e buried him, I felt like life had not just taken my husband. It had sent me the bill too.
But I couldn’t stand the thought of Lisa losing one more thing.
She had already lost her father. Her easy smile. Her last carefree year of high school. I didn’t want her to lose prom, too.
There was only one thing I had left that anyone would pay real money for.
My hair.
Twenty-two inches of thick blonde hair I hadn’t cut short in years. My husband used to call me Rapunzel. He would stand behind me while I brushed it and say, “Do not ever cut this. It is unfair to the rest of us.”
“No,” I said. “But do it anyway.”
The first cut sounded louder than it should have.
Snip.
I kept my hands locked together under the cape. I told myself not to cry. It was hair. It would grow back. It was not a limb. It was not my marriage. It was not my husband.
But when she turned the chair and I saw all that missing length, something inside me buckled.
When I brought it home, Lisa stared at the box like she couldn’t believe it was real.
“Mom,” she whispered. “What is this?”
She pulled the dress out and just froze.
Then she looked up at me. “How?”
I had already decided to lie badly.
“I picked up some extra shifts. I sold a few things.”
Her eyes narrowed a little, like she knew that wasn’t the whole truth, but then she hugged the dress to her chest. She didn’t question my haircut, She was too happy about the dress.
“It’s the exact one,” she said.
“I know.”
She threw her arms around me so hard I almost lost my balance.
“Thank you,” she said into my shoulder. “Thank you.”
Prom night came, and I was a wreck.
I sat in the audience with the other parents for the grand march, waiting for the students to come out. I kept checking my phone even though I knew she was backstage. My hands would not stop shaking. I thought it was just nerves.
Then her name was announced.
Lisa walked onto the stage.
And I swear the whole room went still.
She wasn’t wearing the dress.
She had on jeans. Her old boots. The faded jacket she wore when she did not care how she looked.
At first I thought something had happened. The zipper broke. Someone spilled something on it. She got scared and changed. I did not know. I only knew my chest felt like it had caved in.
Then Lisa stepped to the microphone.
“Hi,” she said, and her voice shook. “I need everybody to listen for a minute.”
There were some awkward laughs. Then silence.
She looked out into the crowd until she found me.
That was when I knew this was about me.
She swallowed hard and said, “My mom is sitting out there right now, and she is probably wondering why I showed up looking like this.”
A few people turned toward me. I wanted the floor to open.
Lisa kept going.
