Len and Norma Lose a Body

Chapter 6

Lauren was up and ready to go; a bunny hug, jeans and some super thick and comfy socks that were slippery enough to slide across the entire kitchen floor if she got a good run at it. She found her mom in the kitchen, her palm down on the top of the kitchen counter as if she was supporting the entire weight of her whole body on that one arm. She looked like she was in a hurry or that she was annoyed. Lauren had seen her mom bring her coffee cup to her lips for a long sip as an excuse to look at her watch. It was an obvious move, not indiscreet whatsoever and Lauren would even catch her mom doing it when she wasn't wearing a watch, like this morning.

"Are you going into town?"

"Oh good morning sweetie? Ya, I'm leaving right away so if you want to come you better get dressed and get ready."

"I am ready."

Sharon paused as she took in Lauren's attire, "Ah ya, well I should be home before lunch because I gotta catch your dad, but I'll be going back into town after lunch if you want to come then."

Lauren got the hint that her mom was in too much of a rush for her to go and get something nicer on so she brushed the notion of going into town off shrugging, "Ya maybe I'll come in after dinner. I'll see."

"Yeah, no, that sounds good," as her mom glanced down at her imaginary watch again, "See you at lunch, and tell dad I'll be in. Tell him not to slip out before I get here."

Lauren already had her head buried into the fridge when she answered, "Oh yeah, I'll tell him, see you then."

And with that she was gone. Lauren wasn't really curious in the least at her mom's flightiness and chalked it up to being late for an appointment or one of her never-ending extra trips to the school. Lauren closed the kitchen door with a thud. "God, there's never anything good to eat around here," which really meant that there was nobody here that wanted to make her anything good to eat. She eyed her gramma's house out the window from above the kitchen sink and unconsciously turned on her heel, stuffed her feet into some shoes without undoing the laces and walked across the gravel driveway to her gramma Olson's house.

...

"Where's your mom?" Diane asked curiously as Lauren plunked down at her kitchen table. "She peeled out of here in an awful hurry," she observed.

"Ya, I dunno, town I guess."

"Did you see your dad this morning?"

"Nope, he was already gone."

"Hmmm," Diane wondered if Sharon had talked to Michael and Lauren yet. She was looking Lauren and nodding her head trying to fish out any indication that Sharon had told her anything.

It was unclear whether Lauren knew anything or not, and she immediately thought about her son. She wondered if Sharon had even told him yet. She started to get mad all over again inside of her head, the pressure began to build behind her eyes forcing them to squint and she rolled her tongue off the back of her teeth and poked at the walls of her mouth wondering when Sharon would fill her little family in on her news.

The sound of Lauren's voice pulled her out of her thoughts, "Anything to eat." Diane snapped back to the present, "What was that sweety?" Lauren huffed as if to scold her gramma for not listening the first time, "Do you have anything to eat?" "Um, ya ya I uh, grab a seat honey and I'll whip something up for you in a sec," Diane responded unnaturally cheerful feeling silly for getting caught daydreaming.

Lauren retreated to the living room and Diane heard the springs of her husband old recliner release and then spotted Lauren's feet sticking out from the wall that separated the kitchen and living room. Diane heard the television come to life as she turned to the fridge and started pulling out eggs and milk and setting them on the countertop. She floated across familiar paths of her kitchen and back again as she retrieved dry goods, mixing bowls and utensils before settling at her familiar work station beside the sink.