“You okay?” Mom asks from the front seat.
“Yeah,” Daddy rasps. “Just swallowed the wrong way.”
I almost choke on a laugh because I’m the one swallowing the length of him. Daddy curls over me and picks something up.
“Just need some water,” he says.
I hear the gulping swallows as he drinks. Then he leans down again, likely setting his water down. As he does, he presses my head harder into his lap.
I try to gag as quietly as I can. Daddy coughs a little, drowning out any noise I’m making. I try to get more of him into my mouth, but it’s hard at this angle.
“You can turn the music up a little,” Daddy says.
“Okay.”
I hear mom shifting, and then the volume of the song fills the car.
Daddy reaches over and grasps my hand. He pulls it under the blanket and wraps it around the base of his
