For a moment, she hesitated.
Then, slowly, she smiled.
“Only if you know how to spin,” she said.
He laughed. “I think we can manage that.”
What happened next transformed the entire room.
The Marines spread out across the dance floor, each one stepping in with warmth and ease. Other children joined in, then fathers, then teachers. The atmosphere shifted from something heavy and uncertain into something bright and alive.
Anna stood at the center of it all, laughing as she spun beneath the lights.
At one point, one of the Marines placed his cap on her head. It slipped down over her eyes, making her giggle as the room erupted in applause.
I found myself laughing too, really laughing, for the first time in months.
And it didn’t feel wrong.
