“He showed me this little red ring that was on his keychain for as long as I could remember. I’ve seen it and held it in my hands hundreds of times, but never thought about it being in any way special — just a random piece of plastic you put on a keychain. So he took it off and handed it to me. He said, ’Take it. It was my lucky charm all your life, now it shall be yours.’ When I asked him what it actually was, he just smiled and said, ’It’s from your first pacifier. I think it’s fitting to give it to you, now that you’ll have your own family.’”