Then one afternoon he got a call from a talent buyer at Webster Hall who had been to our coffee shop concerts. The opening act for Rilo Kiley had gotten stuck in a snowstorm in Michigan, and the club needed someone to replace them. Could he perform that night, the guy wanted to know. The show started in five hours. He could bring his band, or go it alone, if they weren’t available. They’d tried everyone else, but it was a rough night. The club just needed someone to warm up the crowd, fill some time before the band went on.

When your father hung up the phone, it was the happiest I’d ever seen him. Though he tried to play it cool, he couldn’t stop grinning. His beautiful dimpled smile had taken over his face. It was like he’d been blessed by the rock gods. Like the most perfect gift imaginable had fallen into his lap.

“You and me, Queenie,” he said, not even bothering to ask the guys to change their plans. “Let’s do this together.”

I couldn’t say no to that grin, to that happiness. Plus, I loved being on stage with him. The two of us together in Webster Hall was the best way to spend a Saturday night I could imagine.

We put together a set list, some songs he’d written, some covers that had a similar vibe, and I put on a pair of faux-leather pants with a tight black tank top and heels—high enough to look sexy but low enough that I could stand in them while I played. My hair was full and wavy, cascading down past my shoulders. I braided the top half in a crown and left the rest loose.

“God,” he said when he saw me. “How did I get so lucky?”

I kissed him hard, raking my fingers down his back as I told him I loved him.

I haven’t been on a stage in a while, but there’s nothing like it. When it’s working, when the audience is into you, the air feels electric. It’s like everyone’s consciousness has somehow connected in that room, like we’re all riding one big wave of emotion that rises and falls and crashes with the music.

That’s what it was like that night. It was perfection. It was your father’s dream become a reality. His energy fueled the whole room.