Story for the Week
Happy Father’s Day to My Dad, and Happy Heavenly Father’s Day to My Husband.
We Miss You Every Day. ❤️
Shortly before her 15th birthday, Corinne asked me who would walk her down the aisle when she gets married. Nearly six years ago, we had just lost her dad, and her grief took her to that future event even before she had a first date. She didn’t think of her graduation, and she certainly didn’t consider college. She thought about her wedding day.
When I was in my early 20s, the age Corinne is now, I remember telling my parents that I didn’t want a big wedding. I wanted to run away and get married and come home to have a big party. My father responded with the question, “You mean you would deprive me of the chance to walk you down the aisle?”
At the time, I acquiesced and said, “Fine. I’ll have a wedding.” In reality, when I finally did get married at the ripe old age of 36, I did actually run off to New York to get married. By that point, my sister and brother had both gotten married, so my dad got to walk my sister down the aisle. I think it all turned out ok from that perspective.
But Corinne thinks about a future wedding. You expect dads to attend graduations and theater events and choir concerts and dance recitals. But dads traditionally play a key role in a wedding ceremony. And she definitely thought about that.
At the time, I told her she should have lots of options. I can walk her down the aisle. My brother-in-law Rodolfo can walk her down the aisle. She could ask my brother, who is also her godfather. She might even be able to ask her future father-in-law, whoever that may be. But no matter who it is, I know she’ll still miss her dad.
Whenever I think about Corinne’s future wedding day, and even though she’s never going to have a stepdad, I remember a scene from Stepmom. Susan Sarandon plays Jackie, a divorced mom with terminal cancer. Julia Roberts plays Isabel, the younger future stepmom who always butts heads with Jackie and the kids. By the end of the movie, they come together, and the whole thing usually leaves me pretty wrecked. And there’s a discussion about the daughter’s future wedding that hits a little harder now.
Isabel: I never wanted to be a mom. Well, sharing it with you is one thing. Carrying it alone the rest of my life…always being compared to you…you’re perfect.
Jackie scoffs.
Isabel: They worship you. I just don’t want to be looking over my shoulder every day for 20 years knowing that someone else would have done it right—done it better, the way that I can’t.
Jackie: What do I have that you don’t?
Isabel: You’re Mother Earth incarnate.
Jackie: You’re hip and fresh.
Isabel: You ride with Anna.
Jackie: You’ll learn.
Isabel: You know every story, every wound, every memory. Their whole life’s happiness is wrapped up in you. Every. Single. Moment. Don’t you get it? Look down the road to her wedding. I’m in a room alone with her, fitting her veil, fluffing her dress, telling her no woman has ever looked that beautiful. And my fear is that she’ll be thinking, “I wish my mom was here.”
Jackie: And mine is…she won’t. But the truth is she doesn’t have to choose. She can have us both. Love us both. And she will be a better person because of me and because of you. I have their past, and you can have their future.
One of Dennis’s biggest fears was that we would move on with our lives and forget him. Even if he weren’t such a big personality—which he absolutely was 🥲—that’s just not possible. He won’t be able to walk Corinne down the aisle at her wedding, but he’ll be there. He’ll have the best seat in the house. 😉
Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads. You matter…maybe even more than you know.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 Stars for The Last Father-Daughter Dance by Lisa Wingate
57 pages
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Amazon First Reads bonus short.
Publisher’s Description
Olympic silver medalist Kalista Brooks has built a successful life in California, complete with a thriving sports technology company and a handsome fiancé. But when her father’s heart condition takes a critical turn, she rushes home to Atlanta. There, her father makes a surprising request: to relive favorite memories from all four seasons in just one month at their old farmhouse in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
With help from the community and her long-lost sidekick Calvin Calhoon, Kalista creates a tapestry of cherished moments—dogwoods in bloom, homemade blackberry jam, autumn bonfires, and a magical winter evening that will live forever in her heart. But as father and daughter share these precious weeks together, Kalista discovers that time has a way of revealing what matters most. In the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains where she grew up, she learns that sometimes the sweetest seasons of life come when we least expect them.
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Main Characters:
- Kalista Brooks – 28 years old, an Olympic medalist in track, engaged to fellow-Olympian Patrick, they work together in their own sport technology company, she is the face of the brand
- Coach Brooks – 52 years old, Kalista’s father, was a high school track coach in North Carolina before moving to Atlanta to coach at the college level, needs a heart transplant
- Calvin Calhoun – 28 years old, a hydrologist for the Department of the Interior, went to high school with Kalista and was coached by her dad, comes from a large family that still has a big presence in North Carolina
I hope Lisa Wingate plans to write a full-length book with Kalista Brooks and Calvin Calhoun as the main characters. Her recent Amazon Original short story weaves such a beautiful story centered around a month that Kalista spends with her father at their old farmhouse in the mountains of North Carolina.
When her father makes the request to go to the farmhouse, Kalista feels like it could be the best thing for him emotionally. There’s a lot of love for their family in their hometown. Kalista finds herself surrounded by people willing to go the extra mile to make things happen for her and her dad.
“…we Calhoons bring out the white-glove service when there’s a celebrity in town.”
“Calvin…” My cheeks sting, I guess because I don’t want him to think of me that way. “I’m not.”
“You are,” he counters. “But I was talking about Coach.”
“Oh, well, in that case, okay. Coach definitely deserves the white glove.”
Kalista spends time training for the upcoming Olympic trials with her dad back in his coach role tracking her progress. She also re-examines what’s important to her. While she has a fiancé and a business to run, her dad quickly becomes her first priority. But her dad wants her to slow down a little bit and think about what she really wants out of life.
“Life goes by while you’re chasing things, Kalista. All the forks in the road…You’ll never be at that same place again. Stop. Look. Think. Choose your path. Choose your people. Hang on to what makes you laugh, what makes your heart good. Let the rest go by the wayside and move on without wondering what anybody else will think.”
This is a quick read…an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Pick this one up, find a quiet place, and embrace the moment.
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