Tom shared his experience with celebrating his 18th birthday, when he had to remind himself the next day what he had actually been celebrating. But then he immediately told Dan, jokingly, not to take him as an example at all, that he was a terrible alcoholic. Although the tone remained light, everyone was suddenly reminded of Dan's other grandfather, Jakub, and how he had ended up in an institution because he'd destroyed his brain with alcohol. Nobody said anything on the subject, but afterwards, the fun around the table began to falter slightly. It was a good thing that the meal was almost over. Then, as if on cue, everyone suddenly stood up and told Dan to come with them.

The whole family then spread out in front of the house by the parking lot. Looking at the older, light blue car he had originally arrived in, Tom said thoughtfully, "Well, they didn't have a car to rent at the airport, so I had to buy one, and when I leave again, it'll just be left here unattended. Do you want it, Dan?"

Dan immediately tuned into the same wavelength as Tom and said with enthusiasm and a surprised face: "Yeah, sure I do."

"Alright then," Tom said as if it were nothing, took the car keys out of his pocket, and casually handed them to Dan. At the same time, he said, "I'm serious, it's yours. It was a cheap piece, so it's obviously an old used car. However, and this is the interesting part, this one runs on nuclear power, so it doesn't really matter anymore. If it were an electric car, there would be a problem with the battery and range, but like this... like this, it actually doesn't matter. So don't worry, it'll run. Tested. Enjoy." At the same time, he gently tapped the keys in Dan's hand to bless the handover of the car.

Astonished, Dan immediately went to take a closer look at his gift.

Tom quickly added, "So you can save up for other things too, and so you have something to drive your mom around in. We all know her old car is falling apart. Like I said, it's yours, but you know... it's like you both have it."

"Sure," Dan assured him, turning his back because he was already circling the car.

It was a small car, barely a four-seater, with a minimal trunk and only two doors. The ideal little city car. It had few sharp edges, instead being all rounded and curved. The headlights were also oddly rounded, and overall the car gave off a non-assertive impression. For a better idea, its appearance was probably closest to an old Fiat 500 from 2009.

Dan, in ecstasy, opened the door and went to look inside. As soon as he was inside, he saw through the windshield the whole family watching him. All the relatives were unusually quiet. They were closely watching Dan's reactions, especially his face, to see how he would react. Or maybe they were even silently asking themselves at that moment if they should have chipped in for something cheaper, even though Tom, who could afford such gifts, had paid for most of it. For context, it had cost them about two average monthly salaries combined.

Dan looked around the interior. The interior was older, used. The seats were black, or rather, faded black, and rough to the touch, having been washed several times. The plastic, deep gray dashboard also showed minor artifacts of previous use: shallow scratches, and even one small, noticeable circular dent. "What did someone do with this car?"

Then he examined the steering wheel and dashboard. The steering wheel had a matte black synthetic cover that was specifically worn in two places where a person would put their hands, but it looked like it could be replaced when he had more money. The gauges behind the steering wheel were only digital and all on one large curved display. The air conditioning and multimedia were then controlled via a simple 12-inch screen suspended between the driver and passenger seats on a swivel joint. When turned off, fine, hairline scratches were visible on the display. All in all, it was a frugal, minimalist interior.

Dan sat down behind the wheel, took the car keys, and pressed their top button. The car started, and all the screens woke up. But suddenly, his phone also chimed in his pocket. Dan quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and looked to see what it was. It was a message from Kristýna, asking what Dan thought of her work. Dan politely wrote back quickly that he couldn't right now and returned his full concentration to his celebration and the car. Tom then started waving at him something towards the road and circling his finger in the air, meaning: He should take it for a spin around the neighborhood. Then, to be sure, he came right up to the car window.

Dan took the opportunity to try out the window controls, as Tom said to him through the open window, "Try driving it around here. Do at least a 3km loop, so you get a feel for driving it."

"Okay. I'm off then," Dan said, and maneuvered the car onto the road. He drove at a slow pace to the other side of the street, to then turn left and begin a small rectangular route through the streets between the other apartment blocks.