She raised her chin when her father came into the auditorium, and we could tell she perked up when she saw him. He hadn’t visited her for over 6 months, and his presence surprised us. We weren’t sure what to make of it. He sat in the back, he applauded when her dance group finished and then caught our eye and waved. There were more performances. Lilly did well in them as she did in the others, but we all were on edge.
At the end, the applause filled the room, and everyone stood; we looked back to where Doug had been sitting. Gone.