Mike is eager to grow up. In fact, although he is only seventeen, he grows a mustache, though his mother tells him he has “no business wearing” it. The mustache makes Mike seem older, which may be why he wants to keep it. Despite his desire to seem more like an adult, however, Mike still displays several signs of childishness. But ultimately, he learns that he shouldn’t be so anxious to become an adult.
Mike, yearning to be seen as a grown up, likes his older sister’s boyfriend because he “doesn’t treat (Mike) as Annie’s kid brother.” However, Mike, at first, is immature even though he tries to maintain a grown up appearance. He procrastinates, “build(ing) a life on postponement.” Also, he agrees to see his grandmother as a sort of duty call, but also just to drive his father’s car over the speed limit, having “an ambition to see the speedometer hit seventy-five,” though he had previously promised to drive carefully.
During his visit with his grandmother, Mike realizes that he isn’t prepared to be an adult yet. When she mistakes his identity, Mike doesn’t know if he should play along or tell his grandmother that he isn’t her husband, but her grandson. Mike becomes overwhelmed, and he wants “to get of there.”
Nevertheless, the visit allows Mike to mature and shed his shell of childishness. He realizes that the people he know are real people, they are “somebody.” They “exist outside of their relationship,” and have other sides that may not have been shown. Though this revelation scares Mike at first, it also allows him to really grow up. While realizing that it’s okay to stay a child for longer, Mike also becomes more aware and matures in his understanding of himself and others.