At 6, I Promised My Best Friend with Down Syndrome We’d Go to Prom Together – 12 Years Later, Mom Said I Could Go with Him Only on One Condition

When I turned, her eyes were wet.

“Mom?”

“Upstairs, Chrissy.”

This time she didn’t ask.

“And I remember promises.”

***

The second we entered my bedroom, she shut the door.

Then locked it.

“Okay, you’re scaring me, Mom.”

She faced me.

“You can go with Noah tonight, but only on one condition.”

Anger hit me before fear did.

“If this is about Noah having Down syndrome, I swear to God…”

“Okay, you’re scaring me, Mom.”

“No.”

“Because I’m 18, Mom.”

“I know.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“I know that too.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Mom pressed her lips together.

For several seconds, she couldn’t speak.

Finally, she sat on my bed.

“Do you remember the year your father left?”

The question caught me off guard.

“He’s my best friend.”

“What does Dad have to do with prom?”

“Nothing.”