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Karen and Laci - 7
by Letoria (letoria69@yahoo.com)

***

During a wonderful trip to the mall, Laci finds the 
Mall Fairy. Two days later Karen rescues Laci from a 
deadly situation. (Ff, no-sex, rom)

***

Author's Note: For casual or accidental readers, this 
chapter has no sex, and it requires reading the 
previous 6 or it will make no sense. This one is truly 
from my heart. 

For my Dear Friend Chris, who has much faith in me, 
deep and profound insight, and the patience and heart 
to help guide an occasionally high strung woman 
through rocky shoals. Aliquam mi omnia ad utilitatem 
et provocationem... Letoria 

***

Suddenly I turned around and she was standing there
With silver bracelets on her wrist and flowers in her 
hair
She walked up to me so gracefully and took my crown of 
thorns
"Come in," she said, "I'll give you shelter from the 
storm."
    Bob Dylan "Shelter From the Storm"



Karen sighed deeply. She turned to look at Laci in the 
dim light of the dashboard instruments. "Laci, 
darling. What is it that's so important that you have 
to go back there to get it?"

Laci shrugged. "Just something I need. Please Karen? 
Please? It'll only take a minute, and it's not like 
I'm going someplace strange. I only lived there with 
her for, like ever. It's no worse than it was a few 
weeks ago when I was there every day."

Karen sighed again. Her intuition was screaming at her 
that a bad moon was on the rise. However, Laci's eyes 
were pleading, and she couldn't resist that look. 
"Laci, I just have a bad feeling."

Laci rolled her eyes in the way only teenage girls 
can. "It'll only take a minute. Drop me off, and I'll 
run up and run back. Don't be such a worry wart."

Karen let out one more sigh. "OK. If you promise not 
to screw around, get in, get out." Karen shifted the 
car into drive and pulled out.

It was much easier to drive and park on the downtown 
streets now. The city cleared away the high banks with 
graders and tractors, and an enormous snow blower came 
along and chewed up the filthy snow, spitting into the 
back of dump trucks. Karen wheeled down the seedy 
street until she was in front of the decrepit 4-story 
tenement, on the opposite side of the street, where 
Laci once stayed. 

"Now hurry up," Karen said. "I'm going to go turn 
around and wait for you right in front, OK?"

"'Kay," Laci said. She leaned over and kissed Karen 
before grabbing her new satchel bag and stepping out. 
"Be right back...promise!" And she darted across the 
street.

***

Laci scurried up the steps and into the first floor 
entryway. It was quiet and cold. She mentally went 
over what she needed to grab. Not much, really, mostly 
the Teddy bear. The thought of leaving the Teddy bear 
Karen gave her, Karen's own childhood Teddy bear, in 
that cesspool was unthinkable. Karen probably wouldn't 
understand, so it was best to be vague. Besides, why 
was Karen so afraid?

Laci hurried up the stairs to the second floor 
landing, tracing her fingers along the banister 
railing. She stopped in front of the door to the old 
apartment and listened. It was quiet. She put her hand 
on the knob, turned it and stepped inside.

Her stomach immediately dropped. The familiar cat-
urine smell of meth filled the air. The only lights in 
the house came from the over-stove fluorescent and a 
small table lamp in the living room. Her mother and 
the boyfriend Gerry (or was it Gary?) were sharing a 
meth pipe in the dim light, beer cans littering the 
floor. "Well well well," her mother cackled. "Look 
what just came through the fucking door."

Laci froze like a deer caught in a truck's headlights. 
High on meth and drunk. Not good.

"Miss High and Fucking Mighty. Where the fuck have you 
been the last goddamned week, you worthless fucking 
whore?"

"None of your business," Laci hollered, unable to 
think of anything better.

"The fuck it ain't." Sandra jumped up and came at 
Laci, her body as tense as an over-wound watch. Even 
in the dim light, Laci could see her eyes were like 
two burnt holes in a blanket. "Where the fuck you 
been, slut!" Sandra yelled.

