"Jaclyn dear! How are you?" inquired a familiar elderly voice.
"Grandmother?" Jackie gasped. Jackie's grandmother was not a frequent caller at the Burkhart residence. She was also not in the habit of adding terms of endearment to people's names. In fact, her usual form of addressing Jackie was "You, girl!"
"Of course, dear." replied her out of character relative.
"Did you want to speak to mother?" Jackie guessed.
"Good Lord, no! What, is she back again? Did they run out of alcohol in Mexico?"
This caustic criticism of her daughter sounded more like the grandparent she remembered.
"No, Jackie, I thought it would be nice to call you and have a little chat," enthused her grandmother.
"Um… when have we ever chatted'?"
"Right now," replied Jackie's grandmother with a hint of "warning – danger ahead" in her voice.
"Right, right," Jackie hurriedly replied, racking her brain as to what her scary nanna could want from her. One thing for sure, Elise Mansfield-Jones did not ever call someone to "just chat". Her entire life was lived with fierce purpose and a great many hidden agendas. Jackie had always avoided her grandmother in the same way she would avoid playing on train tracks frequented by an express train.
"So tell me – what is happening in your life? Are you still seeing that… Steven?" came the improbably warm voice of her grandmother.
Jackie briefly wondered when she had ever told her grandmother she was seeing Steven. Still, word did get around in the family, although her little Point Place branch had been somewhat neglected by other members since her father's criminal disgrace.
"Actually… we broke up last week," Jackie replied, trying to check the emotion in her voice.
"Oh, my poor darling – tell me all about it" cooed Elise.
What heartbroken, prone to earbashing girl could resist such an invitation, in spite of the unlikely recipient of her confidences? For the next hour Jackie poured out her heartbreak over the wire as her grandmother made sympathetic noises and reassured her that she had had no choice but to break up with her young man. Really, she had seriously misjudged her grandmother as a heartless tyrant. She was even better to talk to than Donna, whose eyes started to glaze over after the first 10 minutes of a recount of Jackie's latest drama, and who would usually end their session with some stupid remark about trying to see Steven's point of view or giving him more time – I mean, please, what kind of useless advice is that?
"Jackie, I know the very thing to help you to put this whole mess behind you," Elise said in the voice of one who has had a spontaneous brainstorm.
"Really? What?" sniffed Jackie
"You should come and stay with me in New York! The debutante season is just about to begin and you are just at the right age to be presented. I think a few months of shopping, flirting with the most eligible men in the country and attending tea parties and balls will make you forget all about whats-his-name."
"New York?" Jackie repeated dumbly. She had once dreamed of living in New York, back in those deluded days when she had actually thought Michael would become a Captain of Industry and Prince among Men' – they would attend sophisticated dinner parties every night where Michael would sing of his devotion to her by sparkling piano music. Of course, those dreams had changed quite a bit since she started dating Steven. She could not picture him at any kind of party which would require a bow-tie (It's the noose of an oppressive government, man) and if he ever did serenade her it would be Hendrix style on an electric guitar with the amp turned up to 11.
"Jackie? Are you there?" came a sharp voice, interrupting her fantasy.
"Um… yes, of course. Wow, New York! I.. I don't know what to say." While the thought of being pampered and admired held a very strong lure for Jackie, she could not imagine leaving all her friends, especially one particular friend. Except she and Steven weren't friends, not anymore. And even if they were, she could no longer be satisfied with friendship from Steven, not when what she wanted was his heart. Suddenly she imagined what it would be like, hanging out in the basement everyday with the gang, and Steven lounging in his chair, concentrating on the TV and throwing out the odd burn – ignoring her.
"YES" she blurted.
"Oh, wonderful, dear." Really, that dear' was starting to sound more convincing every time she heard it. "Now, when does school finish?"
"In 3 weeks time – but the finals finish this week so I can come next weekend." The sooner I leave, the better, thought Jackie.
"Lovely. I will arrange a flight for you for next Saturday – first class of course."
"OK, thank you so much, Grandmother. I really appreciate the offer," And with that, Jackie hung up the phone and wondered what events she had just set in motion.
