Great Big Beautiful Life

Alice arrives for another meeting with Margaret. She says today is the day Margaret tells “her story,” though Margaret reminds Alice that it all fits into one larger narrative.

Margaret says people always ask what it was like to grow up like royalty. Her childhood was sometimes magical, full of extraordinary things like the circus performing at her birthday party and her parents bringing snow to their yard for Christmas.

Though their home was lavish and she could have whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, however, what Margaret loved was her family surrounding her. She had exotic pets and custom-made clothes, but her favorite memories were of when her parents spent time with her and Laura. After her mom returned to work, nannies cared for Margaret and Laura, and the family rarely shared meals. Margaret noticed her parents’ strained relationship and felt scared and lonely.

Margaret says her parents got divorced because Doris was “The kind of woman who wanted to have it all” (213). The divorce was hard on everyone, and her mom and dad weren’t in contact for a while. Frederick attended one of Doris’s movies and sent her flowers afterward. That restarted their friendship, which continued until his death.