Magdalena’s hands were trembling as she was on her knees in her parent’s Jardin Hiver ( their winter garden room).  Magdalena was both jet lagged and so nervous  that she dropped a gorgeous Terra cotta pot filled with the her favorite Apple Blossom Scented Geraniums.  Magdalena could spend hours in this enchanted Garden Room and she often did, that is when she was home.  She was surprised her mother didn’t come in from the kitchen to see what caused the crashing sound, but she was probably too distracted.  Her mom was developing recipes for a new cookbook she was putting together and she was under a lot of pressure with a deadline that was only days away.  Magdalena’s mother would never be upset the pot broke, she would in fact tell her that it was nothing, just some inexpensive pot she purchased down at a local discount chain store.  Magdalena knew that would be a lie, everything in her parent’s home had a story behind it.  This pot probably was found outside of Volterra  Italy and her mother probably spent an hour carefully selecting it than meticulously packing it in her carry-on bag, then travelling home with it for over 9 hours without getting so much as a piece of dust on it.  Now it was in pieces. Gardening was the only domestic and creative interest Magdalena had much to her Mother’s oblivious denial. She loved Fall when her parents would bring in all their fruit trees and tropical plants to Winter over and fill the indoor garden room with beauty and intoxicating fragrances.   Being one daughter in a house full of brother’s  just seemed a given to her mother that she would be into all the things her mom enjoyed.  It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate the life her mother had worked so hard to create, it was indeed magical, but why make a souffle when one could buy it at a fancy restaurant in Manhattan???

Magdalena had just finished college at Wharton School of business at the University of Pennsylvania and then went with friends for the summer to spend time in Barcelona Spain.  Prior to college she somehow with the persuasion of her father convinced her mother to allow her to study in Europe her senior year.  She spent a year at an all girl’s school in Switzerland that had a view of Mount Blanc.  Since she was an avid skier this was the icing on the cake, the icing on the cake for her father was that it was an all girl’s school.  Ha, her father had no idea that it is easier to meet boys at an all girl’s school than anywhere else she had ever been.  Her mother cried and there was a lot of drama but finally agreed to let her go for a year.  But then her mom proceeded to visit her15 times over that year.  If looks could kill , Magdalena surely would have inflicted a little pain and suffering when her parents showed up unannounced on most of these trips.  Her dad just mouthed the words behind her mother’s back  that he was sorry and it was all her mother’s idea.  Her mother insisted she was there on business, which was crazy.  How many trips to Switzerland does it take to perfect one’s Fondue recipes and Raclette??  Top this off with the fact  that her mother wasn’t especially fond of skiing and  all parties involved knew she was there to check up on her daughter.  This meant Magdalena had to hide her boyfriend Antonio and often sneak in and out in the middle of the night to be with him.  There was no way her father was going to approve of this Casanova!!

Magdalena’s heart was broken by Antonio he turned out to be exactly what her father thought, a two timing Casanova. She picked up the pieces and came home and got a fabulous education at the Wharton Business School.  She ended up being the one to break many hearts during her college years as Magdalena was very focused on her studies.  She and her mom planned that after college Magdalena would come to work at her Mother’s company ”La Maison Parisienne”. Magdalena’s mom had started this business in her early 20′s and was so happy to have a daughter to help her run it, therefore hopefully giving her more time to spend with her sons, who were now scattered about with their own careers.   Her oldest brother was a plastic surgeon and critically acclaimed photographer who spent most of his time working in poverty stricken regions trying to heal the world.  Her middle brother did excactly what he always said he was going to do.  He started a major construction company in New Jersey sold it for millions of dollars and then married a Rockette, yes a Rockette.  Don’t even get me started about her.  My mother tolerates her and my two grandmother’s not so much.  They want to be Great Grandmother’s and she has no plan anytime soon to “ruin” her body by  having any bratty little kids. The Rockettes words, not mine!!  Can you now understand why they tolerate her??  My baby brother still lives home and is planning to go to Drew University and probably live near my mother the rest of his life.  He is, and will always be a momma’s boy.

My mother would still be having babies if she could, short of an immaculate conception (unless she froze some of her eggs that we don’t know about), thankfully her childbearing years are a thing of the past.  My parents couldn’t be more opposite from one another.  My dad is quiet and mellow and my mom still at nearly 55 has a cocktail party at least twice a week, works out everyday and still runs her company. She will be the first to tell you she can still fit into her size 2′s, but as far as I’m concerned she might want to re-think that and move up to some 4′s!!   My dad adores her and loves the excitement as long as he can go to sleep, he doesn’t care if she stays up all night.  And she often does, laughing and drinking with my uncle until the middle of the night.  He isn’t really my uncle but she and my dad have been the best of friends with him  forever.

Magdalena Maria knows that she and her brothers are the love of her parent’s lives.  Her mother named her after Mary Magdalene, insisting Mary was, according to the New Testement one of the most important women in Jesus’s life and she had lovingly followed Jesus to the end and was the first to witness his resurrection.  Now, my dad has another theory, you know the one that perhaps she was a prostitute.  Well my mom actually researched this and brought him “Proof” that there is no mention of this in the Bible or any of the earliest  Historical sources.  My dad then said “name her whatever you want” and of course she did.

Magdalena needed to hurry up and change and sneak out of the house.  Her moms longtime driver Eddie would be at their home any minute now.  She was taking my two grandmother’s for a day out in Manhatten.  My dad had a very important business party they were hosting and he was sending us all out to Bergdorfs to buy gowns for this occassion.  My Grandmothers loved eating in the Bergdorf restaurant that the amazing Kelly Wearstler designed years ago and it had recently been freshened up a bit by Kelly and my moms favorite designer, Charlotte Moss. Charlotte was getting older but her fabulous style was as relevant and gorgeous as can be.

I told my dad I couldn’t go as I was playing doubles  tennis with my aunt.  I loved to play tennis with my one aunt and I rode horses with my other aunt and I have tried to explain to my mom that I would rather do this than spend a day at Bergdorf’s.  My dad isn’t happy with me about this, at least not today.  He said I just returned home from Europe and that my mother and grandmothers , who according to my father, are not getting any younger, are looking forward to this and that I can play tennis another day.  I guess he’s right, but if I hurry I can fit it all in, finish tennis, shower and be off to the city for some shopping.

The real reason I don’t want to go is that my father wants me to tell my mother something, something that I know will devastate her and I am terrified….

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 6th, 2009.
Posted in Books, Bunny's Garden, Magdalena's Adventures