The key reason why the relationship between Danny and Reuven changes is because of Danny's father, Reb Saunders.
Reb Saunders is a rabbi with very strict beliefs about his Jewish faith. Reuven and his father are also Jewish, but not quite in the way Reb Saunders agrees with. However, Danny and Reuven are friends for many years, until Reuven's father does something that Reb Saunders refuses to accept. Reuven's father is part of Zionist groups (those that believe Jewish people should return to their homeland of Israel), and Reb Saunders believes Zionists go against the Jewish faith as he sees it.
We learn that Reb Saunders, upon learning of a Zionist rally that Reuven's father took part in, forbids Danny from ever seeing, speaking, or communicating in any way with Reuven. Danny isn't speaking to Reuven so Reuven confronts him in the restroom, and Reuven learns,
"Danny was not to...
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see me, talk to me, listen to me, be found within four feet of me. My father and I had been excommunicated from the Saunders family...My father's speech had done it. Reb Saunders never...would let...his son be the friend of the son of a man who was advocating the establishment of a secular Jewish state run by Jewish goyim."
Of course, the fact that Danny and Reuven are forbidden from seeing one another by a man with a lot of power means their friendship has to stop, and it does, for a time.
It also changes because Reuven becomes angry with Danny; he feels like Danny sort of gave up on their friendship. When Danny doesn't even acknowledge Reuven's presence, Reuven thinks,Â
"To hell with you Danny Saunders, I thought. You could at least show you know I'm alive. To hell with you and your fanatic father."
Reuven's father then suffers a second heart attack, and Danny tries to offer silent comfort to Reuven. Eventually, things calm down, and Reuven and Danny are able to resume their friendship.