By Edith
North of Boston
We sometimes think we need many. Lots of positive reviews. A big audience at a 
But what about just one? When our house in Ipswich was on the market over a year ago, and we didn’t get an offer from the first open house, Hugh remarked, “We only need one.” And then we got one great offer and accepted it.
I know someone who seemed to be without any close friends for a few years. Then he met a guy who he really clicked with. Now he has a best friend. And a close friend in the guy’s girlfriend. And met his own girlfriend through them, and then started making a few other good friends. But some people really only need one good friend.
The other night I went to a nearby library. They had invited me to be their guest author for their adult summer reading program. They had publicized it. I had pushed the word out. I arrived a few minutes early, set out my books, checked my prepared remarks. One woman sat at the end of the front row and we chatted for a few minutes.
The appointed start time came and went. Nobody else arrived. So I pulled up a chair across from the woman and we proceeded to have a very nice, very intimate chat about my books, the process of writing, her recent unemployment, and much more. After about 45 minutes our conversation seemed to be winding down, so I 
It might seem a little pathetic that I could only attract one reader for my talk. But hey, I’m still a beginning author. I now have a new really big fan. The library knows I am reliable and agreeable. My name and my book were publicized all over town. True, it was only a fifteen-minute drive away (and they paid me). If I’d driven two hours to Connecticut or Maine for the same experience, I might be somewhat less agreeable about it. But even multi-published authors have been through these tiny-audience situations. We just keep going.
What about you? What were your times when one was enough, or maybe it wasn’t enough? Are there situations when one simply isn’t sufficient?