When a disabled girl is sad because she doesn’t have a date for prom, her kind father steps in to help her. What starts out as a show of affection draws everyone over. The next day, his selflessness is rewarded in a way that will impact their lives forever.
Look, Isla! “Father is here!”
The comments disturbed the silence in the churchyard. Isla, who was 17, cried when she saw her mother’s casket. She turned slowly, not knowing what to do.
James was the evil guy her mom had been raving about for years. Her dad. Sandra, Isla’s mom, and James broke up when Isla was seven. Since then, the only times she has seen her dad were when he mailed her court-ordered child support checks and made nasty accusations.
He seemed older because of the gray stubble on his face and the roughness of his hands. But his eyes stayed the same. When they met, his eyes got calmer.
“Hey, sweetheart,” James whispered quietly, and then he held her, but only for a moment. He walked over to the casket and put a small wreath on it.
Is that your truck, sir? A sad guest spoke out. “It takes up half of the driveway.”
James looked at his pickup, which was covered with dust. “That’s mine.” I saw my daughter for the first time in ten years. Now I’ll move it. “Thanks for understanding.”
Isla didn’t say anything while they talked. Her mother had informed her that James was intoxicated and not trustworthy, but he didn’t appear like that. There was no anger, only a deep pain where a connection should have been.
After the funeral, when the visitors had gone, James helped Isla pack her stuff into his truck.
He said, “I’m going to take you home.”
She paused for a moment, her voice tight. “I can’t leave this place.” That’s all I have of her.
James clenched his teeth but murmured softly. “I understand.” You shouldn’t be alone right now, though.
Isla didn’t utter a word. She felt bad in her heart, but her legs felt even worse. Isla has been limping since she was six because her left leg hurts more and more over time. She could get along with crutches on some days. She largely needed her wheelchair.
Two days later, Isla got to a little, dirty house that smelled like burnt coffee and motor oil. James did his best to clean it. He gave up his room, purchased her a nice mattress, and built a ramp for the front porch.
He looked up how to braid her hair on Google, burned spaghetti twice, and put her hoodie in the dryer for too long, which made it smaller. Isla, on the other hand, saw these things as evidence of love.
She didn’t understand why James kept leaving at night.
James would leave the house every night after dinner when she was sleeping. Isla remembers her mother saying, “Your father is drinking again.” That’s all he does.
She didn’t believe it until one day after school she came home and noticed that the door was locked and there was a note on the porch that said, “Keys under the pot.” She felt sad when Dad told her to “Please come back soon.”
She prepared her own pasta, ate it by herself, and left James a bowl. That night, she screamed in her sleep.
She said softly to her pillow, “Maybe I’d have a date for prom if I weren’t broken.”
Everyone had a date for the prom, which was just a few days away. Everyone but her. She had the guts to ask a few boys to dance, but they laughed.
Who wants to dance with the girl who is in a wheelchair?
When James got home around midnight, she was curled up and trying to stop weeping.
What is wrong, my love? He asked her while he was running.
She screamed, “I don’t have a date for prom!” Dad, nobody wants me. She didn’t think this way.
She turned aside and cried into her pillow.
James didn’t utter a word. The next day, he brought a dress home. Isla believed that the dark navy blue with a shine looked like the brightness of stars. She gasped when she saw that.
“Try it,” he urged with a smile.
“Why?” she questioned, not sure what to say. Not going.
James grinned. You are. “With me.”
On prom night, students and their dates pulled up in beautiful automobiles and glittering outfits while a truck engine screamed in the parking lot.
James left in a suit jacket that was old and faded pants. He carefully lifted Isla’s wheelchair and helped her get off the back of the truck. While he did this, he smoothed the dress over her lap.
The dad and daughter walked down the red carpet. People in the audience were whispering. A few kids were looking. Some of them smiled. James pushed Isla to the dance floor.
The music got louder.
James bent down. “Are you ready?”
She nervously laughed. “For what?”
“To this.”
He grabbed her and turned her around in one swift motion. He slowly and carefully distorted the song.
Isla laughed a lot and didn’t hold back. Her hair and clothes were blowing around, so she didn’t feel like the girl in the wheelchair anymore. She just felt like herself. Loved.
She cried. “I love you, Dad.”
After the dancing, students gathered around her. A few people claimed they were sorry for not paying attention to her. A few folks requested for selfies.
Everyone was looking at James. Some of his parents cried and patted him on the back to say congratulations.
“That was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in years,” one mother stated. “Good man.”
James grinned and nodded, but didn’t say anything. He didn’t explain why he wasn’t there every night or why he suddenly came back into Isla’s life.
But fate has more plans.
James checked the mailbox the next morning, after his midnight shift, and found a little gift. The card said, “Father of the Year.”
Underneath was a check for $10,000.
“Dear James, the prom left a big impression on us,” stated another note. We hope this helps you and Isla. I hope her operation goes well. Give her more time; she deserves it. From your friends at prom.
James was astonished at the check. He cried as he was on the porch.
He hurried to Isla’s room as soon as she woke up. Hey, Pumpkin, guess what? Someone gave Isla a gift. “A real miracle.”
“What do you mean?”
He gave her the check and the letter.
She shook her hands as she read. “Is this real?”
James’ voice broke when he nodded. “You can finally have surgery now that I’ve saved up.”
Isla cried and hugged him tightly. “I don’t believe so. I thought… I thought this was how I’d always live.
He said under his breath, “You won’t.” “I promise.”
Isla had no idea that James worked as a midnight caretaker at a local elderly home. In addition to running his vehicle, he worked hard to save money for Isla’s therapy.
Isla was told by a doctor years ago that she might be able to walk again, but it would take time, money, and hard work. James did all three. Sandra didn’t trust him. She feared he was spending too much time at bars. She kicked him out because she no longer trusted him.
James never fought back. He poured all of his energy into saving money for his child without making a fuss. He loved her even if he wasn’t perfect.
All that work paid off in the end.
There was a plan for an operation. It took months to get healthy, deal with the agony, and attend to physical therapy. Isla shook as she walked again. She didn’t use a wheelchair or any walking sticks. There is no wheelchair.
James felt like she was being born again as she ran across the lawn to hug her dad.
He turned her around and told her, “You did it.” “You did it.”
Isla giggled even though she was out of breath. “We did.”
Isla liked being free. She earned a scholarship from a national school to learn about architecture. She was supposed to go in October.
James helped her pack even though he was going to cry.
“Are you going to miss me, old man?” She told a joke.
He said, “More than anything.”
They made memories all summer by cooking, riding bikes, and dancing in the kitchen. James even taught her how to replace a tire.
Before she departed to college, Isla hugged him and said, “You’re my superhero, Dad.” You always have been.
James waved goodbye from the porch as she got on the bus, happy and grateful.
For a long time, he had been the bad guy for someone else. Finally, his daughter thought he was a hero.
That was all he wanted.
