Before Cooper could even swallow his coffee, his eyes widened in disbelief. He forgot to blink, his face a mask of shock, wondering if he was imagining things.
"Must be the lack of sleep from last night," he thought, recalling the late-night video calls. "I’m probably just seeing things."
Henry, adorably turning his head to look at his uncle, raised his little hand and waved, "Bye-bye," fascinated by the moment.
Cooper, still groggy, swallowed his coffee, hoping a few more sips would wake him up.
“Cooper!” Mia’s voice rang out.
Cooper choked in surprise, spraying coffee everywhere. His classmates gasped, “Coop, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Seeing his uncle spurt coffee, Henry giggled, shaking with laughter.
“Cooper, it’s 10:30! Time for our video call,” Mia called again.
In that instant, Cooper felt a surge of energy shoot up from his feet to his brain, waking him up completely. He handed his documents and coffee to a classmate and sprinted towards his sister and nephew, engulfing them in a big hug, his joy childlike. “Sis, Henry, what are you doing here?”
Then, he scooped Henry into his arms, spinning him around the campus like an excited kid. Henry was caught off guard. Cooper tossed him into the air and caught him securely, making Henry burst into joyous laughter.
“Henry, my nephew, my treasure, uncle’s gonna give you a big kiss. How did you get here? Uncle loves you to bits.” Cooper showered kisses all over Henry’s chubby face, making him blink rapidly and babble in baby talk, overwhelmed by his uncle’s excitement.
Soon, Cooper held his nephew up high, kissing his cheeks, making Henry giggle even more. Cooper, usually so composed, seemed to lose his cool image in front of his classmates.
“Hey, Coop, are you sure you’re okay?” a classmate asked cautiously.
Like an excited fool, Cooper quickly introduced, “Justin, Sadie, this is my nephew. My sister and her husband came to visit me from back home. I don’t need a video call anymore; they’re here to see me.”
Henry frowned, not understanding a word of the rapid English around him. The classmates looked at Cooper in awe, “Wow, Coop.”
Cooper excitedly introduced his sister’s family to everyone, emphasizing his adorable nephew, “My nephew is the cutest baby in the world. He’s my treasure.”
Seeing all the unfamiliar faces, Henry felt closest to his uncle, at least they looked like they came from the same place.
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