At 6, I Promised My Best Friend We’d Go to Prom Together—12 Years Later, Mom Set One Condition.

Ethan became obsessed with baseball.

I became obsessed with art.

He tried teaching me batting averages.

I dragged him through museums.

Neither of us successfully converted the other.

Then, when we were twelve—

my parents divorced.

That was the year everything in our house became quieter.

Dad moved into an apartment across Bellmere.

Mom cried when she thought I couldn’t hear her.

I pretended I didn’t notice.