The Run
Dear Frankie,
For years, my mom and I went for a daily run with her friends and their dogs on the track at the dog park. When she went back to work, she offered my brother Peter ten dollars to run with me during the week. Peter tried to get fifteen, but my mom wouldn’t budge.
The first week went as planned. After that, when we arrived at the park, Peter would sit on a bench and scroll through his phone, and let me wander around.
At dinner, whenever Mom asked Peter about our day, Peter would regale her with all sorts of stories about who we saw and what they said. I told Rufus, the mayor of the park, about Peter, and he said that all the dogs at the park knew Peter was a liar and was conning my mom.
It wasn’t very pleasant to hear what they thought about my brother. Is there anything I can say to Peter to stop him from being such a jerk?
Peanut
Dear Peanut,
I doubt anything you say will change him. However, you might get his attention another way. Next time at the park, ask your friends to surround Peter and bark. Eventually, one of your mom’s friends will notice and call her.
The conversation will lead your mom to question why Peter is on his phone instead of running with you. She might ask her friend to confront Peter or require him to video his runs before paying him.
I also suggest your mom make Peter run with her on several weekends as a consequence. Sometimes, it takes a village to raise a smart aleck.
Best, Frankie
© 2025 Geneva Woodruff
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