddy?”

“Yeah. Just gotta get though this bit. ‘Kay, how’s this: I’ve realized I don’t wanna be with anyone else, ever. So I was thinking, why not don’t you and I get married?’ So what do you think, kiddo? You think she’ll like that?”

“I guess. Is that all you’re gonna say?”

“You think I should say more?”

“Nah. Can I have the candy ring now?”

Van couldn’t help but laugh. The kid had such a one-track mind. “Yeah, I guess so. You’ve been a big help. Thanks.” So he gave Elin the ring and the boy put on a big smile and ran off.