Phoenix, AZ —

“Hey, Honey I wanted to thank you for the Father’s Day card and the gift card to Harbor Freight. You know how I love tools,” Sam O’Rourke’s dad, Samuel O’Rourke, said when she answered his phone call. “Speaking of tools, do you own a tool set at all?” Sam’s dad inquired. “You probably should have one in case of emergencies. Wait. Would you even know how to use a tool? Do you have any interest in learning about tools? If you were a boy you probably would.”

According to Mr. O’Rourke, Samantha O’Rourke should have been a boy. “You know you were supposed to be a boy, right? The whole time your mother was pregnant with you the doctor told us you were a boy. I was finally going to have a boy — and a junior! Man, I was ecstatic! ‘Little Samuel Lee O’Rourke Jr.’ Then the day came and, well, obviously you are not a boy and your mother didn’t want anymore children, so I’m stuck with Samantha Lee O’Rourke. Maybe I’ll have a grandson someday and he will be named after me. I can teach him about tools and we’ll work on cars together. It’s not the same thing as having your own son, but you girls never appreciated cars, tools, and fixing shit like I do. Thank god you at least played sports. Anyway, how is college going?”

By Catricia

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