She assisted me in putting on my gown.
“I’m not able to dance anyway.”
She stepped near me. “You are still allowed to take up space in a room.”
Those words stung, mainly because she recognized exactly how I was coping since the crash. Fading away even though I was physically present.
So, I attended.
She got me settled in my dress. She helped me into my wheelchair. She guided me inside the school gym, where I wasted the first sixty minutes sitting by the bleachers acting like everything was okay.
Classmates approached me in small groups.
“You appear stunning.”
“It’s wonderful that you showed up.”
“Let’s snap a photo together.”
After that, they slowly wandered back to the music. Back to moving around. Back to their regular routines.
That was when Jude strolled over.
He paused right before my chair and gave a warm smile.
“Hi.”
