Ben and I drove to his house and went through the same photo ritual with his mother. She had us pose in front of her rose bushes, on the bench in the backyard, by the oak tree—in front of, basically anything that would look remotely pretty in the background of a picture. Even though Ben and I were getting anxious to leave, we continued to smile and pose dutifully.
Finally, after almost a half-hour of photos, we were set free and left for prom. It was being held on a riverboat in the city of Pittsburgh. The riverboat was set to cruise the three rivers of Pittsburgh for four hours while everyone danced, ate, celebrated, and enjoyed the city’s beautiful skyline. Driving through Pittsburgh, I stared out the window at all the sights I was unfamiliar with. Ben was comfortable in the city;
