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

Schroff surprises herself and Maurice in deciding that they should have their next meal together in her studio apartment. When she asks Maurice if he’d like to have a home cooked meal at her house, he agrees. Maurice is awed and quiet as they walk into her building. The doorman looks at Maurice suspiciously, even though Schroff introduces them. While Schroff cooks the food, she asks Maurice to set the table. To her surprise, she learns that he has no idea how this task is accomplished. She instructs him, only to find out that he also doesn’t know how to eat his vegetables and chicken with a knife and fork. She instructs him in this as well. During their time at her apartment, she asks him a favor, to agree to make a friendship pact in which both of them promise not to betray one another’s trust. Maurice seems nervous when Schroff says she needs a favor of him but is relieved that all she wants is his word. That he can give easily, it seems.

Before he goes, Schroff asks if he has a toothbrush at home. What about a washcloth? A towel? Some readily available soap? When he admits he has none of these things, Schroff packs him up a plastic bag of toiletries to take home with him.