Mirror, Mirror
written by:
Janet Fremont

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Janet Fremont

"One more, Honey." Kathy Morton held the square, flat box with the pink wrapping and big white bow out to her daughter. "Happy third birthday, Big Girl."

The excited child pushed aside the pile of already opened gifts and reached for the box with an excited squeal. Her small, delicate fingers began to tear at the colored tissue and all of her concentration became fixed on removing the ribbons separating her from her gift. As she leaned forward, her long, light blonde hair fell forward, covering her face and blocking her bright, blue eyes. Seemingly without noticing, she raised one hand just long enough to push it back out of her way and then quickly returned to her single minded work. At last her diligence paid off and the ribbons slipped free, quickly followed by the box top.

An even louder excited squeal erupted as Jennifer pulled out a blue and white checked dress and stood, scattering other presents, but holding the most recent offering up in front of her. "Oh, Mommy, it's pretty! Put it on!" she cried. "I want to put it on."

Smiling at her child's obvious joy, her mother led her into the girl's bedroom and in only a couple of minutes returned with Jennifer dressed in the new garment. The dress was long, reaching almost to the floor. The large checks of white and light blue were enhanced by decorations of ribbons and small white embroidery at the collar. She bounced into the room behind her mother, now and then stopping to look down at herself in obvious pleasure. Then she stopped in front of David Morton and said, "See, Daddy. Pretty dress. Pretty me."

"Yes," her father answered, smiling at her. "You are a very pretty girl. And it's a beautiful dress."

"I want to see," the little girl cried, and started towards the bathroom with its large mirror over the sink. Her parents followed her. The girl looked into the mirror, but her height was such that she could see little more than her own head over the counter. She tried to jump up high enough to see and then looked around for something to climb on.

"Hold on a second, Jennifer," her father cautioned. "Remember, no climbing on the sink. I'll hold you up." So saying, he scooped up the girl and held her above the counter, watching her excited face as she studied herself in the mirror. When he put her back down, she again tried standing on tip toe to get a further glance of herself.

"I think she likes it," Kathy said, smiling at the girl's antics.

"I'm sure she does," her father agreed. "Too bad we don't have a full length mirror in here." Then, struck by a sudden thought, he added, "But I think I know just the thing. Wait here a minute while I see if I can find something." With that, he left the room.

Kathy held Jennifer up again so she could see herself and listened while the child told her over and over how pretty the dress was. In five minutes or so, Kathy heard the folding steps leading to the attic creak and her husband descending. But instead of returning to the bathroom she heard him move into Jennifer's room. She was just starting to lead her daughter in to see what he had found when she heard him call, "Just give me a minute before you bring her in. I've got another surprise for her."

So Kathy waited with her daughter, both admiring the new dress, while in a minute or so hammering sounds began to come from the other room. In another minute, David called out, "OK, bring the birthday girl in here."

Jennifer gave one more long look at the mirror and then yielded to the tug of her mother's hand and followed her into her bedroom. But when the girl entered her room and saw what her father had brought, she gave another squeal and ran over to where he was standing. She gave him a big hug and then, still saying, "Thank you, thank you," over and over turned and looked at herself in the tall gilded framed mirror her father had attached to her wall.

Kathy stared at the mirror. A foot and a half wide and over five feet tall, the mirror was surrounded by a heavy gold tinted wood frame carved in an elaborate pattern of flowers and leaves and hearts. It looked like a piece from another time, something which might have been popular half a century or even a century and a half ago, but it looked to be in nearly new condition. The glass was heavy, clear and unscratched and the silvering was totally intact. For several seconds she stared at it and then asked, "Wherever did you get that, Honey?"

"Oh, just something I picked up at Walmart. No, we've had it up in the attic along with some of my grandparents other stuff. It might even have been from their parents. I remember when I was little, my grandmother had this beside her bed. I remembered that this was stored upstairs. I just thought it might be just the thing for Jennifer."

"Oh, yes, Daddy!" the little girl cried. "I love it." She was standing in front of the old mirror, twisting back and forth, sometimes twirling all the way around, admiring herself and her new dress. "It's wonderful!"

When Jennifer was nearly six, her parents took her to see the classic movie, "Snow White". Although the mirror in the movie didn't look anything like the one in her room, Jennifer was fascinated with the talking object. For weeks after, her parents would sometimes hear her in her room intoning, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"

Jennifer had frequently spent long times looking in the mirror and talking to herself, but the concept that the mirror could talk back to her was something she had never considered - until seeing the movie. Now she stood admiring herself - she was really a very pretty girl - and quoting from the movie. The mirror in the Disney movie spoke in an adult voice and was shown as only a face. However, in Jennifer's mind her mirror took on a different personality. As she spoke her questions, she visualized in the mirror a boy of her own age and heard his comments in a young boy's voice.

