We have a lot to discuss,” Laci’s mother, Margaret, said as she sat down Indian-style on the edge of Laci’s bed. She looked more like one of Laci’s peers than she did her mother. “What do you mean ‘a lot’?” Laci said as she fumbled through the endless name-brand clothes in her oversized walk-in closet—Gucci, Fendi, Troop, Liz Claiborne, Guess. She was in the process of throwing out old clothes that she hadn’t worn in a while or that were worn out. She had to make room for the new ones she planned on purchasing during their annual mother-daughter shopping spree. Summer and college were right around the corner, and she would need a new wardrobe to set things off. “Just what I said—a lot,” Margaret said, smiling. “I want to know everything.” “Everything, like what?” Laci asked, intentionally stalling. “Like whether you’ve decided where you want to go for the graduation trip I’m sending you on. Like, do you have a boyfriend who might want to go on the trip with you?”
