Last Dance… Last Chance
My father was an ill-humored man. I knew he loved me and his love was deep.
He just didn’t know how to express it.
One evening we went out for a night on the town.
We were sitting in an elegant restaurant that had a small but lively band.
When it struck up a familiar waltz tune I decided to invite him for a dance.
“Dad, you know I’ve never ever danced with you.
I begged you but you never wanted to. How about right now?”
I waited for the usual refusal.
But instead he considered me thoughtfully and then a surprising twinkle appeared in his eye,
“Let’s hit the floor and I’ll show you just what kind of moves an old guy like me can still make.”
My father took me in his arms and I felt overcome by emotion.
As we danced I looked up at my father intently but he avoided my gaze.
“Dad,” I finally whispered, tears in my eyes, “Why is it so hard for you to look at me?”
At last his eyes dropped to my face and he studied me intently.
“Because I love you so much,” he whispered back.
I was struck dumb by his response.
It wasn’t what I had anticipated.
But it was of course exactly what I needed to hear.
His own eyes were misty and he was blinking.
I had always known that he loved me.
I just hadn’t understood that his vast emotion had frightened him and made him mute.
“I love you too, Dad!” I whispered back softly.
He stumbled over the next few words: “I’m sorry that I’m not demonstrative.
It’s hard for me, but just remember how much I love you.”
When the dance ended I excused myself to the ladies’ room and during my absence everything changed.
When I came back, Dad was slumped in his chair ashen gray.
Everything was really all too late. He was gone.
That night all I saw was his slumped body and ashen face.
But it’s a totally different scene that I remember now.
I remember our waltz on the dance floor and his sudden confession to me.
I remember him saying “I love you” and my saying it back.
It was indeed the first-last and only dance that I ever had with my father.
What a blessing that we had the chance to say before it was too late.
The three words live on forever long after we are gone, stretching into eternity.
