Dracaena marginata

the long version

"Sandy grows up in a loving, nurturing environment. His best friend Rigley, has a neurotic, hypochrondria mother and a drunken father. Rigley is also mentally handicapped but Sandy doesn't even notice. They enjoy the unbridled friendship of typical boys in the 1950s. As teenagers, [their] bond meets its first obstacle as Sandy begins to realize Rigley's challenges. But Sandy vows that their friendship will withstand anything life throws at them. However, life has a way of complicating childhood promises. Sandy serves overseas in the Vietnam War, then returns to college, and teaching, and finding the love of his life. But meanwhile Rigley's mental deterioration continues. As Sandy's world grows more complicated, Rigley's becomes more simple and forlorn. Sandy struggles to find happiness and reconcile his own life with that of Rigley, the boy to whom he vowed eternal friendship."--Page 4 of cover.