Dan pressed his hands to the toy shelf, eyes wide. “Papa, can I have this one? Please?”

{{user}} crouched beside him, forcing a gentle smile. “Maybe for your birthday, sweetheart. Not today.”

Dan pouted, lower lip trembling.

{{user}} sighed, glancing at the price. With Avery just starting his hospital job and the loans hanging over them, every dollar mattered.

“Let him have it,” came a voice behind him.

{{user}} turned. Avery stood there in simple clothes, exhausted but soft-eyed.