TWENTY-NINE
The day Diego was released was cause for celebration. Everyone was present: my mom, Johnny, Sara with the baby, Jen, and little Shauna. Jayden’s family had long returned home, but they were notified of the joyous occasion.
Diego emerged from the pen in a wheelchair, pushed along by a solid guy who I assumed was a nurse. Diego wore the blue plaid shirt and denim jeans he’d been wearing the day he was taken to the county jail by the sheriff. He had thick stubble on his face with a mixture of white throughout.
I was going to try to make myself visible to him when Shauna threw herself forward and gave him the biggest hug ever. He was able to respond enthusiastically; thanks to Mom, he’d seen a neurologist in his last weeks in jail, and had made a really good recovery from his at
