The Long Road Home by James Chaisson

Entry 4: 

Samuel continued to work hard, to provided spiritual guidance for his sons, and to express his love for them. Around town, Samuel was known as a wise, generous, and well-respected man of God. On one occasion he donated uniforms for the local school football team. He even volunteered for the Spring Fling as the dunk tank guy. All the kids lined up to try and dunk the cheerful Mr. Samuel.

It wasn't long after his wife's death that Samuel began to notice a change in his boys. Nathan seemed to be a bit more hardened in his outlook on life and with the way he interacted with people. Sometimes being outright harsh and rude when he saw what he considered ungodly behavior. Joshua on the other hand seemed to become distant and a bit loose in his morals preferring to push the boundaries as far as he could. 

After staying out all night, partying with his friends, Joshua came home reeking of alcohol and peppermint. Joshua had only recently turned 21 and was testing out his manhood and freedom, even though he still lived under his father's roof. His brother Nathan, on the other hand, had moved out a few years earlier but only lived two houses down. 

Samuel heard his son come in. Truth be told Samuel had been up all night praying for his son and worrying himself sick. Samuel opened his bedroom door and saw his son staggering towards his room. 

"Where were you?" asked his father in a stern yet loving voice. "None of your business!" came the reply. "Son, you can't live like this and remain in my house. You can't go out and get drunk, come home and sleep the day away just to go out and do the same thing the next night." "I've never liked living here with you anyways! You don't love me, you never loved me! The only one who loved me was mom and she's dead!" screamed Joshua. 

"Go to bed, I'll talk to you later," said Samuel as he walked back into his bedroom and slowly closed the door.