The Day I Kissed An Older Man

Joey was a little surprised. He raised his head and looked at Corinne. "I..."

Corinne reached out to pat his head. "Will it be the amusement park? Or would you prefer to go home? You can choose somewhere else if you want. I'm taking the rest of the day off, so we'll just spend our afternoon having fun."

Joey blinked and glanced at Corinne in disbelief. "But Mommy, I... I got into trouble. Aren't you angry with me?"

Corinne raised an eyebrow. "What sort of trouble did you get into?"

Joey answered in confusion, "I... I bullied someone..."

"It's not bullying if you're defending someone else." Corinne smiled. "I saw what happened from the surveillance footage, and you did a good job when you stood up bravely for your classmate! That is the right thing to do."

Joey could hardly believe the praise that he was receiving, and he stared at Corinne uneasily. "Mommy... Are you sure I didn't do anything wrong?"

Corinne cupped his little face in her hands and kissed his forehead. "I'm sure. What you did was the right thing to do. You're a good role model for Bryan and Christine. I'm very proud of you!" Joey blushed. "But I got you in trouble and troubled you..."

me into trouble? You're my son, and it is my duty to protect you and be responsible for you. Everything I do for you is out of

pursed his lips and tried not to cry. He had expected his mother to be angry with

and Christine were clueless as to what happened, so they leaned over

about, Mommy? Did Joey beat

Joey

them, "Joey did a very brave thing today. He protected a little girl who was being bullied by a nasty boy, and he beat the bully up. Isn't that something

Christine gasped in admiration and looked at Joey as if he

to learn how to fight the bad guys too!"

to protect me! I'm going to have to count on you,

praise Joey without dragging me into this? When

chin and snorted. "I know you won't protect

ever thought of me as your brother? You're always saying