Pop.

That's the sound of my little bubble of happiness being blown into smithereens.

My son always calls when he gets home from school. It's the touchstone of my afternoon. It means everything is going well, and we get a brief chance to talk about the day. When I answered the phone this afternoon, it was anything but good.

At first I couldn't understand what he was saying. Sometimes he jokes, or talks like he's speaking into a walkie-talkie, complete with static. Today, all I heard was sobbing.

It took awhile to understand what he was saying, but I heard the words "fight", "hurt", "J--" , "made fun of," and "I-- jumped on my back".

"Are you hurt?" I asked, franctically trying to figure out what was going on, while simultaneously shoving things into my bag and shutting things down.

"I don't know..."

"Hang on, I'll be home in five minutes."

When I got home, he was curled into a ball on the couch. His eyes were swollen, red and purple, and looked like someone had given him two black eyes. "Are you hurt? Did you get into a real fight? What happened?" I fired off questions as I sat down next to him, and checked for other signs of injury.

He explained that a former friend called him "mentally challenged," among other things, and told him that he acts like a kid, and that everyone who sits at this former friend's lunch table thinks the same thing.

That's what triggered this. It wasn't specifcally that this kid was saying things, which was bad enough, it was that one of my son's best friends also sits at that table. It was the thought that this other kid was also in on the "bash my son" thing that made the dig that much worse.

The fight was all verbal, shouting in the hall after band, but stung enough that as soon as school got out, my son just couldn't take it anymore. He had his anger to get him through his last class of the day, but as soon as he got on the bus, it all got to him.

I had him relate as much as he could about what happened, so if/when this bully's mother calls (the odds are good), I would know exactly what my son said in return. No mistake, this kid has crossed the line. It seems like he lies more than he tells the truth, and is verbally abusive. Our policy to this point has been to just ignore him, be the better person, but obviously it did not work.

I just can't wait until this evening. I am a coward. I hate confrontation. But right now, I want to calmly explain to this kid's mother exactly what has been going on, and why the kids aren't friends anymore. When I saw her in February, she honestly thought that they were still getting along just great. I have to be honest, I want to find the right words to tell her as gently as possible what happened. The boy needs help, badly, and I let this slide for way too long. It's not going to be easy to say or to hear.

At this point, I just want to curl up in my bed and cry myself...