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Monday, October 19
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Marcus and Jessie were sitting at the table eating breakfast on Monday morning, when Jessie’s phone buzzed. “Who’s that?” Marcus asked as she picked it up.
She stared at the text for a few seconds, biting her lip as she thought about what it said. “Ummm, just a friend from school asking me something. I don’t think you’ve met them before.”
“About what, anything interesting?” he pried. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want, just making conversation.”
She glanced at him, a faint smile on her face, then looked back to her phone and typed out a reply. “No it’s fine, I don’t care. We basically have a career day at school today, or at least the seventh graders do. And…” She looked off to the side, rolling her shoulders around as she thought about how to put it. “People… pretty much know about you, right? Like I told people when you first got DSD, so now it’s like… people at school pretty much know that you’re, you know, like a foot tall now. So my friend was asking if you were gonna come in for career day too since a lot of people’s parents are coming to talk about their jobs and stuff.” She scratched her ear nervously, “But I’m pretty sure they just wanna, like… see you, you know?” Marcus nodded and looked back at his plate, thinking about what she said as he took another bite of food. “Not in a weird way! Or anything,” she quickly added, not wanting to stir up any awkwardness. “Like most of the people in my class are pretty cool and all. But I think just some people are curious cuz you’re… rare.”
Her dad chuckled at how defensive she was being. “It’s fine, I understand Jess. I’d probably be pretty curious too if I was their age. It’s definitely an interesting condition,” he said, looking around his kitchen at how much bigger everything was before eating another bite. Even with his reassurance, she still felt the need to justify herself.
“It’s fine like, obviously you having DSD isn’t a career or anything. I mean, I’m sure the teacher would’ve still let you talk about when you were a cameraman, but… whatever,” she shook her head; she was getting off track. “I told my friend to chill out and that you weren’t coming since you’re still… getting used to being around people.” That’s a polite way of calling me antisocial, he thought. He didn’t want other people thinking he got anxious from being in close proximity to strangers since they were all so much bigger than him. It was true, but he didn’t want people to know. So the fact that his daughter had assumed he’d be too scared to show up was bothering him.
“I’m surprised your teacher’s having kids bring in their parents though. I’d think most of them wouldn’t be able to show up because they have to go to work,” he mused.
“Well, she’s giving extra credit to people if they could get their parents to sign up, or some other family member. Jackie’s bringing in her uncle I think.”
“That doesn’t seem very fair to people who can’t get time off work. What about single parents like me? You get half the chance of people with two parents.”
Jessie shrugged, “That’s what Edward Sandoval told Miss Shepard. Cuz his mom works downtown and always leaves early in the morning. But then he told me that she just gave him the extra credit anyways cuz she figured he was right. I guess she didn’t wanna take away the incentive though so it’s like, if you bring it up with her and can prove you tried but your parent can’t do it, then she’ll give you points for trying anyways, but for everyone else, most people probably didn’t realize that or don’t really care or something.”
“So is that what you did?”
“Well… I didn’t really wanna ask you or guilt trip you into doing it or anything since I knew you were still getting used to people.” Jeez, she’s making it sound like I have agoraphobia or something. “And besides, I have a B- anyways so I didn’t feel too bad about missing out on it.”
Marcus hesitated for a moment, before speaking up. “Well it looks like you were wrong then,” he said proudly. She looked at him with a confused expression. “I don’t think a classroom’s too crowded, I could handle a few hours. Especially after Saturday evening at the restaurant, it was good to get some exposure like that.” He ignored the memory of having fallen into Jessie’s milkshake. And then licking him afterwards.
Jessie looked surprised for a moment; she’d never planned on telling him about the school event until he asked her this morning, so she hadn’t even imagined that he might volunteer himself. But a smile slowly grew on her face, happy not only for the extra credit she’d get, but for the implication that her dad was starting to become accustomed to being around people besides her. “OK!” she said enthusiastically, picking up her phone to text her friend, before deciding against it and putting it back down. But then picking it up again; she wanted to at least share the news with Paris, her best friend. “Hey! I just realized too,” she said, looking down at him with excitement. “Instead of talking about when you worked at the news station, I mean you can still do that if you want to, but I just thought that you could talk about what your life’s been like ever since you shrunk. Kinda like a PSA or something. Like you could talk about how people should treat you or talk to you too, cuz I feel like a lot of people can be awkward about it or they feel like they don’t know what to do, you know? Obviously it’s not technically a career, but a lot of people look at stay-at-home parenting as being a kind of job in itself, and you’re doing that too but with a growth condition.” It was a bit of a stretch to call him hanging around most of the day by himself a “job.” And jobs are something that people choose; he didn’t choose to shrink down to 9 inches.
