"Is that you?" Jesse asked the woman in the doorway, struck with awe. "Debbie the Devil?"
Danny had walked into the room just in time to hear Jesse's last few words. "Jesse!" he scolded. "Why would you call Debbie a devil? Do you know her?" And then, turning to Deborah, he said, "Sorry about this, Deb—"
But before Danny could finish, Deborah interrupted him. "Jesse? Jesse the Jerk? The kid who absolutely worships—oh, what's his name, King Kong?"
Jesse adopted a pained look and replied, "A, it's Elvis, the King. And two, I'm not a kid anymore!"
Danny's head swiveled from Jesse to Deborah, nonplussed at their insolence. "Hello? Remember me? Can someone please tell me what's going on here?"
"Let Miss Devil do the talking. I'm outta here," Jesse said, spinning on his heel and stalking into the kitchen.
Danny led Deborah to the couch and sat her down. "Debbie, how do you know Jesse? And what was this fight just about?" he asked, confused.
"Danny, I had no idea that this Jesse was your brother-in-law. I mean, you told me about him, but you simply made him sound like—an angel! I've known Jesse since fifth grade, and he is the exact opposite of an angel." Deborah replied indignantly, shaking her head.
"Debbie, I know he was pretty mean in the past—after all, I got a few broken ribs from him after Pam and I eloped—but he's changed. The new Jesse is kind, and he loves kids! Besides, why do you think he's such a bad guy? And what does he have against you?"
Deborah sighed. "When we were in junior high, Jesse asked my younger sister to go out with him, and she said yes. Soon they became inseparable, but one day, Jesse just broke it off completely. My sister bawled for days, and—this might seem silly, but—I felt so awful, I played a few tricks on him—you know, for revenge. To this day, I can't stand a guy like Jesse, and he, knowing it was I who played the pranks, hates someone like me. We just don't get along—at all."
Danny stood up. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that. Debbie, why don't we go get some Chinese food? Forget about Jesse tonight; I'll talk to him later." With that, the couple left the house in silence.
Meanwhile, Jesse was back in the kitchen, still fuming about Deborah. Joey, Danny's long-time friend who moved in, ran up the stairs from his room, which used to be a garage. He was working on voices for his comedy act and almost collided with Jesse, who was setting the table. "Whoa!" Joey exclaimed in his Popeye voice. "Well, blow me down!"
"I will blow you down if you don't cut this Popeye act," Jesse countered grumpily.
Joey sat down at the table. "Okay, who is it this time?" He asked knowingly.
Jesse, too, took a seat. "It's Danny's new girlfriend. I knew her way back in junior high; I used to date her sister. But then I broke up with her, and since then, Debbie's been trying to make my life miserable. When I got out of school, I was so happy! Not only did I not have to do homework anymore, but Debbie was going somewhere else! And now she's back."
Joey playfully punched Jesse's shoulder. "Jess, you're making way too much out of this. Danny really likes Debbie, and besides, all that happened years ago. She's more mature now, so you can stop worrying. And Becky's told me about your record deal. Cheer up! There's lots of things to look forward to!"
Jesse sighed, and went to check on the pasta. "I guess you're right, Joey." He paused and raised his voice. "Dinner! Come and get it!"
D. J., Danny's oldest daughter, was the first to arrive. She had her best friend Kimmy with her, and asked, "Can Kimmy stay for dinner? Her parents are going out to eat, and she'll be stuck with her brother."
Jesse nodded. "Sure, she can go eat with Comet."
Just then, Comet, the Tanners' golden retriever dog, came charging into the kitchen. "Woof!" he barked. He started devouring the dog food in his bowl.
Kimmy shook her head. "No way am I eating that stuff. If I go eat with my brother, he'll at least give me cat food." She grimaced. "At least it's better than dog food." Kimmy said good-bye to D.J. and left through the back door.
Just then, the phone rang. "I got it," announced Jesse. He reached for the phone and said, "Talk to me." And what he heard next made him drop the phone.
A/N: I don't have much to do around here, so I'll try to get in more chapters ASAP! Please review!