The Persson Group’s logo towered over Stockholm's skyline, perched on top of the city's tallest skyscraper. The company's founder, Norman Persson, had been written about as one of the greatest businessmen of the 21st century. During a press conference for his latest product, an AI tool called Savant, he said that the secret to his success was the desire to make his family proud.

  His oldest son, Paul, waited for his ride at the school parking lot with his friends Jasper and Serena. Despite looking so different, the three of them were practically joined at the hip. “Are you sure you can’t come play with us today? I just got a new laptop!” Serena tugged at Paul’s sleeve with a pout.

  “I really wanna, but it’s my dad’s birthday, so we’re going to grandma and grandpa's place!” As if on cue, the sleek black car with the tinted windows Paul was waiting for rolled up to the group. “Rowena’s here! See ya!” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and ran up to the car with a wave. “Send me photos of the laptop! I wanna see it next time!”

  The car smelled like leather and cologne, and soft jazz music played from the radio. It was his dad’s car, but he almost never drove it. That was Rowena’s job. She was both his dad’s personal assistant and their bodyguard. His dad wasn’t in the front passenger seat today, though. Today, it was his cousin Shin. Though he was too engrossed in texting to even notice Paul entering.

  His little sister did notice, though. “I got picked up first todaaaaaay!” She stuck out her tongue mockingly, though she didn’t look very intimidating when she was strapped in a bright pink car seat. “You think gramma is gonna give me a present today?” Whenever they visited their grandparents, gifts mysteriously found their way into their bags.

  “No, you idiot. It’s uncle’s birthday, only he gets presents today.” Shin piped up from the front, though he didn’t bother to look up from his phone. He was practically glued to the thing these days, chatting away with his overseas girlfriend he met on a cruise once. “Speaking of uncle, where even is he?”

  “His coworkers insisted on celebrating him in the office; he said he’ll head to your grandparents’ house when he’s finished,” Rowena responded. She barely spoke, but she had an aura of comfortable silence. She had been with the company since its inception, and she’d become somewhat of a motherly or big sisterly figure to the children through the years. She provided the emotional intelligence that their father couldn’t.

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  “Thanks, Savant.” Rowena mumbled, “This thing sure is handy.”

  Lady Persson power walked towards the door as soon as she heard the car pull into the driveway. Her beloved grandchildren were here, and she would greet them as quickly as possible! When the doorbell chimed, it didn’t take more than a second for her to open the door. “My babies!” She hugged the three of them as tightly as possible, peppering their cheeks with kisses. Lady had always been a very emotionless woman, but that tough facade broke down as soon as she saw baby Paul seven years ago.

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  “Come in! Come in! You must be cold out there! Grammy has fika on the table and there’s hot chocolate, juice, and tea if you want any!” She ushered the children inside with a spring in her step and a smile plastered on her face. “Rowena! Come here, I bought the coffee you like! Have a cup!”

  Guy Persson seemed less enthusiastic. On the outside, he looked just as scary as always, but on the inside, he was just as giddy as his wife. It was his beloved son’s 32nd birthday, and all his loved ones were here to celebrate. Guy could barely sleep last night out of excitement, something he’d never admit. “Welcome.”

  The house was covered in pictures, both of Norman and of the children. Guy had picked up the habit of taking a camera with him whenever they spent time together, and today was no different. He snapped a quick photo of the children at the table, then one of his wife rummaging through the fridge for more juice, and one of Rowena drinking her coffee. They were completely mundane pictures, but Guy treasured all of them.

  “Primrose, my love! Do you like it at daycare? Have you learned anything this week?” Lady asked while topping off the toddler’s cup with juice. She texted Norman for daily updates, but her son was a terrible texter. If she wanted a more detailed response than “good,” she would have to ask the children themselves.

  “Good! We are practicing the summer song!” Primrose responded through a mouth full of roll cake. “I’m gonna move from the blue class to the red class soon, and that means I get to do more big kid stuff cause I’ll be four!” Her eyes sparkled at the thought of moving up a grade. The red class wasn’t as cool as the green group with the five-year-olds, but it was still way cooler than the blue class.

  “You’re still small, you know? I’m in third grade soon! I was in the red class like a million years ago!” Paul bragged, a bad habit he had picked up from his friend Jasper. He could beat his little sister in almost anything, but Shin could beat them both easily.

  “Yeah? Well, third grade is for babies. I’ll be entering first ring after summer, so I win.” Shin grinned as he stole a cookie from Paul’s plate. They were cousins, sort of. They were technically siblings since they were all adopted by the same man, but he felt more comfortable this way since he was adopted when he was way older than the others.

  “Three is bigger than one, though! That means I’m better!”

  Norman entered his parents’ house and was immediately used as a human shield. His son had hidden himself behind his legs and stuck his tongue out at Shin, who was chasing him. “What did I say about using me as a shield?” He picked Paul up and put him down at the table before sitting down. He was so used to the chaos at this point that he barely cared anymore. “I’m home.”

  “Happy birthday, my darling!” Lady gave him a kiss on the forehead and patted his shoulder, it was something she’d done ever since he was a little boy, but she was far less enthusiastic about it in the past. “I made your favorite cake! Come on, everyone!” She pulled a plain cream cake out of the fridge and put it on the table with flourish. It looked really bland, because it was. It was nothing but sponge cake and cream, but it was Norman’s favorite.

  “Happy birthday, Boss.”

  “Happy birthday, Son.”

  “Happy birthday, Papa!”

  “Happy birthday, Dad!”

  “Happy birthday, Uncle!”

  His beloved family cheered as he blew out the candles on the cake with a complete lack of enthusiasm. He had never made any birthday wishes before, so he didn’t know why he felt so compelled to do so this year. He wished that he would have many more annoying, loud, chaotic, wonderful days with his family.