I never thought my daughter's night at the father-daughter dance would end in tears, until a dozen Marines entered the gym and changed everything. As sadness and pride collided on that dance floor, I realized how far love and loyalty can go. That night, Keith's promise came back to us.
When you lose someone, time behaves strangely.
The days blur into one another until everything seems like one long morning where you wake up wishing reality were different.
It's been three months since my husband's funeral, yet sometimes I still expect to see his boots outside my door. I still pour myself two cups of coffee and check the lock three times every night, because that's what he always did.
This is what grief looks like: ironed clothes and shoes with sticky bows, and a little girl holding her hope, tight and careful, like the pink socks she insists on wearing for every special occasion.
"Katie, do you need help?" I called from the hallway. She didn't answer right away.
When I peeked into her room, I found her sitting on the bed, staring at her reflection in the closet mirror. She was wearing the dress Keith had picked out the previous spring, the one she called her "twirl dress."
"Mom?" he asked. "Does it still matter if Dad can't come with me?"
My chest tightened. I sat down next to her, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Of course it matters, sweetheart. Your father would want you to shine tonight. And that's exactly what we're going to do.”
My daughter pursed her lips thoughtfully. "I want to pay homage to him. Even if it's just the two of us."
I nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. Keith's voice echoed in my mind: "I'll take her to every father-daughter dance, Jill. Every single one. I promise."
He had made that promise, and now it was my turn to keep it.
He gave me his shoes. “I miss Dad. He used to tie my shoes.”
I knelt down and tied them, tying a double knot just like Keith always did. “He’d say you’re beautiful. And he’d be right, Katie.”
She smiled, a brief flash of her old self. Then she pinned the "Daddy's Girl" pin to her heart.
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