📜 Lola's Story | *BRAND NEW CONTINUATION*

Lola cradled her purse in her lap as they rode silently back to Mark's house. There were too many questions, too much intrigue racing through her mind. Mark's left knee bounced anxiously throughout the drive and he picked idly at his growing beard, elbow resting on the window.

As they pulled up to the small ranch house, Lola realized she hadn't been here since last Christmas. They had come over to meet Mark's new girlfriend Laura. With a pang of guilt, Lola realized she hadn't given her a second thought since.
“Laura,” she suddenly blurted out,”Whatever happened to her? Are you guys still...?” she hesitated to say it, but she couldn't tell why. She had no claim to Mark, but a cascade of recent memories flooded, and the thought of being the other woman in his life was unbearable.

He cleared his throat. “Well, we broke up right around the time Kyle passed.”

“What? Why? She was so nice.”

He looked awkwardly out the window for a second. “I guess I didn't grieve as well as I should have,” he shrugged.

“That's ridiculous,” Lola scoffed. “How does one go about grieving well?” She used air quotes to emphasize.

He smiled down at her. “Honestly, you don't need to worry about it. I'm better off now anyway.”

She looked away faster than intended, trying not to decipher his words, and opened the door to get out. He met her at the front then walked her to the door, unlocking it swiftly. A huge gray sheep dog bounded towards them.

“Heya Roger!” Mark said enthusiastically, scratching him behind the ears. Roger gently sniffed Lola's legs, wagging his tail with what appeared to be a smile.

“Hello Roger,” she said, reaching down to pet him.

“Sorry if it's a bit of a mess,” Mark said.

Lola looked around at the immaculate house wondering if the small stack of magazines that weren't perfectly straight constituted as a mess. She remembered then that he has always been a neat freak in comparison with herself. She prefered a little clutter. It made it feel more like home. It smelled wonderful too, like warm apple pie, shocking really when considering how large of a dog Roger was with all of his fur and shedding. A roomba, as if on cue, silently rolled into the room.

“Would you like anything to drink?” he asked.

“Water would be great.”

A moment later he appeared with two glasses of ice water, placing them on the coffee table, coasters neatly tucked underneath. Of course, Lola thought laughing a little under her breath.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Lola took a deep breath and reached in her purse retrieving the disc. She handed it to Mark. He walked it over to the DVD player sitting directly below the large 60 inch flat screen mounted to the wall.

An overstuffed leather chair appeared on the screen and Lola immediately recognized it from the spare room in their house. A moment later Kyle appeared and sat down heavily, elbows braced on his knees, staring into the camera.

“Hey there, Lola.”