I don’t remember what started the conversation, but I remember the words.
“Nobody is ever going to marry you.”
Noah’s expression changed immediately.
Even at six, I understood enough to know that the comment had hurt him.
“Somebody will love him,” I snapped.
The other boy laughed.
“Then you marry him.”
The argument ended soon afterward, but Noah didn’t forget it.
Later, he found me by myself.
“Chrissy?”
“What?”
He looked unusually serious.
“Would you love me?”
At six years old, I had absolutely no understanding of how complicated that question might sound to an adult.
To me, love meant sitting together at lunch, sharing crayons, arguing about dinosaurs, and knowing which snacks the other person hated.
So I shrugged.
“Maybe.”
His face immediately brightened.
Then another thought occurred to me.
My older cousin had recently been talking endlessly about something called prom. From what I understood, it was an extremely important dance attended by people who were nearly adults.