Laci's mouth went dry, and she began to shake. 
Everything began to appear fuzzy and muddled. Her 
mother was spoiling for a real fight, and she had 
Boyfriend to back her up. "What do you care," Laci 
said, trying to sound defiant but failing miserably. 
She quickly skittered to her old room and reached into 
her closet for the Teddy bear. 

Her mother was in no mood to respect the door on this 
night. Laci stuffed the bear in her bag, and her 
mother yelled, "What the fuck are you stealing this 
time, you thieving little cunt whore?"

"Nothing," Laci cried.

"Lemme see, you fucking thief! Lemme see!"

"No! Leave me alone!" 

Laci instinctively tried barging passed her mother, 
but it didn't work. Sandra, snarling, grabbed Laci by 
the hair and swung her open hand, connecting with 
Laci's face with a sharp crack. Laci screamed, only 
dimly hearing her mother say, "I'll teach you, you no 
good cocksucking thief! You think you can push me 
around and get away with it, missy bitch!"

Laci twisted frantically, and managed to slip away 
before her mother could hit her again. Nothing 
registered very clearly in her mind. Raw panic took 
over. She screamed and turned to run away, and ran 
smack into the boyfriend Gerry. "You little fucking 
punk!" He sneered, grabbing her by the jacket. "Think 
you can wiggle your ass and get away with it? Steal my 
money?" He pushed her back against the trash-laden 
table sending piles of assorted junk crashing to the 
floor.

The boyfriend grabbed her by the hair and backhanded 
her across the side of the head. Laci screamed as loud 
as she could, but she was sure she might as well be 
mute for all the good it did. 

Her mother came charging at Laci, her fists pin-
wheeling wildly as she tried to attack Laci while her 
boyfriend Gerry held the girl. "I'll teach you to 
steal from me you no good ass-sucking little cunt!" 
Her fists connected several times. Gasping as though 
she'd run up the stairs, her eyes blazing, Sandra 
screamed, "I'll show you, you nasty fucking cunt!" 

Laci was sure she was about to be raped and murdered. 
High on meth, drunk, bitterly angry, bad combination. 
"I shoulda fucking killed you years ago! You think 
you're such a tough bitch, ain't so fucking tough now, 
are you?"

"You hold your fucking piss," the boyfriend Gerry 
snarled at Sandra. "This little fucking slut whore is 
mine first, then you can do whatever the fuck you 
want!"

"Hurry the fuck up! I'm gonna teach this rotten cunt a 
lesson she shoulda had years ago!"

Laci struggled to free herself, but Gerry the 
boyfriend grabbed her arm and wrenched it back. In her 
terror, all she could manage were the piercing cries, 
"Karen! Karen! Karennnnn! Help me Karen! Oh God, Help 
Meeeeeeee!"

***

Karen drove the car around the block so she could park 
on the right side of the street. She was nervous 
without really knowing why. Laci was right – wasn't 
she? She'd been in that apartment nearly every day 
until a week ago. Why should it be any different now?

Karen pulled the car up to the curb in front of the 
house. That's when it hit her, like a bolt from above. 
*What the fuck are you THINKING! What in God's name is 
wrong with you? Letting that child go up there ALONE? 
Are you high?* "Oh God!" she said aloud. Her stomach 
did a free-fall, her heart exploded and ran like an 
out of control jackhammer. 

Hands suddenly fumbling, she turned off the car and 
instinctively pawed at the keys. She yanked them free 
and burst from the car. The one rational part of her 
mind still functioning chuckled and said, About to 
meet the infamous Laci's mother. *If all's quiet up 
there, you're gonna have some 'splainin' to do.*
 
Karen ran up the steps of the stoop, ignoring the ice 
under her heeled boots. She threw the door to the 
dilapidated tenement open, and instantly understood 
her fear was well justified.

Laci's piercing screeches rained down on Karen like 
arrows. Oddly, no one else in the tenement seemed to 
care about the commotion. "Karen! Karen! Help me 
Karen! Please help me!"