He shrugged, not having faith that he’d be allowed to talk about life as a shrunken person for a special day that was designed to introduce students to prospective career possibilities. But he did admit, a kind of lesson about shrunken individuals could be beneficial for a lot of people. “If your teacher’s fine with it, I guess that sounds like it could be a good idea. And if she isn’t then yeah, I could talk about my old job.”
Jessie’s upper teeth bit her lower lip as she crinkled her nose in an excited smile, drumming the table excitedly. “Yes! Great attitude Daddy!” she cheered, dashing around to his side of the table and kneeling down so he could hug her shoulder affectionately. “Wait… but since your car’s still at the mechanic getting refitted…”
“But you normally take the bus anyways, so what’s the issue?”
“Well we’re supposed to get 15 minutes earlier than usual today since the schedule’s kinda shifted around. And since the bus only comes once an hour, I would’ve had to already left for the bus stop already and I didn’t wanna have to get to school that early. So I was just gonna bike there.”
He recalled their last few excursions on her bike; they weren’t as nice as riding peacefully on a bus would’ve been, but the trips weren’t uncomfortable enough to make him change his mind. “Well I’ve ridden with you on your bike a couple times already, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world,” he said, trying to keep her positive. “Besides, last I checked we were still trying to find the best way for me to ride along with you. All we’ve tried so far is on the handlebars and the center bar thing, whatever it’s called.”
“I should honestly just get a basket or something by now,” she laughed. “But I’m always too lazy to go to the store.”
“And I’m too cheap to get a roundtrip Uber there, so we’re both to blame,” he chuckled.
“So you wouldn’t wanna ride along using one of the ways we already tried, right?” she asked, and he shook his head. “Well I can always just stick you in my backpack,” she offered nonchalantly. “Actually, since I’m not taking the bus today I didn’t wanna have to take my volleyball bag with me on the bike since I’d already be wearing my backpack, so I was just gonna stuff my clothes into—“
“No, it’s fine,” he said, cutting her off. He was already wary of having to be stowed away in his daughter’s backpack, but if she was gonna be sticking all her volleyball gear in it as well, it’d be way too claustrophobic for his comfort. “We should find a way for me to ride along with you anyways; you won’t always be wearing your backpack whenever we head somewhere, and for all I know it could be anywhere from a couple days to a month before the mechanic’s done with my car.”
“I guess…” she sighed, laying her arms on the table with her hands overlapping, and set her chin down on them while she tried to think of a solution.
“I didn’t mind being strapped to the bar, like I didn’t feel unsafe or anything. My only problem was how it felt on my back,” he said, walking around the table to stand in front of her face. It was weird being only as tall as his daughter’s head, but at least he could speak to her without looking up like he always had to now. “I don’t know if there’s really any part of the bike that would be more comfortable than that area though, it seems to be the widest bar.”
Jessie glanced away, then looked down, pursing her lips together as she thought about whether she should mention an idea she’d just had. He glanced at her and recognized the look on her face, and could tell she was thinking about something. She looked back up, realizing her dad had noticed her get lost in thought. “Weeeeeeell… teeeeechnically you could lie down on one of the peeeedals,” she cautiously suggested, seeing her dad look down, obviously unreceptive to the idea. “Wai-wai-wai-wai-wait! I know I know I know… Obviously I wouldn’t step down on it or anything. I have no problem pedaling with just one leg,” she insisted, sitting upright with her head off the table again. “Like… yeah, it’d be weird and stuff if, you know, I had to like… yeah, I can just not pedal with it. It wouldn’t be a problem.” Marcus was surprised with how quickly his internal reaction went from thinking ‘obviously not’ to actually considering it… “I’ve made it this far without stepping on you yet, and I’m not about to break that streak anytime soon,” she joked, her chin held high.
“Would you really be able to make it all the way to school though?” he asked as he imagined the route, thinking of someone having to bike all that way. It wasn’t necessarily that far, but biking could be an intense workout.
