Helena’s characteristics had always reminded Winnie of a leopard’s; not only because she believed Helena didn’t have the ability to change the pattern of her spots namely her nature but also because of her behavior. Like the leopard Helena’s survival was in part due to her opportunistic hunting behavior, her adaptability to habitats, her notorious ability for stealth, and the fact that she consumes virtually any prey she can hunt down and catch. However the most daunting of the parallels between Helena and this most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores was shrewdness.

Helena was shrewd but so was Winnie. She never let down her guard but sometimes letting Helena believe that she’d won one of their battles was the best way to counter attack in their ongoing war. Winnie agreed to have lunch with Helena and the kids at the hotel restaurant later that afternoon. Instead of using a Nanny and because she wanted to be alone with Tina afterwards, Helena asked Winnie to keep the kids another night while she attended the Peabody Foundation dinner. They would be back with Helena on Friday and would stay until she returned them to New York on the weekend; at least that was the plan they’d settled on until Winnie received another phone call.

***

Helena strutted into the restaurant with a certain air of arrogance which quickly deflated when she saw her mother instead of her two children sitting at the table with Winnie. She stopped in her tracks.

“Helena. Come join us dear.” said Peggy

“Hello Helena.” Winnie greeted Helena with a smug grin at Helena’s shocked look at seeing Peggy Peabody.

To say she was shocked is an understatement. Helena didn’t know her mother was back from her two year sabbatical, and this was the last place she would have expected to see her. Judging by the look on Winnie’s face Helena knew that her wife and Peggy had been colluding against her; the tables had definitely turned. She decided a quick retreat was the best course of action. She turned on her heels and started walking quickly towards the exit.

“Helena. Stop. Come back. Sit down.” Helena stopped and turned instinctively at her mother’s stern voice. She came back to the table and took a seat with a huff. Her pout expressed her displeasure at the turn of events. Helena is not happy about losing control of the situation or the way her mother completely diminished her self-confidence with her commanding presence.