I bummed myself out writing the other story lol, so I thought I'd write a lighter piece…

*****

Girl Talk

Laura trudged up the stairs, her thigh muscles screaming in protest. That had decidedly not been a pleasant ride. She was getting too old to be riding a motorcycle. At least her legs were.

Laura's mood immediately improved as she caught sight of her daughter once she made it upstairs. "Hi, baby," she smiled.

"Where were you?"

Laura sighed as the accusation in the small voice dug deep into her. She'd heard that question from her children's mouths and seen it in their eyes too many times. She lowered herself to get at Lulu's eye level. She was comforted when her girl didn't pull away when she reached out to smooth out her dark hair. "Do you want me to fix you something to eat, sweetie?"

Lulu shook her head. "Grandma already did. I'm going to go watch TV." The little figure turned and walked into her room, closing the door behind her. The message was clear: no Mommys allowed unless they intended to stay.

Laura looked around the empty hallway. She glanced at the closed door that led to her mother's room, and decided against going in. She didn't want another lecture, deserved or not.

There was a knock on the front door, and Laura groaned at the thought of having to go back down the stairs. Her sore body was not pleased at the thought, either. "I'll get it," she said, though she wasn't really sure anyone cared.

After a dozen painful steps, she finally arrived at the door, opening it to a half-hidden, but still familiar face. "Hi, Amy, thanks for coming."

Amy barely peeked over the stuff she was holding. "I got your 'urgent' voicemail, but I thought I'd bring you this before you headed out to Bobbie's. I'm glad I caught you, 'cause this stuff is heavy."

Laura took the mound of papers and letters from her sister's arms. "Thanks. I think. Is this all the stuff from Deception?"

Amy laughed, and shook her head. "Just the really, really important ones, according to Elton. You should give that man a raise."

"I know, I don't know what I'd do without him." Laura turned and walked to the table, dumping the pile on it. She chuckled as she saw the post-its with specific instructions riddled with exclamation marks. She turned back to her sister. "So what have you been up to?"

"Just the same old thing, as always," Amy said disgustedly, sitting in one of the chairs. "I really need a vacation. No, scratch that. I really need someone to go *with* me on said vacation."

"At least you're not off chasing a man that disappears more often than David Copperfield," Laura said, sinking into her own seat, and stretching out her legs.

"True, but when was the last time I *had* a man?" Amy pointed out.

"Hmm… good question." Laura raised her eyebrows in amused curiosity. "When? And more importantly, who?"

"So where IS Luke?" Amy avoided the question, looking around as if actually looking for someone.

Laura shrugged. "Who knows? And nice try with changing the subject. Real subtle."

"There's not much to tell on my end." Amy's eyes widened as she suddenly remembered a juicy piece of gossip that she knew would be of interest to her sister. "Oh! Except did you hear about Alexis Davis' date?

Laura rolled her eyes. "I don't care about Alexis' love life, Amy."

"Not even if her date was with no other than Scott Baldwin?" Amy asked, waiting for the reaction.

Laura frowned. "Alexis and Scotty?"

"Mhmm."

"That's nice," Laura tried to sound nonchalant. "I hope they had a good time."

"Liar."

"Am not. And do not give me that look."

"What look?" Amy asked innocently. "So I guess you don't want to know the details?"

Laura shook her head. "Nope."

"All right." Amy said. She leaned back and waited for the inevitable.

Laura drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds, then finally gave in. "Well, as long as you're here…"

Amy didn't need further prompting. She leaned closer to Laura, even though there was no one around to overhear. "Apparently, it didn't go so well. In fact, it ended rather abruptly." Amy shook her head. "I could've told them that, considering it's a known fact that Alexis has the hots for Sonny."

"Abruptly? What do you mean? Did Alexis just get up and leave?" Laura asked, the frown reappearing.

"I think so. It seems Scotty started telling her about some of Sonny's less-than-pretty past, but Alexis didn't want to hear any of it." Amy shrugged. The man *was* hot, but still…

Laura nodded to herself. "Karen."

"Right. So I think it's safe to say that that is the last date those two will be going on anytime soon."

Laura stayed quiet for a few moments, then looked at her sister. "Do you want to go see a movie with Lulu and me?"

"I thought you were heading to Bobbie's."

"I changed my mind."

"Great!" Amy beamed. "How about seeing "A Beautiful Mind." I heard it's really good."

"Ooh, is that the one with Russell Crowe?"

"Oh, yeah," Amy nodded, getting a nice visual about anything but his mind.

Laura grinned. "Nice try. But we can't take a 7-year-old to see that."

"Spoil sport," Amy said in mock disappointment. "Disney has a new movie out, I think. Snow Puppies or something like that." She smiled lustily. "Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s in it. He's pretty good-looking."

Laura laughed. "I'll go persuade Lulu to come and you check the times for the movie, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan," Amy agreed.

Laura went up the stairs again, this time with much more spirit. After all, she thought, she'd chased Luke Spencer enough to last a few lifetimes. But she'd only have one chance to see Lesley Lu grow up.

~The End~