My father, Duane Ostrem, was seventy-nine years old.
He had spent more than fifty years running a dairy farm outside town. After my mother passed away, he sold the herd but remained on the property.
He still woke before sunrise every morning.
Two winters earlier, he’d undergone hip replacement surgery and had used a wooden cane ever since.
He moved slowly now, but his determination hadn’t changed.
Kaylee adored him.
She had spent countless summer afternoons following him around the farm. He taught her to drive his old Ford pickup across an empty field when she was eleven.
That was the same year Ryan stopped calling.
“Grandpa walks pretty slowly these days,” I reminded her.
“I know.”
“The gym is large.”
“I don’t care, Mom.”
She looked directly into my eyes.
“I want him.”
Then she added something that surprised me.
“And can he walk with me by himself? Just Grandpa?”
I swallowed.
Part of me wanted to accompany her.
But this wasn’t about me.
“Of course, sweetheart.”
The following morning, I called Mrs. Larson, the school’s activities director.
I’d originally submitted Kaylee’s senior-night form listing Travis and me as her escorts.
Now I needed to change it.
“Who should I put down instead?” Mrs. Larson asked.
“Duane Ostrem. Her grandfather.”
There was a small pause.
“That will be lovely.”
Then she asked gently:
“Is everything okay at home, Jodi?”
“Yes. Kaylee simply wants her grandpa.”
That was true.
It just wasn’t the entire story.
Wednesday evening, I called Dad.
He answered on the fourth ring, as he always did.
I explained everything.
Kaylee’s request.
Travis’s refusal.
The words about real fathers.
Dad listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he didn’t criticize Travis.
He asked only one question.
“Does Travis know you’re calling me?”
“No.”
Dad was silent for a while.
Then he said:
“Well, what time should I be there?”
I nearly cried.
“The ceremony starts around six forty-five. Could you arrive by six?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Dad, it’s a long walk across the gym. You’ll have to use your cane.”
He chuckled.
“Jodi, I’ve walked farther than that through snowdrifts to reach my barn. I think I can manage a gymnasium for my granddaughter.”
I didn’t tell Travis about the arrangement.
Part of me knew I should.
But I worried that if he learned Dad was coming, he would change his mind simply because he didn’t want to look bad.
I wanted him to understand his mistake for himself.
Thursday finally arrived.
I worked at the dental clinic until four and picked Mason up afterward.
He had made a homemade poster for Kaylee, decorating it with a large orange volleyball that looked suspiciously like a pumpkin.
“It’s a volleyball,” he informed me before I could comment. “I ran out of white.”
We arrived at the school gym just after five.
Travis came directly from work, wearing his usual fleece vest and boots.
He sat beside me near the front of the bleachers.
The gym smelled of popcorn and freshly polished flooring. Maroon and gold streamers decorated the railings, and large photographs of the six senior volleyball players stood beside the scorer’s table.
Kaylee’s poster showed her jumping to strike the ball, her long blonde braid flying behind her.
A bucket of red roses sat nearby.
Traditionally, each senior presented a rose to the family member escorting them onto the court.
I noticed Travis looking at the flowers.
Then he lowered his eyes.
He clasped his hands between his knees and began rubbing his thumb nervously.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Fine.”
His answer sounded exactly like Kaylee’s response at dinner.
I watched the side entrance as the junior varsity match continued.
Six o’clock passed.
Then six-oh-five.
I started worrying that Dad might have encountered trouble on the road.
At 6:12, the side door finally opened.
My father walked inside.
He wore his tan Sunday jacket, a crisp white shirt, polished shoes, and his favorite green seed-company cap.
In his right hand was his familiar hickory cane.
Instead of joining us in the bleachers, he walked directly toward the seniors gathering near the court.
Kaylee saw him and broke into a smile.
She hurried over and slipped her arm through his.
From the bleachers, I watched Travis notice them.
First came confusion.
Then recognition.
He turned slowly toward me.
“Jodi?”
“She asked Grandpa to walk with her,” I whispered. “Tuesday night, after dinner.”
Travis looked back toward Kaylee.
She was laughing at something Dad had said.
My husband didn’t respond.
He simply sat very still.
The junior varsity players cleared the floor, and the seniors lined up along the sideline.
Mr. Halvorson, the longtime announcer, tapped his microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please join us in recognizing our graduating senior volleyball players and their families.”
The first student walked out with both parents.
The second appeared with her mother and stepfather.
The third was accompanied by several relatives, including her grandmother in a wheelchair.
Every family received warm applause.
Then Mr. Halvorson looked at his next card.
“Number seventeen, four-year varsity letter winner and middle hitter, Kaylee Brandt, escorted tonight by her grandfather, Mr. Duane Ostrem!”
A murmur traveled through the bleachers.
Nearly everyone in our little town knew Dad.
Some had purchased milk from his farm. Others had attended church with him, worked alongside him, or known him since childhood.
Kaylee moved her rose into her left hand and linked her right arm through Grandpa’s.
He placed his cane carefully on the polished floor.
Then they began walking.
Slowly.
Cane.
Step.
Step.
Cane.
Step.
Step.
Each movement was deliberate.
The gym gradually became quieter as people watched the seventy-nine-year-old farmer escort his granddaughter toward center court.
Mr. Halvorson continued reading her achievements.
“Kaylee has maintained honor-roll status throughout high school, participated in the National Honor Society, and shown dairy heifers through 4-H for eight years…”
Then someone in the highest row stood.
A second person followed.
Then another.
Within seconds, entire sections of the bleachers were rising.
People who had known my father for decades stood applauding.
Parents on the visiting side joined them.
Even the opposing volleyball team began clapping.
Soon, nearly everyone in the gym was on their feet.
I covered my mouth.
Tears blurred my vision.
But Dad didn’t seem to notice the attention.
He kept his eyes on the floor, concentrating on each careful step.
Kaylee held his arm proudly.
Then I noticed movement beside me.
Travis had stood.
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