“Don’t listen to Uncle Jasper,” Vivian coos at Viktor. “He can be such a grumpy bear at times.”
Across the room, Felix and Em are cozy together, watching us with matching amused expressions. Our goalie looks like he’s about to say something, but Viktor lets out an excited squeal and throws his arms up.
I spot Haisley’s brothers coming in. Of course, my son would be that happy to see the three knuckleheads.
Hunter grins as he scoops his nephew up with ease. “There’s my favorite little dude! You missed us, huh?”
My son babbles something incomprehensible, but whatever it is, it makes the brothers laugh like he delivered the best joke of all time. If I have to say something nice about Haisley’s brothers, they unquestionably adore their nephew.
“Good to see you too, Rasmus,” Hendrix drawls, clapping me on the back so hard that I can feel my teeth rattle.
Holden coughs to hide his amusement. “We were just saying it’s been a while since we had a real conversation with you.”
“Pretty sure we talked last week.”
“Did we?” Hunter asks, adjusting Viktor on his arms. “Doesn’t count if it wasn’t a proper chat.”
Hendrix folds his arms, pretending to scrutinize me. “Yeah, we should catch up. Talk about life. Responsibilities. Intentions.”
Haisley groans behind me. “You guys are ridiculous.”
“What?” Hunter shrugs. “We wanted to check in on our buddy.”
I give him a flat look. “I’m your brother-in-law, not buddy.”
“Technically, you aren’t our brother-in-law since my sister is still missing that damn ring.” Holden grins. “But once you finally pull your head out of your ass, being our only brother-in-law doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be the favorite.”
Haisley sighs, having heard this too many times. “I hate all of you.”
Viktor, blissfully unaware of the nonsense, claps his hands together. “Papa!”
Holden smirks. “See? Even Viktor thinks we should have a chat.”
I exhale through my nose, giving Haisley a pointed look. She just shakes her head, fighting back a smile.
Knuckleheads. Every last one of them.
“Cake time?” Haisley’s best friend Soph calls from the other side of the room where she and her partner Jax are holding their phones like they’re about to document the biggest event in history. I mean, they aren’t too far off. Rose and Eli stand beside them.
“You only want to see him destroy the cake,” I reply.
Eli shrugs. “Obviously.”
I have enjoyed getting to know Haisley’s friends, especially Jax who’s my go-to tattoo artist here in Brooklyn. He’s added some ink to my body lately, including numbers 1701, the letterHand Viktor’s name.
With everyone gathered around, Haisley brings out Viktor’s smash cake—a vanilla base with rainbow frosting made just for him. I sit beside him, ready to intervene if necessary, but as the cake is placed within his reach, he stares at it without moving.
“Go ahead, bud,” I encourage. “It’s all yours.”
He looks up at me, then at Haisley. When neither of us moves to stop him, he cautiously pokes the frosting with one finger. Then he brings that finger to his mouth. His expression shifts from confusion to delight, and before we know it, he’s shoving both hands into the cake, smearing it everywhere. Including himself.
Laughter fills the room as he smacks his frosting-covered hands together, babbling in pure joy. Haisley is wiping tearsfrom laughing so hard. The knuckleheads act like this is the best entertainment they’ve ever seen. Even Jeremy is grinning, shaking his head in amusement, standing with Gloria in the corner. My tía Marisol and Manu are grinning next to them. My cousin has the summer off after his first year playing soccer at Princeton. With our help, Marisol also moved to the States and now works in the Peacocks HR department. We have monthly dinners with her and my future in-laws.
Watching Viktor—all carefree, happy, surrounded by love—it’s hard to keep my emotions intact. A year ago, I had no idea what to expect from fatherhood. But now? Now, I can’t imagine a life without this kid in it.
Haisley leans against my side, her head resting on my shoulder. “He’s so happy,” she murmurs.
I press a kiss on her hair. “Yeah. He is.”
