Our Little Family (COMPLETED)

Little Monster

"Oakley! Come back here"! Zoe yelled chasing our 3 year old through the house. I chuckled to myself as I heard my son's cute laugh fill the house.

I exited the bathroom and went to find where my wife and son were. Zoe had finally got him to sit and eat breakfast.

"Daddy"! Oakley yelled running into my arms

"Good morning, buddy". I said picking him up and placing him on my hip.

I kissed Zoe's cheek as she sat at the kitchen table doing paperwork. She looked stressed.

"Hey Zo, maybe you should take a break with the work for a while. You looked stressed".

"I don't know, Evan. I really need to get these papers done".

"Come on, let's go have some fun! What do you think, Oakley"?

"Yeah"! He laughed

Zoe let a smile cross her lips as she sighed.

"Fine, but only for a few hours".

I put Oakley down so he could go grab his favorite stuffed animal that Connor had given him. I pulled Oakley's stroller out of the garage.

"Mommy, look"! Oakley yelled from the yard

"What is it, sweetheart"?

"It's a worm"!

"Oh wow! No, no, no, Oakley.. don't pick it up---Oh... now we have to go wash your hands". Zoe chuckled

Oakley giggled as he held the worm in his hands.

"Let's put Mr. Worm back so he can go home to his family". I chuckled as I walked over to them.

Oakley nodded and carefully set the worm back in the soil. Zoe took him inside to wash the dirt from his hands. I waited for them to return to me. When they came out, Zoe was holding him.

She placed him in his stroller and strapped him in. He held his stuffed animal close as I pushed him down the sidewalk with Zoe by my side. It's always nice to get out like this.

I suddenly saw a familiar face across the street. Jared. I haven't seen him in in years. He hasn't changed much. Still has those same glasses.

He waved to us and crossed the street.

"Wow, Evan Hansen and Zoe Murphy"!

"Actually it's Zoe Hansen now". Zoe beemed

"Finally tied the knot, huh? Awesome"!

Jared then saw Oakley, who was looking up at him curiously. Jared bent down and smiled.

"Wow, adorable kid, guys. He looks just like you, Zoe".

"Awe thanks, his name is Oakley". Zoe explained

"Hey Oakley, I'm Jared"!

Jared extended his hand for Oakley to shake it. However, he didn't.

"M-Mommy? D-Daddy"?

"It's okay, sweety. Jared is a nice guy. Say hi"! Zoe said

"H-Hi".

"Shy like your Dad"? Jared asked

Oakley nodded as he held his stuffed animal tightly

"I get it". Jared reassured him

"So, how have you been"? I asked

"I've been good. I just got a promotion. I code video games and stuff".

"That's perfect for you! I work as a designer and Evan's a psychiatrist". Zoe explained

"Wow, perfect jobs for you too! You've both got good jobs, got married and have a cute kid... you two seem to be doing really well, I'm glad".

It was almost weird to see Jared acting so nice to me. I mean, he must have grown up or something. It's good to see him.

"Well, I better get going. We should all hang out again. It would be fun". Jared said smiling

"Yeah! Of course. We have the same numbers so... call us". I told him

With one more nod, Jared was off. We continued our way down the street to the park. We let Oakley go play on the playground with the other kids. Zoe and I sat down on the bench beside another mother.

"Seeing Jared was nice". Zoe started

"Yeah, he seems to be doing well".

OAKLEYS POV
I wanted to go down the twirly slide. I climbed up the tall stairs until I reached the top. I saw another boy there. He looked nice so I decided to try to talk to him, even though I'm a bit nervous.

Daddy gets like this too sometimes. He gets nervous to talk to some people and I don't blame him... it's scary.

"H-Hi, my name is--".

"Why would I care"? He says before I could finish my sentence

"Um.. well.. I". I tried to say

"What? Can't speak"?

"No, I c-can.. it's j-just.. uh.. um".

"Get lost". He yelled

"I just w-want to go down the slide". I said trying to take deep breaths like Daddy had taught me

"No".

"But--"?

"What part of Get Lost don't you understand"?

"Hey, be nice to him"! A voice behind me boomed

I turned to see a girl there. She was really pretty

"Ugh, get out of here"! The boy roared

"What's your name"? The girl asked me completely ignoring the mean boys request

"Oakley... like an Oak tree". I said

"What? Oakley! That's the stupidest name in the whole world"! The boy laughed

"I like it. My name is Maple... like a Maple tree".

The boy groaned in disgust.

"I love your name"! I smiled wide

Maple laughed and took my hand in hers. We walked past the boy. I went down the slide and waited for Maple to follow. When she came down we joined hands again and walked through the playground to Mommy and Daddy. Her Mommy was sitting next to them so she could introduce me to her too.

"Mommy! Daddy"! I yelled as we ran to them

"Hey, sweetheart. Who's this"? Mommy asked

"This is Maple! She has a tree name too"!

Daddy's eye widened as a smile appeared on his face.

EVANS POV
Oakley looked so happy to have made a friend. Especially one who has the same type of name as him. Zoe seemed happy as well. Oakley has never really enjoyed hanging around with kids his age. He's always stayed near Zoe and I.

"It's nice to meet you, Maple". Zoe greeted

The woman next to us smiled and said

"Maple, I'm glad you had a friend".

"Thanks Mama"!