And the young girl did not limit herself to simply quoting from the movie. If she had some other topic on her mind, she would discuss that with the mirror, so her comments and questions were wide ranging - as were the responses she heard the mirror place in her mind.

Even at her young age, Jennifer did not really believe the mirror was alive or that it actually answered her questions. She realized that she must be creating the answers herself, but this didn't reduce the satisfaction she received from these discussions. Her parents sometimes overheard her holding conversations with her mirror, but saw no problem with that. After all, most children created fantasy worlds in their minds; Jennifer's just included someone in an old mirror.

As Jennifer grew older, she no longer quoted the Snow White lines to the mirror; however, she still used the object to help her sort her own thoughts. Whenever she had a big decision to make she presented both sides to her mirror and often seemed to be listening to advice from within the glass. She knew there was no one actually living in the reflective world, but it helped her to sort out her own mind to visualize the response as coming from another person. Without conscious thought, she kept the image of a boy about her own age - maybe just a little older - and as she grew older, so did he. She thought of him as the older brother some girls had but that she lacked. Someone, not an adult, she could look to for advice and not be afraid to tell her secret fears.

Once, when she was eleven, Jennifer's school class was going to put on a play. For two weeks the class had read the play and planned their performance and on Friday, parts would be assigned. Jennifer had come to strongly associate with one of the leading girl characters in the piece and desperately wanted that part. The only problem was that Alice, a sometimes friend and sometimes competitor, also wanted it. For days Jennifer thought so intently on this that she became almost obsessed with it. When Friday came she was so worked up she could hardly eat her lunch, her stomach felt tied in knots and she had trouble thinking about anything else at all. Just before school was let out, the teacher began to assign the parts. When she came to the coveted role, both Jennifer and Alice were on the edge of their chairs and it was obvious to the teacher that this decision would be really important to both girls. Both of the girls were good students, had wonderful personalities, and got along well with the other students. As the teacher studied them, she could find nothing to help her decide which one deserved the coveted part. She called both girls up and asked each if she wanted the part. Of course, each enthusiastically said she did, so the teacher settled the problem by a coin flip. Jennifer lost.

The teacher could sense Jennifer's disappointment and felt the crushing emotion along with her. However, she couldn't help but be impressed with the way the little girl handled it. She still managed to smile and congratulated Alice. She was given another role - a supporting role of a friend of Alice's main character - and seemed to genuinely accept the part. Jennifer was definitely mature for her age and the teacher once again thought of her as "eleven going on thirty".

To Jennifer the loss had been a tremendous blow. Still, her pride would not allow her to show how disappointed she was, and she strained to control herself as school ended and she walked rapidly home. With only a quick word to her mother who was busy washing dishes, she went directly to her room and closed the door.

Her mother had guessed from her abrupt actions that Jennifer had not gotten the part and, as the door to her room closed, wiped her hands on a dish towel and silently followed her daughter, stopping outside the closed barrier. She listened quietly, expecting to hear the sound of crying and trying to think how to comfort her. However, the quiet sounds coming from within the room were not those of the wild distress she had expected. She could hear her daughter talking, but there was no shouting, no crying. Just a contained, if somewhat strained, dialogue. Dialogue? Yes, her mother decided, Jennifer was talking things over with her mirror. Kathy smiled to herself, shaking her head at the surprising maturity of her little girl, and again silently returned to the kitchen.

Inside the room Jennifer was addressing the old mirror. "I know we both can't have the part, but I wanted it so much. But I guess Alice really wanted it, too, and I'm glad she got it if I can't have it. But, Mirror, what can I do to feel better about it?"

A brief hesitation as she seemed to listen to a voice - if not from the silent mirror, than from somewhere inside her head. "Yes, I know I would have been very good at it, but so will Alice. Yes, instead I will be the best I can at the part I have. That way Alice will do a better job, too, and we'll have a better play. Then maybe next time I'll have the lead and she can help me. Thank you."

Her quiet conversation went on for a long time and when she finally emerged from her room to find that her mother had made one of her favorite dishes for supper, Jennifer was controlled and relaxed and talked excitedly about how she was going to be so good in the part she had.

