Dance With Me, Daddy

Dance With Me, Daddy
Written by: Amanda Millward


Mr. Miller was awakened by the cries of his baby. In the middle of the night, he found his robe and put it on. He walked silently to the crib and picked his baby up and cradled her in his arms. She cried and cried. Mr. Miller carried her over to the rocking chair. He sat down and began to slowly rock back and forth back and forth. He started to hum and then he began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” Mr. Miller sang softly to his baby as she slowly stopped crying and went back to sleep. Mr. Miller stayed in the rocking chair still rocking back and forth, back and forth, singing softly to his baby.
When his baby girl turned into a little toddler, she ran around the house. She dug in the potted plants and climbed on top of the china hutch and fell onto her knees. Her mother, Mrs. Miller, tried to keep the toddler still, but she couldn’t keep up. Mrs. Miller was exhausted. When Mr. Miller came home from work the toddler ran to him and he scooped her up into his arms and started humming. Mr. Miller swayed the toddler in his arms as he began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” Mr. Miller sang to his toddler. The toddler was silent and she fell asleep as he sang to her. He walked her over to the crib and put her in. Mr. Miller put a blanket over her as she slept.
When the toddler became a little girl, she began to take ballet lessons. She went every Saturday to a dance studio. Mrs. Miller would take the little girl, and Mr. Miller would wait for their return. Every Saturday morning after the dance lesson, the little girl would run to her father.
“Daddy, Daddy, I learned so much today,” she said. “Look what I can do.” The little girl stood on the tips of her toes and put her arms above her head in a circular form. Mr. Miller clapped.
“Very nice,” he said to her.
“Dance with me, Daddy,” she said. The little girl pulled on his arm until he rose out of his chair. The little girl stepped on his feet and Mr. Miller began to hum. They danced in little circles and the little girl held on tightly. Mr. Miller began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” Mr. Miller sang softly as the little girl held on to her daddy.
The little girl grew. She was no longer a little child, but a pre-teen. Mr. Miller took her to her dress rehearsal for the spring dance recital. On the way to the rehearsal, Mr. Miller took a wrong turn and got lost. When they finally reached the place where they were supposed to be, she was too late. She hurried to find her group. Mr. Miller was with her asking other adults where his precious girl should be. Nobody knew. His daughter began to cry. She didn’t know what to do. Mr. Miller bent down and hugged her. He started to hum and rock his little girl in his arms. He began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” He sang softly in her ear. She smiled. Another adult passed by and recognized Mr. Miller’s daughter.
“Honey,” she said, “You’re supposed to be in the room down the hall. Hurry and go get changed.” Mr. Miller grabbed his little girl’s hand and walked her down the hall and into a room where the other girls from her ballet class was. She hugged her daddy as she went in to be with the rest of her class. He kissed her goodbye and walked away to sit in the audience and wait for the rehearsal to be over.
The little girl grew into a big girl. She was a teenager and had her own friends and a boyfriend. One day she came home crying. Mr. Miller asked her what was wrong and she told him her boyfriend had left her. She went to her room and stayed there for a long time. Mr. Miller crept up to her room and softly knocked on her door.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
“No, daddy, I am not,” the big girl said to Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller walked into her room and knelt by his daughter. He rubbed her back and started to hum. The big girl looked at him and put her head on his shoulder. Mr. Miller swayed as he began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” Mr. Miller sang softly as the big girl smiled.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she whispered.
Mr. Miller’s big girl grew into a bigger girl. She moved out of the house she grew up in and went to college. She stayed away for a long time before she moved into her own house. She kept in touch with her parents and one day she told Mr. and Mrs. Miller that she was getting married. Mr. Miller hugged his big girl and hummed in her ear.
“Oh Daddy, I don’t have time. There’s so much to do before the wedding,” she said as she broke away from Mr. Miller’s embrace. Mr. Miller was sad and he sat down. His little girl was now a very big girl and didn’t have time to dance with him anymore.
For months Mr. and Mrs. Miller helped their big girl plan her wedding. Finally her wedding came and Mr. Miller walked her down the aisle. He hugged and wished her the best of luck in her marriage. At the party afterwards, everyone was dancing except Mr. Miller. He sat at his table and watched his daughter with her new husband. He was sad because he wanted to dance with her. He looked down and gave a big sigh. A hand touched his shoulder. He looked up - it was her.
“Dance with me, Daddy,” she said softly. Mr. Miller got out of his chair and walked his big girl to the dance floor. She put her head on his shoulder and they started to sway. Mr. Miller began to hum and then began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby,” he sang softly as she smiled.
Soon Mr. Miller’s daughter had a little girl of her own. Mr. Miller held his new granddaughter in his arms.
“Isn’t she beautiful, Daddy?” Mr. Miller’s big girl said. Mr. Miller sat in the nearest chair and smiled. He began to rock his granddaughter slowly and hum. His granddaughter looked up at him. Mr. Miller began to sing.
“I don’t want to walk without you, baby.” ©





This story is dedicated to my daddy, Mr. Bill Millward