Chapter 18

            It was the night of her big cocktail party. Debbie was spending the night with a neighbor down the hall. The neighbor worked at a daycare center, and she babysat on the side. She had excellent references. Debbie had begged to stay for at least the first hour of the party, but Jessica had held her ground. This was an adult party. No matter how intelligent and mature Debbie was, she was still a thirteen-year-old girl.

            Jessica had hired two servers — one male, one female. They were college students looking to make an extra few bucks. They sat up the buffet for her while she got dressed.

            She was wearing an off-the-shoulder, white cocktail dress with red lace that lined the white underlay. She had on red heels, and her dark hair was up in a gold butterfly clip.

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