When I was twelve, my English teacher gave us the assignment to write about what we wanted to be when we grew up, as I'm sure many of you were given in high school. But of all the papers I wrote as a child, this is the one that stands out in my memory. I'm an adult now and a mother of five, I no longer have the paper I wrote from that far away time, but I do remember the title, and that for one perfect moment in my life I knew exactly what I wanted to be.
     I didn't actually know per se what a Madame was, or what it meant to live that kind of life, but I did know it involved pretty dresses, expensive houses, and gentleman callers, not that I knew what a gentleman caller was either, other than someone who brought flowers and money. Since most of...

Please subscribe to keep reading.