Green followed me out of the courtroom and punched me in the face. The police had to pull him away. I lay on the ground for a long time until I could see again. I didn't press charges. V The case got thrown out because Mr. Dawson did a slick TV thing that you really aren't supposed to do in real life, hiding new evidence from the defense attorney and then making him look an ass in court. A new trial was scheduled for the beginning of March. Mr. Green came by a couple of weeks later and apologized for breaking my nose. He handed me a bunch of twenty dollar bills. "What's all this for?" I asked him. "Look, I'm sorry I nailed you at the courtroom. It was unprofessional and not real nice of me. I know you ain't been able to do too much snow shoveling and you are out of money." I took the money from him and put it under the butter dish. "Thanks. That's real nice of you." I made some tea and some of my flat biscuits. I asked him about Charlene. "No, Billy Ray, she ain't asked about you since the trial." I didn't know to be happy or sad.
