Before the seven-year-old goes to bed she presses a paper into Ove's hand, on which is written "Birthday Party Invitation."...
"I see. And you'll be wanting presents, I expect?" he huffs at last.
She looks down at the floor and shakes her head.
"You don't have to buy anything. I only want one thing anyway."
...
"Mum says it's too expensive anyway so it doesn't matter," she says without looking up, and then shakes her head again.
Ove nods conspiratorially, like a criminal who has just made a sign to another criminal...He and the girl look around the hall to check that neither her mother nor her father have their nosy ears around some corner, surreptitiously listening to them. And then Ove leans forward and the girl forms her hands in a funnel round her face and whispers into his ear:
"An iPad."
...
And something is shining in her eyes.
Something that Ove recognizes.
...
...Jimmy...loves white cables. And white telephones. And white computer monitors with fruit on the back. That's more or less the sum of what Ove has absorbed during the car journey into town...
...
If you want something done you have to do it yourself, as usual, Ove confirms to himself as he steers his steps alone towards the sales assistant. And not until Ove roars, "Have you been frontally lobotomized or what?!"...does Jimmy come hurrying to his aid...
"We're together." Jimmy nods to the assistant with a glance that sort of functions as a secret handshake to communicate the message, "Don't worry, I'm one of you!"
...
"Ove here just wants to check out an iPad--can you sort us out?"
...
"Okay, but as I was trying to ask him earlier, what model do you want? The 16-, 32-, or 64-gigabyte?"
...
"I think Ove wants to know a little more abut the differences between the various models."
The sales assistant groans.
"Well, do you want the normal or the 3G model, then?"
Jimmy turns to Ove.
"Will it be used mainly at home or will she use it outdoors as well?"
Ove pokes his flashlight finger into the air and points it dead straight at the sales assistant.
"Hey! I want her to have the BEST ONE! Understood?"
...
And so it turns out that the seven-year-old gets an iPad that evening from Ove.
...
The girl, who is now an eight-year-old...touch[es] the iPad box with amazement...Ove leans towards her.
"That's how I always felt every time I bought a new car," he says in a low voice.
She looks around to make sure no one can see; then she smiles and gives him a hug.
"Thanks, Granddad," she whispers and runs into her room.
Thank you, dear pageviewers, and good night.
