"Come on Mal! Look who's here!" Zoe called. Mallory walked down the stairs and then smiled.
"Auntie Alana! Uncle Jared!" She yelled. Alana smiled and Mallory hugged her.
"There's my girl! How are you sugar plum?" Alana asked. Mallory smiled.
"Good!" She said. Alana smiled and Mallory looked at Jared.
"What's up buddy?" Jared asked. Zoe smiled as Mallory's face screwed up with confusion.
"Jared, she's not going to hurt you, you can hug her." Alana said. Jared subtly shook his head.
"Hug!" Mallory said. Jared's eyes widened and Zoe laughed as he cautiously hugged Mallory.
"Okay, So we've concluded that Jared is awful with kids! Is everyone ready to go?" Alana said. Zoe nodded and pulled her coat on.
"Baby, can you grab the bag?" Zoe asked. Evan nodded and Zoe scooped Mallory up.
"Now Mallory, why don't we give Uncle Jared another big hug?" Alana said. Jared glared at her and Zoe laughed as Mallory reached for Jared. He hugged her hesitantly and Evan came back.
"Zo, why are you guys torturing Jared?" Evan asked. Mallory saw her father and started squirming in Jared's arms.
"Down Jared! Down!" Mallory yelled. Jared put her down and Mallory ran over to her father.
"Okay! We're ready to go!" Evan said. Zoe grabbed Mallory's hand and the five of them walked out of the house.
+++
"How does that feel sweet pea?" Zoe asked, her hand on either side of Mallory's skate.
"Good. C'mon Auntie Alana! I wanna skate!" Mallory said, pulling on Alana's arm. Alana looked at Zoe who nodded.
"Oh! Mal! Helmet!" Evan said. Mallory groaned as Evan snapped the helmet on. Alana, Jared, and Mallory walked out, leaving Zoe and Evan alone in the dressing room. Evan grabbed Zoe's waist and pulled her towards him.
"Are you going out with Mal or are you not skating?" Evan asked.
"I'm gonna stay out for right now. I don't like falling." Zoe said.
"Well, you barely fell last time." Evan said. Zoe looked at him.
"Yes, but that was a year ago." Zoe said. Evan nodded and kissed her.
"Okay, if you want to switch, let me know." Evan said. Zoe smiled and the pair walked out of the dressing room.
+++
"And then Uncle Jared picked me up and we went really fast!" Mallory said. Zoe smiled and took a drink from her coffee.
"You were going so fast baby girl." Zoe said, playing with Mallory's hair. Alana smiled and Jared laughed.
"Jared has figured out how to deal with kids." Alana said.
"Nah, just Mal. If there were any more, I wouldn't have made it." Jared said. Mallory stuck her tongue out and Zoe smiled, grabbing Evan's hand.
"Ooh look at you two, holding hands." Jared said. Zoe smiled and Mallory took a bite of her cookie.
"Mommy and Daddy hold hands a lot!" Mallory said. Zoe smiled and kissed Mallory's forehead.
"You're a funny little girl." Zoe said. Alana smiled and nudged Zoe.
"When do your families get here?" Alana asked.
"The 23rd. Which is nice because it'll be less stressful. But they're staying for a while, which will be nice because we've got the space for three families and Mallory and lily can spend time together and so can Mallory and her grandparents." Zoe said.
"Grandma and Nana and Papa and Lily and Auntie Meredith and Uncle Connor are coming for Christmas!" Mallory said excitedly. Alana and Jared smiled.
"We know! It's so exciting!" Alana said. The four adults smiled and listened as Mallory chattered on about various things.
