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blanche to do whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted.”
    “ So what happened,” Sally chimed in.
    “ Well, the guy I was working on was perving out over the girl and insisted I at least have a look. So I pull off my gloves, give the work the once over, and tell her I could fix it but she’ll have to make an appointment. So, the girl pulls up her dress, starts crying uncontrollably, and walks out of the shop. For the life of me, I had no idea what happened.”
    Mom to save the day.
    “ She was clearly heartbroken over the loss of a boy. In a rash moment of panic, she decided the boy’s name needed to be removed from her sight, but it had to be done at that very moment – otherwise she’d never do it. You refusing her felt like fate. More than likely, she went home and called the boy to beg him back. It’s not what she wanted, but she’s young and impressionable.”
    Dad and I stared at one another, unsure how to respond.
    I broke the spell of silence with a change of subject. “I almost forgot, there’s a haunted house over in Tyler’s End I wanted to go to. It was mentioned in the paper – the Gaultier House. Sally already offered to drive, but she always does the driving. Would you let me borrow the car to…”
    “ Sorry buddy, you know the rules. No driving cars out of town until you can afford the gas and insurance on your own.”
    Great. With that logic I’ll be driving a car and a wheelchair at the same time.
    “ Scott, I really don’t mind,” blurted Sally. “ Or would you rather see if Princess Tattoo would be interested?”
    The silent spell returned. All eyes fell onto Sally. After a moment she sheepishly grinned.
    “ Gotcha,” said Sally. “Seriously, I’ve already told my parents we’re going. It’s not a problem.”
    “ Are you sure?” asked mom.
    “ Of course. I’m more than happy to spend a little extra time with Spooky.”
    Mom shook her head. “Honey, we don’t call Scotty that in this house.”
    I placed my hand on mom’s arm. “It’s okay, Mom. Sally can call me anything she likes.”
    “ Poop face,” Sally blurted. “Dill weed. Frak Nard. Scotty Trained. Molasses Mucus. Zombie Brains.”
    The hits continued pouring from Sally’s lips as we all stuffed our face. Dad finally stopped the flood of fun pouring from Sally’s mouth. “What time do you two plan on going tonight?”
    I answered, “The haunt opens at seven. I’d like to be there around six thirty so we can be the first to go in. That’ll give me plenty of time to poke around after the fact.”
    Mom leaned over her plate and glared at me. “Scotty, remember the last time you overstayed your welcome at one of those places. There’s no need to get kicked out again. Be considerate and remind yourself it’s just a job to most of those people…not an obsession.”
    “ Don’t worry, Mom, I won’t let the same thing happen this time. I’m fairly certain one night being held up in a police squad car was enough for me.”
    Sally jerked her head my way and said “Oh, no way. I can’t believe you’ve been holding out on me. How long did this incident set you back? A year? Two years?”
    “ Six weeks, nothing but school and sleep.”
    Sally rolled her eyes. “That’s not so bad. Heck, I could handle that kind of punishment now and then. The discipline I always wind up with usually involves stripping me of my phone and internet. I’d rather face down a police officer than not be able to update my Tumblr or Facebook status.”
    Mom and Dad shook their heads.
    “ So kidding,” Sally laughed. “Those things really don’t matter that much. Not having a phone, on the other hand, means I can’t communicate with those that have become the single most important people in my life…my foster-step-family-in-laws.”
    Sally leaned in close and attempted to put her arms around everyone at the table. When she failed, she stood, walked around the table, and hugged us one by one.
    “