CHAPTER 4:
The next morning, Aubrey was the first to wake up when the alarm clock rang.
"Morning, Chad." Aubrey said.
"Morning, Aubrey." Chad said.
"(sighs) I hope Finn slept well after last night." Aubrey said.
"Me too. Maybe I should go wake him up." Chad said as he left the bedroom to check on Finn.
"Morning, daddy." Finn said as Chad woke him up.
"Morning, Finn. Did you sleep okay after what happened last night?" Chad asked.
"Yeah. It was hard, but at least I don't have to go to school today." Finn said.
"True. And listen, your mother told me about last night. And we're willing to help you with this problem however we can." Chad said.
"Thanks, daddy." Finn said finally starting to smile a bit.
"Of course. And we were thinking, since it's Saturday, maybe we should do something to help you take your mind off all of this." Chad suggested.
"What did you have in mind?" Finn asked.
"I'll tell you all about it while we're eating breakfast." Chad said.
One hour later, the three were downstairs in the kitchen having breakfast.
"So, Finn...your father and I were talking and we thought of a way to take your mind off of your problem you've been having." Aubrey said.
"What is it?" Finn asked.
"Remember when I read you that picture book that one night? The one with all the animals in it?" Chad asked which Finn nodded yes.
"Well, we were thinking maybe you might want to see some real animals." Aubrey said.
"Yeah, would you be up for going to the zoo today?" Chad asked.
"Okay. I've never been to the zoo before, but I would love to go." Finn said.
"Then it's settled. You & I will go after we finish our breakfast." Chad said.
Later that day, Chad & Finn arrived at the zoo.
"I hope he doesn't come here." Finn said worried.
"Who? The boy who threatened you?" Chad asked.
"Yeah." Finn said.
"Listen. As long as you stay with me, you will be safe. I promise, nothing bad will happen to you today." Chad said kneeling down to Finn's eye level.
"Okay." Finn said.
"Now come on, let's go see what kind of animals they have here." Chad said as they began walking.
As they were walking through the zoo, they stopped to see many of the different animals. Many of the ones they stopped at were ones Finn recognized from that very same picture book Chad read him a few nights ago. In fact, the one animal Finn recognized immediately was the tiger just by its stripes and sharp teeth. He even remembered what Chad said about not getting too close to animals with sharp teeth. But luckily despite Chad's warning, Finn wasn't scared at all. In fact, about 5 minutes after they arrived, Finn started smiling the whole time they were walking through the zoo. Chad was smiling too because he felt grateful that his idea to take Finn's mind off of that bully was working out well.
Now as Chad & Finn were looking at a group of monkeys, they ran into Alice & Grace.
"Hey, Chad." Alice said.
"Alice, Grace, fancy running into you two here." Chad said.
"Yeah. Grace loves animals and I had today off from work, so I figured it'd be a good day to come out here." Alice said.
"Yeah. Finn had a rough playdate yesterday, so I figured bringing him here could take his mind off of it." Chad said.
"Is everything alright?" Alice asked.
"Not really. Aubrey found him crying in the bathroom last night and had to comfort him." Chad said.
"Awww...is he okay now?" Alice asked.
"Right now he is. He hasn't cried once since we got here." Chad said.
"Well, that's a good thing. And listen, if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know." Alice said.
"Will do." Chad said.
"Mommy, can we go see the penguins?" Grace asked.
"Sure, honey. Do you guys want to come with us?" Alice asked.
"Sure. Come on, Finn. Let's go see the penguins." Chad said as he & Finn followed Alice & Grace.
While they were walking towards the penguin exhibit..."So how's Ken doing these days?" Chad asked.
"Oh, you know, he's very busy with work." Alice said.
"What exactly does he do?" Chad asked.
"He's a detective for the Paramus Police Department." Alice said.
"Nice. Well, you should definitely say hi to him for us." Chad said.
"Definitely." Alice said just as they reached the penguin exhibit.
Hours later, Chad & Finn were heading back to the car.
"Daddy, I had a wonderful time today." Finn said happily.
"Really?" Chad asked.
"Yeah. I love the zoo. Thanks for taking me, daddy." Finn said.
"Of course. Do you maybe want to come back again sometime?" Chad asked.
"Yeah. And can mommy come with us next time?" Finn asked.
"I don't see why not. I'll talk to her when she gets home tonight." Chad said.
"Okay." Finn said as they reached the car.
Chad put Finn in his car seat before getting into the driver's seat and heading back home.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: It's also worth noting that this chapter also has a deleted scene where Chad was trying to shave, but he couldn't find his razor. That's because after Finn's traumatic experience from the previous night, Aubrey moved Chad's razor to the safe in their attic and asked him not to give Finn the combination as a way to keep Finn from getting his hands on that razor again.
