Gerald walked over to the house where he lived for awhile back. He’s been dreading coming back here and being addressed by them; but he couldn’t keep it up for long, especially now that they’ve been together for a month now.

He knocked on the door, and it was her mother who answered the door. “Gerald,” she had the maternal look in her eyes. “Come on in, Kim will be down in a minute.”

“Thanks, Tita. I can still call you that, right?” He asked, stepping into the kitchen.

She laughed, “Yes, you can, Gerald.” She went back to cooking. “I know you’ve been spending a lot of time Kim.”

He nodded. “Yes, she said it was okay.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m not worried.” She answered.

“Tita, what happened before…it’ll never happen again.” He assured her.

Lilly cleared . “That’s not what I’m concerned about. I don’t have to tell you that you and Kim are different. You’re older, not by much, but you are older. You’ve encountered many things, which you also put in my daughter’s way…”

He looked down, “You don’t have to remind me.”

“She’s had a lot to deal with…”

“Because of me,” he finished for her.

Lilly’s expression was all serious. “She’s graduating soon, Ge. She’s just starting out in life.”

“I know. I think about it a lot sometimes.”

“Good, because when it comes to you, Ge, she’s just like any other young woman in love. You’re all she can see of tomorrow. Her head will be in all sorts of places and there’s going to be some hard choices ahead…if she can’t make them, you’re going to have to.” She explained. “I know you care about her, I know you love her. There’s no doubt about that. I just hope you care enough.”

***first person narrative***

I walked down the stairs when I heard the little speech my mother made. “Mom! The only person who’ll be making my decisions is me.” I grabbed Gerald’s hands. “Lets’ go.”

We usually walked everywhere together. “I can’t believe her! She’s unbelievable, telling you those things.”

“But she’s right, Kim. You are starting out in life, hard decisions surrounding…college, university, jobs.”

“I’m not exactly getting excited about all those decisions, but you don’t have to worry about it.” He led us to the door to his apartment.

I went in first, and it looked exactly what I thought it’d look like. “Your organization is a bit creepy.” I joked, sitting on his bed.

“So…” he went over to his desk, and saw that there was a letter Isabelle forwarded to him.

I ran up to him, and put my arms around his torso, resting my chin on his shoulder. “What’s that?”

I watched him open it, “I got in.” He mumbled.

“Got in where?” I looked at the sheet of paper in his hand and read it. “‘Congratulations! We are happy to tell you that you have been in accepted to attend this summer’.” I grabbed the sheet of paper and went in front of him. “I didn’t you applied to University! This is great, I’m so proud of you!” I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He held me tight also. “Kim,” he started. “It’s this summer.”

“I know, I didn’t even know you applied anywhere. But I thought college usually starts in the fall; or at least I do at NYU.” I said, joining him on the sofa in the corner of the room.

He sighed, “There were a couple of classes I needed for the program and that I could make up for it in summer school.”

I was beginning to understand what he was saying. “It’s May, almost June…so I’m guessing that means that you’re leaving soon.”

He took my hand, “No prom.”

“No prom,” I repeated.

“I’m sorry, babe.” He kissed my cheek.

I shook my head, “Its okay. I mean it’s just prom. You have school.” I smiled. “You always wanted to get back to a normal life, this is it.”

“You’re killing me, Kim. I know you’re upset, just talk to me.”

I stood up and looked down at him. “I’m not upset.” He raised his eye brows at me. “I’m not. Disappointed, but I’m not angry. I can’t be. This is what you wanted, you always wanted to go to college, get your degree finish school and get a career. I can’t ask you to give that up for a dance.” I laughed. “A dance you didn’t even want to go to. Listen, you’re going to go school, and I’m going to go to prom; and we’ll be thinking about each other the whole time, right?”

He stood up also, and put his hands on my neck, “There’s no one else who’ll be on my mind.” Leaning down, he kissed my lips.

“I better be.” I smiled. “So when are you leaving?”

