~one week before Aris goes off to college~

"Daddy?" Cameron, Aris's son, inquired as he tugged roughly on his over-sized blue t-shirt.

"Yes, buddy?" Aris replied as he set his coffee mug on the table, peering at his two year old son.

"Um, baby Rose is crying for you. I think she had a bad deam." Cameron informed as he looked deep into his eyes, searching for an answer.

     Aris could not help but to smile as he heard some of Cameron's words being pronounced wrong. Cameron's speech was just beginning to improve after many months of struggling with correct pronunciation. Words that started with "g" had a tendency to come out of his mouth as "d." Although it was quite adorable, I was desperate for a sign of improvement before I left for school.

"Oh, thanks for telling me, bud." Aris responded.

     He let out a long groan as he stood up from the chair and began to walk towards Rose's bedroom.

Cameron had always loved his father, but he had not seen his mother for a very long time. He did not even remember her face or how she acted. The only memory Cameron had of her was in a video that his dad played for him because he requested it consistently.

The video Cameron could recall was filmed when he was just about five months old. His mother was holding him with a wide grin spread across her face. She was singing a sweet lullaby that had been passed down from Aris's side of the family. Her voice was tender and soft as she sung to him.

Once she finished the song, Aris's voice came over his mother's and he said," Hi, Cam, its daddy! Can you say, daddy?"

"Honey he probably has no idea what you are trying to tell him to do. He is only a baby, Aris," She informed as she playfully pushed him away.

That was Cameron's favorite part of the video. After he would finish watching the video, he would suddenly have a burst of joy and his previous cranky mood would disintegrate in seconds. His dad never told him about her and neither did he ever bring her up in conversations.

Cameron shook off all of the thoughts about his mother and waddled over to Rose's room, where his dad was rocking her to sleep, singing the lullaby his mother did to him in the video.

~

"Want to go to the park?" Aris asked as he slid his grey Ohio cap over his head.

    He reached across his shoulder and grabbed Cameron's matching hat. He smiled as Aris patted the hat onto his head.

"Yeah, yeah!" Cameron responded happily as he pumped his fists in the air, realeasing his Nerf gun from his grasp.

"Alright, let me just take Rose out of her highchair and then we will head over to the park. Good?"

"Okay, daddy." Cameron responded as he looked at his little sister with his bright hazel eyes.

    Cameron flashed a bright smile at his dad and then ran back inside to grab all of his favorite toys to bring with him.

Cameron, Rose, and his dad just finished a delicious dinner which consisted of burgers, potato chips, strawberries, and apple juice. Cameron absolutely loved apple juice-almost as much as he loved his sister and dad.

When Aris came out of the house holding Rose in his arms, he grabbed the stroller adjacent to the door and dragged it behind him.

He placed Rose, who was giggling crazily, into the stroller and shut the garage door. Then he looked over at Cameron who already started to pedal down the driveway on his tricycle.

"Hey, goofball! Wait for us!" Aris shouted after him as he raced down the driveway, keeping a stern grip on the stroller.

Cameron giggled as he lurched to a stop at the end of the driveway. He peered behind him to see his dad and Rose almost about to catch up to him.

"Okay, you can go now, Cam." Aris informed as he began to jog behind Cameron who was peddling as fast as he could.

"Otay!" He replied with determination ringing in his voice as he began to pedal rapidly down the newly paved road.

As the three of them proceeded to the park, the sun was beginning to set behind the horizon. It was releasing many vibrant colors, for example, oranges and pinks. Aris smiled to himself as he thought about how summer had gone so far with his kids.

Then, began to ponder about his public identity. He was quite cognizant that if he visited a local park, people would recognize him instantly. Plus, he knew that if he ever was spotted as his normal self, he would be teased and harassed for being a teen parent. He could have even been suspended for his school because of the standards. In order to protect himself from the unwanted harassment, his go-to solution was to grow a beard for the summer and wear the same cap everywhere he went with Cameron and Rose in order to hide is hair.

After a couple minutes of walking, they finally reached the large park. To Aris's surprise, the park was already packed with families chattering by the entrance and teenagers screwing around on the playground. He looked down at Cameron who had leapt off of his tricycle and began unclipping his dinosaur helmet and placing it on the handle bars.

For a moment, he stood there waiting for his dad and Rose to follow him, but when he looked back and saw his favorite playground activity open, he darted off.

"Let's go watch your big brother on that saucer! Wow, look at him go!" Aris exclaimed to Rose as she slowly turned her small head towards her brother who was laughing giddily.

"Look at me daddy!" Cameron squealed as he was pulled back and forth, and back and forth. Soon, he stepped off of the strange saucer shaped swing and stood in front of his dad.

Cameron smiled as he saw his little sister's eyes peer down at him," Rose, did you see me on that thing?" He inquired pointing at the swing he was just on. He waited for a reply as he began to skip in place happily.

" I think she did, Cam!" Aris responded as he smiled at Cameron who was feeling proud for what he had just done.

"Yay! Well, I'm gonna go on that big swide. Or play that dame over there." He informed as he ran off without approval.

"Silly Cameron," Aris told Rose as he tickled her stomach. Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder and he spun around to see his best friend, Jameson, standing there with his girlfriend, Clara.

" 'Ay! Aristotle!" Jameson greeted as he slapped his best friend's shoulder. Aris rolled his eyes because Jameson was definitely cognizant of the fact that Aris hated being called "Aristotle." Aris turned around slowly to be face to face with Jameson as he tried to keep a straight face, "oh, sorry, I thought you were my friend Aris. Besides, I know he doesn't have any kids, that's for sure!" He replied as Aris began to sweat a little.

"Sorry, my looks are quite deceiving!" Aris admitted absentmindedly with a shrug. Within seconds, Jameson swiftly grasped Clara's hand and ran off as far away from him as possible. As Jameson and Clara were no longer in sight, Aris let out a long sigh of relief as he thanked himself for growing a beard and wearing the cap.

"Who was that person, daddy?" Cameron asked as he gazed up at his father curiously.

"Uh-no one. It's fine, don't worry, but we should probably head back now, Cam..." Aris muttered as he motioned for Cameron to come over by him.

"Aw, but daddy, I haven't been here for a long time! It's only been five minutes!" Cameron frowned as he pulled off his Ohio cap I put on him before. He made a pout face, his lower lip jutting outwards.

"I know Cam, I promise we will come back really soon. Besides, Rose is probably getting tired and I'm sure you are too." Aris responded as he knelt down to be around Cameron's height. Aris set his hand on Cameron's shoulder and looked into his eyes.

"Alright, daddy." Cameron obliged as he picked up his Ohio hat from the ground and smiled a small bit. Aris released his grip from the stroller and picked up Cameron from the ground and began to tickle him.

"Daddy, s-stop!" Cameron squealed between his cute and high pitched laugh as he began kicking uncontrollably.

When Aris finally set Cameron down on the ground, he looked up at his dad and smiled at him with a large grin. "I love you,daddy." He whispered as he hugged his daddy around his legs.

"I love you too." Aris replied as he hugged his son back.