IT WAS EASY TO see how Eric missed his family a little extra during the various times of the year. When the world was not caught in a pandemic, he was lucky to see them come visit during the holidays, but it was clear to see that some days hit him harder than others. ' Father's Day ' was one of them, and while Eric always loved his teammates, that could very well be the one day of the year where he truly resented them; every single one of them.
Quite like a lot of the more ' significant ' days in a ' normal ' person's life, Eric found himself spending the morning hours at Carrington this ' Father's Day '. What he didn't know, however, was that his girlfriend had been planning this very day for a couple of days, with a very special surprise for the footballer.
She was quickly moving around the house the two of them shared, music playing faintly through the stereo in the living room. It had been two weeks since Iris had taken the test ( actually, she had taken three — just to be sure ) and gotten the answer she had hoped for; she was pregnant. It wasn't necessarily something the two were trying for, not at this time in their lives, with Eric still trying to find his possible place as a starter in Ole Gunnar Solskjær's team, and Iris finishing off her studies to become a doctor. However, it was a delightful surprise, and she had been struggling to keep it secret for Eric.
A smile spread on her lips as she heard the door open, Eric's cheery humming filling the hall–way. "Iris, I'm home." He sing–songed, dropping his bag on the floor before entering the kitchen. "How has your morning been?"
Eric moved closer, snaking his arms around Iris' waist, pressing gentle kisses to the back of her neck, humming against her skin. "I've had a fairly okay morning — the boys haven't been too painful, considering it's father's day and everything?" Iris questioned carefully, turning around in Eric's embrace, looking him directly in the eyes. He huffed, choosing not to respond, making her chuckle a little. "Well, aren't you lucky you got to come home to me then? We can watch a couple of the ' Terminator ' movies, and you can complain to the screen about your tough life as a talented footballer in England."
He rolled his eyes, though a grin played on his lips, as he let her go, grabbing a glass from the cupboard above their kitchen–counter. "You know, ' Terminator ' doesn't sound too bad, but I was thinking more along the lines of taking you out for a fancy dinner, and maybe even a round of wine–tasting, if you're up for it?" He smiled softly, filling the glass with orange–juice. However, he noticed the uncertainty in Iris' face. "Is everything okay?"
Iris plastered a smile on her face, nodding while avoiding eye–contact with Eric. "Of course. I had just looked forward to a relaxing night in with my favorite guy and a good movie, but if you want to go out for dinner, you know I'm all in." She chuckled, sipping coffee from the cup she had prepared for herself prior to Eric's return to their house. "Now, what I would like for us to do, is eat a nice lunch together, regardless of what we do later tonight."
"Thought you'd never suggest it." Eric grinned cheekily, kissing her forehead, before starting his preparations for lunch. She wanted to tell him so badly; she wanted to just spill it to him — Eric, you're going to be a dad. However, she gritted her teeth together, and decided she needed to be patient. No matter how they chose to spend the afternoon, she had the perfect way of telling him — though she would have to rush it a little bit if they were to go wine–tasting. "Iris? Did I catch you in a zone–out moment?" Eric chuckled, waving a hand in front of her face. "I was asking whether I should get the egg–cooker on or not?"
"No need to cook eggs for me." Iris chuckled, continuing to sip her coffee as she watched him get everything they needed for lunch.
The story of how they met was a rather cute one in Iris' mind. Being a nurse at the hospital where the Manchester United–squad made regular visits through the ' Manchester United Foundation ', she had found herself bumping into Eric and his teammates, Juan and David, several times during one of their visits. While she hadn't been sold on the charming footballer right away ( at the time, she had something going on with a lawyer who regularily visited the hospital to work cases against medical companies — stupidly enough ), she found herself falling for the tall, proud–looking man with a charming smile, and a cheeky spark in his eye.
Eric was, to this day, still being teased by Juan and David about the whole situation, though the Ivory Coast–international didn't let it bother him. He was happy, and he was in love; the only thing he was missing out on now, was the spot as a regular starter in the team. Injuries had made it difficult for him, but he was a fighter — a spark in him that was even stronger when he knew he had the support of Iris.
Minutes later, the couple sat together by the kitchen–table, Iris just chuckling as she watched Eric devour his lunch. "Hungry much?" She rolled her eyes, noticing the mocking grimace on his face. Iris sighed, leaning back as she noticed the family on the other side of the street was out on their front porch, enjoying the nice weather. "Look at them — I want that for us, you know." She mused, nodding towards them.
"Nothing would make me happier." Eric hummed softly, a big smile playing on his lips. "I mean, we've gotten good at trying — who's to say we should stop? Football's great and all, but settling down with a fantastic woman and starting a family—," he paused, chuckling a little. "You know that's always been among my goals in life, if not the goal."
Instead of responding with words, Iris reached across the table, taking Eric's hand in hers, feeling — if possible — even more relaxed as their hands touched. She knew this was what he wanted, and she knew he would be over the moon when she finally came to tell him, but she wanted to wait. Iris had a sweet little surprise for her boyfriend, and she wasn't going to let his well–timed reassurings about wanting a family stop her from going through with her plan.
The hours of the afternoon passed, with Eric playing video games ( he even managed to get Iris to compete against him in a couple of FIFA–rounds, before she returned to being fascinated as he played ' Assassins Creed: Unity ' ), and Iris quietly picking out a very specific set of letters from the couple's box of ' Scrabble '. Eric didn't seem to have noticed her little letter–stealing, and continued to be completely oblivious to her plan as she moved closer to him, dropping the letters in his lap.
"What—," he mumbled, furrowing his brow as he paused his game, looking at the pile of letters gathered in his lap. "Iris, what is this?"
"That's for you to find out." She chuckled, playing with the hem of her shirt. It was clear he was confused as he moved the letters to the surface of the coffee–table in front of him, shoving the hand–controller to the Playstation out of the way. He started moving the letters around, eyebrows furrowed and a focused look on his face.
EWERAREATPNGN
Minutes passed as Eric tried his best to figure out which order the letters should be placed in. First, he figured out ' we ' — which was, without a doubt, the easiest word of the ones she aimed for. Next was the word ' are ', and for a brief second, Iris thought he was on a roll for the last word, though he was quick to turn to her, a desperate look on his face. "Please just help me? I don't have brain capacity for this."
Iris chuckled, moving closer to him as she placed the first two letters correctly. Eric looked at the letters confusedly, resting his chin on her shoulder as he used one arm to move the letters around. Slowly, they all fell into the right place, and the footballer seemed to struggle as he tried to understand — could it really be true? He turned to his girlfriend with hope in his eyes, patiently waiting for her to confirm it. In fact, Iris had barely even managed to nod her head once in response, before he was on his feet, celebrating as he jumped up and down around the living room.
"We're going to be parents?" Eric asked once again, only for Iris to chuckle and nod, her eyes welling as she noticed how he was on the verge of crying. "I need to call everyone."
He started by calling his family, proudly telling them he was going to be a dad. It was odd hearing him say that, but Iris felt good — she knew he would be an amazing father, and she was excited for the new chapter in their life. The next step was informing the team, which he did in their ' Whats App ' group. Iris, on her hand, had taken the morning while he was training, to call her own family, who had been over the moon about her delightful news.
Engulfing her in a hug, Eric sighed, nuzzling his head into her neck, before chuckling softly. "Wow, I'm really going to be a dad."