A relatively uneventful trip.

Looking around the bus, I can see a couple of seats open in an otherwise crowded bus. I opt to take the seat closest to the front of the bus.

As I sit in the seat beside an unkempt Asian man who stares at me with too wide eyes. I do my best to ignore him, but his unblinking stare puts me increasingly on edge.

The longer I sit beside the man, the further I find myself leaning away from him. I let out a sigh of relief when the bus driver announces my stop, and in my haste, I nearly fall from my seat trying to get out of it.

I barely see the bus driver shaking his head as I rush past him to exit the bus. From behind me, he calls, "Stay safe," with a slight rumble to his deep voice.

Once I'm off the bus, I look around, just over a block away I can see a bright pink neon sign, lined in purple, "Brad Dowey Club" flashing in bright bold letters.

Not wasting any time, I start walking in that direction, the discomfort of sitting next to the strange man on the bus quickly being replaced by nervousness at meeting my father for the first time.