Social Experiment

Epilogue

This is the end! Thank you all for reading this story :) Please vote, comment, & share! 

PS I JUST FINISHED EDITING THIS ENTIRE SERIES AND ADDED A LITTLE EXTRA SCENE INTO THE EPILOGUE, SO IF YOU'VE ALREADY READ IT, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ IT AGAIN :)

************************

TEN YEARS LATER

"Here you are," Esther sets down a plate with the familiar burger in front of Nathan, giving him a knowing smile. "The usual." Then she puts my sandwich in front of me and smiles wider. "At least one of you changes it up."

I grin at her, but Nathan pouts, sticking his bottom lip out as he whines, "You know you love my order, Esther. Don't even lie."

Amusement lights up in her eyes as it always does when Nathan and I come around, and she shakes her head with a laugh before setting down the third plate. "Here you go, Monkey."

The little boy hanging off of the side of his chair grins toothily up at Esther, showing off the gaps between his teeth. "My name isn't Monkey!"

Esther smiles fondly at the child. "What are you talking about? You're a monkey!"

Mason giggles, the sound alone making me smile. "I'm not a monkey, I'm a boy."

"You're right," Esther laughs and shakes her head. "Eat up, Mason, or else you will become a monkey!"

Her words send Mason straightening up frantically, and then grabbing the chicken fingers on his plate and shoving them into his mouth. Nathan outright laughs at his son, and I roll my eyes when I realize that I, once again, have to be the sensible parent.

"Mase, slow down so you don't get a tummy ache," I advise carefully.

Esther laughs alongside my troublesome husband, and I can't help but smile after her as she leaves us be. I feel someone nudge me and glance at Nate, who's leaning toward me, his blue eyes lit up in the same boyish playfulness they always are.

"Should we convince him he really is a monkey?" Nate whispers, a look in his eye that was pleading me to accept.

I laugh a little, but whisper back, "You're going to scare him!"

He smirks a little. "What's the point of being a parent if you can't have a little fun?"

This was Nathan's excuse for everything. Last week, he told Mason that babies come from Mars if they're a boy, and Pluto if they're a girl. The week before that, he convinced Mason that if he didn't eat all his broccoli, he would turn green. Needless to say, Mason has a head full of outrageous stories, all thanks to Nathan. You'd think that time might make a person more mature, but that definitely wasn't the case.

I roll my eyes at Nathan, feigning disapproval, but can't even pretend to be mad for long. The stubble on his jawline had become more prominent, making him look older and more rugged than he did when we were younger. His eyes are still the same electric shade of steely blue that I've always known. They were constantly lit up in amusement to match his boyish grins, which usually accompany one of his teasing remarks.

"Mrs. Rhodes," Nathan says, his voice suddenly low and husky as he gives me a smirk. "You look like you want to take me into the bedroom. Should I get the check from Esther?"

I laugh at him, something I seem to be doing frequently when I'm around him, and hit his arm lightly. "Shut up. Am I not allowed to look at my husband?"

Nathan grins widely. "Look at me all you want, but no touching in front of Mason. I don't want to scar him for life."

I glance at our son, who is still scarfing down every last bit of green on his plate, and give Nathan a pointed look. "I think Esther already did that by telling him he's going to turn into a monkey."