“Is this how you were raised, Melora?  Thank God your father never lived to see this day.  Where did we go wrong with you?  So unlike your sister and brother…”

Here we go, Melora Channing thought wryly.  Time for the judgement and the inevitable comparisons to begin. 

Nothing she hadn’t heard before of course, it was standard procedure for her mother to dissect every detail of her life and go over it with a finely tuned comb of disapproval. 

As the middle child, she was seen to be the troublemaker of the family, the one who never got good grades, never excelled at sports or any other after school activities.  Her elder brother Jack was the successful tennis player, winning game and glory all over the world, her younger sister Jen was the family genius, studying towards a degree in biomechanics, while she, 24 year old Melora was quite content working in Mrs Landry’s boutique in town while doing a correspondence course in fashion design. 

Which according to her mother, the great Gwyneth Channing, grande dame of high society in Colby’s Cove, was nothing more than a whim and a waste of time. 

“Mother, ”she eventually said while trying to keep her voice as calm as possible, ”I only came here to tell you my news, not to be lectured on all my shortcomings.  ”

Gwyneth Channing gave her daughter another disapproving look, her eyes cold and full of reproach. 

“How far along are you?  ”she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.  Melora wasn’t showing yet, perhaps she could still convince her of another course of action…

“Almost 3 months, ”Melora said.  ”Congratulations Mother, on your first grandchild.”