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“Vivi Ann? It’s Roy”

She was instantly alert Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was 8:40 in the ain The first lesson of thestarted in twenty minutes “Hey, Roy What happened?”

“The appellate court affirmed his conviction”

The words hit her so hard she couldn’t breathe “Oh, no”

“Don’t lose hope yet I’ll file a petition for rehearing and a petition for revieith the Washington State Supreme Court”

Vivi Ann struggled to believe in that, but hope had beco, hard to hold on to

“Anduhdon’t bother going to the prison on Saturday”

“Why not?”

Roy paused “When Dallas got the news about the decision, he went a little nuts They’ve got him in solitary for a month”

“Did he hurt anyone?”

Roy paused again, and in the silence, the answer came loud and clear

“It’s killing him,” she said And me, too

“It won’t help hihts”

Vivi Ann heard Roy’s words, but all she could think about were her visits to the prison, sitting across the plastic glass froe felon’s jus he’d told her The way his cell door popped open auto sound, for meals and one hour of exercise; the way it felt to look out froh razor wire; the way the prisoners congregated by color and how you had to stay with your own kind but he was half of two groups and belonged in neither; the way “the girls”—guys dressed in as close to drag as their jumpsuits would allow—trolled for takers while bullies looked for victims; and the way it felt to believe you’d never see the stars again, never ride a horse at night, or hold your son

“Will anything help, Roy?” she asked, hearing Noah’s voice coh the baby monitor As always, he called out for his daddy She closed her eyes in pain She couldn’t help wondering if one day Noah would forget about his father and go on without hi out for a man ouldn’t be there?