Daddy's Little Surprise

Ariel turned her head curiously and smiled when she saw Troy approaching her while holding hands with a little boy who looked six years old, he was adorable and was dressed as a ninja turtle.

"Hi, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Chris and Amy were curious who this man was yet neither of them interrogated, instead they gave Evangeline their full attention when she returned with candy. She was beyond excited that she received two handfuls of mini candy bars because the woman loved her costume.

"Neither was I but it's a pleasant surprise," Troy said then he looked at the boy beside him. "this is Griffin. My son. Griffin, this is Ariel."

"Hello Griffin." Ariel greeted and he returned a smile.

She was surprised that Troy had a son but she guessed a lot of people had children even if they seemed like they didn't, take Andy for an example.

"Dad, can I go now?"

"Yeah, I'll be right here."

Ariel smiled at Griffin as he ran passed her towards the house they were standing in front of and of course he ignored her presence but she took not offense, she knew candy was overwhelming the children's mind.

"He's adorable." Ariel told Troy, he smiled as if that was a compliment towards him.

"Thank you, he definitely is. The most adorable thing I've ever seen, that was until I met you."

Ariel's cheeks flushed red but she quickly recovered by hiding it, she felt awkwardness build between them. It's been a while since she had a boyfriend, she's been on a few dates after Evangeline was born but they never became boyfriend official because she was a mother and just couldn't run out whenever they wanted to go out.

"Mommy, mommy look!" Evangeline exclaimed, grabbing her leg.

Ariel looked into Evangeline's candy bucket and smiled, Troy was shocked that Ariel was a parent as well but all he hoped was that the father wasn't in the picture so there was a chance he could be.

"Good job!" she exclaimed proudly. "did you say thank you?"

"Yes I did mommy," she replied with a nod then she took Ariel's hand and began pulling. "come on. Let's go mommy!"

Ariel giggled softly then smiled, she looked up at Troy to see he was watching them both.

"It was nice seeing you Troy, have a good night."

Troy nodded and before he could speak she walked away with her daughter and began walking down the sidewalk, he felt his heart skip a beat apprehensively. He didn't want her to just walk away, in fact he enjoyed talking to her and wanted to get to know her better. She was beautiful and they had something in common already, they were young parents. He felt his legs begging to start moving but he impatiently waited for Griffin to return and just like he expected, Griffin was ready to go to the next house. He took Griffin's hand and hurried forward, his eyes locked on Ariel's silhouette. He would probably regret this in a little while but he felt confident right now.

"Hey Ariel!" he called and he saw that she came to a halt.

"He's a little forward, isn't he?" Chris asked Ariel and she giggled, shaking her head.

"Christopher, don't say that!" Amy exclaimed, slapping his arm.

"What? I'm just being honest."

Ariel ignored them and waited patiently for Troy to reach her, when he did he smiled proudly and spoke.

"Would you like to go on a date with me?"

She should have expected that he would eventually ask this question but she wasn't prepared for it and she wasn't prepared to turn him down, she would have said yes if she hadn't already made plans to go on tour with Andy in just a few days and she had to start getting ready for that.

"Oh Troy," she paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to turn him down gently. "maybe some other time? I'm going on vacation in a few days and I have a lot of stuff to do before then."

"I understand, can I get your number then?" he asked, pushing his hand down his blue jean's pocket.

"Sure."

He felt like he succeeded something just by getting her number and he figured in some day he did, he took this to mean they would go on a date one day in the future and he was fine with that. He was patient. He handed her his phone and she took it silently, typing her number into his contact list with her right thumb. Evangeline watched in slight confusion, of course she didn't understand the term "dating" at four years old. She just knew he wasn't her daddy and because of that she didn't like him and in her mind that wasn't a bad thing.

"Here you go." Ariel said when she gave him his phone back.

"Thank you, I'll see you later?"

Ariel nodded a yes but didn't say bye to him but he didn't either so she didn't feel rude, he took Griffin's hand and walked passed them to get to the next house. Ariel exhaled a breath then looked down at Evangeline who stared up at her with a small grin.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, still want to get candy?"

"Yeah!"

Ariel giggled.

"Go on then, we'll be here."

Ariel was jubilant, not because Troy asked her out, but because she had a unique daughter with a unique man. She didn't regret getting in bed with Andy that night years ago and getting pregnant, she didn't regret making the decision to keep her daughter nor bringing her here to let her father in her life. Ariel was broken from her thoughts when she noticed that Chris and Amy were staring at her, she turned red immediately and smiled awkwardly.

"I'm sorry about all of that, I wasn't expecting that to happen tonight."

"Don't apologize," Amy told her. "it's okay. You're a single mother and we can't judge you, besides you're not in a relationship with Andy."

"Amy is right and it's not really our business."

"I'm glad but that was very awkward." Ariel laughed and they joined her.

"Have to agree with you there." Chris chuckled.

When Evangeline returned they walked to the next house then the next, until her candy bucket was full.

Notes

It took me forever to update didn't it? Well, I will say that the term forever is a little over dramatic. I've been very busy this past month. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter!
1) Will Ariel tell Andy about Troy?
2) How do you think Andy will react when he finds out Ariel could possibly be seeing someone?
3) Would he want to meet Troy because he'll be around Evangeline?
4) How do you think Troy will react when he finds out who Evangeline's father is?
Answer these questions below! I think I will ask questions at the end of every chapter, it's actually entertaining to read your answers.