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..."

and it is my duty to protect you and be responsible for you. Everything I do for you is out of my

He had expected his

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

talking about, Mommy? Did Joey

did Joey

and then said solemnly to them, "Joey did a very brave thing today. He protected a little girl who was

admiration and looked at Joey as

that bully up? I want to learn how to fight the bad guys too!" Bryan

I don't need to be afraid of anyone in kindergarten because you'll be there to protect me! I'm going to have to count on you, Joey. Bryan is unreliable because he runs

just praise Joey without dragging me into this? When did I run

snorted. "I know you won't protect me because you don't think of me as

thought of me as your