Howard returned to the café in the darkness of night,
What he saw might have given some a fright,
The girl standing in the moonlight looked like a ghost,
But Howard knew better than most,
The girl in the nightgown was his own,
Howard approached her with a gentle tone,
Her soft, stifled cries reached his ears,
And he saw her eyes filled with tears,
She stared at the door to a now empty room,
Broken by the absence of the man she had hoped would be her groom,
Howard knew she had loved the florist man,
But he also knew his daughter was never in Cam's life plan,
He had seen the emptiness in the boy's eyes,
Way before it was time to say the goodbyes,
Howard knew Cam had to leave in order to grow,
But it didn't make things easier when he had to go,
Now, all Howard could do was comfort his little girl,
He held on tight to his precious pearl.
Time passed and Howard watched her heal,
And he noticed something different before one meal,
Laney hummed a lovely tune,
Her smile had Howard over the moon,
He was curious, but he didn't ask why,
He had a hunch it was a new guy,
His hunch was confirmed later that day,
When a certain customer came up to pay,
He saw the blush that came across their faces,
He smiled to himself as he put the dishes back in their places,
He watched as Laney's relationship developed with the farmer,
He never realized Phillip was such a charmer,
Then on the day of the festival of flowers,
He watched his daughter nervously wait for hours,
The farmer came with a bouquet of red,
And gave it to her with a poem he read,
Howard gave them their privacy and didn't stay until the end,
He trusted the farmer who he had begun to befriend,
A year later, spring came about with lovely weather,
And instead of flowers Phillip came with a blue feather.