I pressed a powder blue V-neck against my torso, eyeing the Banana Republic mirror to approximate the fit. “Amazing on you,” the salesperson purred, locking my eyes. Then she glanced at Matt, instantly realizing she was barking up the wrong tree; two men of a certain age apparel-shopping together. The shade of her fiery red hair was unforgettable; my face evidently played games with her memory, too. “Wait . . . DON?! Oh my god it’s Vicki!” My internal time machine reset to senior prom, 1985. I introduced my former date to my current husband, a quiet revelation forty years in the making.
Don Lariviere is an aspiring novelist and memoirist, a husband, dog dad, sometimes funny, always improving, living the dream of writing by the ocean in Mexico. “Prom Queens” is the Editor’s Pick for our THEN I REMEMBERED WHERE I HAD SEEN THAT FACE BEFORE contest, part of our 2026 Micromemoir Marathon.