Effects in the Past for The Mustache “The Mustache” a short story by Robert Cormier. Tells the story of a kid named Mike has a nana who is sick in the nursing home. When he goes to visit her, she thinks he is her dead husband. She tells mike, who she thinks is her husband, that she is sorry for something she was wrong about. One theme from “The Mustache” by Robert Cormier is that things in the past affect you for a long time. In the beginning of the story Mike's mom tells how the mustache he has been growing makes him look older. Mikes girlfriend Cindy doesn’t like the mustache. The mustache is what makes his grandma think he is her husband. “Your grandmother probably won’t even recognize you,” Is what Mike's mom tells