A Girl's Best Friend

by Beverly Tjerngren

Miranda hadn't noticed when the tables turned and she became the adult and her mother the child. Searching through the past few years, she couldn't find a defining moment and had finally given up looking and decided that it must have been one of those gradual changes that you don't notice until much later, like when someone you see every day loses a bunch of weight but you can't really tell until you look at an old picture and see the drastic difference.

She supposed some would call it a "mid-life crisis," but as far as Miranda could tell she was the one having a crisis--her mother seemed to feel just fine. In fact, the one time that Miranda had tried delicately to broach the subject with "Jackie," as she preferred Miranda to call her these days, her concerns had been brushed off with a laugh. "Oh, Randi, don't be silly. I'm just having a bit of fun, and it's high time, too, after all those dull matronly years."

It was the whole "Jackie" thing that had really made Miranda sit up and take notice of what was going on with her mother. Of course, it wasn't the first thing, but it was the first thing that had directly affected her. One sunny afternoon last fall, not long after Miranda had moved out of her childhood bedroom and into her first college dorm room, her mother had visited for the day and taken her shopping and for lunch. Over lunch, they'd had a "nice little chat" in which her mother had observed cheerfully that since Miranda was an adult now the two of them could finally have an adult relationship and be like girlfriends, instead of mother and daughter. Jackie had given a coquettish giggle and confided that people had always told her she looked more like Miranda's older sister than her mother, anyway.

Jackie had been oblivious to the fact that Miranda was less than thrilled with the prospect of having a new best friend and didn't seem to notice that their weekly telephone conversations were becoming increasingly one-sided. Miranda had begun to dread the ringing of the telephone. Last fall Jackie had started dropping hints that her marriage to Miranda's father was less than satisfactory in certain areas, making her daughter cringe when she lowered her voice to say, "if you know what I mean, nudge, nudge, wink, wink." Then she had moved on to the subject of the "hot delivery guy" who came to her office a couple of times a week. When Miranda had protested that she really did not want to have these sorts of conversations with her mother, Jackie had laughed gaily and said, "Don't be such a prude. After all, I'm your best friend, aren't I?"

She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised when Jackie dropped the bomb a couple of months later that she had decided to get her own apartment and file for divorce. "In fact, I think I'll move closer to the university so that you and I can spend more time together. Plus," she giggled girlishly, "that place is just crawling with cute, single guys, and lord knows you're not putting them to good use."

In the end, much to Miranda's relief, Jackie didn't move closer to the university, but chose instead to keep her job and rent an apartment within walking distance of her office. At first, Miranda tried to tell herself that the decision to stay put was proof that her mother was finally coming to her senses, but that hope was quickly dashed when she she accepted an invitation to dinner at Jackie's new place, only to discover that an introduction to the "hot delivery guy" was part of the bargain. She had briefly entertained a wild hope that he was meant as a potential love interest for her--he was scarcely older than she was, by the looks of him--but the less-than-motherly kiss Jackie had planted on him at the door cleared up any confusion there might have been regarding that issue.

At some point during the evening, she found herself sitting alone in the living room with Jeff (he did have a name, as it turned out) while Jackie was making a visit to "the little girls' room." After a few moments of awkward silence, he ventured, "It's great to finally meet you. Jackie talks about you all the time."

"Mmm," Miranda responded non-commitally.

"I think it's cool how the two of you are so close. You're lucky that your mom's so in tune with you. Mine is totally clueless about me."

Miranda couldn't help it--she laughed. She laughed all the way out the front door and down the stairs, and when she reached the street she turned and headed for home, never looking back.