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.