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instead. He caught her, swinging his wife around in a circle before setting her feet back on the floor. |
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After kissing Marianne amid a serenade of groans from their son, Brian lifted his head and smiled down into his wife's face. "What do you say? A movie, popcorn, soda, then pizza afterward?" |
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"If that's what the birthday boy wants," Marianne looked over her shoulder to smile at their son, "then that's what the birthday boy gets." |
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Chris let out a whoop of joy, and his parents laughed out loud and kissed each other again. |
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Brian broke the embrace. "If we're going to have our big night out, we'd better get going. Find your coat, Chris." |
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Chris took off at full speed toward the front closet. He stopped just outside the kitchen doorway, sliding a few feet on the polished wood floor. When he turned his parents stood within each other's embrace. The spring sunlight streamed through the window, catching them in its beam. His father saw him watching and lifted his cheek away from where it rested on the top of his mother's head. |
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"We love you, Christian. Always remember how much we love you. That will never change." |
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Chris nodded. His parents constantly held hands, hugged, kissed. Sometimes all that mushy stuff could be kind of embarrassing for a twelve-year-old boy, but, in the end, such a wealth of love reassured a child. The world might be in turmoil, but in the McCall household everyone loved everyone else. |
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Brian left his wife and walked over to kneel beside Chris. He put his hands on his son's shoulders |
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