It wasn’t even really about the dress.
It was about keeping a promise.
Ethan sat down beside me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he quietly said:
“You always told me that courage wasn’t about making people like you.”
I looked at him through my tears.
“You said courage was about doing the right thing even when everyone else was telling you not to.”
I couldn’t answer.
He looked down at the bracelet in my hand.
“So I wore the dress.”
My throat tightened.
“But why this?” I asked.
He took a breath.
“Because you gave me that promise before I could even understand what a promise was.”
He touched the bracelet gently.
“And I wanted you to know I remembered.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth.
The woman beside us was crying now.
She wasn’t the only one.
Across the row, another mother lowered her head and wiped her eyes.
