I think Edward discovered today that it's possible to miss someone so much it hurts, physically. As afternoon faded to evening, he had taken himself upstairs alone to play Lego in his room. Daniel and I were reading on the couch when he came down near tears saying, "Mom, my side hurts, right here!" He was edging toward panic, holding his side while I determined it was the right side, but too high for appendix worries. He said it was his rib cage hurting. I had him lay flat on the floor and stretch his arms above his head. That either stretched out the cramp or distracted him from the problem because he said he felt better.

Then I offered dinner and, while gathering up the left-overs to reheat, made a quick call to John to see if he could step away just for a moment to talk. His meetings have been all day long and through dinner. With the time difference they're starting just as the boys are waking up and ending after they're in bed. My instinct told me that just the sound of John's voice would set all to right again. He didn't answer, but when the phone rang a few minutes later and I saw his number on the caller ID, I gave Edward the phone and said, "It's for you!"

"Hello?"
Ear-to-ear grin: "Hi Daddy!!"

They chatted for a bit until Edward was ready to hand the phone to Daniel and for the rest of the evening he never mentioned a pain or acted sad. It's not a replacement for the usual "Dad's home from work" romp, but in a pinch it will do.