One More Dance

The old man was sitting on his porch swing watching the clouds drift by and thinking of how time was passing.  A memory came to his mind as a smile crossed his face. The smile disappeared though as he let out a sigh.  Was it too late?  Had he been too stubborn for too long?  How could he have done what he did!

The young woman was sitting on the park bench watching the children play. “Swing me higher Daddy!’ was a little girl’s cry. The young woman smiled and the long ago memories rolled down her cheeks. Her heart had ached for so long.  Her wounds had cut deep, but she knew it wasn’t all his fault.  Years had passed, how long would she hold onto the grudge? What was it costing her? Couldn’t she perhaps be the one to take the first step.

“One, Two, Three…follow my lead”  They danced as she looked into her Daddy’s eyes and smiled with glee. “Dance with me Daddy, oh please!”

The man wiped a tear as he heard his little girl’s voice in his memory.  How they had danced so many nights long ago, how his heart had been filled with delight. It had been one of their favorite things to do.

He walked into his house and found the old record that they had always played. It was their record she had said, their special songs.  She had always wanted the same ones played. Time had passed and a lot of his records he had no more, but this one, this one he couldn’t let go.

The needle scratched as he blew off the dust and played the record once more. He sat in his recliner and closed his eyes letting his mind take him back to a special time many years ago.

He saw her sparkly royal blue dress and the matching bow in her hair. She had beamed with pleasure as she twirled around in front of her Daddy dear.  Off to the dance they had went and what a night it had been. “”One…Two..Three. Follow my lead…”

The music played and he couldn’t keep the smile off  of his face. Oh it felt so good to dream. He shut out everything else and just heard the music in his head as he took a trip down memory lane.  He was so focused on his dream that he never heard the opening of the old screen door.  He sat in his chair tapping his feet on the floor. “One…Two…Three”

“Dance with me Daddy! Please, Oh Please!”

Oh his little girl’s voice sounded so very clear. If only it wasn’t just a dream. He kept his eyes closed trying to hang on to the precious dream as it was fading away.

“Dance with me Daddy! Please, just one more time!”

This was so strange, the dream of them dancing together had faded but yet her voice kept sounding more clear.  What was going on?

He slowly opened his eyes and gasped at who he saw standing in front of him.  It was her! He felt like his  heart  was going to burst right out of his chest. He rose up from his chair and moved to embrace her as he said, “I can’t believe it, its really you! A dream come true! You came, you are really here! I’m so sorr…”

Her hand covered his mouth. “Dance with me Daddy!”

With a sob in his throat he softly spoke, “One…Two…Three. follow my lead.”