perfection.”
“Are you going to answer me?” Lois sounded annoyed.
“I’m sorry, Mom. What? What was the question?”
“There was no question, I said I’m concerned about your age difference. Tom is ten years older than you. He’s a grown man and you are still a teenager.”
“Mother, I’m a junior in college.” Where are those champagne waiters? I could use one going by right about now, Mia thought.
“You’re still a teen. And don’t ‘Mother’ me.”
“And your point is?” Mia grabbed a glass off a passing waiter’s tray.
“My point is, how much do you really have in common with this man? At his age, men like to do different things than young girls your age.”
“Really?” Mia squinted at her mom, “I hadn’t noticed. Seriously.” She pounded down the champagne, “Tom and I have a lot in common. We get along very well. And I know you noticed what an absolute fox he is.”
Lois sighed. She clearly wasn’t going to win this battle but the war was far from over. They stopped in front of Albert Bierstadt’s Lander’s Peak . Mia loved the jagged peaks of the mountains, they looked like the Rockies.
“I was really hoping that something would happen with you and that sweetheart.”
Mia looked at her mom, a perplexed look on her face, wondering who the hell she was talking about.
“You know who I’m talking about.” Lois continued, “That sweet, gorgeous boy in California. Schooner. Schooner Moore.”
Mia could feel the muscles in both her face and stomach contract, “Schooner Moore? Yeah, he’s a real sweetheart, Mom.” And with that, Mia turned on her heel and stalked away.
Lois didn’t follow Mia, but watched her from across the gallery. The myriad of emotions flying across her daughter’s face at lightning speed was both very telling and alarming to watch. Every muscle in Mia’s being was bristling. Lois could actually see the tense twitches coursing through her daughter’s body. She had clearly struck a chord just mentioning the young man’s name.
For the first time in a year, Lois Silver finally had an indication of what had happened to her daughter.
Back in the Silver’s apartment, Lois tore through papers she had stashed in the top drawer of the nightstand next to her side of the bed. Although nearly two years had passed, she was sure she still had Dee Moore’s phone number somewhere.
The past summer, Mia had returned home from California sullen and withdrawn. She arrived on an earlier flight than scheduled and sat in the airport for five hours without contacting them to let them know she was there. Announcing that she would not be returning to school in California, Mia immediately inquired if either her mother or father had any connections associated with an east coast college, so that they could get her admitted, even though final admission deadlines had long passed for the fall semester. Lois and Bob were thrilled that Mia was not actually planning to drop out of school and began to call in favors. With Mia’s strong academic record and high SAT scores (and the fact that the Silvers were actually paying for Mia’s education in full versus her attending on a financial aid scholarship), it turned out to be surprisingly easy for them to get Mia placed at one of the most prestigious small Liberal Arts schools in New York state.
Barely emerging from her room for most of the summer, an unkempt Mia refused to confide in her parents the reason for fleeing California or for her uncharacteristically depressed behavior.
Her reaction this evening to Schooner’s name and Lois’ suggestion that she would’ve liked to have seen them together as a couple was extreme, to say the least, Lois thought. It was also very telling. Something had happened between Mia and Schooner that had left her young daughter devastated.
Lois wondered if Dee had seen any odd changes in her son’s behavior the past summer. Did he come home from school sullen and miserable, too? Had Schooner
“Are you going to answer me?” Lois sounded annoyed.
“I’m sorry, Mom. What? What was the question?”
“There was no question, I said I’m concerned about your age difference. Tom is ten years older than you. He’s a grown man and you are still a teenager.”
“Mother, I’m a junior in college.” Where are those champagne waiters? I could use one going by right about now, Mia thought.
“You’re still a teen. And don’t ‘Mother’ me.”
“And your point is?” Mia grabbed a glass off a passing waiter’s tray.
“My point is, how much do you really have in common with this man? At his age, men like to do different things than young girls your age.”
“Really?” Mia squinted at her mom, “I hadn’t noticed. Seriously.” She pounded down the champagne, “Tom and I have a lot in common. We get along very well. And I know you noticed what an absolute fox he is.”
Lois sighed. She clearly wasn’t going to win this battle but the war was far from over. They stopped in front of Albert Bierstadt’s Lander’s Peak . Mia loved the jagged peaks of the mountains, they looked like the Rockies.
“I was really hoping that something would happen with you and that sweetheart.”
Mia looked at her mom, a perplexed look on her face, wondering who the hell she was talking about.
“You know who I’m talking about.” Lois continued, “That sweet, gorgeous boy in California. Schooner. Schooner Moore.”
Mia could feel the muscles in both her face and stomach contract, “Schooner Moore? Yeah, he’s a real sweetheart, Mom.” And with that, Mia turned on her heel and stalked away.
Lois didn’t follow Mia, but watched her from across the gallery. The myriad of emotions flying across her daughter’s face at lightning speed was both very telling and alarming to watch. Every muscle in Mia’s being was bristling. Lois could actually see the tense twitches coursing through her daughter’s body. She had clearly struck a chord just mentioning the young man’s name.
For the first time in a year, Lois Silver finally had an indication of what had happened to her daughter.
Back in the Silver’s apartment, Lois tore through papers she had stashed in the top drawer of the nightstand next to her side of the bed. Although nearly two years had passed, she was sure she still had Dee Moore’s phone number somewhere.
The past summer, Mia had returned home from California sullen and withdrawn. She arrived on an earlier flight than scheduled and sat in the airport for five hours without contacting them to let them know she was there. Announcing that she would not be returning to school in California, Mia immediately inquired if either her mother or father had any connections associated with an east coast college, so that they could get her admitted, even though final admission deadlines had long passed for the fall semester. Lois and Bob were thrilled that Mia was not actually planning to drop out of school and began to call in favors. With Mia’s strong academic record and high SAT scores (and the fact that the Silvers were actually paying for Mia’s education in full versus her attending on a financial aid scholarship), it turned out to be surprisingly easy for them to get Mia placed at one of the most prestigious small Liberal Arts schools in New York state.
Barely emerging from her room for most of the summer, an unkempt Mia refused to confide in her parents the reason for fleeing California or for her uncharacteristically depressed behavior.
Her reaction this evening to Schooner’s name and Lois’ suggestion that she would’ve liked to have seen them together as a couple was extreme, to say the least, Lois thought. It was also very telling. Something had happened between Mia and Schooner that had left her young daughter devastated.
Lois wondered if Dee had seen any odd changes in her son’s behavior the past summer. Did he come home from school sullen and miserable, too? Had Schooner
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