My Daughter Went to the Father Daughter Dance Alone Until a Dozen Marines Walked In

at her face in the mirror, and she looked at her own face with an expression I could not entirely read, some mixture of things that was older than seven and younger than seven at the same time.

“Mom?” she said. “Does it still count if Dad can’t go with me?”

I sat down on the edge of her bed. My throat had closed in a way that required a moment before continue reading …