3 Chapter 3

He looked a little under sure of himself at first but reached out for Aiden. The boy looked between the strange man and his mommy before asking "Who that"? with a skeptical but curious look in his eye. She gave the small boy a guilty smile, " That's your daddy, Love bug". He looked at the man in surprise, but it slowly faded as he noticed that some of the man's features matched that of the boy trapped in the glass. Even though mommy had told him that the boy was himself, he still believed he was just an annoying copycat that deserved to be stuck where he was. He looked down at the floor and decided he he was gonna walk like a big boy. His mommy smiled encouragingly at him before putting him down. He turned wobbly to face his daddy and started putting one foot in front of the other. A small smile creeped onto the man's face as he Crouched down while holding out his arms.

The boy couldn't help the excitement that seemed to take over his tiny body. He rushed his last few steps and tripped, falling into his father's arms. The toddler giggled while holding his hands up as he was being lifted into the air. Being picked up by your dad was just as fun as his friends described in daycare earlier. The hugs were even better too. "Well, look at you . Already walking on your own. Are you sure your only two?" His dad jostled him in his arms, but the boy crossed his arms grumpily. "I'm twee". He knew he wasn't a little boy anymore and he was going to make sure that this man and everyone else knew it too.

"Ha, right right. My bad." The man stared at the boy for a few minutes just taking everything in. The boy stared back waiting for something to happen. When it didn't, he decided he wanted his mother back.  "We should probably get out of here soon." The man sniffled with his back towards them. "Are you....okay?" The boys mom shifted him on to her hip as she touched his dad's shoulder. " Yeah, yeah....I guess...he's just...I don't wanna mess up, you know?" She puts the toddler in the cart and pulls it up next to them as fresh tears run down her face. She knew exactly what he meant because the same thought worried her every day. She rests a gentle hand on his cheek and smiles when he finally looks at her. " Me neither but the truth of the matter is: we are going to mess up but what we do after is what counts".

"Yeah, I guess". He wiped his eyes on the Hem of his shirt, feeling a little silly for crying. What's the kid gonna think of him crying like that? And only a few minutes after meeting him too. "Hey,umm...do you maybe want to help get ready for the party tomorrow"? He turned around to face her. " Sure, It's nice to see that me and the kid share similar taste". He ruffles the boys hair causing him to grab the older man's hand. "No... don't touch, I handsome". The child glared as he tried to fluff his hair back to its former glory. This shocked the dad and made his mother laugh. " I guess I should have warned you". She giggled while trying to catch her breath. " I gave him a haircut today and now he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips". At this the man chuckled softly, "cute". He gave a soft smile before grabbing the cart and pushing it down the aisle with his baby mama in tow and what can only be described as a small sense of pride as they left the store. Towards , whatever the future held to this new found family of three.