You leave the changing room with a smile brighter than the desert sun, spinning in the white dress that billows around your legs.
“How do I look?” Your words send me back to years of dress-up with you strutting through the house in fancy dresses, their largeness drowning your tiny frame.
“You look gorgeous,” I say, fighting the tears that threaten to spring from my eyes.
Where did the time go? Please take me away. Return me home to a simpler life-a life that evolved around picnics, tea parties, and trips to the park.
As much as I love you, you belong to your daddy. You are his girl. You two always shared a tender, special bond, a closeness I always envied, yet I melted as I watched you together. He tries to support this significant chapter in your life, but he struggles with his breaking heart, as do I. In a month, he will give you away. He will relinquish his little girl to another man.
“How about this one?” You run your hands across the champaign satin gown. Your breathtaking beauty makes you stunning in every dress.
Can I hold you one more time? Crawl into my lap as I rock you. Let me sing to you as you cuddle in my arms. But my arms no longer hold you at night. You gave the mantel of keeping you safe to someone else.
I delight in our closeness as we prepare for this monumental event. Can I do more to make this day perfect for you? You deserve the most elegant setting. I want to give you the world as he takes my world. But I can’t forget we are gaining a marvelous son, an excellent addition to our family.
As I drive home with your dress and you return to your fiancé, I lose the fight with my tears. They cascade over my cheeks as I navigate traffic.
If only I could stop time.
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I Only I Could Stop Time
by Stephanie Daich
