And I knew what he did next surprised Lizzie, because her eyes widened a bit as she watched her son run toward Max and hug his leg.
“Hi, Maxie.”
“Hi, little buddy,” Max said, patting Hunter’s head.
“Did you miss me?”
“Oh, yeah, I did,” he said softly, and I melted a little.
“I missed you, too. Did you remember to buy that Spider-Man action figure we talked about?”
And all the tension evaporated then, as everyone laughed.
“I did,” Max said, the softness back in his eyes. “Don’t worry. I did.”