Jennifer was in junior high; her fourteenth birthday had come and gone several months before and she had become aware of a new and exciting aspect of life: boys.

For a long time Jennifer had either picked out or at least helped to choose her own clothing. Her taste had always been good and her mother usually needed only to supply, at most, a little prompting in her selections. But just recently Jennifer had become somewhat fixated on some almost punk styles. Garish colors in clothing, and she had started to put on much heavier makeup in wild colors. Kathy knew girls that age often experimented and thought the best way was to allow her daughter some latitude in her choices, so she had bitten her lip and remained silent as the girl overdid the coloring and garish clothing.

Now Jennifer was dressing for a party. A well chaperoned party at a known friend's house, to be sure, but a mixed boy-girl party. She had bought a new dress: a dress that, in her mother's opinion, would not have looked out of place on a seventeen year old runaway working the streets. Jennifer's body was developing and she was trying to make herself look as sexy as possible - especially for one particular boy. Tom was tall with broad shoulders, played halfback on the JV football team and ran track in the spring.

Jennifer stood in front of her mirror, turning back and forth, looking at herself. Like every other teenage girl (and most adult women), Jennifer was not completely happy with her body. Her breasts, while already filling out, were not nearly big enough for her liking, so she had compensated by getting the dress slightly too small. The dress material was a soft, thin, almost filmy, material, but was at least opaque. (She knew her mother would never have permitted her to wear it if it were any more transparent.) But she had bought a half bra which left the upper half of her breasts clear and the soft material clearly outlined her nipples. Since she didn't think she would be able to get out of the house wearing that, Jennifer planned on donning a much more conservative one and changing as soon as she arrived. But now she was checking out the effect of the more risque garment. The lower half of the dress was also a little small and fit her like a second skin, clinging to her bottom and thighs and ending not half way to her knees. Added to this was enough heavy makeup to cause her, in her own eyes, to appear much older. (Actually by the time she became older, she would realize that young women should not wear anywhere near that much.)

As she stood appraising herself in the old mirror, Jennifer's conscious mind was telling her how sexy and sophisticated she looked, but at the same time, deep down inside somewhere, she was at least a little uncomfortably aware that the effect was overdone - way, way overdone. She remained critically examining herself and in the mirror her mind formed the image of Jimmy - she had now attached a name to the imaginary personality of her internal sounding board. Of course, the mental image of Jimmy was exactly what Jennifer would want for her closest male friend - taller than she was, strong, tanned with light brown wavy hair and azure blue eyes. In the mirror of her mind she now saw him examining her critically, a slight frown on his face. Trying to put the subversive thoughts aside, she asked, "Well, Jimmy, am I a hot fox or am I a hot fox?"

But instead of the reassurance she was seeking, the image seemed to answer, "You don't need this to be hot, Jennifer. You are a naturally beautiful girl. Don't try to hide it as something you're not. Any boy who needs all this to think you are pretty isn't worth being around."

Unhappy with the answer her mind was supplying, Jennifer violently shook her head back and forth and responded, "What do you know, Jimmy? You're just an old mirror." Then she spun around on her heel and, without another glance at the mirror, set about changing her bra before walking out of the room.

There were about twenty or twenty-five people at the party so even though the rec room was fairly large, it was pretty crowded inside. There was a lot of loud music and noise and even though the party was chaperoned, the two adults couldn't see everywhere at once. Tom was, not surprisingly, much sought after with several of the girls trying to dance with him and get his attention. Unfortunately, Tom had also succumbed early on to the disease which infects so many school athletes: he felt he was above rules and could do whatever he wanted. The world, after all, was his, so he could have whatever he felt he had coming. Jennifer noticed a couple of times when she saw him dancing with another girl that when the chaperones were looking elsewhere, he managed to grab a feel, tightly cupping a buttock or clasping a breast in his hand. Although the girls looked a little uncomfortable with these maneuvers, they seemed to not fight it and allowed Tom to continue.

When Jennifer finally got to have a close dance with Tom, he quickly settled a hand over her left breast and began to roll her nipple through her dress. Jennifer pulled his hand away and told him, "No, Tom. Definitely not here and now." A minute later he tried again and this time Jennifer had to be a little more forceful in stopping him. So instead he grabbed her bottom in both hands and pulled her tightly against himself. This time Jennifer stopped and pulled back and said, "I told you No'. Let's just dance."

