“You deserve a beautiful night, baby.”
“What if it’s a joke, Mama?”
“Then we’ll know who he is. But you’ll still know who you are.”
After that, she pulled an old dress from the back of her closet and stayed up for two nights altering it by hand beneath the kitchen lamp.
When Caleb came to pick me up on prom night, he held out a corsage. His hands were trembling slightly. I noticed.
“You look beautiful, Hannah.”
“Thank you.”
In the car, he barely spoke. He kept glancing down at his phone, then placing it face down on his leg. I told myself he was nervous. I told myself a lot of things.
The gym was bright, loud, and filled with faces staring at us.
Caleb took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. He danced with me like he meant every second of it, eyes on mine, ignoring the whispers rising around us like a wave.
