Bruce was a man of few words. It wasn’t because he didn’t have much to say. He had plenty. He just didn’t have a voice. Eight years ago he was diagnosed with throat cancer and had a laryngectomee. Now, the few words he muttered through his electrolarynx device sounded robotic. It was not the way he wanted to sound, and so he chose to refrain from speaking at all.
Bruce’s silence took its toll on his family. His wife Lucile and daughter Megan urged him to just use his device so he could join in their conversations. But Bruce was too embarrassed. In the beginning he at least appeared engaged in their conversations. But as the years past he grew more distant and depressed. Eventually he just ended up spending dinner in front of the TV. The TV never suggested he talk back. Megan and her Mom took solace in each other’s company by going shopping, playing cards, and making scrapbooks.
When Megan went off to college, nights got awfully lonely for Lucile. Her and Bruce would still spend time together watching their favorite shows or playing cards, but he rarely spoke. The silence was deafening. Fortunately Megan called her most nights to catch up. Sometimes they’d talk for just a few minutes. Other times an hour. Some nights Megan swore she heard her father’s breathing on the other end. Or perhaps it was just her imagination wanting to feel that he cared.
It was fall of Megan’s senior year when Lucile received the most exciting call from her daughter.
“Mom, I’m getting married!” she shouted.
Lucile was ecstatic. She loved Megan’s boyfriend Tim. She had met him during her sophomore year and knew right away that he was the type of boy she wanted her daughter to marry. She ran into the living room to tell Bruce. He smiled and gave her the thumbs up. “Dad’s excited for you too,” she told Megan.
Over the next few weeks Lucile and Megan’s conversations grew longer. There was much to be planned. The wedding had to be in the early summer. Megan and Tim had both been accepted into the Peace Corps, and to be stationed together they had to be married before they left. They would depart in August. With Megan attending school on the opposite coast, much of the planning had to take place over the phone and during school vacations. But Lucile was up for the challenge—she loved being a part of the planning.
One night, as Megan and Lucile discussed the wedding, Megan started to choke up. “Mom, I have a very difficult favor to ask you,” Megan said.
“Anything dear,” replied Lucile. “Whatever you want. Please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“You’ve been there for me a lot Mom,” she explained. “All of my fondest memories have been with you. You’re my best friend. I know its breaking tradition and all, but I feel like you should be the one walking me down the aisle instead of Dad. I feel like I barely know him anymore.”
Lucile was baffled and speechless.
“Mom are you there?” replied Megan.
“I’m here dear,” she replied. “Listen dear, I know I said I would do anything but I’m sorry. I just can’t. I can’t take that away from your father. He has already lost so much. It would break his heart. He loves you Megan. He may not always show it, but I know he does with all of his heart.”
“I’m sorry Mom,” replied Megan. “I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. I just wish he was a bigger part of my life, you know what I mean?”
“I know dear. But believe me, while you may not feel like he is part of your life, I know you are very much a part of his. I can see it in his eyes. Every time I tell him about you they light up. He is very proud of you. You may not be able to see it, but I do.”
The wedding day finally arrived, and as the limo pulled up to the church, and her Mom and bridesmaids exited the vehicle, Megan was left alone with her Dad. It was the first time they had really been alone together in years. She looked at him and smiled.
“Are you ready for your big moment Dad?”
He looked back at her and smiled. Then reached into his jacket pocket and handed her a picture. It was of the two of them. She was three years old at the time, dressed as a ballerina, and dancing on the edge of his shoes. They both had the biggest grins on their faces. She turned the photo around, and there on the back was a message.
“You’ll always be my little girl. The light of my life. The joy in my heart. I’m so proud of you. Love Daddy.”
Megan bowed her head as her eyes began to well up. That’s when she heard the words coming from his electrolarynx device.
“Hey, don’t ruin your makeup—I’m paying good money for these pictures you know.”
Megan looked up at her Dad and chuckled. He was smiling at her, the device still held up to his neck.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too Daddy,” she replied.
The hours flew by, and soon Megan was at her reception, making her way around the tables with her new husband Tim. The day had already been magical and full of surprises. But there was one more in store.
“May I have your attention please,” came a robotic voice from the front of the hall.
Megan turned in shock to see her Father standing before a crowd of a couple hundred guests. His face was flush and his hands were quivering as he held the microphone up to his electrolarynx.
“For years I was ashamed about who I was,” he said. “And I was right. I should have been ashamed. Not because of the way I sounded, but because of the person I let myself become. I let my pride get in the way of being a good father to this beautiful young lady. But today I stand proud. Not because of what I’ve done, but because of what my wonderful daughter has become. I let her down. I let my own self-consciousness get in the way of being a good father. But she never gave up on me. And she never let me drag her down. Today she has a family of her own. And soon her and her husband will be heading off to make a difference in this world. And I couldn’t be more happy and proud than I am today of my daughter. Megan. I had forgotten what was important in my life. But you helped me remember, and for that I thank you. And I promise you, that from this day forward, I will never let anything get in the way of me being there for my Little Girl.”
For Megan, it was the greatest gift she could have ever asked for. As she clung to her father, she once again saw the man she had such fond memories of growing up. He was back and they were dancing once again. Only this time she wore a wedding dress instead of a tutu and she didn’t have to stand on his feet.