of a woman with long, white hair and olive-colored skin, who was looking at him with the most beatific smile. He only knew her through Kevin Grant’s description, but when he closed his eyes he could see her as if she were standing right there in the cell with him.
Danny knew something was different; it was like a wind had passed through him and wiped him clean. He didn’t want to be a cynic any longer. All night he tossed and turned, and had crazy, vivid dreams. When the morning light came through his window, he awoke. He was lying there, half awake, half asleep, when he heard the sound of beautiful music, like a mother singing a lullaby—only he knew it was meant to wake him up, not put him to sleep. Then he spoke to God. He rejected the voice he had heard in his head all these years. He acknowledged it for what it was: It wasn’t his friend. It was his enemy. It was evil.
Danny and Tony were released roughly a year later. It seemed that everyone around them noticed a genuine change had taken place. The officerwho was in the room that day was an old friend of the warden’s, and he told him his life had been changed when he watched those three boys pray.
When they were given a hearing for early release, the committee considering their cases read letters of support from Linda, Kevin, and Missy Grant. Don Grant wanted nothing to do with it, however. Throughout their years in prison, Danny and Tony had maintained exemplary records, so they were on very solid ground. The decision to grant them early release was unanimous.
As it turned out, Tony was released a day before Danny, so he was there with his parents to greet Danny at the prison gate the next day. Later that day, they went to a restaurant to celebrate, and Danny and Tony felt as if a miracle had happened. Everyone smiled, laughed, and cried with relief. Then Tony, ever the pragmatist, said, “I wonder if anyone will hire us, given our record.”
Steve and Debby looked at each other and smiled, as if they knew a secret. “Well, boys,” Steve said, “I guess
I
could take a chance on you.”
Then he explained that he had decided to leave Jayomar, but had saved enough money to start the sporting goods store he’d always wanted to own, and he wanted his sons to help him run it. The name even had a nice ring to it. He would call it Steve’s Sporting Goods. It was time for all of them to start over, he said. “Everyone deserves a second chance, boys. Let’s give it our best shot and see if we can’t make a success out of the place.”
“So, how are you doing, Danny?” asked Mike Berger, Danny’s probation officer.
“Well, I knew you were gonna ask me that, Mike, and I was wondering how I could honestly answer you. The truth is that things are betterthan I ever could have imagined. Working with Tony and my dad has been really good, and I have to admit that I’m just trying to keep it simple.”
“Have you met anyone yet?” At their last meeting, Danny had mentioned he was pretty lonely, and that most of the decent women didn’t want anything to do with him. He had met a few girls, but just for fun, and he felt like life was passing him by. He was about twenty-six now, and most of his friends had gone to college, gotten into the workforce, and were married or about to get married. He didn’t want to settle, however. He wanted to meet someone he could count on as a life mate, so just getting involved with someone to pass the time was something he had decided to avoid. This was all part of the new Danny, the grown man who was honest with himself.
“Well, Mike, that hasn’t changed much. It seems that a guy with a prison record isn’t seen as such a great catch. I guess I’m just gonna have to be patient.”
Danny didn’t realize it, but his patience was about to pay off.
That night Danny met up with Tony and a few of his buddies for their regular Thursday night game of hoops. They would generally get around ten or twelve guys on a regular