My Mother's Masterpiece

tapestry woven with half-truths and outright lie

shed arguments between her parents late at night, or f

rs. David Miller, the pillar

ith, best friend to a sweet,

d to David, a promisi

igence and even sharper ambit

planting seeds of doubt in David' s mind

had been swi

by the attention or simpl

heartbroken, he

d with him, the comfor

the knowledge that her foundation was

nsecurity onto every

perhaps envied or saw as a threat to her own carefully cons

uring Sarah never outshone her, never had the freedom or confidence Brenda

nces of this control, this patte

h-grade spelling bee, B

but charm is what truly

iddle school, dreaming of telescopes and distant

towards a practical future, Sarah. A nice

er, the debate club, even the track tea

usually meant attending Brenda' s church group functions), it was

thing Brenda couldn' t easily der

nd the local community college, "to s

ate university, a point of pride Brenda could bo

the control h

onstant monitoring – it was

er project, her perfectly molded daughte

renda' s fragile ego, to the im

that her mother' s behavior stemmed from a deep

ssen the pain, the constant

Brenda' s past, of B

silent warden, enabling the imp

ter' s well-being, avoiding con

ching betrayal, almost worse

ation, her feeling that no

le cage Sarah carried with her to college,