For an instant, Karen thought she might vomit. 
Everything took on a fuzzy quality, and when she ran 
to the stairs, it seemed she moved with leaden feet as 
she might in a dream. Was this a dream? It hardly felt 
real. She climbed the stairs, which seemed to stretch 
toward eternity. She held her keys clenched in one 
fist, the end protruding between her middle and index 
fingers. Losing the keys now would not be good.

The door to the apartment was slightly ajar. Karen ran 
at it and it burst open with a bang. She might as well 
have been stepping through the gates of hell. The 
filth and the smell were appalling. Even worse was the 
sickening sight of Laci being held by the boyfriend 
while the mother swung her fists at the child. Karen 
instinctively screeched in a piercing voice, "Let her 
go!"

Amazingly, it worked. Perhaps it was shock of her 
entrance and the force of her voice, but the boyfriend 
lost his grip and the mother looked at Karen 
momentarily dumbfounded. Laci skittered free, sobbing. 

"Laci! Get out!" Karen hollered. When the child began 
to protest leaving without her, Karen cut her like a 
knife. "Get out of here! Now!" Laci obeyed.

"Who the fuck are you?" the boyfriend snarled, 
regaining his wits.

"I'm not a fucking thirteen year old girl, prick!" 
Karen roared. "You take me on motherfucker, you better 
kill me fast, 'cause I'll ram your balls down your 
throat!" 

"Who the fuck are you?" Laci's mother echoed. She 
grabbed a knife from the filthy sink, and it wasn't a 
butter knife.

The boyfriend came toward Karen. She pushed out with 
her fists, and the end of the car key jabbed deep and 
hard into his chest, making him yelp with fury as he 
staggered back. She knew she had to get out. The tough 
woman act would only carry her so far against two 
pissed off, methed-up losers. She backed carefully 
into the hallway, and the boyfriend charged at her. 
She side-stepped, and just as he roared through the 
door frame, she stuck her booted foot out. His leg 
caught it, and in his rage and drugged state, there 
was nothing he could do.

It was an image that would play over in Karen's mind 
again and again, always in slow-motion. The boyfriend 
pitched forward without putting his hands out to catch 
himself. Like a gnarled old pine tree under the 
lumberjack's saw, he ever so slowly toppled with a 
kind of sick grace. At last, the side of his face 
connected with the square corner of the banister's 
newel post. There was a huge, loud, deafening crack, 
as if the gnarled pine snapped its tether to the 
stump. Blood splattered out in a spray as his head 
snapped back, and he crashed to the floor. Two sounds: 
the boyfriend's cry of outraged pain, and the mother's 
hysterical, "Gerry!"

Karen turned quickly. She clomped down the stairs and 
stepped outside. Laci was leaning out of the car 
window screaming, "Karen! Karen! Get in the car! Get 
in the CAR!" the last an ear piercing shriek of pure 
hysteria.

Karen calmly slid behind the wheel. Her voice firm and 
irresistible, she demanded, "Laci! Sit down! Put your 
seat belt on! Now!"

Trembling and sobbing, the girl complied meekly.

From a story above, a window flew up. Sandra flung 
herself out, almost to the point of tumbling to the 
ground. "You no good rotten cunt! You hurt my 
boyfriend. Laci, you fucken slut whore cunt, you ever 
come back to this house, I will KILL! YOU!"

Karen spun the car around and drove off at the speed 
limit. Laci sobbed and curled up, unable to speak. On 
the way, Karen pulled over to let two police cars and 
an ambulance, sirens blaring, go racing by. Karen knew 
where they were going. And now, was the moment of 
reckoning at hand?

***

Laci remained curled up in the passenger's seat, 
quietly sobbing, her cries stabbing Karen's heart like 
a dagger. For now, all Karen could do was reach over 
and squeeze Laci's thigh. Karen herself trembled all 
over, a nasty taste lingered in her mouth, and her 
body was covered in a sticky sheen of sweat.

