seat.
My son’s seat for me.
The one he had saved from the beginning.
The audience applauded.
Not loudly at first.
Just a few people.
Then more.
Then dozens.
Then nearly the entire room.
I covered my mouth.
Trying not to cry.
Failing completely.
Daniel finally smiled.
The smile I remembered from when he was little.
The smile that appeared after every scraped knee, every difficult exam, every obstacle we survived together.
Then he did something nobody expected.
He walked back to the microphone.
The principal handed it to him.
