Mitch had graduated from Geauga High a few years before Tony and Danny, and had gone out of state to college, so he wasn’t around town at the time of the incident in Chagrin Falls. After school, he had taken a position with an architectural firm in Boise, and had recently moved back into the area. He didn’t know the first thing about the Turner brothers’ past when he met with Steve Turner to discuss the interior design of the store. When Steve let something slip about his sons’ prison time, Mitch noticed his embarrassment.

“Look, Steve,” he said. “I don’t feel that I’m in a position to judge anyone. I’ve learned that I’m better off leaving that to God.” Mitch said this in a way that impressed Steve. Here was a young man who wasn’t afraid to come right out and talk about his faith.

“That’s how I try to live my life,” Mitch continued. “I don’t always succeed, but I try. I’ve certainly made my mistakes, and I don’t expect others to judge me, so I try to stay away from that. In my business, you go into people’s homes and you learn a lot about folks, even if they are only talking about adding on a bedroom or something. If there’s one thing you find out, it’s that nobody’s perfect.”

Tony came into the room a few minutes later as Mitch was packing up to leave, and Steve introduced them. Mitch took one look at Tony and knew he was just the sort of guy who would fit in at the basketball meet-ups.

“Tony, if you’re ever looking for something to do on a Thursday night,” Mitch said, “a bunch of us have a pickup game of basketball every Thursday over at the gym at St. Francis on Mayfield. We start around seven, and play until we’re ready to fall over.” Mitch sized Tony up as a pretty good athlete, at first glance, and they could always use another player for hoops. “Give it a try sometime,” he said, as he headed out the door.

So the following Thursday night, Tony and Danny went over to the gym and, frankly, wowed the other guys. If there was one thing the Turner boys knew how to do, it was play ball of any type. They immediately formed a genuine friendship with Mitch. Once they got comfortable with him, Tony mentioned something about their past. Danny always avoided the topic, but Tony took it for what it was. Like Mitch, he’d read several self-help books, and knew that hiding behind your secrets just brought you down.

“Tony, can I ask you something personal?” Mitch said as they were toweling off one night.

“Sure. Let me guess. You’re probably going to ask what it was like in prison, right?”