by Matt Mok

"I don't want to.  I won't," she said as if she had a choice.  It would have been cute if she hadn't stamped my foot while she said it.

"You will and there's no fighting it," I said.

"You can't make me!  Leave me alone!"  She wrenched free from my grasp and ran down the stairs, bare feet depositing a trail of dirt on the steps.

"Grace!" I yelled.  "You come back here or you'll regret it."  I chased after her and caught up just as she rounded on the bottom of the stairs.  Her short legs were no match for me no matter how fleet-footed she was.

She wiggled and jerked in my arms, an exhaustive effort that finally stopped as we got back onto the second floor.  In the bathroom, she disrobed, got in the tub, and looked at me with unmasked disdain.

I took the sponge full of soapy water and shampoo and worked up a lather on her unkempt dirty blond hair.  I never knew how she got so dirty.  It's as if she'd spent the afternoon playing in a tar pit.  She wasn't in a cooperative mood and swayed and dodged when I tried to untangle her hair, causing a bit of lather to get into her eye.

"Dad!"  The anger had diffused and she was just grouchy now, quite content with moping and complaining.

"Oh hush."  I wiped the offending puff of shampoo from her face.  "What did you do today?  You're filthy."

She smiled in triumph, quite proud of herself and eager to share her day now that she had temporarily forgotten that she was furious with me.

"I fought a T-Rex."  Her hands mimicked dinosaur claws.

"Did you win?"  I asked and rinsed her hair.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Matt Mok moved to New Hampshire after college when someone made him an offer he couldn't refuse.  One day, he decided to give writing a try and to his surprise, publications started accepting his stories.  Matt resolves to one day dream up a brilliant idea which he will turn into a completed novel. He currently resides in Hampton, NH, where trees and fresh air still scare him.