May 25, 2008

Lara and Juliet

We had a wonderful visit from Flora and Juliet last week. Would that they lived closer!



I find it hilarious how different Jules and Lara are from one another. They are pretty much diametric opposites in every way - build, demeanor, carriage, attitude, personality - but there is definitely love there. Lara gave Jules a hug when they first came over and I even got her to give Juliet a half-hearted "there, there" pat after a fall. Both are in that chew-the-scenery stage of dramatic "Mother, I am most grievously injured!" emoting for every small bump and scrape, and I think Lara's reluctance to offer solace was part knowing that the actual hurt was pretty small, and part jealousy at a particularly command performance.



Flora always tells funny stories about Juliet's reaction to their visits. This time around, she wrote that on the train back to New York she asked,
"Did you have fun at Lara's?" And Juliet said, "Yeah. And Misha's." And when I said, "That's right, of course, Misha lives there too," she said, "Yeah. He's pretty funny. [pause] He's a man." This was all in a kind of dreamy, far-away tone. I asked her who else is a man and she told me that Daddy is, that I am not, and that she is.

No comments: