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If Askim said that he didn't often think back to the night that he and his sister made a decision that they could never take back, he'd have been lying.

If he said he regretted it, that would be an even greater lie.

"You know why Mommy can't be here today, sweetheart. I'm sorry that we couldn't get the day off of work for her."

What never should have happened blossomed into a happy, albeit unorthodox marriage. Their parents never questioned a thing when they came home for the holidays all those years ago, and when Asker said that she was moving in with her brother to find different job prospects, they wished her well and sent her off, completely unaware of what occurred in the snow only a few days before.

"But it's my birfday, Daddy. That isn't fair!"

After waiting such a long time to declare their forbidden love for each other, Askim and Asker couldn't get moved in together fast enough. Without the context of his life back home, no one thought to question the relationship that Askim shared with his sister, and to the outside world, they weren't siblings in the first place.

No one knew that they were related, so no one could care. They only knew that a loving couple lived down the street, raising a wonderful little girl in a warm, caring home.

"I know it's not fair, Gertrude...life isn't fair sometimes, but you know your mother loves you, and she'd be here if she could."

Crossed arms and a pouting muzzle made for an adorable picture as Gertrude shared her displeasure with the situation. "She'd better be here next year!"

"I'll tell her to ask for the day off right away, hon," Askim replied, his voice blended over with the stresses of disappointing a child and the humor of seeing her mother's spirit living strong in her. "But since Daddy got you the day off of school, we should make the best of it. Do you think I can make it up to you?"

Askim looked comical, sitting at the undersized table in the living room that his family now populated. His old bachelor pad near the capitol was a thing of the past, now replaced by a starter home in suburbia; for the three of them to split, it was almost too much space.

Somehow, little Gertrude managed to spread her mess of toys across the whole of the home, including the play table that she and her father now sat at. "_Hmm..._You're gonna have to think of somethin' pretty special, Daddy."

"Tell you what; since Mommy and I were a bit too busy to pick up your real gift today, I'll give you something to tide you over. Sound good?"

Anytime Askim promised something to his daughter, her eyes lit up in such a way that he couldn't help feeling warmth in the depths of his heart. "Whatcha got for me?"

"Well, remember when we saw that movie about the genie?"

"Uh huh!" she replied, nodding eagerly.

Askim chuckled at the sight. "Heh, well...since your big present is late, how would you like three presents to make up for it?"

Her eyes were wider than the Earth and brighter than the sun as she leaned over the play table. "Y...You really mean it, Daddy?! What else did you get for me?"

"You're gonna have to help me with that," Askim claimed. "Cause I didn't get you anything just yet, but I will as soon as you tell me what you want!"

Gertrude tilted her head slightly, flopping one of her tall, sharp ears over her head as she tried to understand. She made the connection to the movie reference and smiled as she began to get the picture, and her tail picked up in a rapid flutter as she thought of her first wish.

"So...I get three wishes, Daddy? You mean it?"

"Of course," he replied. "Any three wishes you want."

Hoping that she wouldn't immediately make him eat his words, Gertrude propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms. "Okay! I wish Mommy had the day off work."

Askim's face went flat. "...Kay, we already discussed that I can't make that happen."

"Rats," Gertrude fell back in her seat and crossed her arms again. Her gaze turned to the kitchen to try and hide her disappointment, but when she looked there, the sharp child noticed that there was no cake waiting for her on the counter, and her priorities rapidly shifted. "Well...okay! I wish I had a biiiiiig bowl of ice cream."

"That, I can do!" Askim nodded his agreement and smiled. "I'll get you one for dessert tonight."

"For lunch."

Askim scratched his temple in thought. "Well, I guess it'll be your mother's turn to look after you when she gets home from work tonight," he joked. "Okay, kid. You got me. Where are we gonna go for lunch, then?"

Gertrude jumped from her chair and cheered. " Nifty Scoop!" she seemed as if she'd been planning that move for months in her confidence, but really, she was just a quick thinker who knew how to get what she wanted from her father.

She took so much after her mother in that regard that Askim worried her next wish might be for a car for her 16th birthday.

"All right, all right...we can go to Nifty Scoop for lunch," Askim was groaning about it, but he wasn't going to disappoint his child twice in one day. She was already running for the door and grabbing her things as he awkwardly stood up from the tiny play table, his knees bowed out in such a way that standing was a struggle. "Just don't forget that you've already used your first wish, little love! You might want to save the other two for something more important than ice cream."

"There's stuff more important than ice cream?"

Askim chuckled again and shook his head. "Well, to your father there is, anyway."

It wasn't a perfect birthday by any stretch of the imagination, but the height of Gertrude's day was sitting at the counter and watching an ice cream jockey swirled real, fresh strawberries into flavored ice cream and tossed it all together before stuffing it into a massive bowl with a candle pointing out of the top. Askim settled on a more modest serving of cookies and cream, one that he almost completely ignored as he sat next to his pride and joy, watching her engulf the sweet treat until she was nearly bloated. She'd complain the whole way home about not feeling well, but when their little family was whole again that evening, her smile couldn't have been wider.

He decided then and there that he'd honor her next two wishes, no matter what they were.

**

"Do you have any idea how much one of those things costs"

A little older but no less decisive about her wishes, Gertrude was standing with her palms pressed against a glass case, wishing after a gift so badly that she was ready to press her muzzle to the front of it.

Her father was waiting for that, and for them to get kicked out of the store when she slobbered all over the display.

"Tammy got one for her birthday, and she says it's the best thing that's ever happened to her!"

"Yeah, and last year at Tammy's birthday party, she said that getting a Robopony was the best thing that ever happened to her. When was the last time she played with that?"

"But this is a phone, Dad! It's different! I'll actually use this every day!"

Askim groaned. "Yes, that's what I'm afraid of."

It was Gertrude's birthday again, and with a gap of four years between wishes, her father was starting to wonder if she'd forgotten all about the promise that he made to her.

She remembered after all, but unfortunately for his wallet, and his distaste of Apple products, Gertrude's birthday happened to line up with the release of the new iPhone 2X...and preteens couldn't be cool anymore without a new phone, as she'd explained to Askim several times already that month.

"I'll be good, I promise! I'll use it to talk to my friends, study, and play games. That's it," Gertrude offered as she stood up from the case and looked up at her father. She was nearly bouncing with excitement, a perfect mirror of the salesperson behind the display who was hoping that Askim would pull the trigger on their latest 'deal.'

He was still hesitant, as if he was forcing her to say the words 'I wish' before he made a move. "I'm not worried about you misbehaving, sweetie. You've never given me reason to think that you would."

Gertrude flattened her ears a bit. "Then...what's the problem?"

"Just, can't...can't you go for a different brand?"

The preteen canine rolled her eyes. "Ugh, no. The only way that I can be cool and get Jed to pay attention to me is if I have an iPhone! All the coolest kids have them too!"

She didn't realize she was talking herself out of the product, but she'd been raised with such an honest background that she couldn't help a little extra truth slipping into her explanation.

"Jed, huh?"

Gertrude looked off to the side and thinned her lips. "Kiddo, you know I love you, but this thing is crazy expensive, and you just don't need it that badly right now. We could get you three other smartphones for that price!"

Peer pressure and the youthful desire to fit in didn't listen well to reason. Gertrude knew that she was running out of ways to plead with her father, but she'd started off her request by saying she wanted an iPhone.

With a sly grin, she turned her gaze back to him and crossed her arms over her t-shirt. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but...I wish for an iPhone 2X."

The clerk looked over at Askim with a bewildered expression as he threw his head back and grumbled. "Baby girl, do you really want to use up a wish on this?"

The smirk never left her muzzle. Just by his reaction, she knew that he was going to give in.

"You do realize that this is the last smartphone you're getting until you graduate, right?"

Even at that threat, she didn't waver.

Swearing under his breath, Askim turned to the cashier and pointed to the phone in the display case. "I guess we'll be taking one iPhone 2X, please."

Bubbly and cheerful as she'd ever been before, Gertrude hugged her father around the back as he stood at the counter. The breeze from her wagging tail nearly blew other phones off the display behind her as she watched the transaction with a beaming smile, and even Askim couldn't hold onto his frustration when he saw how happy she was.

"In pink, please!" she added to the order, while the clerk made his way to the stock room to pick out her newest present.

Askim snickered. "Of course you'd want it in pink," he teased her. "Gotta match the rest of your stuff, right?"

"Duh," she replied, showing off more of the teenager-to-be attitude that she'd gained recently. "That's how fashion works, Dad."

"You don't even have the damn phone yet and you're already acting more pretentious," Askim muttered, hoping his words wouldn't reach her sensitive ears. Playing it safe, he gave her a wink so she'd know that he wasn't really frustrated, but he was already hoping that she'd save her last wish for something truly important, rather than a material possession. "Oh, and baby girl?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

His smile softened; she called him that less and less by the day. "You'll have to introduce me to this Jed boy...so I can block his number."

Gertrude huffed. "Dad, that's so unfair!"

"Like I said last time, sweetie: life isn't fair."

She continued to grumble, even after the phone was placed in her paw. She'd forget about her frustrations on the ride home just playing with the screen, but she'd never forget that she had one last wish to cash in from her father.

She knew how much he cared for her, and never once questioned the love in their family. She wanted her last wish to be something that they could both enjoy, but at the time, she couldn't begin to fathom what it would be.