When they got home, Laci's tears had subsided to an 
occasional sob. Laci let out a low, agonized moan that 
burned into Karen's soul. Helpless, she reached over 
and touched Laci's neck. "Come baby, we're home."

Trembling, Laci rose up and slid weakly out of the 
car. Karen ran around to the other side and slipped 
her arm around the girl. "Are you okay? Can you walk 
if I help you?"

"I can walk," Laci nodded. "I'm okay."

Karen reached into the car and grabbed Laci's bag. It 
amazed Karen that the girl somehow managed to hold on 
to it while being beaten. The bigger curiosity was why 
she hung on to it. Why was the bag so important? Karen 
mentally shrugged. At least the girl was safe. Karen 
led her into the house.

Karen dropped the bag and helped Laci shed her coat. 
In the light, Karen was able to get a good look at 
Laci's face. She looked spent, totally drained. Her 
eyes were lusterless, a deeply troubling thing to see 
in Laci, who's eyes normally sparkled with entrancing 
life. She had ugly red marks on the left side of her 
face, but it didn't look like any of them would lead 
to a black eye. Karen bent and kissed her with great 
tenderness. A mother's kisses made boo-boos better, 
Karen thought. How many of Amy's boo-boos were made 
better by Karen's kisses?

"Do you hurt anywhere else, baby girl?"

Laci shook her head. "No, just where they hit me."

Karen gathered Laci into her arms and held her close. 
Laci let out a long, quivering breath, but she was 
otherwise quiet. She kept her cheek pressed against 
Karen's breast. Karen stroked Laci's long hair. Her 
hair, hair the monstrous, putrid excuse for a human 
being had grabbed and used to hold her in place. Yet 
even now, it was as soft as mink. It was one of the 
things that carried Laci from the merely beautiful to 
the sublime.

A fresh and horrifying thought arose unbidden in 
Karen's still churning brain. An image of what would 
have happened if she hadn't gotten there in time, if 
she'd decided to go put gas in the tank instead of 
parking in front of the apartment. Rape, a horrible, 
agonizing, monstrous violation that would have filled 
the child with a terror beyond comprehension. Then, 
death, an agonizing death, strangulation, stabbing, 
beating, while Laci.... *Godammit Karen! Stop this 
insane bullshit!* Karen mentally screamed at herself. 
*It didn't happen, so stop this shit right now!* 

The thought made her insides tighten up, and a wave of 
nausea so intense that it brought her close to 
vomiting swirled through her. When it passed, she 
kissed Laci's forehead. "You okay to go upstairs, 
kitten?"

Laci lifted her head and nodded. "Yes. I feel better 
when I'm with you."

She lifted Laci's chin and kissed her lips with love. 
"Come on, precious."

Laci took the stairs easily. Karen put the lights on 
and sat Laci on the bed. Karen dropped to her knees 
and pulled the girl's boots off. When she stood, she 
helped Laci lay down. "Honey, will you be okay if I go 
downstairs for just a few minutes? I want to call my 
secretary to tell her I won't be in tomorrow, and lock 
the doors and put the alarms on."

Laci tried to prop herself on her elbow, and she was 
partially successful. "I'll be okay if you're not gone 
too long. And when you come back, can you bring me 
something to drink? I'm thirsty."

"Absolutely, kitten. What would you like?"

"Anything, long's it's cold."

"My kitten's wish is my command," Karen said with 
smile, and Laci attempted to smile back. Karen kissed 
her, and she let her lips linger before pulling back. 
"I'll be right back," she said, standing.

Laci felt numb inside. Her thoughts were distant and 
hazy. She was safe, that's what mattered, safe with 
Karen. A good thought peaked through the haze. Karen 
loved her. There could be no doubt of that any more. 
Karen had come in and rescued her, and then stayed 
there so Laci had the time she needed to get away. And 
then Karen did something else, Laci didn't know 
exactly what, just that Karen had done it, and 
whatever it was, it let Karen get away.

