The prom deadline came closer.
Three weeks became two.
Then only ten days remained.
Tony continued counting his savings, but the total was never enough.
Eventually, he stopped speaking about the suit.
One Friday evening, Evan brought Uncle Ben’s old charcoal coat into Tony’s room.
“I think this might fit.”
Tony put it on.
The shoulders were far too broad.
The sleeves extended beyond his hands.
The coat seemed to swallow him.
Tony looked at himself in the mirror and forced a smile.
“It will work.”
Evan stared at his reflection.
“No,” he whispered. “It won’t.”
Tony carefully removed it.
“I appreciate it, Dad. It will be fine.”
That was the most painful part.
He never blamed us.
His kindness only made the guilt heavier.
The following afternoon, I was folding laundry while Evan repaired a loose cabinet hinge.
Tony was at work.
At approximately four o’clock, the front door opened.
“I’m in here,” Viki called.
She entered the living room carrying a velvet garment bag.
A soft knitted beanie was pulled low over her head, even though the weather was unusually warm.
“Aren’t you hot wearing that?” I asked.
She gave me a faint smile.
“I’ll survive.”
Something about her seemed different.
“What is in the bag?” Evan asked.
“It’s for Tony.”
She leaned it carefully against the sofa.
“Tell him to come in here when he gets home.”
An hour later, Tony returned from work looking exhausted.
Viki held out the garment bag.
“I believe this belongs to you.”
He unzipped it slowly.
Inside hung the exact midnight-blue suit he had admired online for weeks.
The suit he had saved photographs of.
The suit he had accepted he would never own.
Tears immediately filled his eyes.
“Aunt Viki, I…”
His voice disappeared.
“I can’t accept this.”
“You can,” she said gently. “It is yours.”
Evan stared at the expensive fabric.
Then he looked at his sister.
“Viki, how did you pay for this?”
She lowered her eyes.
Then she lifted both hands to the edge of her beanie.
A strange pressure formed inside my chest.
“Viki?” I whispered. “What happened?”
She slowly removed it.
I stopped breathing.
Tony gasped.
Evan simply stared at her.
Her beautiful dark waves were gone.
Every inch.
The woman who had spent her entire life carefully growing and protecting 28 inches of hair now stood before us completely bald.
Tony looked from her head to the suit.
“Aunt Viki,” he whispered. “Why?”
She folded the beanie carefully between her hands.
“I sold it.”
The words seemed to stop the room.
“I found a wigmaker who purchases long, healthy hair,” she explained. “He paid enough for me to buy the suit.”
Evan’s expression changed.
“You sold all your hair?”
She nodded.
“All 28 inches.”
He shook his head.
“No, Viki.”
His voice rose as tears appeared in his eyes.
“You should not have sacrificed something so important for one school dance.”
Viki remained calm.
“Do you understand how beautiful your hair was?” Evan continued.
“I know.”
“You cared for it your entire life.”
“I did.”
“You should have spoken to us.”
“We all knew you could not afford the suit.”
“We would have found another solution.”
“I could not let Tony miss this.”
Evan gestured toward the garment bag.
“Do you believe he will want to wear it after discovering what it cost you?”
“I won’t,” Tony said.
We all turned toward him.
Tears streamed down his face.
“I cannot wear it.”
He closed the garment bag and pushed it toward her.
“Take it back.”
“You worked extremely hard for this,” Viki said.
“So did you.”
His voice broke.
“I don’t deserve your hair.”
Viki took a slow breath.
Then she stepped closer to Evan and gently took his trembling hands.
“I was not going to keep it much longer anyway.”
Evan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Viki swallowed.
“I begin chemotherapy next week.”
