MARYSVILLE – The mother and the daughter sit side by side, their feet in bubbling foot baths.
Time to relax at a nail salon.
Christa and Cassie Miller have their toenails polished, their calves rubbed with cream.
The clock on the wall shows 12:40 p.m., Aug. 1, 2006.
“Now, you officially turned 16,” Christa says. “Can’t believe it.”
Cassie smiles.
Christa, 36, remembers that baby with no hair and the same clear blue eyes as hers.
That first cry.
That joy.
She’s done her best to protect her daughter. Through divorce, slim paychecks, her own youth.
She watched the baby turn into a young lady: focused, determined.
Cassie loves acting. She is rehearsing day after day for a summer play. She plans to go to college.
Christa was more interested in partying than studying. She struggled to finish high school, joined the Army on a whim and worked a series of jobs.
Time to have their toenails painted.
Hot pink for Christa, white-tipped for Cassie. Idle chatter for both.
“What time did you get home?”
“Around 11.”
The math class ended an hour earlier.
“How come so late? Talk about it.”
Cassie explains; Christa listens.
As their toes dry, they look at Seventeen magazine and talk about which sandals are cute.
They head out and hop in their van.
They stop by an espresso stand. Christa gets iced chai, Cassie peach tea.
“Thank you, Mom.”
“For what?”
“For the pedicure and this.”
Christa knows that at 16, her daughter will start driving, moving toward independence.
Christa will be happy about it, she says. She will also miss driving her daughter to places.
For a mom, Sweet 16 is bittersweet.
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