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 better than 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 basis, and play for about two hours before calling it quits. Of course, these were competitive men who played to win, but the idea was to get some exercise and have some fun. Danny and Tony got involved with this group shortly after leaving Chillicothe, when they met Mitch Bianci. Mitch was a young architect who designed the interior of the first Steve’s Sporting Goods store and, as luck would have it, became a trusted friend.