She barely reaches my waist in the first of our dance pictures—hair wild, giggling. Happy.

COVID paused our ritual.

One last chance this year.

***

I feel her behind me, standing 5’3”.

Solemnly she asks, “You mind if we skip it, Daddy?”

“No,” I say, careful not to turn around.

Adrian L Cook is a professor of drama, English, and humanities at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, TX. He writes when he can—amongst all the grading and encouraging others to write. He is a proud husband and father whose daughter is now actually taller than he is.