"Mallory! Come here!" Evan called. Mallory came into the kitchen and crawled into her father's lap.
"What?" Mallory asked. Zoe smiled.
"Do you want to go see some pretty lights tonight?" Zoe asked. Mallory nodded.
"Yes!" Mallory said happily.
"Perfect! So tonight, we're going to get our boots and our coats on and go to the park and watch the lights on the trees turn on." Evan said. Mallory looked at her father.
"Can I go play?" Mallory asked. Zoe smiled and nodded. Mallory got off of Evan's lap and ran back upstairs.
"We should go for dinner tonight." Zoe said. Evan nodded. Zoe smiled and took a drink from her coffee mug.
"Where should we go?" Evan asked.
"Something easy. Somewhere that Mallory will eat." Zoe said.
"Boston Pizza it is." Evan said. Zoe smiled and stood up. She sat beside her husband and kissed him.
"You are a superstar. I love you." Zoe said.
"I love you." Evan said. Zoe smiled and walked upstairs to get ready for work.
+++
"Hey baby." Zoe said, putting the phone to her ear.
"Hi, where are you?" Evan asked. Zoe looked at the clock in her car.
"I'm in the car. Traffic is awful. I should be home soon though." Zoe said. Evan sighed.
"I'm sorry, a meeting went long and then Chantelle needed to speak with me and everything has been downhill today." Zoe said, running a hand through her hair.
"No, don't apologize baby. You had a stressful day. Do we want to do this another night? Mallory won't know the difference." Evan said softly.
"No, it's okay. I should be home soon. I think there was an accident on top of rush hour traffic. I'm hoping to be home by 5:30." Zoe said. Evan smiled.
"Okay. Please drive safe. I love you." Evan said.
"I love you too." Zoe said.
"I'll talk to you when you get home." Evan said.
"Okay, bye." Zoe said. Evan hung up and Zoe groaned.
+++
"Okay Mal, look both ways, here we go!" Evan said. Zoe smiled and the trio crossed the busy street.
"Mommy! It's dark over there!" Mallory said.
"That's the park sweetheart. It's going to be dark until they turn on the Christmas lights." Zoe explained. Mallory nodded and stopped.
"What's wrong Mal?" Evan asked. Mallory groaned.
"I'm tired!" Mallory whined. Evan smiled and picked her up.
"No! Daddy down!" Mallory yelled. Evan put her down and Zoe knelt down in front of her.
"Hey baby girl, what's wrong?" She asked.
"I'm tired!" Mallory whined. Zoe looked at her phone. It was getting close to 9:00 and Mallory was exhausted.
"How about this sweetheart, the lights will be turned on in 5 minutes. When they're turned on, we'll look for a few minutes and then go home. Okay?" Zoe asked.
"No Mommy! I'm tired!" Mallory cried, tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh my goodness. It's okay love bug." Zoe said. She picked Mallory up and Mallory screamed.
"No Mommy! I want to go home!" Mallory yelled. Zoe set Mallory down and started wiping her eyes.
"We will, in just a few minutes, the lights are turning on soon!" Zoe said.
"Mal, do you wanna see the pretty lights?" Evan asked.
"Yes but I'm tired!" Mallory cried.
"Here, why don't you let Mommy carry you? You won't have to walk and you can see the lights." Evan said. Mallory nodded and reached up for her mother.
"Thanks." Zoe hissed. She picked up her daughter and Mallory rested her head on Zoe's shoulder.
One by one, the trees turned on and Mallory looked around.
"Look at all the trees Mal!" Zoe said. Mallory smiled and Zoe put her down.
"Pretty." She whispered. Evan smiled and kissed Zoe.
"They look nice this year." Evan said. Zoe nodded and Mallory looked around with a huge smile on her face.
"Are we all good?" Zoe asked. Mallory nodded.
"All good! The pretty trees are on!" Mallory said smiling. Zoe and Evan smiled and watched Mallory gaze at the lit up trees.
