"Are you really my daddy? " Anna wriggled loose from her mother's grip and gazed up at Kon. "You look just like the Nutcracker Prince in my storybook! " Meg was shaken by the stars in her daughter's eyes, shaken by this new threat to her own fragile emotions and hard-won independence. But she knew it was too late... "My mommy told me my daddy lives in Russia and can't ever come to visit," Anna confided to Kon in a loud whisper. "Well, your mommy is wrong, Anochka. I'm your daddy and I've always loved you, even though we've never met and I lived far away. But now I'm finally here, in America. " Kon glanced at Meg. She couldn't, wouldn't, meet his eyes. "I'm looking forward to our first Christmas together, Anochka. As a family. "