The porch swing creaked as two genteel Southern ladies exchanged updates on their lives. “My sweetheart constructed this very home when we welcomed our first child,” the first woman shared, fanning herself. Her companion smiled serenely. “How delightful for you, darling.”
The boasts continued – a luxury car after baby two, glittering diamonds after three – each met with that same gracious refrain: “How delightful for you.” Finally, the first belle had to ask what gift her friend received upon becoming a mother.
“Charm lessons, honey,” came the reply with a knowing wink. “Now I can say ‘How delightful’ instead of what I’m really thinking.” The wisdom of her choice became clear years later when she described her son’s “dreadful” marriage to an idle wife served breakfast in bed, while her daughter’s identical situation was deemed “heaven-sent” – proving that presentation is everything below the Mason-Dixon line.