She scoffed. “It’s mostly flat, are you doubting how fit I am?” she asked, crossing her arms with a pretend angry expression. “All these years of playing volleyball, staying after school for practice, all for nothing,” she moped as Marcus rolled his eyes. “Just for my dad to think I’m not any good at cycling…”
“Alright, alright,” he smiled.
Jessie ignored him and continued on with her pretend sulking. “Do you even know what machine I always use in the gym whenever it’s leg day? I have my routine down to a T, but apparently my legs still have haters in this household.” She stood up all the way and slapped her thighs, which, in fairness, were clearly muscular for her age. “Doubters who don’t think my legs are strong enough!”
“OK, I get it!” he laughed. “Fine, you won me over, we can try it out for today I guess.” Marcus still felt a bit nervous about the idea in general, but he trusted his daughter enough to know she’d keep him safe. She grinned down at her dad, proud to have successfully convinced him. She couldn’t wait to take him to school today.
* * * * * *
After Jessie had finished putting some padding on her bike pedal, she picked Marcus up and held him in front of it so she could show off her work. “Ta-da! Now it should hopefully be more comfortable on your back,” she announced proudly, pressing her finger against her workmanship to show how cushy it was. She’d cut up one of his old sweatshirts and layered the squares of cloth a few times, hoping it’d be comfortable enough for her dad. “Here, lemme know if it’s good enough,” she said, holding the pedal steady with one hand while she carefully set him down on it with the other.
Marcus wasn’t picky and would’ve been fine with just a single layer to protect him from the cold, hard medals of the pedal, but he was thankful nonetheless that she loved him enough to put in the extra effort. “It’s fine, Jess. More than fine, actually, like a lot more,” he laughed. “We should probably leave in a few minutes anyways.” She nodded in agreement and gently covered his torso with her palm, keeping him in place while she reached to grab the string. She carefully removed her hand, but kept her thumb on his chest as a safeguard, as he laid back. 9 inches was a lot longer than the pedal was of course, so his feet would have to dangle while his upper shoulders and head went without something to rest on. But the rest of his back would have something flat, comfortable, and sturdy to rest on, and that was what was most important.
“The string I’ve been using isn’t too uncomfortable either, is it?” she asked after having finished strapping his upper chest to the pedal, and had moved on to tie down his waist.
“Yes, honey, it’s fine,” he answered exasperatedly, causing her to giggle in embarrassment. Better to be overly concerned than not concerned enough, he reasoned, watching her giant fingers nimbly tie the knot that would keep him in place.
“OK, I think it’s good,” she said, biting her lip and leaning back to make sure she wasn’t forgetting any safety precautions. Marcus looked down at his body, testing out his binds by trying to squirm out of them. But sure enough, he wasn’t going anywhere; they were loose enough that they didn’t hurt, but tight enough that there was no way he’d be able to fall off the pedal. His daughter reached out with her hand and tapped a few fingers down on the corner of the pedal, and suddenly his world turned upside down as the entire platform he was stuck to spun in response. It was like he was on some kind of amusement park ride, spinning in circles on the bike pedal, but luckily unable to fall off. It was still disorienting though.
“Ohhhhh, wait wait wait, Jess,” he groaned, feeling the blood in his body swirl around as he got turned upside down again. “Please stop it.” He felt the spinning suddenly stop, and quickly correct itself to the proper positioning, where he saw his daughter fighting to hold back a smile
“Sorry,” she said. “I had to check if the pedals were locked or not,” she explained, leaning forward and tightening the mechanism on the end of the pedal that controlled how freely they were able to spin. “There, now you should be good again.” She tapped the edge of the pedal once more, and Marcus was relieved to see that the motion didn’t do anything. She’d have to loosen the lock again if she wanted to set it back to normal, like how the other pedal would be. But since she wasn’t going to be putting her foot on her dad, his could stay locked in. “I think that’s everything then,” Jessie announced, standing up and heading in to grab her backpack. She reemerged a few seconds later with her backpack around her shoulders, and lifted the kickstand of the bike as she grabbed ahold of the handlebars, and began slowly walking it out of the garage. “You ready?” she asked down to him as she punched in the code, closing the garage door behind them.
