Amid the craziness of getting the final edit of the “Marilyn” show complete, I had to come up with a sort of a plan for getting together. I knew not to have her come to my place again. The last time Mom was in town, I excitedly had her over to check out my new house. My Spanish classic bungalow rental was lost on her. She took in the slightly worn hardwood floors and original tile and made a little grimace. I thought she’d be impressed with the moss green corduroy couch from Shabby Chic on Montana. It had set me back almost four thousand dollars and was the best place ever to fall asleep while watching TV.

“Here, check out my new sofa. It’s filled with down,” I’d prodded. Mom placed herself on the edge of the green marshmallow and ran her hand over the arm of the couch, feeling the richness of the corduroy.

“Isn’t it amazing?” I pressed.

“It’s gorgeous,” Mom admitted. “You know, it’s just like the Shelter Island sofa that we have on the floor now. We’re trying to be a bit more cosmopolitan with our new designs.”

I knew there was no way Crate and Barrel had a sofa to compare to the green marshmallow. I let her tell me about the rest of the new line and box spring sets that had just come in. I ached for the time, later that night, when she would be back in her hotel room in Anaheim and I would be curled up in the fetal position in the dark on the green marshmallow. Oprah said we couldn’t change people, just our reaction to them; I needed to work on changing my reactions to Mom, I’d told myself.

She’d ignored my silence and moved into the kitchen to examine the slightly dirty dishtowel that I’d folded over the faucet. “You sure don’t get much for your real estate dollar in California,” she said. And then, “You know what I see here, Dani?” She took a deep breath. “I see potential . . . potential!”

Thanks, Mom.

So this morning I was totally justified in popping one of my pilfered Xanax pills from the Outpost open house into my mouth before brunch with my mother. I contemplated biting the pill in half, but then just took the whole thing. Very Judy Garland of me. Within thirty minutes, I sensed the warmth of the pill flow through me and felt pretty good sitting next to Dave as he maneuvered through West Hollywood traffic. Despite the Yellow Alert and weirdness with Dave he was being a trouper by being my date.