Maintaining long-distance relationships can be complicated, especially when they’re with a parent who was never really there for you.

When a teen’s absentee father insisted she could reach him anytime, she decided to test just how literal he meant that — by calling him in the middle of the night from across the ocean.

Keep reading for the full story!

Call me at any time, I’ll pick up! Okay, have fun with calls at 3am

So my dad (who has dismissed me for my whole childhood) always asks me to call him on pass. (Pass is when my mom can take me out of my mental health clinic for a few hours.)

He lives in Europe, so his time zones are wildly different. Whenever I’m able to call him, it’s always around 12–3 a.m. his time.

Now she has a new reason to talk to her dad – and there’s something she wants.

Recently, there was an omnibus for a series I really like, and since he tends to send me money every time I call, I texted him, asking for the book.

I would have just asked for the money, but he is the only one in my family who has an eBay account.

So he gave her an open invitation that was too appealing to pass up.

I texted him, to which he responds with, “[Name]! Please call me! I’ll pick up at any time!” Perfect!

Now every pass, I call at the most awkward times and wait until he picks up.

Still never got my book, but sooner or later, I’m sure I will.

“So why call him?” you may ask.

Because my mom gets spammed from him and me calling stops him from spamming her.

It won’t be long before this father eats his words!

What did Reddit make of all this?

Maybe she doesn’t need to speak to her dad directly anymore.

Speaking of inconvenient phone calls…

This commenter understands now why she behaved this way with her father.

Her late-night calls might not have healed their relationship, but they did give her back a little control.

Losing a few hours of sleep is the least this formerly absent father could do.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.