The moment for her parent's departure was approaching and even thought she could see that her mother was stressed, she tugged furiously at her evening dress like a whining small child. Suddenly her mother let out a loud howl which almost knocked Linnea down: "Get lost, you damned brat! Go into your room and stay there!"

Linnea thought that was how the blast wave from a bomb felt, but half a minute later came the usual apology: "Forgive me darling for shouting at you!"

Her mother was terrible sometimes, but she always begged forgiveness afterwards. She could have put her "forgive me darling etc" on a tape recorder!

"Have a good time when we are away!" Said her father. "Don't forget there is food in the refrigerator and ice cream in the freezer. What a wonderful evening it will be!"

Her father was the most intense egoist in the world. He thought everybody was happy just when he was happy and he was so disappointed every time he discovered that he was wrong.

The outer door slammed to and was locked from the outside. The long hours of loneliness began.

"Yes, what a good time I shall have!" Said Linnea to herself.