We Are Called to Rise

The Las Vegas newspapers report that the killing of Nene was justified, and Officer Gisselberg will be “exonerated of all charges” (327). Since 1976, only one officer has been convicted, and it was due to the number of bullets discharged in a residential neighborhood rather than the killing itself. Avis recalls the trial, which she attended. She notes Mr. Ahmeti’s frail and weak disposition compared to her own son’s broad-shouldered confidence. Avis knows that Baba has no chance against a “a decorated Iraqi vet, a local kid, with a father that lots of people knew” (329). In Nate’s testimony, he describes Arjeta (Nene) as “irate and out of control” (329) and says that he feared for Bashkim’s life. One local witness counters this by saying the mother looked more frightened than crazed and was simply trying to protect her child. In a tense courtroom moment, another witness explains that Nate’s partner, Officer Stout, reacted with shock and disapproval to Nate’s shooting, but the judge doesn’t seem to take this evidence further. When called to the stand, Officer Stout’s “sadness was most palpable,” and his look of defeat leads Avis to believe he will no longer be a police officer as a result of the guilt from the shooting. After the trial ends and the media frenzy disappears, Avis and her family hug each other, and she remembers Nate as the little boy she’s always loved. Despite the relief of her son not being jailed, Avis can’t help but acknowledge how unfair and lopsided the trial felt.

Lauren unexpectedly calls Avis with alarm in her voice. Avis hears banging in the background and Nate yelling at Lauren. Lauren asks Avis to come over for help and hangs up the phone. Avis debates calling 911 but is cautious so soon after the shooting of Arjeta. She rushes over. When she arrives, it’s ten o’clock at night and Nate is blocking her from entering. He is physically larger than before the trial, but Avis is unafraid of her son. She tells him she wants to talk to Lauren, and Nate surprisingly steps aside to let her in. Inside, Avis can see disheveled furniture and begins to panic when she doesn’t see Lauren anywhere. Avis briefly considers that her son “has killed a second woman” (334)—a thought she knows is horrible as a mother. Then she hears whimpering in the bathroom and opens the door to find Lauren bruised and bleeding from the nose. Avis is shocked—at Nate’s strength, at his growth from a boy to an abusive man—and holds Lauren. When Avis suggests they go to the emergency room, Lauren flinches and refuses. Lauren is adamant, so Avis just stays by her side. Nate has left the house. Avis stays with her until she falls asleep, and the next morning Lauren says she will stay at a friend’s house but asks Avis not to tell anyone about it.

Avis keeps in touch with Lauren. Someone calls Avis’s house but doesn’t say anything and then hangs up, and Lauren worries that it’s Lauren. She again worries about the Ahmeti family. Avis remembers when Nate was six years old and found a stray dog he wanted to take home and help. Avis refused, and Nate told her, “I want to be a good man” (337), something that has stuck with her. They took the dog and cared for it until it died years later. Avis wonders if the next homeowner will find the bones buried in the backyard and will know how much the dog meant to Nate.

Avis calls the LVPD to make an appointment with the chief. When neither Lauren nor Nate respond to Avis’s calls or texts, Avis meets with the chief and tells him everything about her son’s trauma and abuse. She advises him that Nate shouldn’t be operating a weapon and says that if the chief doesn’t comply, she will take the story to the media. She suggests therapy and veteran services as a solution. She is confident that her family can unite to help Nate and that the situation must no longer be ignored.

In the final chapter, Bashkim and Mrs. Delain attend the court hearing. The courthouse is overwhelmingly large, and Bashkim is uncomfortable around the police and metal detectors. He feels sick and wants to disappear into the “alone closet,” but he promised to be brave. Mrs. Delain comforts him, telling him encouraging things about his strength and ability to change the world. He is unsure what will happen and isn’t pleased to see his social worker. When he sees Baba enter the room, he tries not to remember the time they hugged too hard, since it was painful. Baba must sit next to the judge for questioning and is nervous, but Bashkim reassures him that it will be okay. Tirana is the last to enter, and Bashkim is surprised at how different she appears: She is wearing a white dress and a bow and is holding the hand of her foster mother, which upsets Bashkim. He is so startled by her appearance that he feels “a little afraid” (343) to call to her, but when she sees him, she runs over to him, and then to Baba. He notes other familiar faces in the courtroom, including Luis’s abuela, who is sitting with a man he doesn’t recognize (Luis).

The session begins with the judge individually calling upon everyone present. He seems compassionate and acknowledges the Ahmeti family’s loss. The judge concludes his introductions by calling upon Graciela (Luis’s abuela) and Luis Rodriguez-Reyes. Bashkim begins to worry about every worst outcome, such as Baba wanting to fight Specialist Rodriguez-Reyes for writing those letters. Bashkim’s heart begins to pound. He breaks down and jerks away from Mrs. Delain to leave the court room. In a rare act of defiance, he tells himself: “I don’t care how mad they get. I can’t do what they want anymore. I have to get away” (346). As he is leaving, Tirana cries out to him, and he can see how afraid she and Baba are. Bashkim is tired of not having Nene, but he knows he can’t abandon them, so he returns to be by his sister’s side. The judge and Mrs. Delain nicely encourage him, and he feels better. The judge gives a powerful speech about the importance of love and kindness, and how despite the tragedy of Arjeta’s death, many adults have risen to support the children. After considering the case workers’ recommendations, he announces that Baba has voluntarily renounced his rights to the children and will share custody with Mrs. Reyes.

Bashkim reacts by shouting out, “No! He killed a boy!” (349). He gets up and sees Luis get up. Bashkim immediately feels horrified at the pain in Luis’s face. He regrets his outburst, since he can see how much it hurt Luis. He remembers all the nice letters from Luis, though he still feels uncomfortable living with a stranger. He wants to stay with Mrs. Delain, but if he does, he won’t be able to live with Tirana. He’s conflicted. Mrs. Reyes comes over, assures him of her intentions, and says that Baba will be living nearby in his own apartment. Bashkim notices how Mrs. Reyes has easily put Tirana at ease, and seeing this soothes him.

Bashkim realizes that this situation can work. He thinks of what Nene would want: Tirana and him living together would make Nene happy. Then, he reflects on how this is possible—living with Mrs. Reyes—as a result of his decision to forgive Luis and to maintain a correspondence with him. Just then, he begins to feel comfort for the first time since his mother died. He knows that his small act of kindness in forgiving Luis was the initial moment that opened a door to bettering his current situation, and he knows this would have made Nene proud.