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stew on it a while to fi gure it out.
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Gillian came back into the room, smiling when she saw him
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still chattering away to Mary. She kissed her son’s cheek.
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“Enough. You’re going to talk Mary’s ear off. Go on and do
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your homework. I made you a sandwich; it’s on the counter.”
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He grinned. “Thanks, Mum!” He sped from the room, cats
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in his wake.
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“Looks like he loves school.”
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“I have to admit I was wrong about how amazing a choice
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this school would be for him. I wanted him to be with his friends
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and to keep his life here. But he’s made more there. The kids
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there are talented like he is. And better than that, he’s connected 09
with this huge part of himself. All that art that lives in his soul.”
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She shook her head. “I should have known. My time at Juilliard
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was incredible because I was surrounded by people who were
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like me.”
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“I know you, Gillian. You’re feeling guilty for not having
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him in the school for years.”
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“How could I have been so blind to it?”
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“Hush, you. You thought about his life in terms of his safety,
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of the stability in the face of all this change. By that I mean you’re 18
his mum and you did what you should have. There’s enough
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guilt in this world. Don’t let this small thing add to it.”
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Gillian was an amazing mother. She had no idea how good
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at it she was. Miles was beyond lucky to have her. Mary squeezed
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her friend’s hand.
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“You’re good to me.”
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“I only speak the truth.”
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Adrian came into the room with Damien. Damien saw her
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and lit up. She felt it to her toes.
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“Miles was just gushing about his composition class.”
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Adrian grinned. “That kid. Man. So proud of him. He hit the
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ground running and he’s been kicking ass. Even doing the home-
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work for his academic courses. Should have seen their faces
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when Damien showed up with me today when we picked him
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up. I think they like him better than me.”
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“Yeah, sucks to be you and all. Triple platinum, sold- out
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tour, hot wife, baby on the way, great kid. Too bad you’re so
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ugly.” Damien snorted and headed straight to Mary. “Hey, you.”
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He kissed her.
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“Hi.”
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“How’d the job go?”
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“The client is pretty diffi cult.” Mary sighed. “She was very
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specifi c about what she wanted. I advised her that some other
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choices would work better. She insisted on what she wanted. And
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of course then she threw a giant tantrum about it. Thank good-
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ness I had all our e-mails printed out and with me in a fi le so I
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could refute her claims. And Cal’s card to hand over when she
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threatened not to pay me.”
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He frowned. “What a bitch.”
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Mary shrugged. “Sometimes you have clients like that.
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Mainly they’re pretty nice.”
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“This isn’t going to hurt you, is it? It was Kathy Bonebright,
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right?” Gillian’s concern made Damien’s gaze sharpen.
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“I think most people who know her know what she’s like. I
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won’t be working with her again, even if she hadn’t sworn me
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off as incompetent in front of the entire room.”
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“She did wha?” Gillian’s eyes fl ashed and Adrian squeezed
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her shoulder.
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Mary laughed, turning to Damien. “You may not have
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noticed, but when Gillian gets mad, she loses consonants and
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her English comes out.”
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“Who is this woman, Curly?”
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“She’s no one. Her husband has money and she thinks it
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makes her important. But I know my food, I know my business,
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and anyone who’s worked with me knows it. I’m fi ne.”
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“She said you were incompetent?” Gillian was mainly sweet,
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but when someone she loved was threatened, she could be a
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sharp- tongued bitch.
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“Yes. In front of half her party. So tacky. Most of them
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cringed in embarrassment. Several of them asked for my card.
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She’s nothing to me, Gillian. It’s all right.”
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“She’d better watch herself.” Gillian sniffed. “Incompetent?
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I’ll show her incompetent with my boot.”
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Mary hugged her friend. “I love you.”
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“Of course you do. You have excellent taste.”
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Damien absently tugged on one of her curls only to watch it
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spring back into shape. “What’s the plan for the evening?”
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“We’re having dinner with my family.”
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He raised a brow. “We are?”
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“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I bumped into my
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mother on the way over here just now. She invited me to dinner.
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I told her you were here and she said she’d set an extra place. Is
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that all right?”
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“Yes. I’m happy to meet them at last.”
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amien was never nervous. But he sure was now. He gave
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himself a little pep talk about how he totally could do
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this. Her mother was a woman after all. He was good
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with women. But this was Mary’s mom and dad. People who
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were really important to her.
