The woman scoffed.
“I can see enough.”
“No,” Mom replied calmly. “You can see my body. That isn’t the same thing.”
The room went silent again.
“You don’t know what medications I take. You don’t know what I’ve been through. You don’t know what my doctor says. You don’t know anything about my life.”
The woman tried to interrupt.
Mom continued.
“And even if you did know everything about my health, publicly humiliating a stranger wouldn’t make you helpful.”
She paused.
“It would still make you cruel.”
Nobody in the restaurant defended the woman.
She muttered something, turned around, and walked out.
The door closed behind her.
Mom immediately sat down.
Her hands started trembling.
I reached across the table.
“You were incredible.”
She laughed nervously as tears filled her eyes.
“I was terrified.”
“You can be terrified and brave at the same time.”
