Page 43 of The Unexpected Lineup (Lost in Translation #2)

YOU’VE CHANGED MY LIFE IN WAYS I NEVER SAW COMING

RASMUS

A year later

Viktor’s first birthday

V iktor Jeremy Westerholm was born on July 30th, 2024, making us wait longer for his arrival.

Named after his parents’ two greatest male influences in life, my grandpa Viktor and Haisley’s dad Jeremy, he was already set for greatness from the beginning.

And I’m not saying that because he happens to be my kid. It’s just facts.

The past year has flown by in a blur of sleepless nights, first milestones, and baby giggles that make every exhaustion-fueled day worth it.

It’s hard to believe that Viktor is already turning one today.

That’s a full year of him changing right before our eyes.

He went from a wrinkly newborn who could barely keep his brown eyes open to this wide-eyed, curious little tornado who keeps us on our toes.

He even took his first steps last month and knows how to say papa and mama , the latter being his first word. You’d think he won the Cup with the way Haisley and I cheered hearing it. But how could we not? It was one of those moments that will forever be among my favorites.

Now, a few weeks later, our brownstone is filled with the people we love the most, all gathered to celebrate the little boy who changed our lives in ways I never could’ve imagined.

Balloons in shades of green, silver, and white float near the ceiling of the living room with a banner saying Happy 1 st Birthday, Viktor. There’s a ridiculous amount of food on the kitchen counters, courtesy of Gloria and tía Marisol, who took it upon themselves to cater the event.

Viktor, the man of the hour, sits in his highchair, his round eyes taking in everything. His light brown hair is sticking up in every which way, evidence of an earlier nap. He’s still waking up but happy to see all the faces he recognizes around him.

Jasper walks past him with Vivian. “Kid looks like he’s questioning all his life choices.”

“He’s one,” I deadpan. “I don’t know how much goes through someone’s head at that age.”

“Just wait until you turn two, it’s even worse,” Jasper jokingly whispers to my son, taking a Swedish oatmeal cookie from the coffee table.

“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 letter H and 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 tears from 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.”

And so am I. For the first time in my life, I have everything I’ve ever wanted. A family. A home filled with love and laughter. The woman I adore, the son who holds my heart, and a future that, for the first time, doesn’t feel uncertain. It’s now full of promise. Like our first night together was.

Before I lose my nerve, I pull the box from my pocket and get down on one knee in front of our family and friends. Delighted squeals and gasps surround us, and then everyone goes silent.

Haisley’s breath hitches as she looks down at me, light green eyes that I love brimming with emotion, including shock.

I take a steadying breath, trying to push past the nervous energy buzzing under my skin.

“I had this whole speech planned for later,” I admit.

“But then I watched you laugh with our son and realized I don’t need a speech to tell you how much I love you.

How much I care. Because everything I want to say, everything I feel, is right here. ”

Placing my free hand over my heart, where our son’s name is tattooed around the swallow design, I glance at the boy. He’s blissfully unaware of the emotional event unfolding as he continues to smear frosting.

Haisley lets out a breathless laugh, tears glistening in her eyes, so I continue with the proposal.

“I’ve loved you since before I even understood what it meant to be in love. You’ve changed my life in ways I never saw coming. You keep proving to me daily that there’s nothing better than us.”

I look at the simple yet elegant ring, which I knew would be perfect for her the moment I spotted it.

Even though she loves to dress up and has all these colorful clothes in her closet, she likes to keep the most important things in life more subdued.

I still wanted to get her the ring she deserves, and I might have gotten a bigger stone than originally planned.

“So, Haisley Hilda Lavigne, my sweetness, will you marry me?”

She exhales a soft, shaking laugh. “Of course I’ll marry you, my lifeline.”

Cheers erupt around us as I stand, slipping the four-carat solitaire cut diamond onto her finger.

She admires the ring as I take Viktor in my arms and hug her.

We stand there, soaking in the new happiness while our miracle boy is between us.

It doesn't matter that his hands are covered in icing, turning my white dress shirt into another color, or that everyone is watching. It’s only us three in this moment.

Once we break apart, we’re greeted by love and well wishes.

Viktor wants to get down, already bored with the celebrations, so I let him down.

Hunter and Hendrix are high fiving as though they somehow had a hand in this, while Holden pretends to wipe away an emotional tear.

My teammates clap me on the back while Jax still records everything, helping us immortalize the day.

Soph and Rose are crying as they pull Haisley in a group hug.

“Primo, why didn’t you say anything?” Manu asks and hugs me, nearing the same height as I am. “I could’ve helped or something.”

“You suck at keeping secrets.”

He rolls his eyes. “I do not.”

“You do, too.”

“Admit you’re wrong. I could’ve kept it under traps.”

“Never.”

Tía Marisol looks at us, a content smile on her face.

“That’s enough. Let your primo enjoy his day without your theatrics, mijo.

” She takes my face between her palms and switches to more Spanish.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the man you’ve become, not even if I tried.

You were always meant to be more than the cards you were dealt.

Just know that my mother, your dear abuela, would be happy for you and Haisley on this beautiful day.

She must be looking down, a huge smile on her face. ”

Her kind words heal another small broken piece inside me. “Thank you. It means a lot to have you here.”

“When your rich nephew pays for your flights, new apartment and gets you a job, you don’t say no,” she says with a wink.

Laughing, I hug her one more time. Jeremy and Gloria step forward. Of course, I asked him for Haisley’s hand in marriage in advance, but it’s still good to have them congratulate us with smiles on their faces.

“I guess it’s truly official now. Welcome to the family, son.” Jeremy hugs me before his wife does. And like every time he calls me son, a soft smile curves on my lips.

My future in-laws take their time to share excited words and congratulations with their daughter. In moments like this, I wish I could have my grandparents still here with us. But I’m lucky to have found a family that has taken me in. Both off and on ice.

When my fiancée turns to me, she buries her face in my chest. “I can’t believe you did all this at Viktor’s first birthday party.”

“Seemed fitting. He brought us here, didn’t he?”

She tilts her head up, her eyes shining. “Yeah, he did, but we decided to make it work.”

“We surely did.”

As I hold her close, our son giggling between us at our feet, I know without a doubt... this is it. This is everything. And it’s only the beginning.