But Tom didn't start dancing again. Instead he looked down at her and said, "Forget it, you frigid bitch," and turned his back on her and went over to one of the girls who had been letting him feel her up earlier.

Jennifer held back her tears and managed to put on a front for another half hour before she left the party and went home. As she came in, her mother called out, "How was the party, Honey?"

Forcing a sort of smile into her voice, Jennifer replied, "Oh, OK. Nothing special," and then went on into her room. Once inside she looked at herself in the mirror and this time she saw things for more nearly what they were. A single tear ran from the corner of her right eye, leaving a trail in the heavy makeup. It was quickly followed by more as Jennifer stood there, crying silently. She had wanted Tom so much, but she just couldn't be what he seemed to want. She didn't WANT to be that. Surely she didn't have to give up all her self respect to be liked.

As she stood with the silent tears running down her cheeks, the image in the mirror was overlaid with that of Jimmy, a sympathetic look on his face. "I told you you didn't have to be like that. He isn't worth it, Jen. And he's not the only one out there. You are a beautiful, lovable girl and you will find a guy out there who will be happy with what you are. Trust me."

Somehow the words in her mind seemed to comfort her and Jennifer began to calm down. She went into the bathroom and washed the makeup from her skin. The dress was hung in the back of her closet - she knew she would never wear it again. At last, dressed for bed, she stopped in front of the mirror again. Once more Jimmy's image appeared and said, "Much better. A beautiful, wonderful girl. I would grab you up in a second."

His words washed the last of the lingering hurt from her and Jennifer smiled and whispered back to the mirror. "Thank you, Jim. I guess I can wait a while longer."

Prom night. Jennifer was a senior, about to graduate and leave high school behind, and tonight was the last big function before graduation. Jennifer did another twirl in front of the old mirror. The formal was a lovely shade of dark blue and highlighted Jennifer's figure superbly. Her long blonde hair was arranged high on her head adding to her five eight height and accenting the long, smooth length of her neck. "Well, Jim, will I do?" she asked her alter ego in the mirror.

The visualized image subjected her to a long scrutiny and slowly the reply came, "You certainly will. You are truly lovely, Jen. A beautiful girl."

Jennifer smiled, the expression lighting her face like direct sunlight. "Why thank you, sir," she replied out loud. "I'm really glad you think so." She adjusted the dress slightly, picked up a small evening bag, blew a kiss to the image of Jim she had formed in the mirror, and turned to go downstairs.

Jennifer had been going out with David for several months when he had asked her to the prom. David was comfortable to be with while still arousing more intense feelings. He and Jen got on well together, enjoyed the same things and enjoyed each other. While they had frequently engaged in some pretty heavy necking, David had never pressured Jen to go further and had never tried to push her more that she herself wanted. But both were aware that many of their classmates were sexually active and, even more aware that prom was considered the event where those who had not yet gone in that direction would alter their status. It was not a direct pressure, but more of a subtle expectation. And while Jen and David were not overwhelmed by peer pressure, there was still a feeling that they were not quite the same, maybe missing out on something that their friends had already experienced. In both of their minds was the very real possibility that tonight they might well leave their virginity behind.

Jennifer had actually discussed this with her mirror, using, as was her custom, Jim as her internal sounding board. She did not know her own feelings completely - she really liked David, was attracted to him and loved their long petting sessions. But she was unsure about taking this next step. She presented her case, arranging her feelings and describing them to Jim. "I just don't know if that's what I want just yet," she said.

The image in the mirror had looked at her for several long seconds. Finally she heard Jim's answer in her head. "Just wait and see what happens, Jen. Trust yourself. I promise you it will work out the right way."

David arrived right on time to pick Jennifer up. As he pulled up, Jen noticed that he was not driving the usual six year old car he often used, but rather the current year model his parents owned. She realized the trust they had placed in their son and was pleased that he would have this for their evening. He came to her door carrying a corsage box and was let in by Kathy. Jennifer's parents liked David and greeted him warmly as he entered. But as he started to answer them he caught sight of Jennifer across the room and totally lost all thought of his reply. For several seconds he just looked at her as she walked towards him. Then he finally managed to get out, "Jen, you are absolutely beautiful! I am definitely going to have the loveliest date there tonight."

He continued to stand, just looking at her. Jen felt both pleased and slightly embarrassed at his comment and was trying hard to formulate a reply. Instead what she managed to get out was, "Are those for me?" as she looked at the corsage box.

