My husband refused to walk my 17-year-old daughter, his stepdaughter for nine years, at her high school senior night. “That’s something a real father should do,” he told her. But when her name was announced Thursday evening, her 79-year-old grandfather appeared with his walking cane and proudly accompanied her onto the court.

Travis looked like he wanted to sink straight down through that varnish into the crawl space.

Kaylee didn’t say anything.

She just turned and pressed her face into the front of his fleece vest.

And he put both his arms around her.

And her long blond braid hung down his back.

And that’s when my father did the thing I’ll think about for the rest of my life.

Kaylee had given him the rose. She’d put it in his hand the second they stopped at center court. The same way the other girls had given theirs to their parents.

He’d been holding it against his cane.

He waited until Kaylee stepped back from Travis.

Then he held the rose out. Stem first. To my husband.