Most of our friends at school knew about Matt's operation and were really supportive. They threw a pre-operation party a few nights before the surgery where we made bets on how much the tumor was going to weigh and made him promise to bring it home in a glass jar.
School was one thing; going out in public was another. Most people just stared at him or looked away. Some asked if he was in a car accident or had been in a fight. If scars that big can be caused by a fist fight, I'd hate to see the other guy.
The worst was when we went to a dance club, his first big night out since coming home from the hospital a few weeks earlier. We walked by a group of guys, one of whom said, "Dude, that looks like the guy from 'MASK.'"
In case you haven't seen it, "MASK" is a movie about a boy with horrible facial deformities. And this guy was comparing my boyfriend to him, which was pretty much the meanest thing I had ever heard.
Matt didn't hear him, thank God. I shot the guy a look that could melt glass and leaned over and gave Matt a big showy kiss right in front of them. I normally don't go for PDA, but somehow it seemed important in this situation. I wanted to show that I thought he was beautiful, even if other people were too stupid to see it.