“Yep!” he yelled back up at her, a confident (but slightly nervous) smile on his face. He watched her giant leg lift over the bike seat, her foot landing on the pedal opposite of him before she sat down on the seat. Wish a light push from her foot, she rolled along the driveway, lifting her free foot over her dad so she could rest it on the narrow ledge that forked out from the main tube. And then she turned onto the sidewalk, beginning to pedal so they could pick up speed. She was in high gear, so that she could travel a further distance while not having to pedal as much. It was harder to do, especially with only one leg instead of two, but because they were traveling on flat ground, Jessie wasn’t struggling too much with it. And as a result, Marcus didn’t have to spin around too quickly. If she hadn’t tightened that pedal, I don’t even wanna imagine how nauseating it would be for the pedal to be spinning one way while the arm spun in the opposite direction. Then it really would’ve been like some kind of amusement park ride. But instead, it was just like being on a ferris wheel. A really fast wheel, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. He was actually having a bit of fun traveling around on the bike. As he looked up at his daughter though, he almost felt guilty. Based off how quickly everything was flying by, he figured they were traveling around 15mph. She didn’t look like she was exerting herself too much, but she was still having to put the work in to get them to school while he got to just joyride beneath her with the wind in his hair and the peaceful neighborhood flying by. He glanced over at the leg that was pedaling, watching it work its wonder. Even though she was wearing jeans and he couldn’t see her legs, it wasn’t hard for him to imagine her strong muscles like the ones she previewed to him last night. Her hamstrings and calf muscles bulging through her skin, in and out, as they worked to execute what should’ve been the duty of two legs. And growing the tiniest bit bigger every day as Jessie grew bigger too. He had a sobering thought as he considered the possibility that Jessie might very well have half a decade of growth ahead of her. Obviously she wouldn't be getting taller by her early 20's, but if she kept up with volleyball, her muscles would continue to get stronger and leaner and more defined. He remembered the saying ‘Today is the oldest you’ve ever been,’ and realized that today is the strongest she’d ever been. And tomorrow she’d be even stronger. And the day after that, and the day after that... all while he stayed at a measly 9 inches tall, probably weaker than the force behind a single one of her thumbs.
After they’d been riding for a while, he felt Jessie brake to a stop at the corner of a street, and then the bike tilted to the side slightly as she rested on her free foot. She wasn’t panting, but he noticed her breathing pattern had deepened, as her lungs began requiring more oxygen to keep her going. She unzipped her backpack and grabbed the water bottle on top of all her stuff, unscrewing the lid as she looked down at her dad to make sure he was still doing okay. Their eyes locked onto each other for a moment as she hungrily gulped down a third of the bottle, the refreshing agua getting cascading down her throat in loud gulps that reminded him of his dream a few nights ago. She broke free of her bottle, roughly wiping her lips with her wrist. “Just needed a break for a second,” she explained, closing the lid and putting it back in her sac. “So, the fastest way is up the hill, which I kinda forgot about. But there isn’t any sidewalk, it’s just like, road, and then boom, a wall of hedges, you know?”
She was waiting for him to speak, partly because she wasn’t sure exactly what to do. As much as she liked flexing her independence where she could, there were still things that she relied on her dad to figure out for her. “So you’d have to drive in the street?” he asked, and she nodded in response. “Well I mean, it’s totally legal for people to ride a bike in the street, especially if there isn’t a sidewalk or anywhere that you can ride it.”
“I know,” she sighed, “I’ve just never done it before. But also I wanted the break because going up the hill is gonna be a bit harder. I mean, it’s not too steep, but still.” She cranked the gears down a few notches, anticipating the need for an easier cycling experience.
“Are you scared?”
She paused for a moment, but ultimately shook her head. “No. I know it’ll be fine.”
“OK well, I’m ready when you are. Not much I can do to help,” he chuckled, and she smiled back at him, appreciating his lighthearted attitude and willingness to try out such a quirky mode of transportation this morning.
