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“Who is it?”

“You’ll see”

We went outside and he asked, “Where are we going?” as we got in the van and he pulled his seatbelt on Lucy roared to life in a cloud of exhaust smoke

“Patience, sweetheart You’ll find out soon enough”

He didn’t argue with me He was uncharacteristically subdued, obviously rattled by the events of the last hour I hoped I was doing the right thing here I was taking him

After just a few ed in the Richmond, and pulled up across the street from a narrow yello house I jumped out of the van and held Dmitri’s door for him, then took his arht of stairs to the front door As I pushed the doorbell, he asked, “What is this place, Jamie?”

The door swung open, and a boo the bell, Jamie? Did you lose your key?”

And I pulled D from the open doorway and said, “Hi, Dad I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Dmitri Teplov”

Chapter Fifteen

D, very tenseboth of them hadn’t been the best idea I’d ever had It had seeiving them a chance to build their defenses up, and all that But now, as I wondered if ainst the wall and frisk hiht have been a better way to go

My mother appeared behind my father and exclai? Who’s out there?” She peered around her husband and said, “Jamie! Why are you out on the porch? Come in before your father lets in every fly in the city”

My father stepped back slowly and I stepped around hi him in behind me “Hi, Mom This is my boyfriend, Dmitri”

Her social skills were a lot better than my father’s, so it only took her a few seconds to wipe the look of utter shock off her face And then she sly and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dmitri”