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Mom parked in front of a huge three-story house. Her car was almost new, but paled in comparison to the Ferrari, Bentley, and other very fancy and expensive vehicles in the driveway. A blonde girl close to my age met us near the front door. Her hair was only a little shorter than mine and touched her waist. I saw she was wearing a lot of makeup but it was quite pretty. She said, "Hi, I'm Jill. Jerry will be back in a little while. Please come in." She had diamond bracelets on each wrist and a string of diamonds around her neck as well. I thought the style of her pretty pink dress suited her very nicely.
I was astounded at the huge rooms. Just the kitchen was larger than our trailer! It looked a bit like an art museum, but fancier and with lots of expensive furniture. I looked around a while nearly stunned, but Mom didn't seem impressed. She had obviously been there before. I saw a tear at the corner of her eye as she said, "I'll see you soon. Everything will be fine."
"What? You're leaving, Mom?"
"Uncle Jerry is really nice. Just do what he says."
As Mom left, Jill reassured me with, "Jerry is the best! He gets me nearly anything I want and always makes me feel great! Don't worry."
"I... I'm kind of nervous. Can I go out for a cigarette?"
"You don't have to. We can smoke in here. Jerry says you haven't used a holder yet?" She took two long golden cigarette holders from her purse, then a pack of cigarettes. They were the same size I smoked, the long thin 120's, but smelled and tasted much better. I watched her put one in each holder and she handed me one. "He likes when I light them from a candle. That's why there are candles in most of the rooms. Have a seat." She sat on a plush sofa and patted the cushion next to her. We lit up from the flame of a candle on the coffee table. I thought she was very pretty, and she smiled and stared at me while we smoked. During some small talk, I learned she was nearly 23, making her two years older than I was.
