Mark promised to attend.

He even sent a text asking whether the assembly started at two or two-thirty.

I replied with the exact time, parking instructions, and the name of the school entrance.

At one forty-five, I sat in the second row, saving the chair next to me.

Other parents filled the hall with damp umbrellas and winter coats.

Tommy appeared behind the curtain, scanned the audience, and lifted one hand in a tiny wave.

I smiled and waved back.