Before Cooper showed up, he made a special trip to the mall with his nephew to pick out a gold bracelet. Afterward, he slathered on some lotion his sister had bought for his nephew and swapped it out with the bracelet he'd picked. Then, he headed over to the Byrne family's place to put another gold bracelet on little Wayne.
Ethan, the little guy, wasn't a fan of strangers. The moment Cooper scooped him up, Ethan eyed his cool, dark-haired uncle suspiciously. After racking his brain to place him, he realized Cooper was a new face and almost started bawling.
Henry, having learned his lesson after numerous reminders from his folks, knew better than to trample the sofa with his shoes on.
So, he kicked off his shoes, stood up on the Byrne's couch, wrapped his arms around his uncle's neck, and chatted with his little brother in a cute, pouty voice. In the end, he planted a sweet kiss on his uncle's cheek, "Mwah!"
Cooper was caught off guard, spinning around with surprise, "Did you just call me uncle? Can you say it again?"
Henry, in his adorable, babyish voice, chimed in, "Mwah!"
Cooper, over the moon, pulled his nephew into a big hug and playfully pretended to nibble on his face, startling Henry into tears, thinking his uncle was about to have him for lunch.
Wayne, surprisingly, didn't shed a tear this time.
On the drive home, Cooper couldn't help but smother his nephew with kisses and playful nibbles, absolutely overjoyed.
"Say uncle again."
"Mwah," Henry pouted, making Cooper's day.
At the Irvin family's dinner table, it was "say uncle"; in the bathroom at night, "say uncle"; before bedtime, "say uncle"...
Mia joked, "All my kid does these days is call out for his uncle."
"Sis, I love you," Cooper suddenly blurted out, sending shivers down Mia's spine. "Are you possessed?"
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