I lowered myself onto the arm of the couch.
“You wanted to call me?”
“I know that probably sounds weird.” There was a small, nervous laugh. “I just figured a mom might be a little anxious tonight. I would be.”
I pressed my hand against my forehead.
She was not cruel. She was not mocking.
She sounded genuine.
“That’s very kind of you, Madison,” I managed. “Thank you.”
“Your son is having a really good time, Miss Walker. People keep coming up to talk to him. He’s funnier than he lets on. Did you know that?”
A laugh escaped before I could stop it.
“I had a suspicion.”
She paused. I could hear faint music behind her, the muffled thump of bass through a wall.
“Miss Walker, can I ask you something kind of out of the blue?”
“Of course.”
“Do you remember when your son used to tutor my little brother? About two years ago. His name is Ethan. He would have been a freshman then.”
The name did not ring a bell.
Nathan had never mentioned tutoring anyone.
“I don’t think Nathan ever told me about that,” I said slowly. “He actually tutors a lot of kids. He never makes a big thing of it.”
“Yeah.” Her voice softened. “It seems so.”
I switched the phone to my other ear.
“Madison, what are you trying to tell me?”
The Truth About Ethan
“My brother was struggling with his schoolwork and failing eighth grade. Kids were awful to him. He came home crying almost every day. Some of the older boys were giving him a hard time. He didn’t want to go to school anymore,” Madison started explaining.
I sank onto the couch, the phone pressed hard against my ear.
“Nathan found him in the cafeteria one afternoon. He sat down and asked what was wrong. After Ethan explained his dilemma, your son opened my brother’s math book and started explaining things in a way no teacher ever had.”
I could not believe what I was hearing!
My son’s date paused, and I could hear her gathering herself.
“Nathan, a quiet senior, just started sitting next to my brother at lunch. Every day. With a math book. He never asked for money and never told anyone. But, of course, Ethan told us everything when his grades started going up. My parents tried to thank Nathan, but he just shrugged and said Ethan was a good kid.”