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Mary squeezed his hand. “I promise you they’re really nice
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people. She just wants to get a look at you. If she thought you
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were a bad guy, she wouldn’t be inviting you to dinner, I can
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tell you that much.”
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“Oh yeah? There’s a story to that. Tell me.”
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“Let’s see, um, fi ve years ago? No, six. I went out with a guy
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for a while. He was nice enough. But I never quite trusted him.
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Anyway, it got back to her that he had a fi ancée of all things.
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This woman he’d actually been living with down in Tacoma. I
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had no idea. He had an apartment here; how on Earth could I
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have known? But she found out and she tracked him down. She
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never told me what was said. He never told me what was said.
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But he confessed about the other woman and moved out of his
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apartment that same week. She’s sort of ruthless. So what I’m
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saying is she’s not one to hide or beat around the bush. If she
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likes you, she likes you, and she does not have people she dis-
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likes at her kitchen table.”
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She pulled up the driveway and got out.
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“You should let me open your door.” He frowned at her and
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she laughed, holding a hand out.
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“I promise next time. Come on.”
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He noted that she did not bring any food.
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They went up the front steps. She tapped on the door and
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they went in. “It’s me!”
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“In the kitchen.”
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She shut the front door and he took her coat, hanging it
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on the coat rack near the door, along with his own.
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“Come on back then. Your father is making what he thinks
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is a compelling argument as to why we should have ice cream
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with the pie.”
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“My dad has really high cholesterol and high blood pres-
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sure,” Mary told him in an undertone. “He’s always trying to
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sneak his favorite foods, most of which are forbidden now.”
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The house was nice. Pictures of the kids from babyhood into
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the present day all over the walls. Nothing fancy. Nothing run-
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down. It was clear a family had been raised there with love. He
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liked that a lot.
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Jeanne Whaley stood in front of a very tall man wearing a
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sheepish expression.
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“I don’t see why a little tiny scoop is a problem.”
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“Because you have Doritos in your shed. Don’t think I don’t
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know.”
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“Hey, guys.” Mary moved to hug her mother and then her
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father, both of whom turned to face Damien. “Jeanne and Mike
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Whaley, this is Damien Hurley. Damien, my parents.”
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Damien smiled and held his hand out. “It’s really a pleasure
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to meet you.” Mary and her mother bore a very strong resem-
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blance. The shape of the eyes, the curly hair, the smiles were very 11
similar as well.
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Jeannie looked him up and down. “Mary says you’re a
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musician.”
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“Yes, ma’am.” He looked to her father and took his hand in
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a shake. Not too hard or too long. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
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“Manners are a good start. There’s beer in the fridge. Want
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one?” Mike tipped his chin.
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“That would hit the spot. Thank you.”
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“Sit. I’ll get one for everyone.” Mary moved to the fridge as
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they all sat.
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“Company is here. Ice cream is a must for company. Jules
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sent over the cherry walnut bars. It’s a crime not to have ice
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cream with them.”
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“Are you sucking in your cheeks? Mary, look at your father
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pretending to be scrawny to get some ice cream. I hope it hits
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the spot as it clogs your arteries and kills you. Leave me with
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three kids. Two of them without enough sense, though Juliet
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will save Cal from himself. Ryan? Well, goodness knows. You
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can’t die yet because it would be terribly unfair to leave me with
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these creatures to raise on my own.”
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“What’s for dinner?” Mary interjected smoothly as she put
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the beers down on the table.
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“Meatloaf. Mashed potatoes, corn. Tomatoes and cucum-
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bers. Oh, and bread.”
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“Yum.” Mary sat next to Damien. “She makes the best meat-
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loaf in the whole world. I promise.”
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“I’m not one to turn down meatloaf. It’s one of my favorites.”
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Jeanne turned her gaze back to him. “Do you play cards?”
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Mary snorted. “Watch her. Dad, how’s the computer?”
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“Slow. This thing keeps coming up telling me I won a laptop.
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Pretty cool, huh?”
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Mary paled and Damien had to work really hard not to laugh
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as he knew she counted to ten. “Dad, I told you about that. You
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didn’t really win a laptop. No one ever wins the laptop. Did you
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give them any information?”
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“I clicked the pop-up thing. Is that bad?”
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Mary looked to him and he bit the inside of his cheek.
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“Go on and fi x your dad’s machine. I’ll watch the meatloaf
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and in the meantime, Damien can play some cards with me.”