She took a deep breath, and then pushed off again, looking behind her quickly before steering her bike into the road. She was able to get back to her former speed right before the road started to gradually slope upwards. For the first 30 seconds or so, she was doing pretty well. She was sticking close to the right side of the road, not wanting to come off as a nuisance to any drivers. Occasionally a car would come up behind her, wait for the other side of the road to be clear, and then drive around her to get out in front and pick back up to a normal speed. It made her feel a bit bad, but she knew it was normal, and she was doing everything right. But it didn’t take long for Jessie’s pace to slow down. Already, Marcus could see her skin redden, and now she really was panting, her eyes dead set in front of her, hyper-focused making it up the hill with only one leg to pedal. The worst part about biking with a single leg was having to move the pedal back up, from the bottom to the top of its circular path. Normally only one leg had to worry about half of a rotation at a time, but without her other leg to press down with to move the other pedal up, she was really struggling. The only solution she had was to pedal downwards with as much strength as she could muster, just so that the pedal would have enough momentum to make it back up, and then repeat.
But then, just to make matters worse, the center of the road turned into a kind of curbed divider, with shrubbery lining the edge. So now the cars behind her weren’t able to get around her anymore. “Why is it… so important… to make this… town look… pretty,” she panted, internally cursing at the whole predicament. She looked behind her for a split second, and saw two cars driving gradually behind her, and then turned back around and gazed up at the rest of the hill. She wasn’t even halfway up, and was getting a tiny bit slower with each new pedal. She didn’t want to injure her leg, because then she wouldn’t be able to go to practice today, but it was the only way up the hill. One of the cars behind her finally honked, and she grit her teeth, staring intently at the road ahead as she desperately tried to pedal up it. Why did I think this was a good idea!? she screamed at herself over and over inside, tears starting to form now, from a mix of exertion and embarrassment. Marcus felt bad, watching her high above, struggling just to reach half the speed she’d been going at before. He berated himself for letting her go through with this idea; he should’ve realized this could happen.
The car honked again, and her teary eyes flared up with anger. “There’s no fucking sidewalk, what the fuck do you expect me to do!” she yelled. Geez... that’s more than she usually curses in a week, Marcus thought. And he was starting to feel embarrassed too. With every loop around on his pedal, he was comfortable and well-rested, while his daughter had to push herself just to get them up the hill. And he knew it was his fault too; he could’ve just told his daughter to strap him to the center tube again, or the handlebars, uncomfortable as those spots might’ve been. But at least she’d be able to use both feet. Another honk, and the two of them could tell it was from a different car this time. Jessie squeezed her handlebars with so much force that it hurt her hands. They couldn’t go around her, and even if she crossed over to the other side of the road and road back down, she’d have to travel several blocks before she’d get to a road that was either flat, or had a sidewalk (or both), and would result in her being late for school. Not to mention the fact that she would’ve wasted all her energy getting up to this point—and she hated wasting her energy.
“Get to the side of the road!” the driver behind her yelled, followed by another honk somewhere behind him. There were half a dozen cars lined up at this point, all waiting on the teenage girl who was closer to a standstill than she was the speed limit. Fucking whatever, fine, she grumbled, and veered over to the hedges, pressing herself as close to them as she could. The people behind her finally sped up, whizzing by her with only a few inches of room to spare. With each passing car, the wind sprayed through her hair, and even caused the bike to wobble. And Marcus didn’t feel any better, watching the gigantic metal beasts that looked like castles, weighing millions of pounds to him, racing right by him.
“This is too dangerous,” he yelled up at her. “We can’t—“ WOOOSH “—stay here while people pass us.” She looked down at him, and then flinched as another car soared past, inches from clipping her bike. But as her eyes locked onto her dad’s again, she could tell from his expression exactly what he was going to say before he said it. “It’s okay,” he said. He didn’t want it to be fine, but it had to be. “I know you have to do it.” For only a few seconds, she smiled faintly at him in a way that communicated a sense of pity and gratitude. She reached behind her to quickly pull off her shoe. “Just try to—“
He hadn’t even finished his sentence before a soft, white ceiling slammed into him; his daughter had just stepped on him, covering his entire body with only her foot. “S… sorry,” she mumbled, realizing she’d cut him off, but she had to just move on and head back out onto the road. With both her legs able to pedal now, she set off, back up the hill, holding both her shoe and the handlebar with one of her hands. Heading back up the hill made her feel like her energy was lopsided, because while one of her legs was hot and sore, the other one was completely fine. But at least her spirit felt invigorated as well. She wasn’t quite going the speed she was on flat ground, which was already slower than a normal car, but at least she was making steady progress. The two cars behind her weren’t angry at least, so she wasn’t feeling burdensome anymore.
