Thirteen-year-old Thomas spent every Saturday at a café with friends, a cherished weekly ritual. His mother, Gloria, feeling increasingly distant from her once-inseparable son, hoped to reconnect by inviting him to a superhero movie he’d mentioned wanting to see.

But when Gloria arrived at the café to ask in person, Thomas was embarrassed. His friends joked she looked like his grandmother—a jab that cut deeply, as Gloria had adopted Thomas at 42. When she approached him, he coldly told her to leave, saying she was embarrassing him.