Excerpt from Blue Dreams - Vanessa's Journal August 15 8 a.m.

This is my first day at Marianne's.  She doesn't understand I'm a few frames behind, since prom. 

When she talks about Don, I shove my purse across the counter top in her kitchen away from a tangled mess of stuff - kitchen gear and cartons of what look like last night's take-out.  She stops talking about men.  But I have a separate conversation with another mom, Waterpark Mom.  And I can't smell the beer Marianne had for breakfast or hear about what almost happened with Don last night.  Waterpark Mom asks about the kinds of food we're eating on our lunch date today and about the English class I'm starting at the college in a couple of weeks.

"And where did you get that bag, at the fair?  Wasn't it last weekend?" She asks.

I see what she means about the bag, it looks handmade with a denim patch, a fancy dog sewn into the crochet.  The romantic story, my boyfriend bought it for me at that fair last weekend.  We stayed all day eating friend dough and corn dogs and (this ugly purse) was one of the last items left.  Real story, I bought it at Target on sale, the dog used to have a glittering rhinestone collar, but it came off and this was months ago.

We share stories from the summer.  Marianne laughs this time.  And I remember what it is like to have a family and friends.  I'm the cheerleader again and Beast is my boyfriend.