“Are you ready to go?” he whispers.
“Yeah, I just wanted to take a moment to remember my grandparents. I always do this when visiting churches abroad.”
“It sounds like a good tradition to have.”
We walk back outside holding hands, and the view is stunning. No matter where I look, I can see the beautiful Helsinki city center around me. In front of us, there’s the Baltic Sea that Jasper showed me on Google Maps earlier today.
He points to one of the buildings on our left. “Let’s go to that restaurant, they serve one of the best Sautéed Reindeer dishes in Helsinki.”
I start walking down the steps when his words register, and I stop in my tracks, turning to look at him. “Did you say sautéed reindeer?” He nods, so I shriek. “But I can’t eat Rudolph!”
Jasper rolls his eyes playfully. “Of course you would think that.”
“Stop teasing me, I mean it! I can’t eat Rudolph or his friends.” I cross my arms over my chest.
“I’m sure they’ll have many other foods for you to choose from then, like Fried Baltic herring, if that sounds better.”
“You’re not going to force me to try the reindeer?”
He shakes his head before answering. “Why would I? You’re an adult, so you can make your own decisions, Vivian. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want.”
How sweet is he? That was beyond kind for him to say.
“Let’s go then,” I tell him as my stomach growls.
* * *
“I have a surprise for you,” Jasper says as we’re finishing our dessert. He ate the Sautéed Reindeer as his main, and it was served with mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserve. I couldn’t stomach the idea of trying it, so I went with pyttipannu, a dish similar to hash.
“Oh, you do?”
His blue eyes meet mine, and he grins like a little kid in a candy store who can’t wait to tell me what he has. Jasper shows me an email on his phone and at first, I don’t know what I’m looking at. Until he opens another email with what looks like flight tickets.
“Wait, what is this?” I ask though I’m already smiling.
“I got us tickets to Lapland—we’re taking the night train there and then flying back four nights later. I noticed how much you hate flying, so I thought it wouldn't be as bad for you if we did some traveling by train.”
“I don’t know what to say…it’s too much,” I tell him, holding back my tears. “You actually did all that for me?”
He nods, a wide smile reaching his eyes. “You deserve the best, Vivian. And the train ride isn’t even that bad. We’ll leave Helsinki in the late evening and be in Lapland—near Santa Claus Village—in the morning. There’ll be bunk beds and a private bathroom in our cabin, too.”
“You’re too much, Jasper Åkerman!”
“I don’t think so, Vivian Isabel Powers.”
Feeling surprised and amused at the same time, I ask, “And how do you know my middle name?”
“I had a quick peek at your passport for your details for the booking. You left it on the kitchen table, so I thought you wouldn’t mind,” he admits sheepishly.
“I could be mad about that, but I’m not,” I confess. “What’s your middle name?
He wipes fake sweat off his forehead. “I’m glad—Alexander is my middle name. All the men in my family have the same one.”
“I love that and the fact you did this, Jasper Alexander Åkerman, even though you shouldn’t have spent all that money on me.”
“Seeing you smile like that makes it all worth it. And it isn’t like money is tight for me.”
“I sometimes forget what you do for a living.”
