The Ultimate Gift

Fresh out of law school, Hamilton opened his first office. Shortly after, he met Red Stevens, who planned to be the greatest oil and cattle baron in Texas. Stevens learned Hamilton finished at the top of his class at the best law school in America, and he figured they should work together. It didn’t matter that neither of them had any customers. Their longtime professional and personal friendship grew from there.

Hamilton is reminiscing about this when Jason arrives for the seventh assignment. On the next videotape, Red tells Jason, “This month, you are going to learn about the gift of laughter” (69). Jason’s task is to find one person who faces a tough problem but can laugh about it. Puzzled, Jason sets off to find such a person.

During the month, the Hamilton law firm’s private detective, Reggie Taylor, follows Jason discreetly. He reports that Jason seems to be making no effort to fulfill the assignment. On the last day, Jason arrives at the law offices accompanied by a young man with blindness, David Reese. David shakes hands and says, “Long time, no see” (70).

Jason says he met David on a commuter train, and they talked several times since.