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I still call him Dad.
Dean, I mean.
Out of habit. Out of politeness. Out of… I don’t know, whatever’s left of the idea that once upon a time, he used to make us pancakes on Saturdays. But honestly? That was years ago. Pancakes stopped. So did trying.
Pops didn’t try — he just did.
When I wanted to build a gaming PC, Pops didn’t blink. He handed me his phone and said, “Show me the list.” He watched every YouTube tutorial with me. Took notes. Bought pizza when I stayed up late installing the power supply wrong. Didn’t yell. Just sat beside me and figured it out like we were teammates.
Dad used to say I talked too much.
Pops says I sound like I’m ready for the world.
I still call Dean “Dad.”
But I call Rio “Pops.”
And I mean that.