When Tara was about 13 she had a best friend named April. Tara was not a loud rambunctious child, but neither was she shy or mild. Her friend April was very shy, with blond hair and a light complexion that turned rosy at any level of embarrassment. They were a great team and even though we haven't seen April in many years, I think of her with great affection.
One day, Tara, April, April's Mom and I went to the mall to do some shopping. On the list was a slip for April's younger sister. We were in the girl's lingerie department in Pennys when Tara, who was standing near the main aisle of the store, caught my attention. She was talking louder than usual and flipping her hair and being overly dramatic in her conversation with April. I wondered what was going on until I glanced around and saw two young male clerks standing and talking in the next department over from the girls. "Silly girl", I thought, "I better teach her a lesson". So I , in my great wisdom of dealing with prepubescent girls, grabbed a beginner bra, otherwise known as a short tank top with elastic at the midriff, raised it high up where all would be sure to see and said aloud, "Tara come here and let me see if you can fit into this yet."
Here is the scary part. Both the girls turned to me, and within a heartbeat, without a hesitation, Tara turned to April and said, "Tara, your Mom is calling you." April, of course, turned beet red and fled down the corridor never to be seen in Pennys again. A long time, anyway. Me? I was almost as red. I would never had teased April like that. Who would have known I had such a traitor lurking in my nest? It was a full warning, the teen years were just starting. I had better watch my step.
