“Dude, what is he doing?”
A woman near the aisle covered her mouth, but I could still see her laughing.
Someone else said,
“This has to be a joke.”
I wanted to stand up.fel
I wanted to turn around and tell every person in that gym exactly what they were laughing at.
But Eli had made me promise I wouldn’t.
So I stayed seated.
And watched my son keep walking.
His shoulders were straight.
His eyes remained fixed on the stage.
He didn’t look embarrassed.
He didn’t look angry.
If anything, he looked calmer than I did.
When the principal called his name, Eli climbed the steps, shook his hand, accepted his diploma, and turned toward the audience.
For one terrible second, the laughter grew louder.
Then Eli looked directly at me.
And started walking down the center aisle.
That was when I knew he was about to do something he hadn’t told me about.
