Confused, I jerked back, ending the kiss with Stevie as I tried to make sense of what was happening while watching Owen zoom past the other side of the kitchen island, heading toward the hallway with his backpack slung
over his shoulder.
"Hey, Dad!" he said, raising a hand up in a quick wave. Owen didn't stop, didn't even glance my way, his focus on getting to his
bedroom so he could play on his Xbox, which was how every drop-off went. A six-year-old whose only care in the world was immersing himself in his favorite video game that Alyssa didn't allow him to play when he was with her.
Normally, I would have called out to Owen to not run in the house, or even ordered him to come back and give me a hug after being gone for the week, but today I let him go, grateful that he'd remain oblivious to the
awkward situation I'd found myself in with Stevie.
