TALLAHASSEE, FL—Teagan Banks, 6, was quietly playing a puzzle game after school on Wednesday when his mother, Adriana Banks, 32, asked him what he would like to have for dinner. "It was a special night," Mrs. Banks explained. "Chris[topher Banks, 35,] had been gone for 10 days on a business trip to Tokyo, but he was supposed to get home any time. I decided to surprise Teagan and not tell him."
Teagan, a second-grader and dodge-ball enthusiast, shrugged at his mother's question, hardly seeming to notice. "He misses his dad so much," Mrs. Banks said.
She decided to make Teagan's favorite meal, macaroni and cheese, to celebrate the occasion. "I could hardly stand the excitement: I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when his dad walked through the door unexpected."
The 6-year-old put down his puzzle game when he noticed the smell of the cheesy noodles, and ran into the kitchen. "Mom! Is that mac[aroni] and cheese?" Teagan was ecstatic. "Oh Mom! I love you: you're the best!" he shouted and wrapped his arms around her waist for a moment, before running to wash his hands in the bathroom and sit down anxiously at the table.
Teagan licked his lips in anticipation as his mother spooned some of the meal into a bowl and put it in front of him. She says, "As soon as he took the first bite, I heard the garage door open. I knew this would be it."
The boy slurped down his noodles, so focused that he seemed not to notice when his father opened the door to the garage and entered the kitchen and dining area. Christopher Banks, a mechanical engineer and part owner of Vantage International, described the scene as he entered. "I hopped in expecting a big shout and some fanfare as he scrambled over to hug me, but, well...that's not what happened."
Teagan reportedly continued spooning the noodles into his bowl, without so much as a glimpse toward his father until his bowl was empty. "I finally decided to speak so that he would notice me," said Mr. Banks, admittedly disappointed by his reception. "Hey buddy! How're you doing?" Mr. Banks asked. Apparently still in his mindless eating frenzy, Teagan ignored his father's inquiry, and picked up his bowl to lick it clean.
Only after he had removed every single speck of cheese sauce from his bowl did Teagan take notice of his father, who had been in Japan for more than a week. "Oh, hey Dad! Mom made mac[aroni] and cheese!" Teagan then asked for another serving of the inexpensive noodle dish as his father disappointedly retrieved his luggage from the car.
"Well, you know...kids." said Mr. Banks.
After completing his meal, Teagan bid his father farewell before washing his hands again and then returning to his puzzle game in the other room. When asked to comment, he said, "Man, this was the best day ever! I'm stuffed!"