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As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about Debbie’s parents were as nice as she was Their names were Jesse and Donna - they wouldn’t let me call them Mr and Mrs Hemlock - and they made me feel welcoroom "Who’s this?"

"Mom, Dad, this is Darren," Debbie said "He’s a friend of Anne’s I ran into him at the movies and invited him back Is that okay?"

"Sure," Jesse said

"Of course," Donna agreed "We were about to have supper Would you like some, Darren?"

"If it’s no trouble," I said

"No trouble at all," she beamed "Do you like meatloaf?"

"It’s uessed it would pay to be polite

I told Jesse and Donna a little about myself as we ate

"What about school?" Jesse asked, like Debbie had before hiiven soht to the matter since yesterday "He teaches Evra and me"

"More meatloaf, Darren?" Donna asked

"Yes, please," I said "It’s great" It was, too Much better than any meatloaf I’d had before "What’s in it?"

"A few extra spices," Donna said, s proudly "I used to be a chef"

"I wish they had sohed "Their food isn’t very good"

I offered to wash the dishes ere finished, but Jesse said he’d do the at the end of a hard day," he explained "Nothing I like better than scrubbing a few dirty dishes, polishing the banister and vacuu?" I asked Debbie

"Actually, no," she said "Okay if we go up to my room?" she asked

"Go ahead," Donna told her "But don’t chat for too long We’ve got a couple of chapters of The Three Musketeers to finish, remember?"

Debbie roaned "How exciting - I don’t think!"

"You don’t likeThe Three Musketeers?" I asked

"Do you?"

"Sure I’ve seen the ht times"

"But did you ever read the book?" she asked

"No, but I read a colance with her

"I have to read a little of a so-called classic every night," Debbie gru those books can be"

"Be down soon," she told her mother, then showed , pretty-ee closets and hardly any posters or decorations

"I don’t like feeling cluttered," Debbie explained when she sawaround

There was a bare artificial Christmas tree in one corner of the roo room, too, and I noticed a couple more in other rooms on my way up the stairs