Gerald checked the letter of acceptance, “Well it says by the second week of June, which means I’ll have to leave in a couple of days.” He noticed my reaction. “What’s wrong? What are you thinking? It drives me insane when I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“I just got you back. And now you’re leaving me again.” I smiled as a tear fell. “It’s okay though, you have to go. I knew this was coming soon. If you weren’t leaving, I’d be leaving you behind soon. You’ll call me, right? Everyday? E-mails, text; the whole nine yards?”

He laughed, and hugged me, kissing the top of my head. “Yes, the whole nine yards and more. I promise. No more goodbye talking, okay? We still have a few more days together.”

Kim and Erich were in the mall looking for prom dresses. It was a week before prom and Gerald had left a couple days before. “So he’s not even willing to come back for your prom?”

I rolled my eyes, “No. I told him not to. His studies already started, and I don’t want to interrupt it. And prom is just one night, so it doesn’t even matter.”

Erich held up a blue halter own, and Kim shook her head, “Well, he’ll be missing out because the dress you bought was GORGEOUS.”

“You know, if we can’t find a dress for you, you can just wear mine. The store didn’t have a refund or exchange policy on their couture line, so…”

“Wait a minute, are you saying you’re not going to prom?”

I shrugged, “I bought the dress months ago and now that Gerald’s not going, I don’t exactly feel like spending another night alone.”

“But you won’t be alone,” she assured me. “Look, prom isn’t just a couple’s dance. It marks the ending of an era,” she chuckled. “It’s our last night as true high school students, our last adventure together before we hit the real world. You spend it with the people you know, everyone.”

“You’re right. But you have A.J, Mel has Matt. Beauty and Empress both have dates. All of you will be on the dance floor, and I’m going to be sitting on the sidelines watching. That’s not my idea of spending my last high school night.” Erich still had a sore face on. “I know what I’m doing. I’ve thought about it. I’m okay, really. I’ll be spending the night on the phone with my boyfriend, he promised he’d call.”

She sighed and linked arms with me, “Sweetie, if you don’t go to prom, I don’t want to, either. We’re a packaged deal since fourth grade.”

“You have to go.” I said pulling away from her and taking a hanger off the rack. “Because this dress will look amazing on you and A.J. won’t be able to take mouth off of the ground.” I shoved it in her hand. “I’ve accepted my fate, my decision. Go to prom and have the perfect night. You’re going to regret it if you don’t.”

Erich hesitated, but smiled and took the dress from my hands.

The clock struck eight and prom was already taking place. I walked down the stairs in my pajamas and took a seat on the couch with my Dad and a bowl full of popcorn. “Aren’t you supposed to be leaving the house in a gown that might be too revealing for your father?”

I laughed, “I’m not going to prom.”

“That’s every father’s dream. Prom night and eighteen year old daughters, adding raging hormones and an empty hotel room. You’re fulfilling it.” He said, putting an arm around me.

“I figured to spend the night on the couch with my dad watching black and white movies the entire night. And dancing isn’t really my thing,” I lied.

He nodded, “Ahhh, so this has nothing to do with a boy who is thousands of miles away studying and couldn’t make it tonight?”

“He called.” I said. “He has a test tomorrow and three papers due. I told him to take the night off as boyfriend duty.”

“How noble, but does he know what he’s making you do? What he’s making you miss?”

I sighed, “I don’t want to spend the night as a third wheel to all my taken friends. I came to terms with my decision, dad. I’m fine.”

He smiled. “Do you know when I met your mother?” He’s never told me this story before. “We went to high school together, but she was a cheerleader and I happened to be in book club.”

I laughed, “Daddy, you were in book club?”

“It was cool!” He defended. “Anyways, your mother and I had dates already. But come prom night, I was in my black suit and your mother was in this amazing dress. It was sparkly red, a deep V in the back, and the skirt just flowed down like water. She looked like an angel. My date looked like a clown compared to her; everyone looked like a clown compared to her.” I smiled. “Anyways, I spent most of the night trying to get her attention. When I finally did, we had the best conversation. We just met formally, but talking to her was so natural.”

“Dad, you’re not really making me feel better about not going to prom.” I interrupted.

