Page 5 of Fan Favorite

“This whole time, all these years, I’ve been searching for something I already had,” she whispered, her fingertip caressing Charlie’s yearbook cheek.

“Well, you don’t have it anymore!” Lauren burped and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“That’s mean!”

“Uh, he’s the star ofThe Key—it’s all about getting people engaged! Robin just said, ‘Are you hoping to end this season with a proposal?’ and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ So, since you’re not on this show, you should probably let that shit go.” Lauren slung her arm around Edie’s shoulders and gave her an encouraging squeeze. “But I promise to watch this trash with you every single week. That is, if you ever unpack this apartment. Seriously, what the fuck, Edie? It’s going to be hard to move on if you don’t ever put your shit away.”

Edie considered this, but really, she didn’t want to let it go. Somehow seeing Charlie Bennett on her TV clarified thatshe’d never really fought for anything of any importance. That she’d just been floating through life, taking it as it came, and that’s why she was here now, in this messy apartment instead of a beautiful house. Alone instead of with her husband. Old and dried up and probably barren rather than at Chuck E. Cheese with her adorable children. What was it Lauren had said?Since you’re not on this show, you should probably let that shit go.Lauren was right! Not about letting it go—why the hell would Edie do that when right in front of her was the guiding hand of fate, shoving her toward the life she was meant to live all along?

Lauren was right that she wasn’t on the show. But shecouldbe.

“Lauren!” Edie squealed, clutching Lauren’s arm. “I’ll go on the show!”

“Absolutely not.” Lauren gave Edie a look. “Call 911, you’ve lost your mind.”

“Be serious! What if my entire life’s happiness depends on me getting onThe Key?”

“Edie, first of all, it does not. Second of all, they’ve already started filming. I looked at the website and all his contestants were already there—a bunch of Beckys with Karen moons. And then I looked atThe Key’s Instagram and there was a pic of him in a hot air balloon with some girl. Like, it’s already started. It’s happening.”

“I know, I saw.” Edie felt incredibly dejected.

“Besides, what about that guy you were talking to? That PhD dude? Didn’t he have potential?”

“Chemistry Jim dry-humped me to the Talking Heads for like an hour two weeks ago and I never heard from him again.”

“Okay, that’s bleak,” Lauren said. “Wait—didn’t you have a date tonight?”

“He said I was too old to get married. I threw my shoe at him.”

Lauren raised her eyebrows, impressed. “Good. Fuck him. But also, the entire point of being old is knowing deep in your bones just how great you are and that you don’t need to be married!”

Edie grabbed Lauren and held her face in her hands.

“Bible: Do you think I could get on that show?”

Lauren, held captive, mumbled out of puckered lips, “Bible: You’re being crazy. Is this about Brian?”

“Of course this is not about Brian!” Edie said. “And it’s very rude to insinuate everything in my life is about Brian. I am way over that, and you know what, if me and Charlie falling in love all over again on national television makes Brian feel some kind of way, well, I can’t control that.” Edie pressed Lauren’s cheeks harder. “This is about my One True Love! Don’t you want me to be happy?”

Lauren, reluctantly, nodded her head.

“Promise you’ll help me,” Edie said.

Lauren tried to shake her head no, but Edie persevered and made Lauren’s head nod yes until Lauren finally relented and Edie released her.

“I don’t understand what you think we’re going to do.” Lauren said. “Drop him a DM, like, ‘Oh, I saw you on TV, can I hit that again?’”

“We should do whatever a fabulous, modern woman would do.” Edie paused. “What would a fabulous, modern woman do?”

“I have no idea—I’m not fabulous!”

“Lies! And you’re a journalist! You’re always making things happen.”

“How drunk are you? I can’t tell if you’re Fun Edie or Throw-Up-in-the-Bathtub Edie.”

“Oh my god, I’ve had three glasses of wine, maybe four. I’m perfectly in control of my faculties. Stay focused! What are we gonna do to get me on that show?”

Lauren sighed. “Well, I guess we could like, find a producer? Tweet at them? Are you sure you want to do this? This seems like a bad idea.”

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