David turned a little red himself and stammered out an answer as he handed her the box. Inside the white cube, Jennifer discovered a while orchid with a blue throat that perfectly complimented her dress and her eyes. Without too much fumbling, David managed to pin the flower on her dress and soon the young couple left, first to dinner and then on to the prom itself.

The night was a fairyland adventure. The weather was perfect; warm, but not hot, light breeze, the clean scent of spring. Dinner was delicious. And the dance! The theme of the prom was "Misty" and that was the senior special song. The hall was decorated as a sea coast with a large mural depicting rolling waves and sand dunes below a nearly dark sky spread with twinkling stars. Each table had a vase of bougainvilleas, sea shells and a candle in a colored glass holder - red or green or deep blue. A light flow of artificial misty fog seeped from behind the mural, adding to the illusion.

When the final dance ended, Jen and David went with a number of other couples to a post prom party and breakfast (at 3:00 am) provided by the parents of one of the class. After that, couples split up into twos or threes and dispersed for post post prom parties or, as couples, to more intimate activities. David and Jen drove to the top of a hill in one of the parks where they could overlook the city. David switched off the engine and he and Jen turned to embrace, melting into a deep kiss which went on for a long time. For nearly an hour they sat there, kissing and lightly petting, but mostly just being happy with each other. Finally as the dawn was just lighting the eastern sky, Jen looked directly into David's eyes and quietly asked, "Do you want to do more, David?"

For several seconds he just looked at her, staring deeply into her eyes. "I would love to, Jen, but only if you feel you really want to. Let's not do this just because someone expects us to. I really like you. You know that. But we both know that when we go to college next year we will probably start going with other people. If you want to make love, I would treasure that gift. But if you want to wait, maybe for someone a little more permanent, I will be just as happy. Tonight is already perfect; nothing we do or don't do will change that."

Jen felt a few tears of happiness flood her eyes. She put her arms around David's neck and kissed him hard. "I do love you, David, but I know you are right. We'll both probably love someone else a little more seriously someday. I would be happy to have you as my first, but if you are willing to wait, let's just enjoy a perfect night as it is." She kissed him again and the couple remained entwined, watching the sun bring a golden sparkle to a clear, new day.

Some time just before noon, David brought Jennifer back home. He walked her to the door and the couple embraced and kissed once more as she thanked him for such a wonderful time and added, "And mostly, thank you for being you." One more quick kiss and Jen went inside while David turned back to his car whistling quietly, a wide smile on his face.

Jennifer went to her room and watched as David drove off. Then she turned to the old mirror and said, "You were right, Jim. Everything did work out the right way."

As she undressed and flopped down on her bed to catch a few hours of sleep, in her head she heard Jim's deep voice reply, "Yes, and it still will."

August came and Jennifer was packing for college. She was going to school a hundred miles from home, but, like all freshmen, she would be living in the dorm the first year. This meant that she would have very little room for storage and must pare down what she could take. Her mother had made a number of suggestions based on her own college experience and in general Jennifer found her advice very sound and acceptable. However, when Jennifer stated she was taking the mirror with her, and her mother pointed out that it was rather bulky and perhaps she should consider getting an inexpensive smaller mirror, Jennifer emphatically stood her ground. In the end, the mirror was carefully packed and fitted in the family van for the two hour trip. And when her parents visited her room six weeks later, the old mirror was mounted on the wall at the end of Jennifer's bunk bed, squeezed in next to her desk.

If pressed to explain her insistence on keeping the antique, Jennifer would have had some difficulty doing so. Even to herself. She knew she used Jim to sort her own thoughts on any problem, but would have been sure she could continue to do so without the physical presence of the mirror. Still, it felt right to look into the old frame and visualize his image, to ask his opinion and hear his answers in her mind. He always had been, and still was, a source of sound advice. And throughout her freshman year, she found herself often consulting him with problems ranging from her choice of what to wear, or organizing a paper she was writing or how to act with a particular boy with whom she was going out.

A couple of times her roommate came in and caught her talking to the mirror, but in each case Jennifer was able to pass it off as talking with herself. After all, that's what she was really doing, wasn't it? Did it really matter if she addressed herself as "Jim", someone with an entirely different personality? No - at least as long as no one else noticed that was what she was doing.

Sophomore year came and that August Jennifer was moving into her own apartment. An apartment shared with two other girls, true, but she had her own room all to herself. Once more the old mirror found a place on her wall. When she had begun picking out furniture, her mother had again suggested that she might want to get a newer mirror in a more appropriate style, but again Jennifer booked no discussion on that topic. Now as she settled into her new home, she again looked at the mirror and, just under her breath, said, "You know, Jim, Mom might be right. Do I really need this old mirror to talk with you?"

