At 6, I Promised My Best Friend with Down Syndrome We’d Go to Prom Together – 12 Years Later, Mom Said I Could Go with Him Only on One Condition

halfway down the stairs when I saw Mom open the front door.

Her expression changed the second she looked at him.

Noah stood there smiling in his navy suit, his ridiculous bow tie perfectly straight.

In one hand was the corsage.

“What kind of flower is that?” I asked.

“Rosemary,” Noah said proudly.

“Why rosemary?”

“The florist said it means remembering.”

He grinned.

“And I remember promises.”

Behind me, Mom made a strange sound.

When I turned around, her eyes were wet.

“Mom?”

“Come upstairs.”

“What? Noah’s waiting.”

“I know.”