Gemotions

The school newsletter lay open on the kitchen table. *Mr. Davies, Third Grade.* A knot formed in Mark’s stomach. Mr. Davies. He used to make him stand in the hallway. He felt his face prickle with an unwelcome heat. He'd always been a troublemaker.

He found himself obsessively checking his daughter, Chloe’s, homework. He was rigid in his expectations. He expected her to always be on top. He went over everything with her. He remembered how he had always fallen behind. He did not want her to have the same problem.

He kept remembering how he had been in third grade. He would have to keep checking on Chloe. He could not stop himself. He spent much of his time at work worrying about Chloe's progress. He felt the old familiar pressure squeezing his chest.

His wife pointed out that he was becoming overbearing, that Chloe was starting to withdraw. Mark just shook his head and said, "I just want her to succeed." But the unspoken words hung in the air: *unlike me.*