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When Scarlett opened the back door, she gasped to see her son’s friend Stevie Cardinal standing on the old grey planks of the porch.
“Mrs. Kane! Is Troy home?”
She put a hand to her heart. “Why, Stevie! How nice. Yes, he is. Troy? It’s for you, dear.” Troy rose and strode to the door.
“Can you come out?” Stevie asked, brushing his long hair back. His large tinted glasses reflected Troy’s pleased face.
“We’re just eating,” Troy explained. “Come in!”
The yard exploded with children. They came out from behind the leaning old fence; they came out from behind the cotoneaster hedge covered with a sprinkling of snow. The Cardinals and Balakrishnans and the Sivertsens, compatriots from the Foursquare Gospel Church, classmates from both schools – Scarlett’s little house could barely hold t
