I laughed until my stomach hurt.
And every time we finished a song, he’d give a proud nod and say, “When your prom comes, I’ll be the most handsome date there.”
At the time, I thought it was just one of Grandpa’s jokes.
But life doesn’t always follow the plans we make.
Three years ago, Grandpa had a stroke.
I still remember the moment the doctor came into the hospital room and spoke quietly with me in the hallway. The stroke had paralyzed the right side of his body.
Walking again, they said gently, would likely never happen.
Grandpa survived.
But the man who once danced with me in the kitchen now needed a wheelchair to move across the room.
The first few months were hard. He hated needing help. He hated that I had to push him to doctor appointments or help him reach things on high shelves.
But even then, he never stopped being Grandpa.
He still asked about my grades.
He still sat through every school event.
He still cheered the loudest.
So when prom season arrived this year and everyone started talking about dresses and dates, something inside me felt obvious.
There was only one person I wanted to take.
Grandpa.
When I asked him, he stared at me like I’d just suggested we climb Mount Everest.
“Absolutely not,” he said immediately.
“Why not?” I asked.
He gestured toward the wheelchair.
“Because you deserve a real date,” he said quietly. “Not an old man people will stare at.”
I sat beside him and took his hand.
“You told me something when I was little,” I reminded him.
He frowned slightly.
