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

Mom’s voice cracked.

“I asked Noah to promise he’d look after you.”

I stared at her.

“You… what?”

“I was falling apart, Chrissy. Your father had left, you barely spoke to me, and Noah was the only person who seemed able to reach you.”

I froze.

“I asked Noah to promise he’d look after you.”

Mom wiped her cheek.

“He said, ‘Okay.’ Just like that.”

Downstairs, Noah laughed again.

Mom looked toward the door.

“And then I did something I’m ashamed of.”

“What?”

“For six years, I worried you were sacrificing too much for him,” she admitted.

I went still.

“I did something I’m ashamed of.”

 

 

 

Nobody applauded us.

We were simply two 18-year-olds dancing badly together.

***

Afterward, Mom waited outside.

Noah carried my heels because my feet hurt.

I carried his jacket because he was feeling hot.

At the car, he opened my door.