He reminded me of that lesson whenever life became difficult.
High school, unfortunately, wasn’t always kind.
There was a girl named Amber who seemed to think popularity gave her permission to hurt people.
She was intelligent, confident, and relentlessly cruel.
For months, she made comments about my family.
“Who’s taking you to prom?”
“Do you even have a date?”
Then one day she laughed and said, “Maybe you’ll have to bring your grandfather.”
I didn’t answer.
But I remembered her words.
When prom season finally arrived, everyone at school was obsessed with dates, dresses, limousines, and photographs.
I wasn’t.
I already knew who I wanted beside me.
One afternoon, I walked into Grandpa’s room.
He was wearing an old sweater and reading the newspaper.
“Grandpa?”
He looked up.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“Do you remember that promise you made when I was little?”
He smiled.
“Which one?”
“You said you’d take me to prom.”
His smile disappeared.
He looked down at his wheelchair.
