My Daughter Was M0cked at for Standing Alone at the Father-Daughter Dance – Until a Dozen Marines Entered the Gym

She handed me her shoes. “I miss Daddy. He used to tie up my shoes.”

I knelt and tied them, double-knotting just like Keith always did. “He’d say you look beautiful. And he’d be right, Katie-girl.”

She smiled—a brief glimpse of her old self. Then she pinned her “Daddy’s Girl” badge over her heart.

Downstairs, I grabbed my purse and coat, ignoring the pile of unpaid bills on the counter and the casserole dishes from neighbors we barely knew.

Katie hesitated at the door, glancing down the hallway—as if hoping, just for one impossible second, that Keith would appear and sweep her into his arms.