My hand is always going up to touch my head. It’s a shock every time, like reaching for my kitten and finding a reptile there instead. People say how stunning I look, that I have the perfect bone structure for it. Not everyone has the right bone structure. My mother, for instance, discovered after she shaved her hair off that unfortunately she doesn’t have the right bone structure. She looked like one of those aliens in the Roswell Incident. Onion head, enormous eyes. I think they were actually crash-test dummies. I’m only saying this because Mom admitted it herself and kept telling me how beautiful I looked compared to her.

I guess mothers don’t mind if their daughters are prettier than they are. Maybe they have some special hormone that makes them want this to be the case. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why my mother wears those clunky shoes and leaves her shirts untucked. One of the reasons, anyway. The other reason is that she is a truly unique individual who does not care what people think. Biology is amazing. You can be an individual, or even a feminist, while at the same time this mothering hormone gives you a kick out of not upstaging your daughter.

Knock on the door.

“Come in.” She has read the books and knows you don’t enter a teenager’s bedroom without asking.

“Come in!” What does she think I’m doing in here?

My mother stood in the doorway, looking shy. “Just taking a break. Just wanted to check in.”

I’ve been hearing that voice forever. Musical, slightly nasal, very warm. By the way, Mom, explanations are not necessary. I know why you’re knocking on my door! I read somewhere that babies, before they’re born, can recognize their mother’s voice, and even their father’s, if he’s around. If the family has a dog, the kid is born wanting to be near that particular breed of dog. Which means I have a built-in love of golden retrievers.

My mother handed me a spiral sketchbook and a box of pencils. “If you get bored,” she said. “Just an idea.” When she speaks in that overly casual way, you can be sure she has been planning the thing in question for days. “Drawing can be relaxing, you know.”