Chapter One: Vienna
She looked beautiful. Her silky hair cascaded down her back, chocolate locks contrasting with her deep burgundy dress. She looked so much like her mother, he thought, and thank the gods. He could fool himself, and he often did, but there was absolutely no doubt. Georgia had him wrapped around her little finger since the very day she was born. Now, at sixteen years old, standing just a few inches shorter than him in a high school in Brooklyn waiting for the father/daughter dance to begin, he was never happier to be at her disposal.
There were dozens of girls there, but none as pretty as her. Plenty of fathers too, but none as proud as he was. The decoration was rather naff, but it hardly mattered. No, his eyes were on her, on how pretty she looked and how much she reminded him of Sloan, his Sloan, the one he – and she – lost all too soon. Georgia was only two when she lost her mother, and with that, Don became her everything. Her father, her friend, her guardian, her north star. This dance – all of her milestones, really – meant so much to him. They meant that he was doing a good job, despite any hardship, any obstacle, any death.
He hears Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young' fading off, and moves his right hand to the small of her back, and waits for the next song to start. A few fathers and their daughters have already moved to the dance floor, and they followed suit.
Slow down, you crazy child, you're so ambitious for a juvenile, but then if you're so smart, tell me why are you still so afraid.
He moves his hand from her back to her waist, and smiles at her as they lock eyes. They join hands and sway softly to the sound of the song, never breaking eye contact. Where's the fire what's the hurry about, you better cool it off before you burn it out, you got so much to do, and only so many hours in a day. They've never danced together before, but it's like a second nature to both of them. The dance is so easy, so simple, yet so significant. He has her there, and everywhere, as his little girl. She's all grown up now, he reflects, but she'll never not be his baby.
But you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want or you can just get old, you're gonna, kick off before you even get halfway through. When will you realise, Vienna waits for you.
Billy Joel's voice echoes through the room, fathers and daughters swaying to the song, a mess of tulle and feathers and joy and pride filling the room. Georgia smiles at him, using her free hand to caress his shoulder. She loves him just as much as he loves her, that's a fact, and there are few things more remarkable than the bond they share.
Slow down, you're doing fine, you can't be everything you wanna be before your time, although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight, tonight. Too bad but it's the life you live, you're so ahead of yourself that you forgot what you need, though you can see when you're wrong you know you can't always see when you're right, you're right.
The song is a coincidence, but it's one not lost in them. Vienna is the song he danced with Sloan on their wedding day, the song playing in the radio when Sloan's pregnancy test turned out positive, and the song he sang Georgia when she was a little kid.
You got your passion, you got your pride, but don't you know that only fools are satisfied, dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true. When you will realise, Vienna waits for you.
Some people would want to forget the song. Say it's too much of a trigger, that's hard to remember the better times, but not Don. No, he has always honoured Sloan's memory like that. He promised her, promised her in her deathbed for Pete's sake, that he'd be alright, and they'd be alright. It was an empty promise, he knew it and she did too, but all of those years, those long, often stormy years, have taught him a lesson on holding on to the promise of better days yet to come. He honoured her like that – being the best man – and father – he could be.
Slow down you crazy child, and take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while. It's alright, you can afford to lose a day or two. When will you realise, Vienna waits for you.
He fulfilled his promise. They were alright, and they were happy. They had Sloan in their hearts, always, and it each other in their lives. It didn't matter what came or what went. That was enough.
And you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want or you can just get old, you're gonna, kick off, before you even get halfway through. Why don't you realise, Vienna waits for you.
They were Don and Georgia, father daughter, friends, accomplices, kindred souls, guides. It would never be forgotten – they were a special kind of family. He loved her more than he ever loved anyone. More than he loved himself, or Sloan, and he was not sorry. She was the love of his life. His daughter, his baby, his everything. She was his Georgia.
When will you realise, Vienna waits for you.