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might like you but you just don’t know it.”
    “They don’t.”
    Erin was silent for a long time, aching as much as if she were feeling it herself. Finally, she said, “You look like me.”
    Anna turned her head to look up at her. “Mom—”
    “You do,” Erin said matter-of-factly. “And, to tell you the truth, I had a similar experience in high school.”
    “No one liked you either?”
    “Oh, they liked me. But not the way I wanted them to. And the only ones who were interested in me were…losers.”
    “So I’m doomed.”
    The words were so sincerely melodramatic that, despite her sympathy, Erin had to hide a snicker. “Not forever. What I finally figured out is that some women aren’t appreciated in high school. It doesn’t have anything to do with not being attractive. It has something to do with the guys being too immature to recognize it or act on it.”
    Anna was frowning again, but this time thoughtfully. “It’s a nice idea, but I’m not buying it.”
    “Do you think I’m ugly?”
    “Mom!” Anna groaned in exasperation.
    “I know it’s not a fair question but try to take it seriously.” Erin was thinking as quickly as she could, hoping she was using the right strategy. So often, raising teenagers was like walking between landmines. “I know I’m your mother so it’s hard to be objective. But do you think I’m attractive at all?”
    “Of course you are,” Anna muttered, “but—”
    “It’s not the same. I know that.” Erin sighed. To her own surprise, she was inexplicably pleased that Anna thought she was attractive. “But, assuming I’m somewhat attractive and I was even better looking when I wasn't so ancient, why do you suppose I didn’t have a real boyfriend all through high school?”
    Anna didn’t have an answer to that. “I don’t know.”
    “I didn’t know either. And it drove me crazy that I wasn’t the girl who all the guys were always drooling over.  But things only got better after high school.”
    “So you’re saying I have to wait until after high school until someone will be interested in me?” Anna was scowling, as if the thought annoyed her.
    Erin chuckled. “Sweetie, I have no idea. For all know, all the guys you’re friends with are secretly in love with you.  I’m just saying that not getting asked out is not proof that you’re not beautiful and worthy of attention.”
    Anna sat up and peered into the mirror across the room. After a minute of studying her rosy, rumpled appearance, she made a face. “I’m not as thin and pretty as Mac.”
    “You’re different than Mackenzie,” Erin insisted, inwardly cringing at Anna’s referring to not being thin. She was the same size Erin had been in high school—shaped very differently from Mackenzie. “There’s no way to compare the two of you. Some guys are going to find her prettier. And some guys are going to find you prettier.”
    “Right,” Anna muttered, flopping back onto the bed again.
    “They will. You don’t believe me? Your father was one of the most eligible men in the whole city when I got together with him. He chose me. Not all of the gorgeous models he could have had.”
    Anna was clearly listening, but she just said, “But he didn't choose you just for your looks.”
    “Not just for my looks, no. But I assure you he appreciated—and still appreciates—how I look.”
    At this, Anna gave an exaggerated groan. “Oh, please, stop there! If you start talking about your overactive sex life, I’ll never recover.”
    Erin actually blushed a little. “What? What do you mean overactive? You have no idea—”
    “We’re not stupid, you know. We know why you lock your door, since you never lock it otherwise. And, let me tell you, you all have way more sex than is good for old people.”
    Erin’s cheeks reddened even more, although she was genuinely amused by Anna’s blunt irrepressibility. “I’ll ignore the implications of that remark,” Erin said with teasing hauteur,