I took my grandfather in his wheelchair to prom after he raised me alone. When a classmate made fun of him, what he said into the microphone silenced the entire gymnasium.

“I think you deserved a dance.”

***

The long-awaited end-of-year ball arrived last Friday.

The school gymnasium had been transformed with fairy lights everywhere, a DJ in one corner, and the whole room smelled as if someone had gone a little overboard with the floral arrangements.

I was wearing a dark blue dress that I had found in a consignment shop downtown and had altered myself. Grandfather was wearing a navy blue suit, freshly pressed, with a pocket square that I had cut out of the same fabric as my dress so that we would match.

When I pushed his wheelchair through the gym doors, people turned around.

The long-awaited prom took place last Friday.

A few students began to whisper, softly at first, then louder. Some looked surprised. Others looked genuinely moved. I looked up, smiled, and ushered us into the room.

I thought we had succeeded. For a moment, I really felt that we had.

For about 90 seconds, it was everything I had hoped for.

Then Amber noticed us. She said something to the girls next to her and all three of them walked towards us with a determined step, like people who had made a decision.

I raised my head, smiled, and pushed us into the room.

Amber looked grandfather up and down like you look at something you find amusing.

“Wow!” she said, loud enough for the circle of students that was forming around us. “Did the nursing home lose a patient?”

Some people laughed. Others remained very calm.

My hands tightened on the handles of the wheelchair.

“Amber… please… stop.”

She wasn’t finished. “The prom is for dates… not for charity work!”

“Has the nursing home lost a patient?”

More laughter followed. Someone nearby even took out their phone. I could feel anger rising in my face.

Then I felt the wheelchair move.

Grandfather slowly walked towards the DJ booth in the corner. The DJ saw him coming and, to his credit, lowered the music volume without being asked.

The gymnasium fell silent when Grandpa took the microphone.

He looked Amber straight in the eyes across the silent room and said, “Let’s see who’s going to embarrass whom.”