Tooth and Nails

That's Pippa: No front teeth this summer, so no corn on the cob. Gorgeous toes, impeccably trimmed and burnished a lovely cloudy blue-grey. Or maybe a flamingo pink with rose decals. Child is a fashonista, age 7 and 1/2.

Time for a recap. Who are these people? I am a crone, in post-retirement, currently partly working as a personal assistant to an art person/handyman. About to be working as something else, with pay and everything, which will make a nice change. I am the mother of two adults, Thespia and Trey.

In the early summer of 2007, while we were vacationing together at Cape Cod, Thespia's husband, The Weasel or Dweez, told her that, after 18 years of suffering through her stalwart esteem for him and efficient and entertaining organization of their lives so that everybody could win, he had had it and the marriage was over. Oh, sigh, alas, said Thespia, and hunkered down to wait for the dust to settle. Well, apparently what Dweez meant was that Thespia wasn't paying enough attention to him RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT THAT WEEK, what with various relatives swarming around. She was supposed to TRY EVEN HARDER to make him pacified if not happy. Too late. I believe you, sob sob, said Thespia, and gave him a month to get his stuff out of their house. In retaliation, he moved to the neighborhood where Thespia works and Pippa, their daughter, goes to school, so that he could share custody on an absolutely equal, 50/50 basis and b) loom up in Thespia's work space whenever the spirit moved him (far too often) and c) share his sad story of lost love with any number of Thespia's work friends. What a lovely boy is Dweez! So creative! So relentless! Why did he leave his velvet Elvis picture behind?

Trey married BellaDonna a year before Thespia married Dweez. They met in college, at age 19. BD had a life plan which included everything a girl is supposed to have: marriage, children, dogs, car, home, savings, time off to go spa-sampling with her BFFs. Trey had school, more school to prep for med school, med school, internship and work. And childcare, when BD developed migraines after Hale and Hardy were born and frequently called Trey to come home and take over. At the end of 2006, just before embarking on a Disney cruise with the boys, BD told Trey he would have to leave the house because she would not live in a loveless marriage. She had her parents' marriage as a reference point: they can't stand to be in the same room. So Trey looked for a place and, after awhile, found one. BD insisted he leave at once and has so far (a year and a half later) refused to give up any items of furniture or family memorabilia. She has also alienated Hale from Trey and foreclosed on contact between the boys and Trey's family.

These are the players. On with the show!