Return of Prodigal Son

Married twenty-seven years, Joyce never expected Sam had a friend. That meant more than their family, more than his sons or his mother. Joyce kept Sam’s mother, who had lived with them for the last twelve. His mother kept apologizing for her son, she was embarrassed, and ashamed. It’s not your fault, she told her. It’s mine. I somehow failed him. Neither wanting to blame the one they both loved intensely, Sam. The one who walked away, pulled by a “friend” away from his family. Sam came crawling back two years later, begging Joyce to forgive him. He was welcomed like a prodigal son. Mom and wife surrounded him with love. He looked into Joyce’s eyes and saw diamonds, she was the real deal. He was kicking himself for real now. Why had he left her…. for a person who had rhinestone integrity and an evil heart? His sons were not as forgiving, and his mother was still angry; he could tell.