A very disturbing thought tried to enter Laci's 
consciousness. Even worse than something bad happening 
to herself, what if Karen had been hurt, or.... 
killed? The thought, even vague and indistinct, made 
her shudder and threatened to release the tears again. 
Laci knew that if Karen had been killed, she would 
have had to kill herself. There was no question of 
alternatives. She grimaced hard to push the thought 
down.

Karen hated the thought of leaving Laci alone 
upstairs, but she looked emotionally stable enough to 
tolerate a few minutes by herself. Karen lit a 
cigarette – Laci hadn't been smoking, said it was a 
part of her old life. Karen kept trying to quit. No 
way was quitting on the immediate horizon, not with 
the bullshit that was already roaring down the 'pike 
straight at her.

She looked at her watch. She was startled to see it 
wasn't even eight o'clock yet. It felt like midnight. 
She quickly called her secretary Marcie's home phone. 
Marcie sounded startled to hear the caller was Karen. 
"Hi Marcie, sorry to call you at home, but I wanted to 
let you know I won't be in tomorrow. Something's come 
up."

"Oh. OK. Is it serious?" 

There was no nosiness in Marcie's question, just 
concern. Still, Karen's patience was frayed. "Serious 
enough that I can't come in tomorrow," Karen said much 
more sharply than she intended. But Marcie would 
clearly understand the subject was closed and locked. 
"Sorry to be bitchy Marcie, but my nerves are 
frazzled. I'll be in Wednesday."

The call done, Karen looked in the refrigerator. There 
was a pitcher of fruit punch, something Laci liked a 
lot. Karen found a large insulated cup with a cover 
and straw. She filled it to the top and snapped the 
cover on. She finished her cigarette and went to the 
alarm panel, quickly arming the system. She was about 
to head back upstairs when she kicked Laci's bag.

She suddenly wondered if whatever it was Laci went up 
there for in the first place was in the bag. Karen 
brought the bag to the dining room table, set the 
drink down, and opened it. At first, it appeared that 
only Laci's normal stuff was in there. Then, crammed 
in a corner, she saw something white. She reached in 
and instantly froze.

Karen drew her hand out, and she stared at what Laci 
simply had to retrieve. A wave of dizziness sloshed 
over her, bringing her close to fainting. Her hand 
trembled and tears welled in her eyes.

A Teddy bear. Karen's own childhood Teddy bear, the 
one that had comforted her on bad nights, the one Amy 
didn't care about, the one she had given to Laci 
instead. A Teddy bear. A godforsaken Teddy bear. And 
clutched in the bear's paws, a picture. A picture of 
Karen with her arm around Laci's shoulder, Amy 
carefully excised from it so it was just the two of 
them. Karen stared at it for...who knows how long. Ten 
seconds? An hour? A Teddy bear. That's what the child 
felt was so important she had to go into a living, 
breathing hell to retrieve.

Karen's legs trembled violently. She dropped heavily 
onto one of the solid wooden chairs. Then the tears 
came. There was no stopping them this time. Karen 
dropped the bear on the table, covered her face with 
her hands, and sobbed violently but quietly, tears 
streaming down her face in a hot river. Her body 
hitched with each sob. How, she thought, how could 
anyone, especially a mother, hurt a child who still 
loved Teddy bears? Her Teddy bear? The one that made 
her own hurts better on dark nights; the one that now 
made Laci's hurts better. Some monstrosities did not 
deserve to live. Some bundles of putrefying flesh and 
bone were not human beings. 

They hurt my baby, my love, just because she wanted 
her Teddy bear. Oh God help us all, and it's me who 
would go to jail for loving this child. Can we be any 
more fucked up? 

With great effort, Karen got herself somewhat 
composed. She had to be strong – very strong – for 
Laci. Laci was the one who'd been hurt tonight. Karen 
went to kitchen and ripped off two squares from the 
paper towel dispenser. She wiped her tears, blew her 
nose, and took a deep breath.

