Even after all these years, Jimmy could still remember his father screaming his innocence as Augustus dragged him away in handcuffs. Jimmy had tried to grab David’s leg, pleading with Augustus and begging for him not to take his dad away. He had just lost his mom, and he didn’t want to lose his dad, too. Jimmy got so hysterical that Augustus had another officer remove him and place him in the back of a squad car until he calmed down.
He had to watch as Augustus hauled his father off, completely helpless to do anything to stop it, while all their neighbors watched and pointed. He kept trying to tell the cops that he had seen what happened, he knew his father didn’t do it. He knew exactly who had killed his mother, and it wasn’t David.
“It was the Man in the White Coat!” he had screamed. “The Man in the White Coat did it!”
But no one, not even Augustus, believed him. He was only a child, obviously confused and traumatized. There was no evidence of anyone else in the house, and no one had been seen entering or exiting. With no other suspects, the trial had been swift, and the sentence was life in Westchester Prison.
Jimmy hadn’t seen his father again until he was eleven. It was the first of many times he would run away from Augustus’ house, having stolen cash from his wallet to get a taxi down to the prison. He had tearfully pounded his little fists against the window in the visiting room, trying to find some way to break his father out and almost got thrown out by the prison guards.
David had looked on, powerless and miserable, pressing his hand against the glass and telling him, “Hey, hey, slugger. Put your paw up here, okay? Right next to mine. Remember, son. There’s only an inch of glass between our hands, okay? That’s it, just an inch. That’s not really that much, right? We’re closer than you think.”
“It might as well be a million miles,” he’d cried.
“No,” David soothed. “It’s just an inch, an itty bitty little inch. And remember, there might be an inch of glass between our hands, but there’s nothing separating our hearts, okay? There’s nothing keeping my love from you, not ever. No matter how far apart we are, I will always be with you. I love you, son.”
Jimmy never forgot that moment, even after Augustus came to drag him back home and grounded him for a month for running away.
When Jimmy finally turned eighteen and Augustus couldn’t keep him away any longer, he visited his father as often as he could. Even with an inch of glass between them, they managed to make up for the time that Augustus had cost them and forged a beautiful friendship. David was more than his father; next to Maury, he had become Jimmy’s best friend, and he treasured their visits.
It had been over a month since Jimmy had been able to see David last. The city bus didn’t go all the way to the prison and since Jimmy had to sell his car, he had no other way of getting there except to take a cab. He had no regrets draining his cash to make the trip, eager to see his father for the first time in weeks.
“Hey, slugger,” David said with a grin as soon as Jimmy sat down in front of him and picked up the phone. He raised his hand and gently pressed it against the glass just as he had the first time Jimmy visited him. “Was starting to get worried, hadn’t seen you in a while.”
“Things have been kinda tight,” Jimmy said, his hand hovering over his father’s in greeting, all part of their ritual. “Couldn’t afford to get down here, but it’s okay! Everything is getting better now.”
David squinted. “Son, is that... is that a hickey?”
Jimmy’s eyes widened, blushing instantly as he slapped his hand over his neck. “Uhhh...”
David burst into laughter, teasing, “Oh, well, I guess things are really getting better, huh?”
“Uh, well, yeah, it’s kind of complicated,” Jimmy stammered, grinning shyly.
“Relationships always are,” David assured him.
“Anyway. I still haven’t been able to get access to the case files,” Jimmy said, quickly shifting the conversation. “The lawyer told me that if I get a motion from a judge, they’ll have to let me look at them since we’re trying for an appeal. Because of discovery—”
“Son,” David gently cut in, his fingers tapping lightly at the glass, “I haven’t seen you since last month. I’d rather hear about how you got that hickey than talk about the case.”
Jimmy pouted. How was he going to explain this to his father? “Uhhh...”
“Who’s the lucky girl?” David asked with a smirk.
“It’s a guy, actually,” Jimmy said slowly, “but I don’t think... you’d approve.”
“Jimmy, you came out to me years ago,” David said, obviously hurt. “You know I love you and support whoever you want—”
“No, no, no! It’s not that he’s a guy!” Jimmy replied hurriedly. “It’s that he’s, well. Uhm.” The mob boss of Strassen Springs and probably almost definitely a murderer. “He’s... not exactly what you... might want for me?”
David tilted his head, trying to fill in the blanks. “Older?”
“Yes!” Jimmy exclaimed. “He’s older.”
“That’s it?” David scoffed. “How much older?”
Jimmy stared blankly. He actually had no idea how old Cold was. All the white in his hair hinted that he was definitely older than he looked, or maybe being a mob boss caused premature graying. “Well, I’m not... exactly sure. It’s still very new, uh, I don’t know how serious it is. Exactly. Yet.”
David smiled warmly, nodding. “Seems like it’s off to a very good start at least.”
