ann's little green monster

ann just left the house to head back to the airport (again). she is off to st. louis to surprise her mother, tessie, for her 60th birthday. she's going because, in addition to loving her mother, she has to compete with her mom's new "daughter" brenda.



brenda is a local lawyer in ann's hometown who has taken a shine to ann's mom since she moved there several years ago. tessie and brenda spend a lot of time in each other's company; they shop together, eat together.... they even invest together. brenda has come to consider tessie a mother figure in her life, having lost her own mother years before. brenda's daughter even calls tessie "lola" which is tagalog for "grandmother." it's really quite sweet.

when ann first found out that brenda had been spending so much time with her parents, and in particular her mother, she got a wee bit jealous. (having gone to boarding school at a young age, and being the only one of her immediate family who doesn't live in missouri, ann's always had a bit of a complex about her place in the family anyway.) but after brenda, dabney could hear ann on the phone with her sister and friends, trying to nonchalantly question them about whether or not they thought it wasn't just the slightest bit weird that someone virtually her own age would CHOOSE to spend time with her mom, let along ENJOY her.

ever since ann's sister assured her that it was perfectly normal - a good thing even - that tessie has brenda in her life, ann relaxed a little bit, and grew more used to the idea. but she does still keep close tabs on the situation, looking for any clue that she has been replaced in her mother's eyes. it was touch and go there for a few minutes when she found out that brenda had rented a billboard for tessie's birthday, complete with photo and happy birthday message. all ann got her mom was an evening bag.