Lucy hesitated. As a reporter she never interviewed minors alone. She always made sure a responsible adult was present. This wasn’t an interview, she wasn’t working, but she still would have felt better if Frankie had stuck around. Still, Frankie was the one who suggested she talk to Renee. Lucy followed her down the hall to the kitchen.

“Coffee?” asked Renee. “Water?”

“No thanks,” said Lucy, climbing onto one of the stools at the island.

Renee got a bottle of water out of the fridge and settled herself on the other stool.

“Well, like I said before, Sara’s been very unhappy and upset lately and I’m sure it’s something to do with cheerleading. Sara left the game yesterday, she called me to pick her up, but she hasn’t told me why. I wonder if there was some teasing or something?”

“The boys on the team are always teasing us, that’s just what boys do,” said Renee, shrugging.

“How do they tease you?”

“Oh, you know, they think we’re silly. They make fun when we touch up our makeup, stuff like that.”

“I think it must be more than that,” insisted Lucy. “Do they make personal remarks about your appearance? Your figures?”

“Well, you know boys. It’s all about boobs to them.” Renee gave a world-weary sigh. “Americans are so silly about their bodies.”

“What do you mean?” asked Lucy in a small voice.

Renee took a drink of water. “I was in Europe this summer, you know…”

“So was my daughter Elizabeth,” said Lucy.

“Really? Then you know what I’m talking about.”

Lucy didn’t have a clue, but then Elizabeth had only been home for a few days and there really hadn’t been time for a heart-to-heart chat. Lucy was pretty sure she was going to find time now. “I didn’t really get a chance to hear about her trip,” she said.

“Too bad. I bet she had a great time. I sure did. I stayed with my cousins in France, and after a while there we all went hiking in Italy, in the Cinque Terre. It’s so beautiful there. Did Elizabeth go there?”

“I don’t really know,” said Lucy, feeling dumber by the minute.

“The point I’m trying to make is, well, people in France and Italy are a lot more comfortable about their bodies. My cousins never wore bikini tops for swimming, for example. On the beach, some do and some don’t and it’s perfectly okay.”

Lucy swallowed hard, wondering if Elizabeth had spent half the summer prancing about topless.