”The Moustache” by Robert Cormier is a short story about a teenage boy by the name of Mike who is visiting his grandmother, Nana, in a nursing home. Because of his moustache, Mike’s grandmother mistakes him for her dead husband. As a result, Mike learns that Nana has guilted herself with her final argument with her husband before his death.
Mike has a girlfriend, Cindy, and he was bringing her to the movies in the Downtown Cinema. Mike’s mom was checking up on Mike so he could be formal for the movie, and then she said: “And that moustache. I still say a seventeen-year-old has no business wearing a moustache.”
Mike told her mother: “It’s an experiment,” but his mother wasn’t convinced and told him that the moustache is costing him money.
It is a Friday night and the Downtown Cinema has a half price for high school couples, seventeen and younger. Sadly, the woman in the box office took one look at Mike’s moustache and charged full price, even Cindy’s ticket. He couldn’t buy a burger for Cindy or himself since the clerk charged full price. Also, Mike has to study hard for a scholarship, so he didn’t own a car, and Cindy is really frustrated over that.
In order to cheer his girlfriend up, he told her that he would shave it off, although he wasn’t planning to. He has to visit his grandmother and her mother told him that his grandmother won’t even recognize him.
Soon enough, he reached the nursing home and there he was greeted by his grandmother who said: “Mike, Mike, I didn’t think you’d come,” and continued with: “I’ve been waiting all this time. See the birds? I’ve been watching them at the feeder. I love to see them come. Even the blue jays. The blue jays are like hawks — they take the food that the small birds should
have. But the small birds, the chickadees, watch the blue jays and at least learn where the feeder is.”
Mike looked around and didn’t see a feeder nor a bird. She complimented about a new coat, and Mike was dumbfounded, and then the attendant came in for juice time, and she conspiratorial winked at Mike and asked Mike’s grandmother for cranberry or orange juice. She noted that cranberyr was good for the bones.
She continued and realized that before his grandpa died, he had a big fight with his grandma, and also, she thought that Mike was the grandpa due to the moustache. She forced Mike to say: “I forgive you, Meg.” With this information in his head, he rushed home, hoping this didn’t happen between his parents.
Then, he shaved off the moustache with the electric razor that Cindy gave him for Christmas. He did this since he didn’t want any relation to the things he just interpreted.