EXTRACT FOR
Love Again
(Giselle Renarde)

"You know what would make you feel, like, a hundred times better?"

Karen looked up into her daughter's sparkling eyes. "What's that, honey?"

"A boyfriend," Lauren replied with a resolute nod.

"Lauren!" Karen scolded, pushing her daughter away as though the idea were inherently offensive. 

She wasn't sure why she reacted with such vehemence. It was a perfectly reasonable thing for a teenaged girl to say.

Grabbing a yogurt from the fridge, Lauren persisted. "You should call Funeral Man."

"I want you eating more than just yogurt for lunch, young lady. Have a sandwich too, and take an apple, and buy some milk form the cafeteria." 

The words tumbled out a mile a minute. Karen's heart felt like it was thumping in double time at Lauren's mention of Karl. Why would she mention him? They'd talked for fewer than five minutes. 

"I repeat," Lauren said, enunciating every syllable. "You should call that funeral guy."

"What? Who are you talking about?" Karen asked, suddenly hot and flustered. She undid the top button of her blouse because she was starting to feel as though she couldn't breathe.

"That guy you were talking to," Lauren went on. "I think he likes you."

"I don't know who you're talking about, honey," Karen replied, though she had a sinking sense of being too old to play coy. She gave in. "Do you mean Karl, Frida's brother?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Lauren replied. She shoved an orange slice in her mouth, then turned her back to dig through the fridge. 

Karen's smile bubbled to the surface...