“Stop where?”
“At the snake place!”
“Where’s that?”
“You just passed it!”
“Oh, that’s too bad.”
“Look. The light goes on. The light goes…”
“Get your hand off that thing!”
“…off. The light goes back on…”
“Get away from that switch now!”
“Sleeping up here will be like being in a tree house.”
“That comment just cost you my paying for your wedding someday.”
“Dad.”
“And college! Now go outside and enjoy the view!”
“No. I don’t even like spending money on her now when she’s alive.”
“Dad.”
“I dunno.”
“He said ow-dad! Get it? Ow-dad. Aoudad.”
“I don’t think 9 year olds should make up jokes is what I think.”
“No way!”
“Too bad. I already wrote Santa and asked him to bring you one.”
“Write him back. I don’t want one.”
“No can do kiddo.”
“Dad!”
“Secret as in ‘No one other than you should know about it?'”
“Yeah.”
“Then I can get out of the pool and go have a beer?”
“Dad!”
“What? If it’s a secret…”
“It’s cool, isn’t it?”
“Snakes are cool? Remind me to punish y’all when we get home.”
“Dad.”
“That’s probably because your goggles are so tight there’s no oxygen around your eyes. Can you see anything?”
“Where are you?”
“I think it’s dead.”
“Dad.”
“Oh, it’s not dead?”
“Dad.”
“Jeeze kid. How old are you again?”
“Nine.”
“Dead.”
“Dad, you’ve used that joke about a hundred times!”
“I know but it’s a good one isn’t it?”
