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.”