No, no, and no. “But dad, I only asked one question. Why do I have three answers.” It’s for the first question you didn’t ask me before asking this one. And the third answer is for the next question you’re going to ask me, I insisted. “What was my first question?” my daughter inquired. You are bored and can’t focus on your schoolwork or even watch mindless TV, so you wanted to know if a friend can come over to entertain you since you are not permitted to go out. So that’s a ‘no’.  And this applies to anyone coming over, girlfriends or boyfriend. “So what’s my third question dad?” You wanted to know if you can go over to his place and watch TV there. My daughter was silent. I didn’t ask her to confirm, but I intuit it through my Spidey dadness.

My daughter doesn’t get sick often, but when she does, she likes to curl up in my bed and watch TV from my room. She enjoys me bringing her a tray of food and snacks and she gets to binge TV and be indulged as daddies dote over their sick daughters. But my daughter is 14 going on 17 and she needs less doting and more leniency from me at this age.

 

Scooch. I’m going to lay next to you on my bed and take a nap.

 

“I’m bored dad and I keep watching the same movie.” That’s because you keep passing out and having to rewind to go back to where you lost consciousness. “So, I can’t have any friends come over?” No, no and again, no. “Okay, what are my first and third questions?”

None of your friends would want to come over and risk catching some airborne debilitating virus from you, so you shouldn’t even ask. And you still can’t go out—not even for a walk. “What about the last question?”  We are not going out for a drive or the mall to alleviate your boredom. She sulked but in her weakened state didn’t offer too much resistance. It could be a combination of her being tired or her just not finding any holes in my justification. Besides, I’m already your uber-dad driving you everywhere. You being sick means I get to rest!

“So, no one can come over?” I’m coming over. Scooch. I’m going to lay next to you on my bed and take a nap. Pick a non-Birds of Prey movie and we will stream it with one eye shut.

We both must have passed out quickly as the next thing I remember was watching the credits scroll by.