You can’t pick your days off in the Marines. Gage Moak found that out the hard way when he had to tell his girlfriend, Skylar Fontaine, that he would have to miss her prom. But Fontaine found a stand-in who could fill her boyfriend’s shoes while not making him jealous: his 2-year-old brother Clay Jr.
“I had seen a child Marine costume online somewhere and I thought it was absolutely precious,” Fontaine, 18, told PEOPLE. “I mentioned to his grandmother that it would be a great idea to take some pictures and send to Gage. It came together so perfectly!”
“He kept saying, ‘Cheese!’ and it was so funny,” Fontaine recalls. “He said, ‘Bubba is on a submarine!’ Because he doesn’t understand yet that he’s a Marine. He absolutely was the perfect stand-in.”
Despite the cute photo shoot, the event made those present emotional, thinking of the soldier who couldn’t be there.
“We all teared up. It was emotional — his parents, my parents, me and my friends,” Fontaine said. “We all got emotional.”
Get home soon, Marine. But until then, you’ve got a trustworthy fella looking out for your girl.
My boyfriend is a Marine and isn’t home to take me to my senior prom… so his little brother stepped in and took his place. Needless to say, this girl is so happy 😍💞 pic.twitter.com/7CT5KT0cYX
— dr phil stan🤠 (@idk_skylar) March 16, 2018