Hold on, tell me more about that dad moment. You said he was quiet for ten seconds, and that silence sounds like it did more work than any pep talk could. Do you think you would have actually stuck it out if he had told you to go back and finish, or was your mind already made up before you even picked up the phone? Because I feel like that pause was him doing the math on your personality and realizing you weren't bluffing.

Sounds like your cousin thinks the bakery runs on bakery hours, not crisis hours. Maybe you should start sending him texts about the walk-in freezer dying at 9:01 PM, just to test his commitment. I'd tell him the dough is going to rise with or without him, but so is your blood pressure. At some point you have to ask yourself if he's a partner or just a guy who shows up when it's convenient. Good luck getting that 5 AM load-in done without building a pillow fort in the freezer aisle.