A Man and His Shame

     "Two years" the Judge said. I could feel my heart beating so fast it felt like it would beat right out of my chest. Two years for a mistake he made almost four years ago. His life would be on hold for two years, stuck in a cold jail. The bailiffs put the cuffs on him and started walking him out before the sentence had a chance to sink in. He turned to me, he looked right into my eyes and I saw shame written on his face. I could do nothing but stare back at him until he was gone. His face, his face was burned into my memory. Two years.
      I was in the middle of his mother and his oldest friend. They stood up and began to leave the court room, their faces were calm and they seemed unfazed by what they had just witnessed. How were they not freaking out? How were they so OK with this? My stomach was in knots and I could barely breath, I had to struggle to keep the tears back. I didn't even get to hug him. The walk back to the car was long and quiet. The two of them seemed utterly calm and collected, while I was using all my strength to keep from breaking to hysteria. It hit me sooner then I thought it would, as soon as I was alone the tears came out like a waterfall. I sat in my car and screamed until I couldn't anymore. Just the night before he was in my arms happy and free.
      I waited all day for his call. I answered every call that I got hoping it would be him and feeling my stomach churn when the voice on the other end wasn't his. All day I sat there replaying the ten minutes it took for a Judge who never this man sentence him to two years in jail for a long ago made mistake. All day I saw his face and the same I saw on it. 
      Finally at 10pm that night I answered yet another call, and couldn't contain myself when it was his voice that I heard. His first words were "I'm sorry". For what? Why was he sorry? Then he broke into tears. He told me of the shame he felt, how could he make such a stupid mistake, how could he be so stupid. The pain in his voice while he broke himself down brought more tears to my eyes. Right there I decided that I would be his rock, his lifeline to the outside world, his shoulder to cry on, his.
      Its been days now and he still feels ashamed. How can I help him when I can't figure out what to say to him? How can I be rock when I fall apart right after the phone cuts off? How can I remove some of the shame he feels?