My father and I were shopping for construction materials when he got a phone call from my niece. She asked for help with a water pump my cousin bought yesterday to water their garden. The outlet on the pump didn't match their hose, so they needed an adapter for a smaller hose.

We went to a shop that sells water pumps and called her back, trying to work out what she actually needs, the correct sizes and everything. She couldn't even give us the model. So my father made a comment, "Well, you're a girl, you're not supposed to know that." I hate those kinds of comments. The reason she couldn't explain the problem is that she had never had to do it before, not because she doesn't have a penis. Nonetheless, the call was becoming increasingly annoying. I mean, you could at least look at the box the water pump came in and tell us the model, and measure the hose and the water pump outlet...

After we got something out of her, we looked for a salesperson in the shop. There was a woman sitting by the counter, and a man near the shelves in the back of the store. My father said, "I have a question and I need the man," pointing to the man. The man then said, "What's the difference?" Neither of them even batted an eye. I guess it's a common occurrence for customers there to assume a woman can't know her stuff. But I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. Well, my father explained the problem, and the man told us what we needed to do, how to cut an outlet, and what adapter to buy. The woman then said, "You shouldn't actually do that. The outlet on the pump is intended to be used with the smallest compatible hose. By using a smaller hose, you reduce the amount of water this water pump can pull through. You'll just burn out the device in a week. In fact, you shouldn't use it with a watering nozzle at all — it's a drainage pump. It's meant to pull the water, not to water plants." My father kept trying to interrupt her the whole time, saying "I understand, but..." But what? It felt like he just wanted to get my cousin anything to get rid of the problem without caring about the consequences.

We thanked them both and left without buying anything. But I was so pissed about the fact that he had tried to ignore the woman. I told him, "I'm actually ashamed of you. Why did you think the woman didn't know what she was talking about? Do you think you need to have a dick to know how water pumps work? She was actually more helpful than the man." He said, "Yes, yes, I understand." I might as well have been talking to the wall.

When we got home, he said that he's going to my cousin's to explain everything we learned in the shop. I jokingly asked him, "Will you be able to explain it? Did you understand it yourself?" He got really angry and said, "The only thing I understand is that women have no business doing this kind of thing!" Yeah, go and tell that to a family of three women who are learning to navigate the world without their father and husband, who they lost five months ago, you jerk.