A handicapped girl, left without a date to prom, is in for a surprise when her father takes her to prom with him.
The award he receives the next day in recognition of his love for the child transforms their lives.
‘Molly, look! Your daddy’s here!’ – said someone from the funeral to a 17-year-old girl who was grieving over her mother Daisy’s coffin.
Danny, Molly’s father, and her mum divorced ten years ago. Since then, Molly had only heard terrible things about her father – like that he was a ‘drunk’ and the like.
And while Molly had no bitterness towards Danny, she often missed their father-daughter interactions.
But after Mum’s funeral, things were about to change for Molly….
‘Hi honey!’ Danny greeted his daughter and hugged her before placing the wreath on his ex-wife’s coffin.
‘Sir, is that lorry yours? It’s blocking half the car park. Could you move it?’ – One of the guests asked Danny, who was the driver of the lorry.
‘Yes, that’s my lorry. Give me a second. I just met my daughter. I hope you can understand me. Thank you!’
Danny was excited to meet Molly. All these years, the only thing that had bonded him to her was the child support he paid for her.
Daisy had never allowed him to see Molly because she was afraid he would be a bad influence on her.
The funeral was over and everyone dispersed. Danny packed up all of Molly’s things and told her they were on their way to his house.
‘A parcel? Who sent it?’ – he wondered. The card said, ‘Daddy of the Year.’
‘But why, Papa? I can’t leave this house. Mum and I lived here. It’s filled with our memories.’
Molly frowned because Danny wasn’t listening to her. He knew he couldn’t leave his daughter alone, especially since she often used a wheelchair when she didn’t need crutches. Due to a condition that developed in her left leg at the age of six, Molly had a limp.
Two days later, Molly moved in with her father. Although the house was compact and untidy, it comforted her and made her feel loved and included in life.
As the days passed, it became difficult for Danny to do anything for Molly. Since he had never watched her grow up, he didn’t know how to handle most things, like braiding her hair. He learnt how to do it by watching videos on the internet. But that wasn’t all.
He’d cleared out his bedroom so Molly would have a cosy place to sleep. He even bought a new fluffy bed so she could get a good night’s rest. Danny did his best to make his daughter feel at home, but if there was one thing he kept secret, it was his constant nightly disappearances.
Molly had no idea where her father went at night after she fell asleep. She could only guess that he wandered off with friends to the pub, as her mother had often told her.
A few days later, Molly got off the school bus and walked into their house crying. She found the door locked. Behind the plant was a note. ‘The keys are under the pot. I’ll be back soon. See you soon! – Daddy.’
Molly frowned, remembering her mum telling her about her dad’s strange habits in the evenings. She frowned at the thought of her dad going out drinking at four in the afternoon.
Several hours passed, but Danny still hadn’t come home. Molly made herself some pasta, saving some for her father. Then she lay on her bed and cried.
‘If I was normal, I wouldn’t be weird. I would have found a date to prom.’
It turned out that Molly’s teacher had informed them of the upcoming prom. All of her classmates had found a date to the prom except for Molly. No one wanted to take her with them. She thought: who would want to dance with a lame person?
Molly cried so loudly that Danny heard her as soon as he got home.
‘What’s the matter, darling? Why are you crying?’
Molly told him about the prom. ‘I don’t have a date. I even asked a few boys if any of them would dance with me at prom, but they said no and laughed. I don’t want to go to prom, Daddy! I want to be alone! Good night!’
Molly turned away from Danny and pretended to be asleep, tears soaking her pillow.
Danny couldn’t just leave his daughter in the lurch. The next day he bought Molly a beautiful prom dress. And on prom day, Molly was in for a huge tear-jerking surprise. Her dad was taking her to the prom.
The seniors and their parents were piled up at the entrance to the auditorium when a loud roar of a motor caught their attention.
Danny jumped off the truck. He set the wheelchair on the lawn and helped Molly out. He rolled the wheelchair down the red carpet as the crowd watched in amazement.
With the music playing, Danny walked out onto the dance floor with his daughter. He picked Molly up and carried her around in a circle, synchronising with the melodic music of the evening. For a moment, Molly forgot that she had a disability and laughed heartily as her father continued to rock her in his arms.
‘My daddy is my real-life superhero. I love him more than anything in the world. I feel blessed and proud to be his daughter,’ Molly cried to her friends after the dance.
Meanwhile, Danny became the centrepiece of the show. All the parents gathered around him to praise and applaud him. Danny then told a little about himself and his daughter, unaware of how the evening would soon change their lives.
Danny and Molly went home talking about how much fun they had had. Danny then put Molly to bed in her bedroom and slipped silently out of the house.
It turned out that Danny was a part-time carer at a local nursing home. As well as working part-time as a lorry driver, he worked overtime to save money for his daughter’s treatment. When Molly was diagnosed with a disability a few years ago, many people told Danny and Daisy that she would never be able to walk.
But one doctor assured them that he would cure the girl and give her back the ability to walk. So Danny gave up going out with friends to pubs and started working two jobs.
Daisy didn’t understand him and thought he was wasting his time in the pub. Danny tried to explain it to her but she never believed him. Her constant doubts and heated arguments led to them soon breaking up. It never bothered Danny because he was only focused on saving up money for Molly’s surgery and he spent the next few years working hard.
It hurt Danny every time he remembered his past. Even that evening as he drove to work, he couldn’t escape the thoughts of the horrible things his ex-wife had told him. He finished his shift and returned home, unprepared for the surprise that awaited him and Molly.
That morning, after returning from work, Danny was pleasantly surprised to find a parcel in the letterbox.
‘A parcel??? Who sent this?’ – he wondered. The card read, ‘Daddy of the Year!’
Inside, Danny found a cheque for $10,000 and another note:
‘Dear Danny, we hope this will improve your daughter’s life. Good luck with her surgery, and we hope you will spend more time with her in the evenings. Best wishes, your prom buddies!’
Danny realised that the parents he had met the previous evening were behind this. He shed tears of joy and shared the good news with Molly.
‘Really!!! Oh my God, Daddy… This is unbelievable!’ She laughed and cried on his shoulders.
With the money Danny had saved and a cheque for $10,000, Molly had surgery. It was successful, and gradually she was able to walk without crutches.
Meanwhile, Danny quit his second job to spend more time with his daughter. She had received a scholarship to study architecture in another state and was going to leave in three months.
Danny wanted to make the best use of the time he had with Molly. He taught her to cook, dance, bike, and even run. He just wanted his daughter to live a normal life and never think of the days when she used a wheelchair and crutches.
What can we learn from this story?
- There is no greater love in the world than that of a parent. Danny went the extra mile to help his daughter walk. He worked two jobs to save money for the surgery and even took her to prom when she didn’t have a date.
- A father is always a superhero to his children. Even when everyone told Danny that his daughter would never walk again, he never gave up hope and worked to get her walking again. He was her true superhero and inspiration for life.
Share this story with your friends. Perhaps it will brighten their day and inspire them.
