The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Sophia shot a death glare at the gossiping girls. It was clear she was warning them to shut up.
The girls quickly shut up and looked away.
...
Corinne continued to lecture ‘Bryan’ as she carried him back. She was still very angry at him for running off.
‘This kid is getting more and more out of hand and stubborn. How dare he run off by himself,’ she thought.
As for ‘Bryan’, he just listened to her mutely. He did not apologize or admit to any wrongdoing.
Once they were back at their picnic spot, Corinne put ‘Bryan’ down and asked him sternly, “Aren’t you going to say anything? Do
you know what you did wrong? There better not be a next time.”
‘Bryan’ stared at her with big sad puppy eyes.
Francine sighed with relief when she saw Corinne was back with ‘Bryan’. “I think that’s enough, Corinne. He only ran off because
he liked the cartoon kite so much. I’m sure he won’t run off anymore if we get him one.”
Corinne could not accept her reasoning. “Even so, he shouldn’t just run off without telling me. I think he’s asking for a good
smacking.”
Francine quickly shielded ‘Bryan’ with her body. “Bryan, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to your
Mommy now.”
‘Bryan’ pouted for a second before breaking out in a loud sob.
“There, there. You must’ve been scared all alone,” cooed Francine. “It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re back with Mommy and Aunt
Francine now.”
Corinne hated it when kids cried to get out of wrongdoings. She sternly pulled Francine away before grabbing ‘Bryan’ to face her.
“Why are you crying? How can you cry when you’re the one who is in the wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything? I’m going to
count to three and if you still refuse to say you’re sorry, I’m going to smack your bum.”
Instead of apologizing, ‘Bryan’ wailed even louder after that.

Corinne was at the end of her patience, and as much as the thought of smacking her own kid pained her, she still raised up her
arm. However...
Joey came running over to protect his little brother. “Mommy, don’t hit Bryan! He knows what he did is wrong. I promise I’ll keep
an eye over him next time so he won’t go running off again.”
Christine stood by the side. Her big, bright eyes were focused on ‘Bryan’, realizing something was off about him.
Corinne was stunned by Joey’s action, but she sighed and said, “Look at what a good boy your big brother is. When are you
going to learn to be like him and make me stop worrying about you?”
‘Bryan’ pouted and stammered, “I... I want my Daddy...”
Corinne’s pupils shrank, and her face darkened immediately after she heard that sentence.
Both Francine and Chester were stunned too.
‘What did Bryan say? Did he say he wants his Daddy? He has never seen his Daddy before, nor does he have any memory of
him, so why would he suddenly want his Daddy? This is his first time... Corinne’s going to be sad again when she thinks of
Jeremy...’ thought Francine.
Corinne snapped out of her shock, squatted, and pulled ‘Bryan’ into a tight embrace. “Why do you suddenly miss your Daddy?
Where do you think we can find him?”
‘Bryan’ pointed in a particular direction. “Daddy’s over there. I want to go there to look for him...”
Stunned, Corinne snapped her head to look at where he was pointing.
Both Francine and Chester turned in that direction too.