When Lisa Terrell’s mother died she was only two years old, and her father, Edward, had to take over the household. The reason for the changes in their lives was the terrible hurricane that struck their town, destroying their home and leaving Edward in a wheelchair.
It was tuff at times, but Edward never stopped for a second caring for his Lisa, and giving her the best he could. He was quite a star at his job as journalist, but eventually he had to step down and to start working remotely because of his injury.
Since no one ever saw Edward at school, for obvious reasons, Lisas’s friends didn’t really know anything about her father. She just fed them with the lies, like he didn’t have time for his daughter or he is not interested in her school life. But the truth was, the girl was embarrassed. She didn’t want her friends to see, that her dad was a handicapped.
She remembered that she adored him as a child, but as she was growing up, the image of her father in a wheelchair was terrifying her and that ruined her relationship with him.
Nevertheless, Edward never abandoned his responsibilities. He was always there for his daughter and saved up enough money to send her to a great university.
When the girl went to study in a different state, father and daughter grew even more apart. She never told him about her college life, about her friends and boyfriends. So when the graduation came and her boyfriend Harrison proposed, she had a lot of doubts about inviting her dad to be in the wedding party.
When the wedding date was set, Harrison was more and more persistent to meet her father, and to introduce him to his parents. That made Lisa really upset, as she couldn’t think of a reason not to invite him. Edward’s parents were rich and upper class, which made it even more shameful for her.
“What will they say, when they see an old man in a wheelchair”, she thought.
However, Harrison was so enthusiastic about the dinner with parents, that he finally wore down Lisa, so she had to tell her Dad about the invitation. The man was so thrilled, he started preparing that same day. He was very happy for his daughter.
He was dressed sharply on a dinner night, and Harrison’s family received him warmly. The young man’s parents were impressed that Edward had raised his daughter on his own. In addition, Edward won them over with a great sense of humor, so everyone had a great time at dinner. Everyone except Lisa, whose cheeks were blushing with embarrassment the whole time, because the man in the wheelchair was her father…
A few weeks before the wedding, Lisa made a decision. She ran to Edward late in the evening, so she couldn’t change her mind the next day.
“Daddy, I wanted to talk to you about the wedding,” she began, looking at her hands.
“Yes? What about it, dear?” asked Edward quietly. “Is there something that bothers you, the expenses? If so, I have some bonds we could use. After all, I’ve been saving them for you”.
“No, Daddy! It’s just that,” Lisa paused for a moment, “Harrison and I intend to have the wedding here in New York, but the problem is that the wedding will be at one of the biggest hotels in town, and… I just thought it would be better if you weren’t there. You know, there will be too many guests there!”
Edward’s smile vanished from his face and he stared at Lisa, speechless. “… I don’t understand… What’s the problem?”
Lisa sighed and shifted her gaze to him. “Look, Dad, it’s just… The guests are going to be high-rank people, and they’re all businessmen and rich people. Imagine a man in a wheelchair walking his daughter down the aisle in front of them… I don’t know… It’s just weird.”
“A man in a wheelchair is weird?” Edward’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe that Lisa was indirectly crossing him off the wedding guest list. But he caught that line and forced himself to smirk, hiding his tears from her.
“Is that it? Oh, you’re right! Old age is catching up with me after all,” he said, laughing. “I may not be able to handle such a large gathering. That’s all right!”
“Thanks for your understanding, Daddy,” Lisa said bluntly and retrieved to her room.
A few days later, she was watching American Heroes on television when the host announced Edward’s name. She looked at the television in confusion and noticed her father sitting next to the host.
Shortly thereafter, the camera focused on the screen, which showed images of Edward in a wheelchair and the hurricane that had hit their town years before. He turned out to be one of the brave journalists who had managed to save his family and help his neighbours during the disaster.
Edward had a solemn look on his face as he told the whole story of how he was able to help people, especially his family.
“I’ll never forget that day. It was terrible … we lost almost everything,” he explained. “My wife died in the accident, and my daughter was only two years old at the time. As the debris was falling around us, I noticed my daughter standing right there underneath where they were falling.
“I ran to save her and picked her up, but as I ran, most of the ceiling cracked and collapsed on my back, causing a spinal injury that made me no longer able to walk.”
Lisa’s jaw dropped to the floor and tears came to her eyes when she heard this. “Daddy saved me?” – she said in shock.
“It was hard for me,” Edward continued. “But you know, you can’t escape your fate. So I mustered up the courage, knowing that I can’t give up on life, especially because I have a daughter who is now dependent on her father.”
At this point Lisa was absolutely ashamed of herself. She cried after Edward’s interview, cursing herself for being a terrible daughter and determined to make it up to him.
So on her wedding day, she walked down the aisle with Edward, but she had something VERY important to say to the guests before the wedding ceremony began…
Taking the microphone near the altar, she walked over to Edward, who was sitting among the guests, dropped to her knees and hugged him. “I know this is one of the most important days of my life, and I’ve waited so long for it!” – she cried, holding his hands in hers. “But none of this would have been possible if my father hadn’t been there for me.”
“Since my mother died, I’ve never once seen my father say anything about how hard it was for him to raise me alone. He did have hard days, but he never showed me the slightest hint of it. But what did I do? I was going to take him off the wedding list because I was embarrassed that he was in a wheelchair. Yes, that’s right!”
“If only I had known that Daddy was in a wheelchair because he hurt his back saving me, I never would have done that. I did a terrible thing to the person who loves me the most!”
“So today I would like to apologize to him to everyone. I apologize for being the worst daughter to you, Daddy,” she said, turning to face him. “You can hate me for the rest of my life. I’m sorry.”
Edward didn’t expect Lisa to publicly admit her mistake. He was surprised, but at the same time he was overwhelmed with emotion at seeing his daughter realize her mistake, so he forgave her.
“Oh, come here,” he exclaimed, hugging her. “Everyone makes mistakes,” he said. “But if you admit them and try to correct them, you will be forgiven.”
Everyone was moved to tears and applauded the heartfelt reunion.
