Later, Henry perched himself by the bathroom sink, soaking his tiny feet in warm water while half-heartedly pretending to wash his dad’s mug.
But, being a little rascal, he used the very same water from his foot bath to rinse the mug. Mia just sighed. “Honey, tomorrow when you drink from that, it might have a bit of a funky smell. Don’t be picky.” She tousled Henry’s hair, smiling. “You helped make this little troublemaker, you know.”
After all, he was their combined masterpiece.
Andre drew in a deep breath. “Henry, hand Daddy the mug. I’ll wash it myself.”
But Henry, stubborn as ever, shook his head. “No! I wanna wash it for Daddy!”
He was having way too much fun with the soapy bubbles to stop now.
Inevitably, Andre gave him a little swat, and Henry, suds still clinging to his hands, burst into tears as he was hustled out of the bathroom.
Mia quickly rewashed the mug and set it back on the shelf.
Andre, still a bit exasperated, declared, “Tomorrow, you’re off to your grandpa’s.”
The next day, Hansen spotted his precious grandson at the door. “What’s this? Caused enough trouble at home, so you’ve come to mess up Grandpa’s place?”
“Daddy told me to come here,” Henry tattled right away.
Hansen shot Andre a look. “Hey, Andre, watch how you talk in front of the kid, alright?”
Henry played the innocent to the hilt, even snuggling up for a nap sprawled across Grandpa’s knees.
Meanwhile, Anya came home for a couple of days and sat down with her parents, telling them all about her job. She was always the type to share good news and keep the worries to herself, so she made her work sound like a dream. “Milka’s been teaching me so much, and she’s just wonderful.”
“Milka?” Mrs. Calder blinked. “Who’s Milka?”
Anya grinned. “She’s going to be my aunt one day. Not yet, though.”
Mr. and Mrs. Calder exchanged puzzled glances. So… who exactly was this Milka?
Both turned to Leo for clarification.
Anya was lost for words.
After his bath, Blake hopped onto his sister’s bed, wiggling excitedly. “Sis, I memorized my poem—wanna hear it?”
Tonight, Anya was definitely sharing her bed with her little brother, and Leo, resigned, just accepted it. In her parents’ house, he didn’t get a vote.
Blake recited his poem, echoing the adults and looking ridiculously proud of himself.
Watching Blake’s progress, Leo thought of his own two kids: one always getting into mischief, the other still too little to cause any trouble.
Late that night, Leo shot off a couple of messages to the girls.
Meanwhile, just as Henry was winding down for bed, Mia walked in clutching a thick book of classic poetry. “Up. Time to memorize a poem.”
Henry, and his dad who’d been about to tuck him in, were both left speechless.

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