After a short trial, Dave could finally relax, for he became a permanent ward of the court and that status guaranteed him safety from his abusive mother and absolutely irresponsible father. Later on, the boy was placed in a new foster family. People who took him turned out to be quite nice, Dave wasn’t the first child that the Catanze took under their wing. Safety, care and homely warmth provided him with an opportunity to be a kid without any care in the world. Not to mention that there were other kids in the family. However, that new normal life wasn’t that easy. Dave often was confronted by Larry Jr. who liked to bully smaller or weaker kids. In spite of the fact that Lilian and Rudy really tried to make him feel welcomed, the boy missed his mother, father and brothers. He became anxious, Dave found it rather difficult to control himself.
Flashes of anger, petty thefts, need for acceptance, constant questioning of his past and his role in the tragedy that happened to him became a part of him. The psychiatrist that his foster family had found for him failed to help. When the Catanze got sick and tired of his inability to live a normal life and get through his rebellious phase, they came up to the conclusion that it was time to do something. A series of thefts and setting school on fire led to a juvenile facility where he spent some time. Then followed a string of new foster homes. Unfortunately for him, Dave couldn’t calm down, his past prevented him from moving forward and living a life of a carefree teenager. The good thing was that the juvenile facility and other foster families helped him to develop such a useful quality as self-discipline.
He also had friends and was lucky enough to meet people who understood him. Despite his school troubles, he passed General Equivalency Test and that gave him a chance for the better future. When the right time came, he decided to join the Air Force and succeeded in it. Dave managed to forgive both his mother and himself when he met a woman who later became his wife and a mother of his child. The long story of emotional and physical suffering came to its end. For the first time in many years, Dave had everything he needed to be happy. He understood that there was nothing that he could do about his past, but the present and future were his to decide.