Karen retrieved Laci's drink and the bear. She hurried 
upstairs, pausing a moment to go to the bathroom and 
wash her face. She didn't want Laci to know she had 
been crying. When she returned to the bedroom, Laci 
had her arm flung over her eyes. She lifted her arm 
and looked at Karen with a puzzled expression. "I was 
starting to worry," Laci said softly.

Karen helped her up and gave her the cup. Laci sucked 
gulp after gulp of punch through the straw, watching 
Karen closely. Karen put the bear on the vanity, and 
when she turned around, Laci was looking at her with 
worried, sad eyes. Karen could feel her heart tremble 
again. "Karen, you've been crying. I didn't mean for 
you to be upset or sad."

Karen sat down next to Laci. "Oh kitten, you didn't do 
anything to upset me, oh no honey girl."

"Why were you crying?" Laci instinctively knew it had 
something to do with the Teddy bear, but she couldn't 
understand exactly what it was.

"Oh honey. Just the stress. We've both had a pretty 
intense evening, you much more than me. It all kind of 
caught up with me downstairs. I'm better now. Really. 
Are you okay?"

Laci looked down. "I think so. Like I said, as long as 
you're with me, I'm okay. Karen?"

Karen caressed Laci's cheek. "Yes baby?"

"I love you. I just love you so much, and I don't know 
how to say it any harder."

Karen glanced at the bear. "Yes you do know how to say 
it harder, and you have kitten, trust me, you have. 
Come, let's change into our jammies."

Laci thought she understood what Karen meant; it had 
something to do with the bear, but Laci's brain was 
too overwhelmed to makes sense of such things just 
yet.

Karen went to the bureau and got clean night clothes, 
a flannel nightie for herself, and the pink Hello 
Kitty footie pajamas they'd bought just last Saturday 
for Laci. She helped Laci undress – Laci's role was 
limited to lifting her arms and standing when Karen 
told her to. *This is what real mothers did, they 
helped their children when they needed it*, Laci 
thought.

Karen carefully undressed her girl lover, pulling her 
sweater off, unbuttoning her new jeans, so tight she 
had to wriggle them down. Laci stepped out of them and 
remained standing so Karen could remove her bra. Karen 
looked Laci up and down, searching for bruises. The 
sight of Laci's near perfect body stirred no sexual 
feelings in Karen this night. Feeling such a hunger 
tonight, never mind attempting to act on it, would be 
a sacrilege. 

"Are footies OK?" she asked. "Not too warm?"

"No, I like footies."

Karen finished dressing the child, then quickly 
undressed herself. "Laci honey, can you unhook my 
bra?" 

When Laci unhooked Karen's bra, she couldn't resist 
laying her cheek on Karen's back so she could feel her 
mother-lover's soft, warm skin touching her own flesh. 
She turned her head so she could kiss Karen between 
her shoulder blades. She suddenly felt like crying 
again, and it was only with effort that she controlled 
herself.

Karen pulled her nightie on and turned to take Laci in 
her arms. Oh how she loved the girl, everything about 
her. She remembered the times after she first met 
Laci, how captivated she was by the child's beauty, 
her sweetness, her appreciation for any kindness shown 
her. She resisted having Karen pick her up for visits, 
and when Karen did, it was always at the public 
library. "She doesn't want you to see where she 
lives," Amy had explained to Karen. Laci was appalled 
when Karen mentioned it might be a good idea to meet 
her mother. Laci's horrified expression had so moved 
Karen that she dropped the subject. Was it that bad? 
*Oh Karen, you were so damned naive.*

Karen knew from the address that Laci came from one of 
the worst neighborhoods in town. She didn't know how 
bad until she drove down the street one afternoon. It 
appalled her. Closely packed 4 and 5 story apartments 
with decrepit stoops; street and sidewalks teeming 
with filthy, partially dressed children of all ages; 
tough, tattooed, and pierced men swaggering cockily 
down the street, many being led by menacing pit-bulls; 
drunks staggering up the sidewalks; drugs sold openly; 
girls of Laci's age smoking and flirting with adult 
men; mothers, some enormously fat, some extremely 
skinny, many toothless, yelled and screamed at kids of 
varying ages, screamed and yelled at neighbors over 
imagined slights. This was Laci's world. No. Appalled 
didn't begin to describe Karen's reaction.

