Jesse answered the phone when I called Debbie's house. I asked if I could speak to her. "You could if she was up." He laughed. "Do you know what time it is?"
I checked my watch: a few minutes before seven A.M. "Oh," I said, crestfallen. "Sorry. I didn't realize. Did I wake you?"
"No," he said. "I have to head into the office, so it's business as usual for me. You just caught me, in fact - I was on my way out the door when the phone rang."
"You're working on Christmas Eve?"
"No rest for the wicked." He laughed. "But I'll only be there a couple of hours. Tying up some loose ends before the Christmas break. I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner. Speaking of which, are we to expect you or not?"
"Yes, please," I said. "That's why I was calling, to say I could come."
"Great!" He sounded genuinely pleased. "How about Evra?"
"Can't make it," I said. "He's still not feeling well."
"Too bad. Listen, do you want me to wake Debbie? I can -?
"That's okay," I said quickly. "Just let her know I'll be there. Two o'clock?"
"Two's fine," Jesse said. "See you later, Darren."
"Bye, Jesse."
I hung up and went straight to bed. My head was still buzzing from all the talking me and Mr. Crepsley had been doing, but I forced my eyes shut and concentrated on sweet thoughts. A few minutes later, my tired body drifted off to sleep and I slept like a baby until one in the afternoon, when the alarm clock went off.
My ribs were aching as I got up, and my stomach was purple and blue with bruises where Murlough had head-butted me. It wasn't too bad after a few minutes of walking around, but I was careful not to make any sudden movements and bent down as little as possible.
I had a good shower, then sprayed deodorant all over myself when I was dry - the smell of the sewers was hard to get rid of. I dressed and picked up a bottle of wine Mr. Crepsley had bought for me to give to Debbie's parents.
I knocked on Debbie's back door as Mr. Crepsley had advised. Donna opened it. "Darren!" she said, kissing me on both cheeks. "Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas," I replied.
"Why didn't you use the front door?" she asked.
"I didn't want to dirty your carpets," I said, scraping my shoes on the mat inside the door. "My shoes are wet from the dirty slush."
"Silly." She smiled. "As if anyone cares about carpets at Christmas. Debbie!" she called upstairs. "There's a handsome pirate here to see you."
"Hi," Debbie said, coming down the stairs. She kissed me on both cheeks as well. "Dad told me you called. What's in the bag?"
I pulled out the bottle of wine. "For your parents," I said. "My dad gave it to me to bring over."
"Oh, Darren, that's sweet," said Donna. She took the wine and called to Jesse, "Look what Darren brought."
"Ah! Vino!" Jesse's eyes lit up. "Better than the wine we bought. We invited the right man over. We should have him around more often. Where's the corkscrew?"
"Wait awhile." Donna laughed. "Dinner isn't ready yet. I'll stick it in the fridge. You head for the living room. I'll yell when it's time."
We ate some cheese and crackers while we were waiting, and Debbie asked me if my dad had decided about moving on yet. I said he had, and that we were leaving tonight.
" Tonight?" She looked dismayed. "Nobody travels anywhere except home on Christmas Eve. I should go over to that hotel, drag him out, and -?
"That's where we're going," I interrupted. "Home. Mom and Dad are getting together again, just for Christmas Day, to give Evra and me a treat. It's supposed to be a surprise, but I heard him on the phone this morning. That's why I called so early - I was excited."
"Oh." I could tell Debbie was upset by the news, but she put on a brave face. "That's great. I bet it's the best present you could have hoped for. Maybe they'll patch things up and get back together for good."
"Maybe," I said.
"So this is your last afternoon together," Jesse remarked. "Fate has driven the young romantics apart."
" Da-a-a-ad!" Debbie moaned, punching him. "Don't say things like that! It's embarrassing!"