I woke up, and looked at the clock - 7:00 and I was wide awake, on a Saturday no less. I rolled over, pulled the covers up and tried to get comfortable again, a failed attempt to trick my body into going back to sleep. Maybe, I thought, if I just lay still my brain will shut off again.

But no. I looked over at Zaya who would not doubt be asleep for another three hours, easily, and thought about waking her up. But she’d be quite unhappy, even with the promise of cuddling and coffee in bed. Instead I laid there, staring up at the ceiling, lost in the thought of how much Dad had missed in the last few years.

He never met Kaya. He never saw my college graduation. He didn’t meet my brother’s twins. I hated this part of waking up early - that stage when your brain hasn’t quite booted up all the way to make new thoughts, but is stuck playing reruns.

But then my phone rang - who called before 8am on a Saturday? This was low, even for those robo-calls. I reached over to my nightstand to turn it off, but found I actually answered it. I could hear the faint “Hello? Hello,” on the other end as I realized my mistake and quickly acknowledge the fiend.

“Hey, this is Trevor.”

“I know who you are,” the voice replied smoothly. Trevor knew this voice and his body reacted before his brain (still starting up).

He jolted upright in bed, “what? Cmon who is this?”

“You know who I am,” the voice replied, “it’s not a trick.”

“Dad?”