Ms. Mihn

I love my tailor Ms. Mihn. She is amazing. This 4" foot tall Vietnamese lady has tailored me through break-ups, weight losses, weight gains, premature mid-life crisis's, and one too many bridesmaid dresses. The bond between me and Ms. Mihn is unbreakable. Without her how would I have made the dream of a one-pieced 1970s retro pants suit I could wear to Vegas come alive? Without her how would I have made it through that horrible phase of low jeans that you can't breathe or bend in? Ms. Mihn is the best.

Her tailoring, although an art within itself, is just a small part of what Ms. Mihn has done for me through the years. Our long talks may be slightly difficult since I don't understand Vietnamese, but over the years she has learned key phrases like "you" while wagging her finger at me "big butt. Smaw waist." and "extwa five dolla" for those emergency mendings.

Yes, Ms. Mihn has been the stabilizer, my confidant, my "go-to" in all good times and bad.
Ms. Mihn can do no wrong and I know that through all the times I have opened up to her about my life she would never divulge my secrets; this woman is a fortress.

Things have been a bit hectic lately and I haven't had the time to get to Ms. Mihn and I am sure she is just dying to see what is going on with me. After ten, long, faithful years of going to her she said something today that actually brought me to tears and made me question our whole friendship.
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I pushed open the rickety door with the cowbell clanging announcing my presence.
"Wan minute" she yells from the back. The most amazing smells are always present at Ms. Mihns. I figure she must be a professional Vietnamese cook for extra cash because she always has amazing food smells coming from the back of her shop. She enters through the long hanging sheet that is the divider from tailor heaven to food heaven.

"Ohhh Big-Butt-Smaw-Waist!"

"Leaaaaah" I correct her.

"Ohhhh how ah youu Big Butt Smaw Waist?" She is smiling up at me with her gold teeth and crooked smile. I smile back; who could ever be mad at such an innocent person?

"Oh Ms. Mihn! I have a million things going on right now. Life is so crazy! I am doing a million different projects, I am unemployed, and I am absolutely in need of this dress to wear out tonight"

She wags her wrinkly finger at me motioning me to the dressing room which is really just another bed sheet divider. You have to be careful with her; if she thinks you are not moving fast enough this tiny women will begin to herd and push you until you do what she wants; she is freakishly strong. For the bashful I would recommend changing at lightening speed because she will enter your ever-so private changing area and start grabbing body parts and pushing you into the garment if you are not working fast enough. This woman is busy; she has to attend to her secret exotic chef life too.
She scurries me behind the sheet.I don't want my time of unloading my entire personal and professional life to be shortened so I obediently get behind the sheet. I start undressing and apparently I am not 'Ms.-Mihn-Fast'. Within seconds Ms. Mihn is in my space. We are doing some sort of shimmy-shake dance and as soon as it begins it is over. I reflect back on the first time I met Ms. Mihn. I giggle to myself on the thought of her and I going to "second base" on our very first alteration date and how mortified I was. Her abruptness is charming to me now and I look forward to our long deep conversations. She yanks me back out into the main area. Without me even specifying what I want she gets to work. Pins pursed between her lips she is a woman with a mission. I sideways looks at her seeing if she is ready for me to talk. No sign from her so I go in for the kill.

"Oh Ms. Mihn....." I whine.

I drone on about the economy, how hard it is to get clients, the three tickets I got in one day, my love life, the shows I watched on TV last night....you name it, I cover it. I haven't seen her in probably a good month or so. She must want me to disclose everything right? I can only imagine she has missed me too.

She claps her hands and waves me a way. All done with the first alteration? My mind races. I should have brought more clothes. This meeting was entirely too short. I haven't even told her about my thoughts on current events and about my faux pas with the trimming of my own hair. I think of two things in my car that don't even need mending.

"I will be right back Ms. Mihn!"

I say holding my dress up and running out the door. I grab a tired old gym sweatshirt and a pair of vagarant jeans I have 'just in case' I should be somewhere I need to do an impromptu wardrobe change. I run back in the shop.

"Here. I need these done too" I say plopping them down on the counter.

Whew. Just added a few more minutes on my therapy session.
She gets to work. I am a mad woman talking a mile a minute. I actually paused for a quick second to catch my breath. She is just wrapping up the second garment and I realize how selfish I have been. I don't even know how she is. Come to think of it I don't know anything about her. I assume she has children and that with all my visits I have most likely put them through college. I don't even know if she is married. I don't even know the name of her secret chef business.

"Oh Miss Mihn. How rude of me. How are you?" I look down at her as she is putting the last un-needed pin in a pair of jeans that don't even need altering.

No response. Maybe she doesn't want to talk about herself. I turn the subject back to me but try to include her in it.

"What do you think about the hair cut? Do you think that my hair dresser repaired the damage or should I just go for the short-bob-look?"

Still nothing.

Hmmmmm......

"I think that we should go get a drink and catch up Ms. Mihn" I say but this time I shake her and she turns her head up at me.

I repeat myself "Let's go get some food and a drink Ms. Mihn. After all I feel that you and I are the best of friends...so what do you say? Then you and I can exchange Polish and Vietnamese recipes....."

"Ohhhh how aw you Ms. Big Butt Smaw Waist?"

"Did you just understand a word I said?" I stammer.

She smiles. No reply. Nothing. Just a crooked-gold-toothed smile. The realization that for the last 10 years I have poured out my every fear, aspiration, and frustration to this woman and she has not understood one word is devastating. I feel like I was socked in the stomach. She doesn't even know my name? I am just a big-butt-small-waist to her?? I am crushed. I feel defeated. I try one last time

"Ms Mihn. Please tell me that you understand me and that you have missed me!" I am frantic "I really meant what I said about a drink. I mean that's the least I could do to repay you for all the nice things you do for me...."

She points at the clothes in a pile she just marked for alterations. Sweet! She understood. I knew it was a mistake! She picks up the dress she worked on first and goes to open her mouth like she was going to respond to my plea to hang out.

"Extwa five dolla" she says holding up the dress.

Dammit.


xoxo
lms