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

When Maurice doesn’t show, Schroff decides she has to take matters into her own hands. She has to meet his mother and get her permission. It becomes increasingly clear to Schroff that she is fulfilling a maternal role in Maurice’s life, and this means she is encroaching on another woman’s territory. She decides she needs to meet this woman, speak to her, and learn more about who she is. Figuring it is best not to go alone to a notoriously dangerous welfare hotel, Schroff and her friend Lisa go in search of Darcella.

Darcella’s history is detailed in this chapter—her youthful beauty, her fondness for singing and making up little ditties on the spot to please her children, and her long-term battle with addiction. For all of his young life, Maurice watched his mother mainline heroin, and he was quite familiar with the paraphernalia. He would watch his mother inject the drug. To him, it seemed that she found peace, so perhaps the drug wasn’t so bad. When his mother needs to shoot up in public, he joined his sisters in making a little makeshift wall around her so passersby wouldn’t notice her injecting herself with heroin. Maurice knew that his mother scored drugs by having strange men come and go from their apartment during all hours of the night. Sometimes this would all just be a set-up, arranged by his uncles, who would knock out the strange men and rob them of all their drugs and their money. Working as an occasional informant for the police helped Darcella stay safe from arrest, but it also cost her. On one occasion, dealers broke both of her legs. Darcella got clean for a short time when she went to an inpatient rehab to beat her dependency on heroin. But then her brother showed up at the apartment with something new—coke for her to smoke. In no time, Darcella became a crack addict as well as a crack dealer.

When Schroff catches up with Darcella, Maurice’s mother is too high to form words and stand properly. She answers the door but doesn’t look at Schroff. Instead, her eyes roll back in her head, and she slumps down in the doorway. An older woman appears, who Schroff realizes must be Rose. Schroff introduces herself as Maurice’s friend and asks if Maurice has mentioned her. Rose says he has and then gives her permission for Schroff to drive him to the baseball game. The next day, Maurice appears at Schroff’s building, ready to go see baseball, but he asks Schroff to promise that she’ll never go back to his building, no matter what.

This chapter details the history of Schroff’s family, which in some ways is not so different than Maurice’s own troubled origins. The author begins this history by contemplating what makes a mother be deemed unfit. Darcella is clearly unfit, but Schroff wonders what forces in a woman’s life make her neglect children. Schroff tells the story of her own great grandmother, who had to raise seven children on her own while her husband fought and died in the war. Two of her children were taken from her, placed in boarding schools. When her mother fell ill and the author’s great grandmother also had to take on the responsibility of eldercare, one of her children fell into a well and drowned. As a result, she was again deemed an unfit mother, and social services placed another child in a boarding school. Eventually, Schroff’s great grandmother was able to connect with a relative and get passage to America along with all her children, including those she had to win back from their designated schools.

Schroff’s paternal grandmother’s life was also not without heartache and suffering that impacted her ability to mother her young. She met and married a man who turned out to be emotionally abusive to her and her child, refusing to allow her to sing or for the children to speak unless spoken to. Showing affection was a sign of weakness, according to the author’s grandfather. This inculcated sadness and rage in the author’s father, who became abusive himself. Although he never hit his daughters, he often beat his eldest son and wife and became verbally abusive after he’d been drinking.

Schroff’s co-workers are initially baffled and even worried about her deepening bond with Maurice. They worry that she will end up the victim of violence or some kind of scam, and that law enforcement will step in to try and make sense of her intense relationship with a child that isn’t hers. They eventually come around to accept Schroff’s unconventional friendship. They hear stories and even meet Maurice, and he becomes a part of their life as well. Some co-workers donate hand-me-down clothes for Maurice to wear.

Maurice complains about the doorman disrespecting him when Schroff is out of earshot or eye range, so Schroff talks with the doorman and makes it clear that Maurice is a friend. One Saturday, Maurice shows up at her building, apologizing but saying he’s hungry because he hasn’t eaten since Thursday. This makes Schroff wonder about how he fares on all the days they aren’t together, and she decides to start packing him lunches for school or to eat at home. Maurice is delighted, especially when she promises to pack it in a brown paper bag with his name on it. This, he says, will be a clear sign that someone cares about him.

When back-to-school night rolls around, Maurice asks Schroff if she will go. She is hesitant, again feeling like she’s overstepping her boundaries and taking on the maternal role in his life. But she goes all the same, and there she meets his teacher, Miss House. Miss House tells Schroff Maurice talks about her often and that Schroff seems to be impacting his life in a positive way. Still, Maurice never does his homework, is often angry in the classroom setting, and misses days or even weeks of school at a time. Miss House asks for Schroff’s help in getting Maurice to school and on time. Schroff decides that a serious talking to is in order, and she proceeds to lecture Maurice about the importance of attendance and punctuality. In the middle of this lecture, Maurice begins to break down and cry. He doesn’t know what time it is usually, he confesses, because there’s no clock in his house. Schroff feels terrible, seeing his tears, and she decides all he needs is an alarm clock and a commitment to get to school where his teacher is waiting for him to succeed.

Schroff’s memories of her own childhood include many pleasant ones enjoying outside spaces, gardens, the woods, etc. Recalling her youth, it is time in nature that allowed her to feel most free. She decides she wants this for Maurice too. With this goal in mind, she calls her sister Annette and asks if it would be okay for her and Maurice to pay a visit in her suburban Long Island home. It is the first time Maurice has ever left the city, and he is delighted at the prospect.

Annette’s house is spacious, and her kids, who are similar in age to Maurice, are welcoming. Together the kids play in the yard out back, going on the swings and riding bikes up and down the street. Maurice is treated well, like a guest of honor. Annette cooks them a big dinner, which they eat around her large dining room table. They eat and talk, which strikes Schroff as normal, but to Maurice, this is the best part of the day—the big table. He tells Schroff that when he grows up, he will have a big table too, and everyone will have dinner around it and talk for hours. This, Schroff notices, is the first time Maurice has ever mentioned any plans for his future.

Schroff invites Maurice to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family. Usually Annette hosts, but this year, Schroff does so that the kids can enjoy the Macy’s Day parade. All her siblings are there as well as her father. They are all a bit anxious when her father decides to have a drink. Schroff recalls a terrible evening when her mother kicked her father out for drinking, and the police later had to bring him home. This Thanksgiving, her father is on his best behavior and is warm and kindly to Maurice.