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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">(look down the body for comments.)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Back to the book…</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">1036 words</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Chapter 16</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Mother Dear</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">After meeting with Robbie, I rushed
to the airport only to discover my flight to LaGuardia was delayed by three
hours. A winter storm was hammering the northeast with temperatures as cold as
steel and cement-like snow clogging the roads. To kill time, I visited a news
stand inside the Grand Rapids terminal. My mistake. Hoping for a distraction, I
encountered the last person I wanted to see. Plastered larger than life on the
cover of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter was the face of my dear mother. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“Glamorous Soap Opera Diva Marries
Again,” the headline declared. “Daytime television actress, Mia Castle from
“Hollywood Hills” rivals Elizabeth Taylor and Zsa Zsa Gabor for the highest
Hollywood husband count.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The tabloids took pleasure
recounting my mother’s multiple marriages. Mom’s stage name, Mia Castle, had
been chosen by her agent because it eluded to her being a princess. I didn’t
mind that our surnames were different. Her pseudonym allowed me to preserve my
anonymity. I noted the rumor rags failed to mention Mom’s numerous neglected
offspring. Multiple babies weren’t as romantic for their readers as multiple
spouses, I knew. The first of many children, I’d long been accustomed to the
press sweeping me and my siblings under the rug.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Relieved, at last I landed at
LaGuardia hours later than planned. Navigating the crowded terminal, I
retrieved my luggage and ventured into the snowy outdoors to search for a taxi.
Jumping a snow bank in my knee-high leather boots, I snagged a Yellow Cab ahead
of a man too timid to leap ahead in his leather oxfords.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“The Waldorf-Astoria on Park
Avenue,” I instructed the driver.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Through the dirt smudged taxi
window, I viewed New York’s Iconic skyline. The Chrysler Building’s crown
glowed like a promising beacon against the stormy clouds. Under the Empire
Building spire, lights twinkled on and off like fireflies. Arriving at the
Waldorf-Astoria, the city’s glamourous art deco hotel, I asked myself, “What am
I doing here?”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Passing a 10 dollar bill to the
driver, I said, “Keep the change.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Unaware that I was the wayward
daughter of that day’s most famous daytime television darling, I was greeted
coolly by the valet. I strode unescorted into the hotel’s luxurious lobby.
Stepping up to the highly polished registration desk, I presented Millwood’s
American Express card to cover the extravagant thirty dollar per day room rate.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“Are there any messages for me?” I
asked the clerk. It was too soon to hope that Robbie would have any news for
me, but a message to “call your mother” was unexpected. Someone at Millwood
must have shared my itinerary with my dear mom. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I tucked Mom’s phone number into my
clasp purse and turned to the elevators. Not a notable patron at the posh
hotel, I was nonetheless escorted to my room with deference by a white-gloved
bellman. Along the marble corridor embellished with bronze fixtures, my escort
called my attention to the hotel’s stunning crystal chandelier and the
trademark Waldorf clock. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“You must return later to peruse the
hotel’s exclusive shopping arcade,” he insisted.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Tipped and dismissed, the bellman
tiptoed from my room, the door satisfactorily clicked after his exit. I
retrieved my leather suitcase from its rack and released its contents onto the
opulent bed. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">We certainly have a Veronica seen
view of her mother. </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">A real piece of work. </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Self involved, no doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">This scenario does not tell us why
Veronica is in the<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>capital.</span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Did you include that information in
a prior chapter.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I feel the tension of<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>something about to happen. </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I really enjoyed the faupaus<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>that her mother makes in confusing her
soap<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>opera life. </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I’m not <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>sure she perceives the difference.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I can’t wait to see what happens
in<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Manhattan. </span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Shaking out my dresses, a tailored
suit, blouses and skirts, I attempted to sort out my situation. After arranging
the garments in an antique wardrobe, I arranged my cosmetics on the marble
vanity. I placed a new bottle of Gloria Vanderbilt perfume in front of the
gilt-framed mirror. Disappointed when I glanced at the dark circles under my
eyes, I switched off the overhead light.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Reluctant, I dialed the front desk
and asked for the international telephone operator. After a two-minute delay, I
was connected to an operator in France who placed me on another hold while she
attempted to ring my mother’s hotel in Monaco. Did Mom intend to introduce me
to my newest step-daddy long distance? I’d already learned all I needed to know
about mother’s new man from the gossip pages. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“Darling, how are you?” my mom
exclaimed when our call was connected. Without waiting for an answer, she
charged on like a race horse. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“It’s a good thing that you reached
me today. Tomorrow, John and I, my new husband you know, are boarding a cruise
ship to tour the French Riviera. What a wonderful location for a honeymoon,”
she cooed like a dove.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Mom’s monologue only distanced me
from her further. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“And the best part is that
“Hollywood Hills” has written a script around my lavish honeymoon with my
television husband, Mike.” Mom rattled on like an incessant lawn mower. “That
means we’ll be filming the next six episodes on location for the first time
outside the U.S. Isn’t that wonderful?” Without a pause, my mother added,
“I might be up for the Daytime Emmy this year.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">As a daytime soap opera star,
Mother’s melodramatic life mirrored her scripted one. Proving my point, she
said, “I can’t wait for you to meet my new husband Mike, I mean John.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Hopefully, static on the line
covered my guffaw. I recalled that Mom had been married to Mike on the
television soap opera, but her TV star husband had been killed off the prior
season when the actor couldn’t reach a contract agreement with the network. This
season, he’d miraculously been revived from a coma, presumably after new
contract terms had been reached. Mother’s real life husbands disappeared and
resurfaced year-to-year in a similar manner. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Noise on the line interfered with
Mom’s monologue. I said, “Sorry, Mother. I’m having difficulty with the
connection. Why don’t you tell me more when you’re back in the states?” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Eerily, my words echoed back like I
was shouting into a void. Contrary to the advertisement, the
transatlantic call was not “the next best thing to being there.” The call was
costing me six dollars a minutes, and I’d heard enough. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Thankfully, Mom said, “Darling,
you’re fading out. I’m signing off now.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">The international operator came on
the line to inform me the call had been disconnected. Like a television drama,
the story was to be continued.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""># # #</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">_______________________________________________<br>
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<br><br><br><p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Leonard I. Tuchyner, Author</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" href="https://www.dldbooks.com/tuchyner/">https://www.dldbooks.com/tuchyner/</a><br data-mce-bogus="1"></p>
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