Chapter 10

During the second half of the trip, Aaron was clearly distracted. He didn't seem happy at all. Alicia was so worried about him that her eyes turned red. Seeing her upset, Alexander scolded Aaron harshly. He warned that if Aaron ruined the mood again next time, then he shouldn't come along at all. The atmosphere on the way back was tense. That heavy mood followed them all the way home. Aaron had been looking forward to getting home. It wasn't that he really missed Elise—it was just that during the trip, he had been sleeping alone in a room every night. With no one to read him a bedtime story, he hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. While the vacation had been fun, the food just never tasted as good as what Elise made at home. When they arrived at the front door, there was a rare sparkle of excitement on his face. "Mommy, I'm starving! Can you make me some soup?" he called out cheerfully as he pushed open the door. But the moment he pushed the door open, he froze in place. "