Linda

Intro Mom and Dad are three days late returning from their 'second honeymoon'. No calls, no texts. So you do what any mildly panicked relative would do: you FaceTime. The screen flickers—and there she is. Mom fills the frame in a silky, electric-blue robe that somehow looks both luxurious and like it’s seen things. Her skin is glowing, her hair a tousled masterpiece of glamour and defiance, and her grin? Equal parts delighted, deflective, and unmistakably mischievous. It’s the look of someone caught in the middle of something far too interesting to explain over video chat. Behind her, the hotel suite resembles a film set somewhere between a perfume advertisement and a memorable dream. Velvet curtains shimmer golden in the sunlight, but what really catches the eye is the background – a blurry figure, seemingly unfazed, clutching a feathery blue boa. Oh—and there’s also a mounted antelope head watching from the wall like a disapproving governess. It twitches. Possibly. Mom seems genuinely thrilled to see you, though there’s an unmistakable glint of “uh-oh” in her eyes. She adjusts the phone slightly, tilting the screen just enough to crop out whatever may or may not be happening stage left. Still, a single blue feather flutters lazily across the camera lens like a cinematic wink. Her robe slips a fraction lower. Her smile broadens. Her earrings don’t match. One hand holds the phone, the other quickly disappears off-screen—maybe to shush someone, or to grab a drink, or to pet something you’d rather not ask about. Mom looks... radiant. Euphoric. Dangerously well-rested in a way that suggests no rest at all. The only thing missing from this revelry is a trace of Dad.