MY 14-YEAR-OLD SON GREW OUT HIS HAIR TO MAKE A WIG FOR HIS CLASSMATE WITH CANCER. THE NEXT DAY HER FATHER SUMMONED ME TO THE SCHOOL AND SAID, “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOUR SON HAS DONE, DO YOU?” THE WIG WASN’T THE SECRET. WHAT ETHAN HAD DONE BEHIND MY BACK WAS SO MUCH BIGGER — AND NOW IT WAS IN MY HANDS.
My 14-year-old son grew out his hair to make a wig for his classmate who lost hers because of cancer.
The next day, I was called to the school, where her father was waiting for me and said, “You have no idea what your son has done, do you?”
I thought I knew everything my son had done for Lily.
I was wrong.
The wig was only the part I could see.
Chapter 1: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Cut His Hair
My son Ethan and Lily had been best friends since elementary school. Even as teenagers, they were inseparable.
Last year, Lily was diagnosed with cancer, and I watched my son carry a worry too big for a fourteen-year-old.
Then Ethan refused to get a haircut.
“Mom, I’m going to grow my hair out so Lily can feel like herself again.”
I can’t tell you how proud I was. Lily had lost all her hair to chemotherapy, and despite the teasing Ethan took at school for his long hair, he grew it out until it was long enough to donate.
I found an organization that makes wigs for children, and one morning I took Ethan to have his hair cut. When he gave Lily the wig, she burst into tears.
I thought that was the end of the story.
But the next morning the school called. The principal, Mr. Harrison, cleared his throat. “Ma’am, you need to come in immediately. Lily’s father is here, demanding to see you.”
My knees shook the whole drive.
I barely knew Lily’s parents. They were private, distant people, and I’d always had the quiet feeling they didn’t much like Ethan.
When I walked into the office, Ethan was sitting there, pale. Lily’s father sat beside him.
“So,” I said, forcing a smile. “Is this about the wig?”
He looked at me a long moment, then at Ethan. “You really didn’t tell her?”
My smile faded. “Tell me what?”
“You have no idea what your son has done, do you?” Then, to Ethan: “Tell her the truth yourself, right now, or I’ll have to.”
