That's All That Mattered

Shopping with your mother can be a very trying experience. I would know. 

She drags you to every store, intent on finding her perfect gift. Not yours. She acts like she knows what the birthday girl wants, when in reality the gifts she’s picking out are suitable for five-year-olds. Or at least, somebody way uncooler than you. She pries in every corner of the shop, while you stay at the same display; wishing she was shopping for you- and not your best friend. I snap out of my dream world, only to see my mom rushing after me. 

“Melissa, honey, what do you think about this?” She stops in front of me, brandishing a bag for my inspection. I looked it over, my eyes scanning the item. No, that wouldn’t do. I can instantly find mistakes, thinking of Olivia’s reaction when she gets it. 

“The straps are too fat.”

“The bag is too small.”

“The color is ugly.”

I need to find the perfect gift, or else I will be a complete loser in school. 

“Look mom, I really don’t think she’s going to like the bag,” I wheedled, hoping for something else. “Why don’t we go back to that store and get the bracelet?” I knew we weren’t getting the bracelet by the look on her face.

“Melissa.” Her eyes flashed, and she put the bag back on a neighboring shelf.   “We are not getting that bracelet. It’s over fifty dollars, and I’m just not willing to spend that much for a birthday present. You can pay for it with your own money; but it’s been two hours and I am getting frustrated. Just pick a gift and we can leave.” 

“Fine,” I muttered. My eyes lowered down to the ground, bits of blond hair falling out of my ponytail and into my face. 

As I sulked towards the door, I saw a display out of the corner of my eye. On it were bracelets, almost exactly like the expensive ones I saw in the store. My head perked up, relieved that there was a chance for me to get the perfect gift- to finally get a stable best friend in middle school. At this point, I was exhausted. Why is there so much work involved in being friends? Hours of insecurity, always feeling like you have to watch every move you make. If something goes wrong… Well, you’re not going to have any friends for a while. I would know, due to the agonizing amount of time last year I spent switching friends.

Picking up a bracelet, I examined the object. Little silver flowers entwined in a circle, just big enough to hang on a dainty wrist and not fall off. The only thing it was missing was the designer logo engraved on a dog tag, but that wasn’t important. Olivia wouldn’t be able to tell the difference…. Would she? All of a sudden, my mom was behind me, flitting over my shoulder. 

“That’s a nice bracelet... Isn’t that the same one that we saw at the other store?” Her look of approval changed, her eyes narrowed, still suspicious that she was going to pay an exorbitant amount for a silly birthday present. 

“No, Mom, this is a different one, see? No label.” I dangled the jewelry in front of her face, discreetly checking the price tag hanging from the chain. Well, it was certainly less than fifty. There shouldn’t be any problems. 

I could see her mind working. No tacky designer label, still pretty, her daughter approved, and it was a bargain.

“Alright, we can get it.” Mom relented, relieved that we could finally stop shopping. “Come on, let’s check out. I’m exhausted and I need to get home and make dinner for your brothers.”

As the checkout lady rung up our purchase, I still felt nervous. I deemed myself a pretty good judge of what Olivia did and didn’t like, but she was still very unpredictable. She was sure to like the other bracelet, the designer bracelet, due to the status it would grant her hanging off her wrist. This other, cheap, knock off piece wouldn’t satisfy her as much, but maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t care.