Marine Boyfriend Missed Prom, But She Found An Adorable Stand-In

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Senior prom is a memorable night, especially for high school seniors like Skylar Fontaine, 18, of New Orleans. It’s all about getting the perfect dress, the perfect photos and the perfect date. Fontaine had the dress, a lovely blue gown with floral embellishments at the waist and hem. Her “date” was perfectly adorable, too, though barely out of diapers, and the photos to mark the occasion are beyond sweet.

Fontaine’s boyfriend, Marine Pvt. Gage Moak, 19, couldn’t make it to the prom at her high school Saturday.

"We have been dating for a year," Fontaine told Patch in an email. "We went to the same high school together and met because we both played soccer. When I realized he wouldn’t be home for prom I had mixed emotions. I was upset, but at the same time, I support him 100 percent and I’m willing to deal with him being away, because he’s the one making the ultimate sacrifice. I have been with him through his entire process of becoming a Marine, and that has given us a special bond. "

Then she hit on an idea that would strengthen their love and appreciation for family. The Marine's brother, 2-year-old Clay Moak Jr., stepped in for pre-prom photos. He looked just like a Marine in dress blues, right down to the red pin stripe on the leg of his trousers.

She thought the photos "would be a sweet gesture" since he is "a family man and sentimental." Clay adores his older brother and "wants to be just like" him, Fontaine said.

She and Clay are very close and "he is like my own little brother," Fontaine said. The little tyke always greets her with a hug, and Fontaine said she would "do anything to protect him."

Fontaine posted the photos on her Twitter account, where she has received "amazing feedback from our friends and family."

But it wasn't all positive. Some people called Fontaine out for taking a 2-year-old to a more adult event.

"I didn’t actually bring him to prom," she said. "That’s the misconception that many people are having. We just took pictures together, then my friends and I headed out."

The detractors, she said on Twitter, were “making my sweet post to be something it’s not.”

“I’ve seen this child grow up,” she tweeted. “He is a sweetheart and he wants to be like his big brother. You’re missing the point. Stop making this sexualized. Y’all are nasty.”

Fontaine said her motivation was simple.

“I did this for my loving boyfriend who misses his family that he’s been away from for the past 6 months,” she tweeted. “That’s all I care about. He is missing seeing his little brother grow up. The least I can do is something like this for him, for the sacrifice he is making.”

Photos courtesy of Skylar Fontaine