Rafael groaned when he saw his wallet on the ground with several cards out. That wasn't the bad part though, as his driver's licence wasn't in the wallet or amongst the cards that had fallen out. "!Co?o! ?Dónde está?" (Damn! Where is it?)

He heard a series of small footsteps coming up behind him before he actually heard his eight-year-old speak. "?Qué estás buscando?" (What are you looking for?)

He sighed and then glanced up. "Mi licencia de manejar." (My driver's licence.)

"?Dónde fue el último lugar donde lo vio?" (Where was the last place you saw it?)

He shot his son a look. "En mi billetera." (In my wallet.)

Noah eyed Rafael for a moment and then gave his shoulders a little shrug. "Buena suerte." (Good luck.)

Rafael went to retort when Olivia walked in, Sofía right beside her.

She appeared to assess him momentarily before giving him a lopsided little smile. "Looking for something, dear Husband of Mine?"

"Uh," he started, "well, I seem to have misplaced -"

She gave him a smug look and held out his licence to him. "This? And it's more like... I left my wallet out in the open although we have a grabby one-year-old."

"Where did you find it?" he inquired, not bothering to argue the point.

She gestured to Sofía who looked rather pleased with herself. "As it turns out, I found the card in a certain little girl's mouth."

He gave a little snort. "Awesome."

Olivia looked at him, clearly entertained. "You're cute when you're flustered."

Rafael rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Liv."

She leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "Anytime." Olivia then turned to face Noah. "Go and get changed into your nice clothes, Sweety, so that we can head to your great-aunt's. Your dad and I are already ready." Olivia had thrown a nice dress on and Rafael had thrown on a pair of khakis and an off-white guayabera shirt. It was the twenty-fourth, so they were heading to Rafael's aunt's house for Nochebuena.

They'd called Rafael's Tía Teresa and other relatives back in Santa Clara earlier and then mostly just hung out around the house, relaxing, for the rest of the morning.

Until that afternoon, that was.

They got there early compared to everyone else. They sat down and chatted for a little over coffee with turrones and croquetas before he and Olivia started to lend a hand, helping to finish getting everything ready for when everyone else arrived.

Olivia helped out a bit in the kitchen while Rafael helped with a few other things that needed to be done around the house before heading to the rather sizeable backyard to see how his Tío Ricardo and Sr. ?lvarez were doing and how the roasted pig was coming along. It wasn't Nochebuena without lechón.

While the men were on pig roasting duty, the women were making sure that they had everything in order for Christmas Eve. dinner. Sticking with rather traditional dishes, they were making yuca with mojo, rice, black beans, avocado salad with tostones and, of course, Cuban bread to go with it. For dessert, they were having natilla, bu?uelos, flan, and Cake de Ron. They also had a fair amount of Crema de Vie, sidra espa?ola, and wine to go around, as well as a few other beverages.

He helped hang up a Feliz Navidad banner and had to laugh to keep from snapping when he was asked to move it for the fourth time before his aunt was actually happy with where it was and how it looked.

Olivia was laughing and accidentally walked into the Christmas tree, which only made Rafael laugh harder, Noah joining in as the boy glanced between the both of them. Thank God, Olivia wasn't hurt whatsoever, because there was something to be said for very comedic timing.

"No puedo creer que hayas chocado contra el arbolito," Noah commented immediately, still quite visibly amused. (I can't believe that you walked into the tree.)

Olivia rolled her eyes at their son. "Porque siempre eres tan elegante, hijo mío." (Because you're always so graceful, Son of Mine.)

Noah just smirked, causing Rafael to shake his head.

Rafael's mother eyed Noah, somewhat amused herself if the glint in her eye was anything to go by. "Deja de hacerle pasar un mal rato a tu madre, nietecito." (Stop giving your mother a hard time, nietecito.)

The eight-year-old nodded. "De acuerdo, abuelita." (Okay, Grandma.)

He walked into the kitchen at one point to grab a drink and instantly smiled when he heard his mother singing something while she helped cook that he hadn't heard her sing since his father passed.

'Esta noche es Nochebuena

Vamos al monte, hermanito

A cortar un arbolito

Porque la noche es serena'

Once everyone began trickling in, things definitely started to get loud, but that was far from unexpected with his family. Everyone was trying to greet each other, music was blasting, people were prattling on, and kids were running around excitedly. Noah was glad to have other children there that were much closer to the boy's age than the Torres kids, so Noah was having a blast running around and playing with them.

"Ese ni?o tiene jiribilla," he said with a soft chuckle as he watched his son, nose crinkling happily as he did so. (That kid is restless.)

"Es una forma de decirlo," Ricardo quipped cheekily. (That's one way to put it.)

He smirked as he spoke. "Pero no me equivoco, tío." (But I'm not wrong, Uncle.)

"Recuerdo a un jovencito que no era muy diferente a esa edad," his uncle stated, not bothering to hide his amusement. "De tal palo, tal astilla." (I remember a young man who was not much different at that age. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.)

Rafael just smiled, not knowing what to say to that.

His surrogate uncle put a firm hand on Rafael's left shoulder and then gently squeezed it, the warm smile sitting firmly in place. "Tengo que decir que ustedes cuatro forman una familia bastante hermosa." (I have to say, you four make quite a beautiful family.)

"Olivia y los ni?os son mi mundo," Rafael told the older man without even the slightest bit of hesitation. "Sin embargo, nunca pensé que estaría aquí. Algunos días todavía me pilla por sorpresa." (Olivia and the kids are my world. I never thought that I'd be here, though. Some days it still catches me by surprise.)

His uncle nodded, squeezing Rafael's shoulder again and then giving it a firm pat before lowering his hand. "Estoy orgulloso de ti, Papito." (I'm proud of you, Papito.)

That was something Rafael had heard much too rarely over the years, so it hit him more than he wanted to admit. "Gracias, Tío." (Thanks, Uncle.)

Sofía loved the attention she was getting as well, and although she didn't speak well yet, her personality already said she was going to be just as dramatic and over the top as her grandmother and great-aunt were. Although, Rafael when pressed would have to admit that he may have inherited some of that quality from his own mother. Just some, although Olivia would say way more than some.

It took a while before the pig was ready, but everyone was starving and more than ready to eat once it was, especially the young kids.

The food was great, as usual, and Rafael helped himself to the rum cake and bu?uelos as soon as he could, Olivia and Noah both having some natilla. Sofía tried the natilla and bu?uelos too, the little girl clearly preferring the natilla.

He had to shake his head in amusement when his surrogate uncle, Ricardo, went off about something that happened when the man was hanging out in Parque Vidal with his friends as a young teenager and another funny story from when he'd just moved to the U.S from Cuba and started at the local high school. Sr. ?lvarez then chimed in with some of the man's own cuentos, everyone still chatting and sharing different stories.

They were listening to a bolero that just began playing when his wife wrapped her right arm around him and pulled him in for a kiss. "Merry Christmas, Rafa."

He gave his wife a gentle peck on the cheek and then made eye contact with her, a warm smile on his lips. "Merry Christmas to you too, Liv."