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Show in my father's house/ 263 She threw her arms around me and we held each other. When we separated my shoulder was damp. "Do you think any less of me, knowing all that?" She grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "How could you think that? I love you. You're the best friend I've ever had. Don't you know that?" I hugged her tightly, then sighed and stood. We walked to our halfway point in the twilight. A couple of weeks before we moved, Mrs. Griffin took Jeanne and me downtown to do some shopping. We wandered through the best stores fondling scarves and jewelry, daydreaming over leather gloves and velvet jackets, gazing at figured sheets and wallpaper. Mrs. Griffin bought a blouse for Jeanne and a small leather purse for me. I was quietly grateful, feeling that no words could explain what the Griffins had added to my life. On the way home, we stopped at a seafood restaurant. Greenery fell around us and a waterfall trickled near our table with colored lights playing over it. I was all agape. "Are you ready to order?" Mrs. Griffin asked me, smiling. Her skepticism had vanished - perhaps in her relief that I was moving. But she said she would miss me, too* I stared at the menu. How could I order something that cost half of my mother's weekly grocery allowance? "I...I don't know what to choose." Mrs. Griffin seemed to be enjoying my confusion and awe. "Shall I order for you, dear? Halibut au gratin for three." I relaxed and began to savor everything, the appetizers, |