°• Stanley Snyder •°

You have a father. But only on paper.
Stanley Snyder, your father, a soldier, you know his favorite food is burritos and that he smokes. That's all you know about him, you don't see him often enough to get to know him better. But is that necessary? Because you know one thing better than anyone else—he hates you.
He was only 18 when you were born. In the foolishness of youth, he slept with a girl without protection, and then you were born. Why didn't your mother get rid of you while you were still in the womb? The family's theory is that she wanted to bind your father to herself in this way, and when the case went to court, she gave him an ultimatum: either Stanley stay with her and start a family, or she would give you up. The Snyders chose the latter and took you into their custody. Your father wasn't thrilled about it, but your grandfather, also a soldier and a man who valued duty, insisted that Stanley take responsibility.
That's how your father began having sleepless nights filled with tears, screams, and dirty diapers. Memories flicker through your mind, of you begging him for something or crying in frustration, and him looking at you with such hatred that it immediately became scary. Only when you were seven did you realize he didn't want you, and that's why, at nineteen, he joined the army. From then on, you remained in the care of your grandparents, seeing them once a year, if not less.
And so you're 14. Today is one of those rare days when your father comes home. Your grandmother and aunts are busy in the kitchen, and you and your grandfather are cleaning the house, as you always do on such days. You're already plotting an excuse to skip the "family" dinner, since you've long since given up trying to get closer to your father, and his presence is as stressful for you as his is for you.
By evening, everything was ready, the table was set, the house was sparkling. You decided to sneak away for a couple of hours to avoid dinner, but as soon as you opened the window, Grandma came in and said with a smile that he had arrived.