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     leave you for a few minutes to get acquainted.”            The two young men stood there looking at each     other, hoping the other would talk first.  Justin wasn’t     used to small children and Tom felt he had had more     than his share of babysitting in his lifetime.  They     elbowed each other a few times and finally Tom looked     away as if telling Justin to speak first.            Justin sighed but finally spoke.  “Uh, so hey, kid,     what are you in for?  Did you get stuck here like us     because you did something wrong?”  He laughed at his     joke but stopped almost immediately.  It didn’t seem all     that funny here.            Emily stood up and looked at Justin.  She was     small and blond, but had an air of maturity beyond her     years.  “We’re in for about eight hours while my     mommy finishes swinging shift over at the bakery.  I     don’t know if I did anything wrong.  Maybe I did;     maybe that’s why Daddy left.”            “What do you mean, that’s why your daddy left?”     Tom asked as Sam joined them.            “One night he came home drunk and he started     hitting Mommy.  I started crying and yelled for him to     stop.  He hit me really hard.  I don’t remember any     more, but when I woke up I was in the hospital and     Daddy never came back.”            “Is that where you got the gash on your face?”                                      11
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