But below the young girl was her tiny passenger, and Marcus on the other hand wasn’t doing as well as Jessie. One moment he was talking up to his daughter, and just a few seconds later her sock was rubbing up against his entire body as her foot landed on him. His initial reaction was that it didn’t actually hurt as much as he was expecting, but that feeling was quickly overturned once she put her weight on him. Because his strength didn’t scale as much as his size when he got smaller, and because people with DSD still had durable bodies, he was able to have the giant foot cover him without it actually hurting for him. But once she put her full weight on him, he suddenly didn’t feel as confident about being able to withstand 40,000 pounds of immovable 13-year-old mass. His body, technically, was able to withstand her because her normal weight wouldn’t have been an issue, but his nervous system was still screaming at him that his own daughter was about to smash him flat beneath her foot. It almost felt deceptive, because her feet themselves weren’t what was uncomfortable; they were cushy enough that his body squished into them slightly, and her socks were a fresh, clean pair from this morning. But despite how much the fat of her sole yielded to her body, there still came a point where he just couldn’t get absorbed anymore, and everything past that point accounted for the majority of her weight. Not to mention how hard the surface behind her was; the few layers of his old sweatshirt didn’t do much to help ease the discomfort of a flat, rigid surface. He was just glad that it was his torso that was tied to the pedal instead of his head, because that part of his body was getting the worst of it.
But then the pain went away, as the pedal swung up, allowing Jessie to momentarily take her weight off of her dad. It only lasted a second though, before he felt the pain return as her weight bore back down on him again.
And then off again.
And then on.
Off.
And on.
Released.
Compressed.
Free.
Then trapped.
Over and over, the teenage girl squeezed her dad under her foot again and again and again, all in an effort to make it up to the top of the hill. Marcus hated it, and had no idea how much longer they had left to go, but it didn’t matter—they wouldn’t be done until Jessie said they were done.
But then finally, after several minutes of intense cycling (and painful squishing), she made it to the top of the hill. The center curb had tapered off too, allowing her to pull over to the side while the cars could pass her more easily. As soon as she’d made it over the hump, she immediately removed her foot from her dad’s body, and once she was off to the side of the road, she slipped her shoe back on and knelt down to inspect him.
She could tell from his face it had been quite the ordeal; besides his relieved expression, the surface of his skin was red from having been squished so much without being able to flatten itself. “I’m so sorry we had to go through that, I hope it didn’t hurt too much,” she said, dawning a pair of puppy dog eyes as she took pity on her dad’s unfortunate state. “At least it’s over now so the rest of the ride should be easy again. Are you okay? How bad did it hurt?”
He sighed and nodded his head, closing his eyes to relish the welcome return of normalcy, not being squished or pressed against a warm foot. “It was really more of a mental challenge than anything, cuz I knew that it’d only last a few minutes and then I’d be fine once it was all over.”
“Yeah, but did it actually hurt, like physically?” she asked, pressing him for the truth.
“I mean… you just stepped on me over and over Jessie, of course it didn’t feel good,” he answered, but regretted his choice of words once he saw her blush and purse her lips, a wave of guilt washing over her; ultimately, she was the one who made the call to head up the hill. “But it wasn’t as horrible as I was expecting,” he lied, hoping to cheer her back up again. He didn’t wanna sour her mood for the rest of the day.
She sighed and stood back up, checking her phone to see how much longer until school: 11 minutes, so they’d be able to make it on time. “Well, I’ll believe you if you say so,” she mentioned, and got back onto the bike. “We’re almost there,” she told him, swinging her free foot far away from him again, wanting to give him as much space as possible. And then she headed off down the road again, steering up onto the sidewalk once it reappeared.
Strapped to the pedal, Marcus could only look up at the giant girl as he reflected on his experience. After he’d stopped shrinking and realized he’d only be 9 inches tall for the rest of his life, he wondered if he was big enough still to keep from ever getting stepped on. But I guess Jessie gave me the answer to that question now, and I’ve only been at this size for a few weeks. He might’ve said it was fine, but at the end of the day, not even taking into consideration how much the experience had hurt… he’d still been stepped on by his own daughter. What kind of father can say something as crazy as that? How can I maintain my dignity and feel like I’m still the head of the household after something like that?
…And is it ever gonna happen again?