A Million Little Pieces #3

On Roy’s final night in the program, James decides it is time for him to give up and plans on leaving that night. He even returns the few pieces of clothing he has borrowed from others along with notes of thanks. He sits down to dinner with Leonard, the older man who just won’t seem to leave him alone, to eat his final meal. Leonard says one day James will get tired of being a jerk and talk to him and that he is going to keep sitting with him until he does but James just laughs in his face and walks away. James then sits through the lecture thinking how glad he is that it will be the last one. As he walks out the door he hears someone coming after him and turns. Its Leonard. He asks;

Where you going?
A hand on my shoulder. I push it off.
Stop for a second, Kid.
A hand on my shoulder. I push it off. Hands on both my shoulders. Stronger than I expected. They stop me and they turn me around.(105)

James finally agrees to stay for 24 more hours. The next day Leonard tells James his story and the fact that he confided in him and believes in him subconsciously convinces James to give it one more shot. When his 24 hours are up, he doesnt leave. When a people reach out so help someone, they often just give up after one denial and say they did the best they could when really, all they need is one more push in the right direction. If everyone actually tried to help each other instead of just doing what is convenient, the world could end up in a much better place. Leonard has realized this and intends to make James come to this conclusion as well.