If you have a cousin like Danny, don't wait for someone else to draw the line. You can love your family and still say stay away from me . You can forgive someone's past without offering up your future peace.
The grown-ups called it "enthusiasm." My mom said he was lonely. My dad said he'd grow out of it. my cousin the creep
And that's the problem, isn't it? We do know how Danny is. We've always known. But knowing doesn't fix anything if no one says this isn't okay . If you have a cousin like Danny, don't
So I'm saying it now. Danny isn't just awkward or lonely or socially clueless. He's a creep. And the rest of the family pretending otherwise doesn't protect me—it protects him. The grown-ups called it "enthusiasm
Every family has one. Ours just happened to be named Danny.
When we were kids, "creepy" wasn't a word I would have used. Danny was just weird—the kind of weird that made other aunts whisper and uncles exchange glances over holiday dinners. He was two years older than me, and at every family gathering, he'd find a reason to stand too close. Not touching. Just... hovering. Like he was waiting for something.
My Cousin the Creep