Every day, Max came home with stories of his many friends. His mother would hide her tears of gratitude: all these years and they’d finally found a school where kids weren’t cruel about Max’s facial anomalies.
The week of his tenth birthday, she sent him to school with invitations.
He returned home, head drooped, holding the cards. “I lied. I just didn’t want you to have to change jobs again.”
He embraced his mother as she wept. “It’s okay, Mom. All you need is one great friend in this world, and I have mine.”