Apparently Nathan objected.
“Dad said that’s what it’s called.”
So Father Michael compromised.
He told me the final plan.
Nathan would walk me to Daniel, shake Daniel’s hand, hug me, and then sit beside Mom.
Nathan wrote the sequence down.
He practiced that too.
Whenever anyone brought up a doubt, he said the same two words.
“I practiced.”
Mom worried he might get overwhelmed by the crowd.
“I practiced.”
Uncle Patrick wondered if the music might throw off his timing.
“I practiced.”
Daniel asked whether he wanted someone beside him in case he forgot where to sit.
Nathan frowned.
“I practiced.”
Everybody said yes.
My mom cried.
Daniel said it was the only version of the day that made sense.
And for a while, that was that.
Then, three weeks later, Daniel’s mother brought it up at dinner.
