“You’re going to make it to plenty of proms, baby. This is just a delay.”
She turned her face toward the wall.
I drove her back to the hospital.
***
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.
“Can you step into the hallway for a second?”
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!
The hallway was full of teenagers!
“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.
