Aunt Jenny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s fun playing dress up, but you mostly do it alone in your room because you know from experience that most don’t understand. You especially like to wear your mom’s old coat with the fur collar, and with it on, you invent a character that is based loosely on Aunt Jenny…your mother’s sister, the one who has become a boozy old flirt. You just adore Aunt Jenny. She’s gone through four husbands, but she made sure each one left her a little money. She’s alone now, so she’s free to spend most of her time traveling. She stays in nice hotels, sleeps in, and shops or goes sightseeing in the afternoons. Then in the evenings, she sips overpriced cocktails in upscale bars. She always manages to find someone to talk to. Since she is financially secure, she has lately turned her sights on younger men. She likes to impress them by buying them expensive little trinkets. She builds up their fragile egos by telling them that they are men of quality who will surely make their mark. They invariably reward her with an abundance of gratitude. You know that Aunt Jenny has her sorrows, but she’s one of your heroes anyway, and that’s because she has lived her life on her own terms. She ignores the criticism and condescending remarks and does exactly what she wants, and she always does it with style. You want to be just a little bit like her.