“Of course I did,” he said with a delighted grin. “Where would I be without bribes?”
He picked the children up one after another, hugging and kissing them. Then he took out the neatly wrapped boxes and began handing them around.
“This is for you, Munir. A tablet. Don’t break it on the first day.”
“Wow!”
“And for you, Hasan, headphones and glasses. You’re Agent 007 now.”
“Oh yes!”
“And this is for you, little Rasim. A phone with parental controls.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you can call me, but not the police when you break something in the house.”
There was laughter, and someone clapped him on the back.
“And who are you?” he asked, looking at the little girl.
“I’m Selma! And this is Rabbit. He bites!”
“Does he?” Cross crouched down. “Tell me, who was the last person he bit?”
She leaned closer and whispered as though revealing a conspiracy.
“Mommy, when she tried to throw him in the wash.”
“What a little rascal.” Cross touched a finger to the toy’s mouth. “I’ll have to have a word with him. But we’ve found him a girlfriend!”
Cross pulled a large wrapped box closer and asked his eldest nephew to cut through the plastic wrapping. Once the gift was unwrapped, a large, beautiful doll appeared, with long curly hair and a bow.
“Wow!” Munir breathed. “She’s gorgeous!”
“You can practice kissing with her,” Kenan joked, making everyone laugh except Selma. She gave her father a sideways look and reached for the toy.
“She’s mine!”
Munir handed her the gift and answered with a laugh.
“Yes, she’s yours, she’s yours. I don’t play with dolls.”
Esma nudged her daughter toward Cross.
“Thank your uncle.”
Cross was still kneeling in front of the little girl, smiling into her face. She came over, held the doll in one arm, and kissed him on the cheek. Cross closed his eyes and immediately pulled her close.
“Thank you, Uncle Cross,” she said.
“You’re welcome, my princess.”
“Wait, I have something else,” he said, taking a narrow case tied with a ribbon from his bag without further preamble. “For the lady of the house,” he murmured, offering the little box to his sister-in-law.
Esma opened it and went still. Inside lay a delicate white-gold bracelet, its emeralds gleaming in a straight line like drops of dew on grass. The stones caught the lamplight, their facets coming alive.
“Cross…” Her voice trembled. “How do you know?”
“I know there should be more in your life than making soup. Which is delicious, by the way. I remember,” he replied seriously.
She carefully fastened the bracelet around her wrist, her eyes shining. Then Cross took out another envelope and handed her a folder of documents.
“A trip to Thailand for the whole family,” he added simply. “You choose the dates.”
“Thailand?” Esma covered her mouth with her hand. “You’ve lost your mind…”
Kenan grinned, but his eyes lit up.
“Well, brother… You’ve put me in a difficult position. Now I’ll have to admit you’re the best husband my wife could have.”
“Live with it,” Cross laughed, turning to him. “And this is for you personally.”
He took out a set of keys bearing the Nissan logo and a slim folder of documents.
“A Patrol. Brand-new, already on its way. Fully loaded.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Kenan looked from the keys to his brother and smiled.
“Are you serious?”
“When have I ever joked about something like this? The car’s yours. It’ll be sitting in the yard in a couple of weeks.”
