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

aware of it peripherally, the stillness of all those people, but my attention was entirely on my daughter’s hands as she took the envelope and held it for a moment before opening it.

She unfolded the letter with the care of someone handling something fragile, which it was. Then she read it. Her lips moved slightly with the words, the way they did when continue reading …