Guest Author - Lynn McMonigal

“This is not our fault and it’s not fair.”

Starr was absolutely right when said that to Cole today. They started off as friends, and have now moved on to something more. And maybe it would not have gone that far beyond friendship if their parents had left them alone. But, this is a soap opera! Where would the fun in watching Starr and Cole’s romance develop if they didn’t have a few roadblocks thrown in their path.

There is a lot of history between their parents. While in college, Marty Saybrooke, Cole’s mother, was raped by a bunch of frat boys. Todd Manning, Starr’s father, was one of those frat boys. That Marty is able to be in the same room as Todd without falling apart is amazing. It is only natural that she would still have some hard feelings toward him, whether she has moved past the rape or not.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that there was also a romantic relationship at one time between Blair Cramer, Starr’s mother, and Patrick Thornhart, Cole’s father. Blair is not one to take kindly to loosing anything, especially a man. Of course she has hard feelings for the woman who won out. Seeing Marty is a reminder to Blair that Cramer women don’t always get what they want.

The anger and hard feelings that these parents share is very understandable. Still, it doesn’t seem fair for them to take that anger out on their children. It’s not Starr’s fault that her father made a terrible mistake in college. Nor is it Cole’s fault that his mother got drunk one night and was stuck in a horrible situation. It’s not their fault that the met, and that a friendship started. How far they choose to take that friendship, OK, that one is their fault!

Keeping them apart because of the animosity between the adults is just wrong. Starr is both a Manning and a Cramer girl. Either one of these facts should be enough to tell Blair that telling Starr not to do something is going to make her want to do it even more. She knows what she wants. And like her mother, she is unlikely to stop until she gets it.

Blair, Todd, and Marty really have no one to blame but themselves for what is happening between their children. Have any of them ever listened when told who they should not be with?