Downsizing

Positively beaming. That was the look on my face when I walked through our front door that night after hockey practice. Well, beaming plus a huge goofy smile I couldn't remove from my face.

"Lindsey is that you?" I heard my mother call my name. Curious at the depressed tones in her voice, I trailed after it, until finding her sitting at the kitchen table. The local newspaper was layed out in front of her. Glancing quickly down at it, I found she'd been reading the classifieds ads.

"Hey Mom," I was bubbling with energy at the moment. Unlike her, I noticed a slouch in her seated posture, weight leaned onto one elbow. Her eyes looked a little tired, possibly from reading the fine print of the newspaper.

"You'll never guess what happened- I made the team!" I squealed excitedly.

Not bad.. I replayed the words Coach had remarked to me at the end of my practice. Ironically, the first shot had aslo been the only one I'd let pass into the net by me. Guess Zac must've done something right for a change with his pep talk. He'd even walked me home that night, instead of making me walk the rest of the distance alone, as I did usually.

"That's wonderful, Linds." Mom gave me a small smile. Heidi got her looks from her, blue eyes and blonde hair, although Mom's was tinted darker with age; they often were confused for cousins. Not sisters, but for some reason strangers would still inquire if they were related in some other way. Dad, on the other hand, had the opposite qualities: dark hair and eyes to match. Me, the household freak, didn't look like any of them. I was also drastically different from all of them in my lifestyle, being completely content to bum around indoors rather than some physically exerting activity - until now, that is.

"Mom, I don't think you understand. I made it onto a sports team. Me.. So, what's wrong?" I sat down across from her.

"Well, I told your father and sister at dinner, which you missed," she added critically. "And I guess you're old enough to know: Sanders and Sons was forced to downsize their company this month."

"Downsize?" I didn't understand the meaning of the term.

"In other words, I was fired. 'Regretfully released', as those turkeys told me." She shook her head. "Twelve years at the same firm and the dirt was kicked in my face first."

"I'm really sorry." I knew how much she had loved her job. In my eyes, she was more loyal to the company than some of the lawyers. It wasn't fair.

"It might be nice for your old Mom to get some change in her life," she lifted her eyes to me, smiling in amusement.

"Are you sure about that? The older you get, the harder it is to change," I cracked a smile.

"Speaking of remembering things," she snapped her fingers together. "JoAnn called while you were out. She said it was urgent."

"With Jo, it's always urgent." I laughed as I stood up.

"Mind if I take it upstairs?" I referred to the cordless phone, the little jewel of privacy cradled in the kitchen. After she nodded, I grabbed it and headed out the kitchen. I paused on the stairs when I caught sight of her still seated at the table, frame bent over the newspaper, shoulders heaving with a large sigh. Normally an energetic person, I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her look so tired.

"Get to sleep, Mom." I called to her. "It'll make you feel better."

"It's only nine." She called back over her shoulder, not turning her head. I could hear the smile in her voice though, even from across the living room.

"I'm not that old yet. You're cursed with your Aunt Jane's spirit, not to mention that dry sense of humor." The infamous sister of hers, whom I supposedly bore an impecible resemblance to. But I've yet to ever meet that woman before, and couldn't help but wonder if she actually existed as I continued my upward assent in silence.

"Hello?" A flustered voice answered the phone at JoAnn's house.

"Hi Grace." It was the weirdest thing to call Jo's mom by her first name, but she insisted. There was an over-emphasis of equality in that household.

"This is Lindsey."

"Hey!" she replied cheefully. "Let me go run and get JoAnn."

"All right." I sat down on my bed as I waited.

"Did you tell her yet?" I heard a faint voice ask in the background.

"No.." Straining a little, I caught JoAnn's voice admit with guilt. "That's why I called her."

"Hey you." My best friend's voice rang out through the phone a few seconds later. The first I noticed was that it was missing it's normally happy tones.

"Tell me what?" I demanded.

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yeah, on my bed.. Why?"

"I think you better lay down then, Linds." She instructed.

"What? Why?" Now I was feeling more than concerned, not to mention the curiousity was nearly killing me.

"Are you laying down yet?" Sighing loudly, I leaned on the pillows at the headboard of my bed and propped up my feet.

"Ok, I'm laying down now. Tell me."

"We're .. moving."

"What!?" I sat upright.

"Yeah.." She admitted. "Famous last words: Dad got transferred again."

"Oh.. God." My mouth hanging wide open, I twirled the phone cord between my fingers.

"Where to?" was my first question.

"I don't know where yet." She replied glumly. "All I know it's some place three hours north."

"That sucks." Still shocked, I flopped over onto my stomach.

"Tell me about it," she spoke sarcastically. "I can already tell I'm going to hate it."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too. We leave in three days."

"What!?" I couldn't believe that bombshell.

Three? Swallowing deeply, I couldn't believe how much this overturned my world.. and in such an infinitely short time period too.

"Yeah. We've never left that early before. It's insane around here with all the packing we need to do first."

"I can't imagine."

"You don't want to." By the tone of her voice, I could tell this was the last thing she wanted to do in her life.

"Hey, what about Greg?" I thought of her boyfriend.

"He wasn't too thrilled about it when I told him, so I guess that means we're breaking up." She sighed.

"I'm sorry." I repeated.

"That's all right. Long distance relationships don't work for me, so I'm dealing."

"Umm.. what about me, Jo?" I asked tentatively. We were best friends, we had to stay in touch. What was three measly hours? Best is best. I knew how important she was in my life, how much I still needed and depended on her, plus I'd heard her mention several times how she loved having me as the first best friend in her life. Maybe that's why her next comment hurt so much, why it turned one of my happiest moments into one of the most miserable I've ever had:

"You.. It's going to be a hell of a lot harder to deal with that."