An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny

Schroff invites Maurice to spend Christmas with her family, making this the first real Christmas he has ever enjoyed in his young life. Most Christmas, Maurice tells Schroff, he just goes to the Salvation Army for the free cooked meal and the one present he is allowed to pick from the box. Last Christmas, he selected a white stuffed teddy bear.

Maurice is delighted by the tree, and Schroff makes him write a list for Santa even though Maurice laughs at the idea. He tells her that he knows what Christmas is, but how for kids like him, Christmas usually means being on the outside looking in—watching and wondering about everything other people have.

On Christmas day, Maurice receives the item he wanted most, a remote-controlled car, from Schroff, as well as plenty of gifts from the rest of her family. They go to Annette’s home, where Maurice marvels at their even larger tree and giant Christmas dinner. At the end of the night, Maurice asks if he can keep his toys at Schroff’s apartment in order to protect them. Maurice thanks her and says the day was a dream come true for him. This exchange prompts Schroff to reflect on a dream of hers that didn’t come true, the dream of a happy marriage and a family of her own. She recalls her short-lived marriage to Kevin, who was unfaithful and dumped her over the phone. Her divorce left her shattered and distrustful, unable to look at relationships in the same way again.

Schroff recalls the slow and painful death of her mother, who had uterine cancer. Her mother beat cancer the first go around, but the cancer returned the same weekend Schroff got the call from Kevin about the dissolution of their marriage. Schroff immediately moved home to be with her mother and to take care of her during her slow but steady decline.

Taking care of her mother became a full-time job, and the family had to come together in a way they never did before. Even though Frank was away in the military, the rest of the siblings took turns keeping their mother company, administering medicine, and just doing all they could to bring her peace. Steven, the youngest, sang and played music for his mother as she lay in bed, dying.

Schroff’s mother wanted to remain at home in the end, but medical interventions were required when she fell into a sudden coma. At first when she awoke from the coma, she railed and cried, saying she didn’t want to be moved to the hospital. But then a sense of peace settled over her. Suddenly she seemed improved, which shocked her physicians. In a calm and lucid tone, she called her husband and children to her. She told them that she loved them each in turn. She also told them they made her proud, they would be okay, and that they would lead happy lives. Then she fell asleep and did not wake back up.

The experience was bittersweet for the author. It was a touching final moment with her mother, but the grief was intense. From then on, she imagined her mother with her, looking over her as a guardian angel. It was her mother, Schroff thought, that led her to Maurice.

Schroff decides to teach Maurice how to cook, starting with the process of them making a cake from scratch together. It is a completely new experience for him and an eye opening one. Schroff hopes this life skill will make it easier for him to regularly have access to food, knowing how it is prepared.

In this chapter, Schroff also recounts a day when Maurice showed up at her apartment unexpectedly and in tears. His mother had been arrested for drug dealing and was at Riker’s Island, New York’s main prison. For the first time, Maurice truly opens up to Schroff about his mother—about her addiction, about the theft she would engage in to feed her addiction, and about her selling the food stamps to buy drugs so there was never food in the house. During this conversation, Schroff feels it is her place to just listen, not to pass judgment.

Darcella is still in jail when Maurice’s birthday rolls around, so Maurice and Schroff celebrate together. They go to Annette’s house to have cake and sing happy birthday with her family. Then Schroff takes Maurice to fulfill his birthday wish of watching Wrestle Mania. 

When Schroff’s sister sets her up on a blind date with a wealthy, successful professional named Michael, her life begins to change in unexpected ways. After having Maurice as the center of her world and affection for so long, suddenly a new person takes precedence in her life. She and Michael travel on a two-week excursion on his boat, causing Schroff to miss two Mondays with Maurice. Eventually she and Michael move into together. Their new house in the suburbs puts her at greater distance from Maurice. Changes occur in Maurice’s life too, including a move, but it is to a smaller and dingier apartment with his grandmother after his mother is arrested for drug dealing yet again and is set away to serve another jail sentence. His beloved bike, a present from Schroff, is stolen. He and Schroff do not celebrate Thanksgiving together at Annette’s as they have for so many years past because Annette is en route to a new home in Florida. When Christmas comes, Schroff spends it with Michael and has a separate outing with Maurice. Michael proposes and Schroff accepts, but she is devastated to find out that Michael objects to Maurice being at their wedding. In hindsight, Schroff realizes she should’ve stood her ground and said that Maurice’s presence at the ceremony was non-negotiable. Instead, she gave in and felt a terrible absence without him there.