Pretty in Pink

A few weeks ago Francie came to visit with her daughter Bianca. Francie was my college roommate freshman year. We were randomly paired together to share the smallest room available at Fontainebleau, off campus housing in Isla Vista. I remember getting her name in the mail, with her phone number. Her name was Francesca and I immediately pictured a girly girl who wore pink without irony and slept in a bed with lots of ruffles and those Victorian cylindrical pillows. Let it be a testament to my lack of girlyness that I still don't know what those pillows are called.

I couldn't bring myself to phone her.

We met on move-in day, and she was wearing enormous Janco jeans, a wallet chain and a Rage Against the Machine T-shirt. I was so relieved. Here was someone I could relate to. She was even on board with my plan to decorate our room with palm fronds and vines. I didn't object to her purple xmas lights and gumball machine. She was into Anime and wanted to be a scientist. We got along fabulously.

Now she has a daughter who is everything I was afraid Francesca would be when I read her name on that card. She only wears pink. She only eats pink food off pink plates, with a pink spoon. She walked into our apartment in a pink tutu. Just look at the photos. There is nothing this girl is wearing that is not pink.

Despite this, she is amazing - so much fun to be around. Roan and Bianca really got along. I guess it's not all that hard for kids to connect at that age, but it was still gratifying to see them playing nicely together, holding hands, and looking around for each other at the playground. They are friends. And maybe, just maybe, after all these years, I might revise my opinion of things like "pink" and "ruffles."

In any case, Bianca may end up with a unexpected birthday present from her Aunty Roo. A cylinder pillow, pink, with ruffles galore.