And, to her own surprise, she heard his answer in her head, "For now, you do, Jen. Someday maybe, but not yet." Shrugging, Jennifer forgot any idea of changing mirrors and turned to the task of getting her life back into the school year study mode once more.

During the last year, Jennifer had grown in many ways. She was far more mature than she had been as a freshman. She had always been a serious student, never a "party animal" like so many college girls. However in the last year she had matured quite a lot. In many ways this had actually made things more difficult for her. She did not really fit into the "party every weekend, forget the grades, drink and love and never take life seriously" routine of so many of the students on campus. Likewise, when Jennifer looked at most of the ones who seemed to always be spending their time on some serious protest or the other, she saw that their thinking was usually extremely shallow, never carried out to the logical conclusions of their desired actions and never, NEVER able to see any other side to the topics.

She did fine in her academic work, not always getting only A's, but almost never below a B. It was her social life that seemed to lag. Not that she had trouble getting dates - quite the opposite. Jennifer was a very pretty girl and a number of men asked her out. But not many asked more than a couple of times. Jennifer had no interest in seeing how drunk she could get or in any kind of other chemical substances or in immediate sex with a guy she had known only a couple of days. She was looking for something, or rather someone, but never seemed to find exactly what she longed for.

She had a number of female friends. Most of them were not really close friends, but she got on well with them and they seemed to like her, even if sometimes they thought her a little different. It did not escape the notice of these friends that Jennifer seemed unable to find a long term relationship, and they frequently tried to help, setting her up with different guys. A couple of times Jen had met someone this way with whom she thought she might have some possible future, but each time within a few weeks, the relationship had cooled for one reason or another.

It was late October and Carol, one of Jennifer's closer friends, had called her up on Thursday and told her how her (Carol's) cousin was coming over from a college across town. There was a cookout and a hayride Carol and her boyfriend wanted to go on and with Michael coming, she needed a date for him. Would Jennifer please do it? She'd like Michael. Please.

Jennifer laughed and agreed. She had nothing scheduled that Saturday and thought that probably Michael, at least, wouldn't be as likely to be drunk as many of her dates, because Carol didn't drink at all. Besides, she liked Carol and was willing to help her out if she could.

Saturday was perfect fall weather. Clear, slightly cool, with leaves of all colors and a sapphire sky, which Jennifer noticed through her window as she spent the morning working on a paper due in her English class the following Tuesday. She ate a quick sandwich for lunch and went back to concentrating on the paper. As she finished it, she suddenly noticed the time and realized she had to rush to get ready. She was supposed to meet Michael at Carol's at five thirty and she had better hurry if she was going to make it.

While she was dressing she noticed her old mirror and some of the practical thoughts that had been finding their way into her head at odd moments struck again. Did she really want to keep it? The style really wasn't her. And, of course, she didn't really need a mirror to sort out her own thoughts. Still, she had had it a long time. She pulled on her sweater and looked at herself critically in the old mirror. "Well, Jim, I guess I look OK, don't I?"

Looking in the glass she could see him nod in approval, his loose light brown hair moving as he did so, and she seemed to hear him say, "You always do, Jen."

She smiled back at the mirror and just barely out loud said, "You know, Jim, I wonder if I'm really outgrowing you or not. Someday you'll just be a happy memory like so much of my childhood, but now? Well, I don't quite know. I guess we'll have to see."

And the image in the mirror, blue eyes twinkling, smiled at her and replied, "You're right, Jen. But you never know exactly how things will work out. But they will work out. Trust me."

Shaking her head and smiling, Jennifer turned and left for Carol's apartment.

Across town, Michael was just slipping on his own sweater. Fairly tall, his light brown wavy hair parted in a neat conventional haircut, the afternoon light catching his azure eyes, he presented an attractive figure. As he was combing his hair, he said to himself, "Well, let's see who Carol has dug up for me this time. Hopefully not another teenage kid with streaked hair who can't talk about anything but the current music. Maybe she's actually found an intelligent woman for a change who wants more than to get me to buy her something to drink because she isn't old enough to get it herself. Well, Janet, what do you think the chances are, anyway?"

In the old mirror, with the antique gilded frame, Michael watched the young, blonde woman seem to purse her lips as though giving his question some deep thought. "You never know, Mike. Maybe this time you'll get lucky. You just never know, now do you?"