Alex tried to slip out the door unnoticed, but he hesitated at the threshold, holding his hat in one hand and checking that he had his sunglasses. It was a fatal error.
“Hey, sweetheart!” came the call from the living room. His father hurried across the foyer and unceremoniously grabbed Alex by the shoulders, turning him and pulling him into a hug, knocking his glasses awry.
“Can’t let you leave on your first day without a hug for luck.”
Alex struggled in vain against his father’s grip. “C’mon Dad, enough.”
Laughing, his father let him loose, kissing him on the forehead and resettling his glasses on his nose. He was only a couple of inches taller than his son and didn’t have to lean down much to do it.
Alex rolled his eyes and smiled wanly at his father. “You done?”
All he got was a
