Though the touch was never completed

Donte was already in the attorney's booth when Roberta and Cedric entered. A guard could be seen through the window of a door behind him. As always, he placed the palm of his left hand flat on the Plexiglas, and Roberta did the same from the other side. Though the touch was never completed, it was a long, warm embrace in their minds. Donte had not touched his mother since the last day of his trial, in October 1999, when a guard allowed them a quick hug as he was being led from the courtroom. He held the phone with his right hand and said with a smile, "Hi, Momma. Thanks for coming. I love you." Their hands were still together, pressed against the glass. Roberta said, "And I love you right back, Donte. How are you today?" "The same. I've already had my shower and a shave. Everybody's real nice to me. Got fresh clothes on, a new pair of boxers. This is a lovely place. They get real nice around here right before they kill you." "You look great, Donte." "And so do you, Momma. You're as beautiful as always." During one of her first visits, Roberta had wept and had been unable to stop herself. Afterward, Donte wrote to her and explained how upsetting it was to see her so distraught. In the solitude of his cell, he wept for hours, but he couldn't bear to watch his mother do the same. He wanted her to visit him whenever possible, but the tears did more harm than good. There had been no more tears, not from Roberta, Andrea, Cedric, Marvin, or any other relative or friend. Roberta made this very clear with each visit. If you can't control yourself, get out of the room. "I talked to Robbie this morning," she said. "He has one or two more plans for the final appeals, plus the governor has not ruled on your request for a reprieve. So there's still hope, Donte." "There's no hope, Momma, so don't kid yourself." "We can't give up, Donte." "Why not? There's nothing we can do. When Texas wants to kill somebody, they're gonna do it. Killed one last week. Got another planned later this month. It's an assembly line around here, can't nobody stop it. You might get lucky and get a stay every now and then, happened to me two years ago, but sooner or later your time is up. They don't care about guilt or innocence, Momma, all they care about is showing the world how tough they are. Texas don't fool around. Don't mess with Texas. Ever heard that?" Softly she said, "I don't want you to be angry, Donte."