His voice cracked.
“Because I kept mine.”
The auditorium remained silent for several seconds.
Then someone stood.
It was the woman who had been sitting beside me.
She began clapping.
One person.
Then two.
Then five.
Within moments, the sound spread across the auditorium.
People stood row by row.
The applause grew louder.
Ethan looked stunned.
He looked at me as if he couldn’t quite believe what was happening.
I stood and wrapped my arms around him.
He held me tightly.
For the first time that night, he let himself cry.
I whispered into his ear.
“I am so proud of you.”
He squeezed me harder.
Then he whispered back:
“I know.”
We stayed there for a moment while nearly six hundred people applauded.
But not everyone stood.
Some people remained seated.
And I noticed one empty seat in particular.
His father’s.
Ethan noticed it too.
His smile disappeared for a moment.
