October had come, and with early October came Von Kaiser's fortieth birthday. It was a bit much to wrap his head around; forty years old. He figured he was relatively well-accomplished at his age; nice job, married, and a stepfather. And he was happy with this life; what more could he ask for?

Anyway, it was late in the afternoon. Joe had a match scheduled, and a few errands to run, so he wouldn't be back until dinnertime. In the meantime, Von Kaiser spread a large sheet of paper across the kitchen table, and called Katrina downstairs. Together, the two of them started to draw a mandala pattern.

"Weißt du, Katrina," said Von Kaiser, "ich fühle mich immer noch nicht wirklich wie dein Stiefvater." (You know, Katrina, I still don't really feel like your stepfather.)

"Well, yeah," said Katrina, "you only married Dad two months ago."

"Ich weiß, aber ich kenne dich, seit du ein Baby warst," continued Von Kaiser. "Ich habe nur das Gefühl, dass ich dir näher sein sollte, als ich es bin." (I know, but I've known you since you were a baby. I just feel like I should be closer to you than I am.)

"Well, I'm happy," said Katrina. "I like having you here around the house. I always knew that you and Dad getting married would mean that you would be my dad too, ever since I was little, so I just grew up with that association drilled into my head. You make him happy, you make me happy, you make the cat happy…what more could you do?"

Von Kaiser was touched. Katrina scooted her chair closer to him, and the two hugged before returning to their mandala. Von Kaiser's designs were round, floaty, but simple. Katrina's were more intricate, with floral patterns. Sofie-Miette hopped onto the table and mewed at them.


Right on time at dinnertime, Joe came home with two bags of groceries and a fat lip. He, with Katrina's help, cooked Von Kaiser's favourite schnitzel recipe for dinner, even making a little extra for Sofie-Miette. They all ate together, and when they finished, Joe brought out a birthday surprise; a German chocolate ice cream cake. He kissed his husband's forehead. "Joyeux anniversaire, Viktor." (Happy birthday, Viktor.)

Von Kaiser put a hand over his heart and smiled. He kissed Joe back, and the three had cake. After they finished, Von Kaiser picked the mandala back up, and the three sat down to colour it together.