Right, so it makes sense to give a little more backstory on the cold-hearted Ms. Reichman and her kids. You get a decent dose of this in "August" <link> but I figured that she probably loved Augustus more than any of her kids, because at least he provided for her while the rest always took--or at least that's how Fred sees it.

Amy was watching Mommy Dearest on TV the other night and that's the kind of heartless person I want Frederika to be. I don't think she really likes any of her children that much (maybe loves them out of obligation) but Delia really has to take the cake. Worse than taking with both hands, Delia is the anti-Reichman who wants to give it all to the poor, needy masses and points out the massive selfishness and hypocrisy of the entire MPD enterprise. That would NOT make her popular with mom! So I figured she jumps the wall and heads out into the city. Of course Delia would be upset about it--it is her daughter after all--but maybe not as much as you might think. While I don't think Fredrika wishes her children harm, I don't think she would grieve too much if she saw harm befall them through their own stupidity, which is exactly how she'd see Delia's decision to run away from home.

This is a good exercise in making me think about Frederika's character more. Hope your assignment with Betsy is helping too.

--t