He nodded. “At the end of the night, she told me she wasn’t supposed to be here. She never had any intentions of going to prom. But, she was so glad she did. I remember her telling me that if she wasn’t at prom, she would’ve missed one of the best nights of her life – the night she met me. My point is, that whether or not you have someone to share it with, prom is an unforgettable night that you should not miss. It’s not a night where you spend it with your date – face it, your date’s just bringing you there – but it’s a night where you allow new possibilities to come. It’s the night where your future starts. And do you want to spend the beginning of your future in sweat pants on the couch with your dad watching old films? You not being there is making a lot of people miserable, including yourself.”

“It’s already late. And as you said, I don’t have a date to bring me there,” I laughed.

“Will it be a little cliché if your daddy was your date?”

I smiled, “I’d love that.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thanks, daddy.”

“Your welcome, baby girl.” He kissed my forehead.

I looked at myself

He drove me to the hall, and I walked in alone to the flashing lights. I saw my group of friends sitting at their table and I walked over to them.

“You came!” Erich jumped up and hugged me. “I thought you didn’t want to come, I thought you accepted your decision.”

I smiled, “Someone of wise estate told me I couldn’t miss the beginning of my future. And I couldn’t leave you guys,” I hugged her.

After an hour or two, the DJ turned it over to couples hour. I persuaded everyone else to go enjoy the night, and I’d be fine. I missed him so much. I wanted him to be here with me.

I saw Alessandra and I walked over to her. “Hey.”

“Hi. Couples hour, huh? How rude for the rest of us.” She commented.

“Yeah. I didn’t think you’d come to prom.” I told her.

She sighed, “I wasn’t supposed to, but this is our last night as a high school student. Despite recent events, I’ve had some extremely amazing with these people in this school. Coming was my way of honoring it.”

“Well, you’re not the only without a date.”

“What’s his name couldn’t make it?”

I shook my head. “He has school. Its weird, I always thought that me and Jake were going to go to prom together.” Alessandra dropped her head. “He should’ve been here…with you, of course.”

She laughed. “Thanks. So your boyfriend isn’t coming?”

“I gave him a night off, so I don’t think so.”

“Who knew that we’d actually be talking after everything, huh?”

“Yeah, who knew. Sometimes people surprise you.” My eyes scanned the whole dance floor, a glimpse of what could’ve been.

“Sometimes,” she nudged me.

My eyes turned to where she was staring and I was completely surprised. “Thanks,” I whispered to her and walked towards him smiling. “Here I was thinking I wasn’t going to get my share of couple’s hour.” He smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“I got a phone call saying that I should be a good boyfriend and surprise my girlfriend at the prom.” He looked me up and down, “Who puts everyone else here to shame.” He brought me close to him, and whispered in my hair, “You look amazing.” He kissed my hand, “Would you give me the honor of this dance?”

I laughed, “I thought you’d never ask.”

He led us to the dance floor. “So who exactly called you?” I asked him while I was in his arms.

“Let’s just say that you have a lot of loyal friends and family.” I looked over to Erich, Mel, Beauty and Empress who were all staring at me. “How did I do? Did I pass the boyfriend test?”

“I love you,” I said.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, “I love you, too.”

After a couple more songs, he led me outside to the candle-lit gazebo. “Listen, I brought you out here because I want to say that I have to leave soon, later tonight.”

“I know, back to school, back to reality.” I said. “Thanks for coming tonight, though. It means a lot. Made me love you even more,” I kissed his unshaven cheek.

We spent the next hour or so just walking around under the moonlight, remembering and planning what’s to come. Before we knew it, I was dropping him off to the subway. “Thanks for coming back for my prom. It made it a really unforgettable night.”

He cupped my face in his hands, and kissed me. “There’s something I want to give you.” He took me to the side and looked at me. “There is no one in the world that I’d rather be with than you. You are my rock, my love, my life.” I smiled. “And I have this to show you how much you mean to me.” He took out a small ring with a green emerald in the middle. “If I could, I’d propose,” he chuckled, “But something tells me that won’t be acceptable. So I’m giving you this ring as a promise that one day I will put another ring on your finger.”

We saw the train coming and it was time for him to leave. “Call me when you get there?” I asked.

He nodded, “I’m going to think about you the entire time. I’ll miss you and I love you.”

“Love you, too,” I reached up and kissed him. “Bye.”