“Jenny if you want to do this cross country shit, it isn’t gonna be like last spring when you ran track. Daddy’s going to be your coach. No more galloping like you’re a motherfucking horse. That’s not running.” Dad shakes his head in disgust.
“Dad I had shin splints.”
“No wonder! The way you ran.” Well maybe if I could have done a sport before sixteen years old…maybe then I wouldn’t be the 7th grader afraid of playground slides, and the 8th grader who couldn’t stand up on roller skates, and now the girl who can’t run.
“Don’t worry, if you really want to do this thing, Daddy’s going to train you my way. The Marine Corps way.”
I glare at him and avert my gaze. I’ll just do it according to my real coach.
“You’re going to have to make Daddy a promise though: You can’t tell anyone that you’re training. If one of your friends asks, you tell them that you haven’t been practicing. Loose lips sink ships, you know.”
Jesus. I’m not that competitive. I just want to run. I want to be with my friends. And not totally suck.
I nod to satisfy Dad’s terms.
“B—but you can’t run with me, Dad.”
“Of course not. Daddy’s too old and fat now. But back in my younger years—you can ask your mother or any of your sisters—Daddy was fast. Man could I run.”
I stare at him confused. You’ll have a heart attack if you run with me now.
Dad winks and grins. “I’m going to ride my bike alongside you. That way I can time you. And make sure some fucking psychopath doesn’t try to kidnap you.”
I try to envision Dad riding his bike slow enough to keep pace.
“Don’t worry about your Father. I’ll manage the bike.”
I walk past Dad and head for my room.
“Where are you going, Jenny?”
“To my room.”
“Training starts now.”
“Umm-okay—well.”
“Nope. And Daddy’s no easy trainer. But better than my drill instructors. The bastards used to throw a 50-pound foot locker on Daddy’s chest.”
“For today, because I don’t have weights for your ankles and wrists, you’re going to run with a backpack on.”
“But—coach said…”
“Fuck the coach. Daddy knows how to make you a winner. You need the extra weight. That’s how they train champions.”
Dad loads up my knapsack and we go for a jog. Four loops around the block. One mile.
When I turn the corner toward the complex, my face begins to burn. My stomach turns.
“Don’t slow down now. Harder. You have to push really hard for the last bit. Come on! Daddy knows you can do it!”
Shut up, you bastard. I’ll push harder. Pretending I’m running to the ends of the earth. Faster. Anything to escape you.
My feet don’t stop when I reach the front door. I push into the brass letter “C” with my right hand.
Holy shit. You’re going to die. Or throw up.
I bend over. Grip my abdomen. Wheeze unevenly.
“Jenny, what the fuck are you doing? This is the most important part. Stand up and breathe normally! When you feel like it’s going to kill you, you have to breathe normally.”
One day, I’ll kill you. Lay off!
I attempt to stand and take breaths. Shit. It’s actually helping.
“See. What did Daddy tell you? And your time was great for our first run together. Just wait until you start school next month!”
God this is going to suck. But you know how this has to go. You have to do it his way. And then you can have something. You can fit in. At least a little bit.
I turn the faucet on cold and fill my glass with water. Gulp. Gulp. Guzzle.
“Hey. Watch how fast you’re drinking that water! You’re stomach is going to blow up huge!”
You’ll never do anything right. Get used to it.
The phone rings. Dad picks up before the third ring.
“Oh hi, Nancy. Yeah Jenny’s here. How are you doing? That’s good. And how are your parents?”
Poor Nancy. Just give me the phone already.
Dad, sweet as a peach says, here’s Jenny!” to Nancy. He glares at me during the exchange to remind me of our deal.
“Hi Nancy.”
“Hey what’s up? I just got my cross-country letter in the mail from coach today. It’s early this year.”
“Oh really? I didn’t get mine yet.”
“Probably because you’re new to the team. I haven’t started practicing yet. I’m lazy this summer and I like it that way.”
“Haha!”
Dad glares at me through the divider slats as he rocks back and forth.
“So have you starting running yet, Kambie?”
“Oh, um—well—no.”
“Oh thank God. Yeah. I’m not going to start more than a couple days before we start practice. I just want to make sure you’re not going to practice. Or else we could practice together.”
Fuck. Lying is the worst. And you’re bad at it. Thank God this is over the phone.
“Hey. No. That’s a good idea, but I’m lazy too. Maybe in a few weeks.”
Dad motions for me to get off.
“Okay, Nancy. It was good to chat. Listen, I gotta go. But I’ll call you soon.”
“Good, Jenny. I know you don’t understand me now. But one day you will. You’ll understand everything.”
Yeah. Yeah. This better not be like that middle-school class-president shit. The shit that made all of my friends hate me.
The Last Daughter 