There’s no coming back from this one. Jeremy Macon just said ‘I love you’ to his dad instead of his intended target, seventh-grade English teacher, Dianne King. He might as well have kissed his father on the lips and asked for a bedtime story.
He tried to explain that the words of affection were intended for Ms. King, the kind beautiful woman who always encouraged his talents, rather than the strange angry man who often drank visibly expired milk from the carton, but Jeremy’s family had already decided he was a total pussy.
This is worse than the time he mistakenly went in for a hug when his dad said “Put her there” after changing a tire together.
If he doesn’t do some damage control, and fast, this “I love my dad” legacy could follow him well into adulthood. If only he could revert to simpler times when he was known to his family for wetting the bed and not knowing how to pronounce the word February.
Contrary to his public reaction, accidentally telling your dad you love him is a normal part of growing up no different from acne or first crushes. Just because you’re the first man in four generations to confront your father with an emotion he was taught to bury at all costs, doesn’t mean you should beat yourself up.
Real men know there’s only one way for a father and son to express love, and that’s to become competitive over money, fitness, or women, but that type of wisdom comes with age. You can’t know what you don’t know.
Oh shit, now his family is singing “Jeremy and Dad sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.” He can never show his face around here again. He might even need to transfer families. This is probably how Jeremy’s dad felt that time he accidentally said “I’m proud of you” to one of his kids instead of his employees.