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Dave is the protagonist, though he is only referred to as “the dad” throughout the story, and the third-person limited narrator follows his point of view. His first name is only identified once—when his daughter’s physical therapist addresses him at Ivy’s ballet recital. He is likely a member of Generation X and is a serious man who is contemplative, politically aware, and invested in his family.

The story begins with Dave scrolling through Ivy’s Instagram, reflecting on how hard it is to talk to his daughter. In the pages that follow, Dave contemplates her every action, including her comments, silences, and Instagram posts. Although the reader has access to Dave’s observations and thoughts, the story never follows him to work. He is either at home, in his car, picking his daughter up from school, or waiting for her at physical therapy. There are only two outlier scenes: the one at the ballet recital and one in which he is at a restaurant with his wife. In both of those scenes, Ivy is the subject of the conversation. This is because Dave never stops ruminating over his daughter’s emotional distance from him.

Dave’s anxiety is at the center of the story.