Runaway

I saw it coming.
He was having a bad night.
Lots of meltdowns and such.  He woke up at 6 am and has a head cold.
He didn't eat his lunch well.  He laid on the floor writhing and whining while I begged the chicken to cook quicker for his dinner.  I finally directed him to put on his pajamas while he waited for his dinner, and this was the straw that broke Aidan's back.  The wailing stopped and he had a look of determination on his face.  I watched him dump his school stuff out of his bag and load other necessities into it and head for the front door.

"Where are you going son?"
no answer.

I watched him walk slowly across the street to the park.  By this time his siblings had noticed something was afoot and they gathered around the front window.
"What's Aidan doing?" they all asked.
"I believe he's running away", I answered as I headed back to check on that chicken.

I heard the door shut just as the timer beeped on the oven.  Dinner was ready.  When I went to greet Aidan I found no one there. Looking out the window I saw Asher, barefoot, with his arm around Aidan guiding him home to a warm meal.

We all welcomed him back at the dinner table.  With a full belly, clean teeth, and a story read Aidan quickly drifted off to dreamland.

As I tucked Asher in I had to ask, "Son, what did you tell Aidan to get him to come home?"
"I just asked him why he was mad, and he said you guys were mean to him.  Then I told him to just come home and eat dinner and it would be okay."

Brothers are priceless.