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street, and Stephanie noticed all of the cars parked along the curb.  “Someone is having a party,” she said as she looked for balloons and banners.  “I wonder who it is?”
    Brian drove up the wrap-around driveway and parked the car.  “Maybe you should find out and go crash it after I drop you off,” he teased.
    “That’s an idea.  The night is still young.”  She looked at the darkened windows in her house.  “All of the lights are out.  Dad isn’t back from the club.”
    “At least he left the porch light on for you.  C’mon, I’ll walk you to the door.”  Brian walked around to her side of the car and helped her out.
    Stephanie suddenly felt glum.  She was all dressed up and home by eight.  Another rendezvous with Mr. Skeffington would have to do.  Then she remembered the chocolate chunk ice cream in the freezer.  The night was promising after all, she thought.
    “I had a good time tonight,” Brian said as he walked her to the door.  “I’ll call you.”
    Stephanie turned the house key in the lock.  She smiled at Brian and gently touched his mouth with a kiss.  “I had a nice time, too.”  Then she opened the door.  The lights instantly flipped on.  “Surprise!”  Everyone shouted in unison.  Startled, Stephanie threw her hands over her cheeks.  All of her friends were saluting her arrival with a glass of champagne.  She scanned their faces until she saw her dad with an exuberant smile on his face.  He had completely fooled her.  It took a moment to recover from the shock, but when she did, she burst with jubilant laughter.
    “Now I know why you were so anxious to push us out the door tonight,” she said, delighted that her dad had gone completely out of his way to surprise her.  “You prankster, you.  And you,” she said as she turned to Brian.  “You were in on this caper all along, weren’t you?
    “Yep.  And I would do it all over again just to see the look that came over your face.”
    Robert handed Stephanie and Brian a glass of champagne and then he lifted his glass to Stephanie.  “I’d like to propose a toast to my one and only daughter,” he began.  “From the moment you were born, Stephanie, I have always been proud of you.  You were challenging at times, but now you’re all grown up and ready to take on challenges of your own.  Congratulations for graduating cum laude from the Ohio University School of Journalism.  I have never been more proud of you than I am at this moment.  I love you, sweetheart.  Welcome home.”
    The loving sentiments made Stephanie’s eyes tear with water, but she was too happy to cry.  “Thanks, Dad, for all of your love and support.  And I’m sorry for all of those times when you were tempted to leave me out on the curb.  But you’ve always been there for me.  You’re the best dad a girl could ever have, and I love you very much.”  She could see the pride in his twinkling eyes.
    Stephanie faced her guests with unabashed charm.  “All of you have made my homecoming very special.  Thank you, all of you, for being here.”
    Jonathan Chelsey, chief of administration at Walter Reed, was the first to give Stephanie a hug.  She stood on her toes and threw her arms around his broad shoulders.  She could smell the familiar scent of his old spice.  “Welcome home, Stephanie.  May I have the privilege of your first dance?”
    “Absolutely!  Let’s go show them how it’s done.”  Stephanie and Jonathan hurried to the patio to dance.  She noticed the sequence of luminous lights glowing around the terrace.  Even the tree trunks were decorated to shimmer in the night.  The backyard looks like an enchanted forest, she thought.  The band was playing one of her favorite rock and roll tunes.  Jonathan took her hand and swung her in a circle.  Then he pulled her close and folded her back over his arm.  Stephanie felt young and full of life, and even though Jonathan was many years her senior, he was far