Years have gone by since the death of Noah his special needs son, and Wiley Cantrell realizes it’s time to move on. He and his husband Jackson try to adopt little Tony Gorzola, a deaf boy with HIV who is emotionally traumatized.<br><br>Difficulties quickly set in. Tony is a sweet boy but very damaged by abuse and neglect. And Tony’s mother, in prison, is unwilling to relinquish her parental rights. No sooner do they get the go ahead to foster Tony when another child they had considered becomes available -- the daughter Jackson always wanted.<br><br>With two children on their hands, life is complicated -- wonderfully so. But just as things begin to settle down, Tony, his immune system compromised, falls ill with pneumonia ... and Wiley and Jackson find their little family faced with crisis once again.

Go Tell It on the Mountains

The mayor gave her the honor of setting off the first of the fireworks, and we hunkered down for fifteen minutes of a time-honored American tradition.


Tony sat in my lap and stared at the night sky with amazed eyes, grunting at the explosions of light over our heads. He kept turning to look at me, as if to make sure I was seeing the fireworks too. I wondered how it must appear to him, minus the bangs, the noise, the sounds of the explosions. I was not even sure he understood what fireworks actually were.


Amelia had immediately scurried over to sit with Mary. They carried on like old pals.


Mama and Mrs. Ledbetter sat in two of the camp chairs we’d brought. I was keenly aware that fireworks in New Albany were not likely to match the splendor of those in Boston tonight, but Mrs. Ledbetter seemed to be enjoying them all the same.


“It’s like old times,” Billy said.


“It’s pretty awesome,” I agreed.109: So This Is Goodbye


Chapter 121