People send me messages about small sewing jobs. Sometimes it is a hem that needs adjusting, or a dress that does not hug as much as the high school girl would like. Since breaking a bone I have declined most of these requests, but one friend of a friend of a friend whom I had not met asked for simple straps on her daughter's dress. That I could do, even with my disability. 

 

They arrived in the late afternoon and the girl tried on the strapless dress. It did look like it would not survive a night of "YMCA" in a gym full of teenagers. I looked for a coordinating ribbon in my basket and showed it to her. She approved. 

 

The girl took off the dress and I chatted with her mother while I measured the ribbon. I started securing it to the bodice, just as Benjamin walked in the back door. He stopped when he saw them in the living room. The wheels in his mind almost clanked loud enough to hear. He turned toward his stash in the dining room. I decided to explain. 

 

"My son likes to give treats to my sewing students, so he has gone to get one. I hope you like chocolate." 

 

On cue, Ben handed her a peanut butter cup, which made the girl smile. Then her mother spoke. 

 

"Wait, I read a story about this, a boy who likes to give candy to children.... The mom's name is Lori..... oh, it's you!"

 

She tried to remember the woman who has forwarded the story, and we realized that we have a mutual friend. How about that. 

 

The illusion that we are isolated from one another does not contribute to a sense of security, or trust. But when the web of connections between us shows up, I realize that we were never alone at all.