My Heart's in Alabama

~ Special Feature: Deleted Scene ~

A Father's Love

I stand in front of the bathroom mirror with my tie dangling around my neck. I twist each end in every way imaginable, but I still can't figure out how to get the damn thing tied correctly. I can't even remember the last time I wore a tie. I try to avoid it as much as humanely possible. I've been seriously traumatized by my mom shoving me in a tie at any given opportunity in my formative years. Dinner with the grandparents, church, school pictures, BBQs with friends, school plays, any excuse she could get. It didn't matter the occasion, if I was out in public, you can bet your ass my eight-year-old self was wearing a tie.

My dad did his best to steer her away from her crazy tie obsession, but it wasn't until I was like 10 or 11 that she finally realized I was a living person and not some baby doll she can play dress-up with.

It wasn't all bad though, I guess. My dad turned it into a little ritual for us. Whenever my mom tried to force me into a tie, he'd take me under his arm and tie it for me while he told me a funny story. I still hated wearing the stupid things, but it made it more bearable at least.

I give it one last try before my frustration boils over and I give up. I'd like to believe I'm old enough to not need my dad's help anymore, but I know that's not true. I'm helpless. I can't even tie a tie.

With a heavy sigh, I head downstairs to find my dad. I stop short when I see him in the living room playing with my two sisters. He's clearly got his hands full and I don't want to bother him with something so trivial. I take a step back and try to sneak back upstairs, but my dad catches me right as I turn around.

"You need something, kiddo?"

"Uh, no, um, don't worry about it," I say. "I'll Google it."

I turn to leave, but my dad's not letting this one go. He plops MarMar and Carrie on the couch, switches on the TV, and hurries over to me.

"I got time," he says. "What's up?"

My eyes shift downwards. I feel stupid admitting that I can't do this myself. I feel even worse that I'm pulling him away from his responsibilities to my sisters. But he seems pretty intent on it, so I might as well tell him the truth.

"I don't know how to tie my tie," I say sheepishly.

My dad breaks out in a smile. There's a reminiscent warmth in his eyes that makes me believe he remembers our ritual fondly.

"Come here," he says and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "I got something for you."

My dad ushers me into his room and opens up his closet door and pulls out a little box of ties. He starts sifting through them until he finds what he's looking for. His eyes light up as he pulls out a brightly-colored paisley tie.

"You know what this is?" He says but doesn't wait for me to answer. "It's the tie I wore to my sophomore Homecoming."

My eyebrows rise in surprise. I can't believe he kept it all these years. What could be so special about this tie that he felt the need to keep it? It's not a particularly nice tie. In all honesty, it's actually kind of ugly. It's definitely not something you'd ever catch him wearing nowadays.

"Really?"

"Mmhm," he nods as he drapes it around my neck.

He takes careful care of straightening it out and smoothing its wrinkles. He pulls it gently on either side, making sure they're at the perfect length.

"You didn't get rid of it?"

"No way," he says, crossing and wrapping the tie around itself. "I could never get rid of this old thing. It's my favorite tie."

This? I think to myself as I look at the ratty tie around my neck.

"Why?" I scoff.

"Let me tell you a story about Shelby Longhorn," he says with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

"When I was your age, Shelby was the girl for me. I'm telling you, I had the biggest crush on this girl. And she knew it too. Every day during study hall I'd catch her staring at me and I knew I had to ask her out. She was crazy about me, I just knew it. Homecoming comes around, I ask her to be my date. She says yes, we go to the dance, we're having a good time. Halfway through the night, she says to me, "I have an idea. Let's go down to Lake Hutton and go skinny dipping." Now, I'm young, dumb, and in the presence of a beautiful girl. So, I say yes. We go to the Lake and she tells me, "you go first." Again, I'm young and dumb, so I say yes. I strip down without a second thought and run into the water. The next thing I know, she's running off with my clothes, leaving me with nothing but this here tie. I swear, when I close my eyes, I can hear the sound of her laughing at me as she ran off as clear as day."

My dad laughs and shakes his head at the memory.

"Maybe I shouldn't wear this," I laugh. "Seems like it might be bad luck."

"It may seem that way, but you know what, I learned a very valuable lesson that day," he says. "I learned that our most cherished memories aren't made from perfect moments. They're made from all the unexpected wrong turns that somehow lead us to someplace beautiful. I know you're not looking forward to tonight. You might not like getting dressed up, it might be hard for you to see your friends grow up, and Olivia might not be the girl you wish she was. But I promise you, one day you'll look back on this day and smile."

My dad looks me in the eyes and smiles as he tightens up my tie. He gives me an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder, the final step of our ritual is complete. But I know it can't end there. After everything my dad has done for me, I can't let this moment fade away. Overcome with appreciation, I wrap my arms around him and whisper the words I don't say nearly enough.

"Thanks, Dad."