The Last, First Dance

Mr. Campbell's last, first dance at his daughter's, Laura, wedding.

"Hey dad, it's time." said Laura as the interlude of a song began.

Laura held her father's hand and gave it a little tug. Although Mr. Campbell was pale and almost white as the room and Laura's concisely ornamented wedding dress, his palms and forehead was moist with perspiration. His heart beat slow, but loud. As Laura helped her father stand up from his chair, people left the dance floor and began to cheer for the two. This whole morning and the night before, his heart had begun to feel heavy. The lump on his throat suppressed his words and his face could form no other expression but a melancholy grin.

"Aw dad, don't cry. Please don't cry. Or else..." and then she sighed. Laura could say no more. Her limpid blues eyes too were welled with tears. And as they continued to sway to the music, Laura stared into her father's eyes, reading his mind.

"Had I been crying?" He asked himself. Then, he felt warm tears slowly descend his cheeks and neck. The droplets of sorrow and joy would have tickled or itched but his heart had overpowered his earthly senses and made him numb. There were three words that he wanted to whisper, yell, and reiterate to her, but he did not dare to say them. Mr. Campbell knew, it would upset her and ruin the moment. As a result, halfway throughout the song, he hugged her tightly.

Her dress was strapless, frilly on the bottom, and long in the back. The tiny white crystals that were disseminated among the dress made her sparkle wherever she went. As he crushed her chest to his and patted Laura's smooth back, something punctured his heart and made him choke. It was his child's heartbeat. The heartbeat that he had anticipated during her mother's appointment at the hospital. The heartbeat that he had listened to with delight as she slept serenely in her crib. The heartbeat that he had meticulously studied when she was sick in bed as a child. The heartbeat that now, pounded harder than ever against his.

"I am sorry." He screamed in his mind. The tears that had been leaking from his overflowing eyes, now began to stream down his face like a faucet. "I'm sorry." He consciously repeated to himself. His arms that had now been squeezing her, were now frail and tired. His body demanded to let go of Laura, but as he tried to withdraw his arm, Laura was tightly holding his heart against hers. And together, the hearts played at a unified, strong pace.

"Even if your heart stops beating," Laura forcefully muttered with her burdensome throat. "I will never stop loving you." She finished with small, sparkling tears which were absorbed by her father's suit. And those words, that were finally conveyed with great difficulty and effort...

Froze time, the world, and his life.