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In a flash, my cousin, Lou, has scooped up the child into her arms, alarmedly scanning the faces before her. Obviously, she doesn’t recognize Jalen or Colby, but then she clocks me and breaks into a relieved smile.
“Andy!” she cries, throwing her free arm around my neck. “Your mum said you’d surprised them. It’ssonice to see you. How long’s it been?”
I point at the mini terror on her hip who is currently bopping me on the head with her wand. “Long enough that this is our first meeting,” I say jovially.
Lou sighs and steps away so I’m out of the danger zone. “Chloe, no,” she says. “That’s not kind. This is Cousin Andy. We like him.”
“Dee-Dee!” she yells, bouncing up and down.
“Close enough,” I tell her with a wink. Then I move back and put my hands on my boys’ lower backs. “These are my friends from Australia, Jalen and Colby. Guys, this is my cousin Lou and her daughter Chloe. Lou and I used to get into all kinds of trouble when we were growing up.”
She gasps as she steps aside to let us in. “I was asaint,”she says in mock outrage. “You were the bad boy.”
“And don’t we believe you,” Jalen says with a nod before holding out a finger to Chloe. “Now this looks like a very good little princess. I love your tiara! Can I try it on?”
She frowns at Jalen for a second before yelling “NO” and smacking him on the head with her wand.
“Chloe!” Lou yelps in horror, but we’re all laughing.
“They call it the terrible twos for a reason,” I remind her.
Chloe has started crying, and Lou gives me a withering look. “You’ll earn the right to give me parenting advice when andonlywhen you become a parent yourself. Until then, zip it, mister.”
She gives me a triumphant grin, then hurries off, presumably to give her daughter to an auntie so she can replace her with a glass of wine.
I glance at my boys, who are both only just containing themselves. “No,” I say firmly even though I’m grinning. “She doesn’t mean that kind of Daddy.”
They’re both still cackling as they take their shoes and coats off when Anisha comes out of the bustling kitchen and sees us. “You made it!” she cries like it’s more of a surprise than when we trekked it from Australia. “Merry Christmas.” She hugs and kisses all of us. “Brunch is nearly served. Dad’s made a pile of eggs. There’s loads of salmon and an entire tower of bagels. Help yourself to a mimosa, too.”
Jalen’s face lights up. “I don’t mind if I do!” He grabs Colby’s hand, and they both run into the thick of it.
“Oh, I should go introduce them to people, so they don’t think there are strangers in the house,” I fret, thinking of baby Chloe.
But Anisha places a hand on my chest to stop me, her long, sparkly Christmas nails looking a little menacing. “They can introduce themselves, baby bro,” she says mischievously. “The question is, who are they going to introduce themselvesas?”
“Jalen and Colby,” I say without missing a beat.
She rolls her eyes. “Who are theyto you,Andreas?”
I can’t help but smile. I tried to change from Andy to Andreas when I left uni, but she’s the only one who really listened to me. It doesn’t help that it’s much easier to say ‘Uncle Andy’ than it is ‘Uncle Andreas.’ However, I appreciate her making the effort.
“I…”
My sister sighs. “You said you paid for all your flights here with air miles. But you need togo placesto get air miles, and those things expire. Bro, you’re a hermit. You paid for the trip up front, didn’t you? Three business class flights for you and yourjust friends.”She arches an eyebrow, calling me out on my bullshit.
I deflate. I can’t lie to her, and I don’t want to. “I think they’re sort of everything to me,” I say, throwing up my hands in defeat.
She softens and pats my chest. “Since when?”
“Since the moment I met them,” I joke, even though I’m actually half-serious. “But technically…since last night.”
Her jaw drops. “Are you serious? Things changed last night?”
I shake my head, still notquitebelieving it. “Everything changed, yeah. Nish, they’re so wonderful.”
“But?” she asks with a crooked eyebrow. Because she’s my sister and of course she can sense there’s a ‘but’ lurking just below the surface.
“But…is it weird that there are two of them? And they’re younger than me?”
