“You’re going to that prom, my baby. One way or another,” I lied, giving her and myself false hope.
Carol looked at me for a long moment, and something passed behind her eyes that I couldn’t quite read. Then she nodded and reached for my hand.
My heart broke every time I watched her grow weaker after each round of chemotherapy.
That night, after she fell asleep, I noticed she’d tucked another folded letter into the back of her journal.
Two days before prom, another round of chemotherapy made Carol feel even worse.
I drove her back to the hospital with shaking hands while she rested her cheek against the cool window. She didn’t say much; she didn’t have to.
My daughter was admitted for the night, then the next, then indefinitely.
“I won’t make it, will I, Mom?” Carol whispered from the bed.
I sat beside her and smoothed her thin hair back from her forehead.
“You’re going to make it to plenty of proms, baby. This is just a delay.”
She turned her face toward the wall.
The following evening, I was rinsing out Carol’s water cup at the little sink in her room when Nurse Jenny appeared in the doorway with a strange look on her face.
“Linda, honey,” she said. “Can you step into the hallway for a second? Just for a minute.”
I dried my hands and followed her out, assuming it was paperwork or worse.
I stepped through the door and froze.
The hallway was full of teenagers!
Boys in rented suits with crooked ties. Girls in long dresses with sneakers peeking out from underneath.
They were holding pizza boxes, foil pans, a stack of plastic cups, and Mylar balloons in soft pink and silver. One girl, Megan, clutched a pitcher of lemonade against her chest as if it were something holy.
A small Bluetooth speaker hung from Daryl’s wrist.
“Mrs. Linda,” Megan said, stepping forward. “We talked to Dr. Patel. She said it was okay. We wanted to bring prom to Carol.”
I covered my mouth. I couldn’t speak!
“You did all this?” I finally managed.
“For weeks,” Daryl said quietly. “We’ve been planning it for weeks.”
I tried to thank them, but my voice cracked. Jenny squeezed my shoulder and motioned them toward Carol’s door.
I followed them in.
When Carol looked up and saw her friends crowded into the doorway in their prom clothes, she let out a sound I’ll never forget! Half a sob, half a laugh, all disbelief!
“You guys,” my daughter whispered, bursting into tears.
Megan climbed onto the bed and helped Carol into the sparkly top she’d brought, sliding it right over her hospital gown.