How did such a world manage to produce a Laci? How did 
the child manage to maintain not only a decent 
attitude, but actually thrive when finally in a decent 
environment? From the moment of her drive through 
Laci's world, Karen made sure the girl always had a 
place to escape the madness of her day to day life. 
The child was amazing.

And now. Now. That world came frighteningly close to 
destroying one of it's few beautiful flowers. No, not 
that world, but products of that world.

Karen snapped her mp3 player into the dock and 
scrolled the playlists. "Midnight Blue". Not exactly 
warm and fuzzy, but beautiful – and appropriate. Karen 
dimmed the lights. The sound of Beethoven, "Moonlight 
Sonata", dark and morose, rippled from the stereo 
system, its haunting melody filling the room like an 
ocean fog. Fitting Karen thought, peering out the 
window. The moon was just passed full, but it was 
strong and bright. *Cold hearted orb that rules the 
night.* 

Karen took a red hair scrunchy from the vanity and sat 
down on the bed next to Laci. She raked her fingers 
through Laci's silky mane, caressing it. Laci looked 
up at Karen, her face at last reposed. Karen smiled 
gently and traced her fingers over the girl's silky 
cheeks. "Good God Laci," she murmured. "I never 
believed it was possible to love someone as much as I 
love you."

Laci's emerald green eyes were open and guileless, 
filled with unspoken trust. Karen's chest hitched 
briefly and tears threatened. No, not now, she 
thought. Laci turned her cheek toward Karen's 
caresses. Like drops of rain, the gentle notes of "Fur 
Elise" fell around them. "That song is pretty," Laci 
whispered. "What is it?
 
" It's called Für Elise. Beethoven wrote it for a 
young girl he really loved."

 "That's why you're playing it?"
 
"Yes, baby girl. I love you so much, the music is the 
nearest I can come to telling you how much."
 
"Oh God Karen...." A single tear welled out.

"Sshhhh, kitten. Let Beethoven talk for us." Karen 
gathered up Laci's hair and carefully twisted it into 
a loose knot atop the girl's head. She stretched the 
scrunchy on the nest of silk. She traced her fingers 
down the back of Laci's neck, and her kitten shivered. 
She dipped down to kiss Laci's neck as softly as a 
butterfly might.

Now Beethoven gave way to the gently stroking, 
caressing strings of "Elvira Madigan", making Karen's 
heart ache. She stood up and took Laci by the hands. 
She tenderly pulled Laci close, draping one arm around 
her waist and taking the girl's hand in her fingers. 
Laci moved close, resting her face against Karen's 
breast, breathing in the lilac scent of her mother-
lover's cologne.
 
Karen stepped, turned, stepped, turned, swaying her 
hips gently, leading the girl. "Karen. I don't know 
how to dance."

"Yes you do baby. Follow me, and let the music tell 
your heart how to move."

Laci let the sounds swirl around her like smoke. She 
heard Karen's heart beating. Karen was right. The 
music told her how to move. Her heart found the tempo 
and she stepped, swayed, stepped, swayed. "It's 
beautiful, Karen."

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"Mozart. Elvira Madigan."

"It makes me want to cry."

Karen kissed the top of Laci's head. "Me too, kitten. 
Me too."

At last, Karen laid her cheek atop Laci's head and 
surrendered to her tears.

To be continued?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
It's okay to *READ* stories about unprotected sex with
others outside a monogamous relationship. But it isn't
okay to *HAVE* unprotected sex with people other than
a trusted partner. 4-million people around the world 
contract HIV every year. You only have one body per 
lifetime, so take good care of it!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Kristen's collection - Directory 74