IMPORTANT PEOPLE IN BENNY’S LIFE
Lawrence Hanson Benny’s father. A prominent Chicago lawyer with eyes on public office. His father was a US Senator and he hopes to take over that seat one day. But first, his sights are set on the office of Illinois Attorney General. His firm, Klein, Stern & Hanson LLP, is booming, now with offices dotted across the country. His busy schedule is made a little easier by a strong fondness for scotch – a fondness that’s been growing year after year….
Larry is a decent man at heart, not a tyrant by nature. But he’s become accustomed to being the boss and doesn’t take kindly to being questioned. His drinking doesn’t help matters. While it has never made him violent towards his family, it’s a growing wedge between them. Between his case load, his mistresses, and a nice bottle of Glenlivet, his wife and children have increasingly fallen by the wayside over the years. Even though he never intended them to…
To some extent, Benny is a daddy’s girl. She’s the baby of the family and therefore treated with a good deal more leniency than the older children. Larry has a special fondness for his youngest girl, dropping cash on whatever whim she might ask – a new dress, a pony, a car… nothing is too good for her. But as his drinking worsens and he distances himself from the family, throwing money at her isn’t enough. By the time she’s out of high school, the relationship has deteriorated significantly.
Evelyn Hanson, neé Buchanan Benny’s mother. Born a Chicago debutante, Evelyn came from a family that was the epitome of glittering ‘new money.’ Her family’s fortune was made in steel manufacturing and supported plants across the country. While it wasn’t a glamorous ‘claim to fame,’ they soon made themselves at home in Chicago high society. Evelyn, beautiful and intelligent – and a rising star in the non-profit world – caught the eye of a young and promising lawyer from an old and well-respected family. They were married and before long had started a family.
But marriage doesn’t suit Evelyn as well as she’d hoped. Her husband is frequently away and the philanthropic organization she’d built begins to crumble. And so she retreats into herself and her hobbies. Motherhood is some consolation, at least for awhile. But - although she loves her children - the role never truly sits right with her. Instead she throws herself into community projects, social clubs and local politics – anything that keeps her from home. She even finds time for a few much younger lovers…. This all serves to make her a distant figure in her children’s lives. She loves them in the only way she knows how. But that isn’t always enough.
Benny and her mother have a combative relationship. The teen’s natural rebellious instincts clash with her mother’s sense of decorum and class. They fight constantly. Despite this, they do love each other. In fact, they are more alike in stubbornness than they realize… but getting that love to show is a herculean task…
Todd Hanson Benny’s brother. The brightest star of the Hanson brood. At least in his mother’s eyes. Although he was only a decent student in high school, Todd made it all the way to Harvard Law School – and it was there that he excelled. Upon graduation, he found himself a cushy job at a Chicago law firm and is on track to becoming partner. With his new wife, Kathleen, and the baby they have on the way, he represents a bright future for the Hanson name.
As the oldest child and only son, Todd has come to have a certain sense of superiority and entitlement. He knows he’s talented and is not ashamed or afraid to let that show. However, despite his well-developed ego, Todd does have a fondness for his parents and is especially close to his sister, Carolyn. He is a family man by nature, perhaps a reaction against his own parents’ distance. He is a faithful husband and will be a devoted father – even if he can be an asshole.
Benny is not close with Todd. Because of the large age gap between them, they never bonded over much and he tended to see her as a nuisance – loud, annoying, and spoiled. That said, his natural protectiveness of his family means he would defend her at all costs – she’s his sister and that’s what matters. Even if he never particularly wants to spend time with her…
Carolyn Hanson Benny’s sister. The middle child and the oldest daughter. Brilliant and determined – much brainier than either of her siblings – she is perhaps the intellectual heir to father. However, Carolyn was attracted to medicine rather than law. She went straight to Johns Hopkins on a full ride, well on her way to becoming a remarkable neurosurgeon. She is in medical school and continues to give her parents every reason to brag about her accomplishments.
Carolyn is the Hanson with the friendliest nature and is the easiest to get along with to outsiders. She has a keen sense of humor and a tendency to make people feel welcome, regardless of the situation. Her social skills are legendary – and no Hanson dinner party is complete without her there to entertain. She is perhaps the only one of her siblings to escape being as deeply spoiled by wealth and position. That said, her intelligence and young success can sometimes make her intimidating or pretentious.
Benny gets along better with Carolyn than with Todd, but the relationship is still not close. As with her brother, Benny is too much younger than her sister to truly connect. While they don’t clash, exactly, they rarely see eye to eye. This leads to generally ignoring each other and maintaining a studied distance. There is no animosity, but little warmth between sisters.
Steff McKee Benny’s high school boyfriend. Wealthy, arrogant and a bit of an asshole, he is Benny’s first love – and someone it’s not easy for her to forget once they’ve moved away from home and each other. They’ve known one another since childhood and often found themselves thrown together as their parents were members of the same country club. It wasn’t until they reached high school, however, that things between them heated up.
Benny and Steff’s relationship was always… tumultuous. Two stubborn people with tempers and attitude problems? Well, let’s just say fights were a normal occurrence. But even so, they relied on each other. Few others understood the pressures they felt from their families and the less-than-satisfying dynamics they faced at home. Despite the near-constant verbal sparring (and the myriad of other problems), they couldn’t deny they had a deep attraction to each other.
The relationship ended before they both went off to college – Benny to Vassar, Steff to the Ivy League. It was a break up that didn’t prove as easy as either of them had hoped. And when a chance meeting brought them together again years later, it was obvious that some things between them would never change…
Alan Goldberg Benny’s college boyfriend/fiancé. Son of a well-to-do lawyer from Boston, Alan met Benny while working on the school newspaper at Vassar. He was editor in chief and she was the newest recruit to the team. Although he was a couple years ahead of her, that didn’t stop their relationship from blooming not long after her freshman year began. And even though part of him recognized that Benny wasn’t over someone from her past, he didn’t push her on it – and their relationship lasted through the rest of her college years.
Funny, warm, out-going and whip-smart, Alan made friends easily and, for Benny, was a dramatic change of pace from the other men she’d dated. He encouraged her to pursue her talents in writing and was always the first to cheer for her when one of her stories got published.
When he graduated, he moved back to Boston, but the pair maintained their relationship – even leading him to propose to Benny her senior year. At first, she accepted but soon broke it off. On some level, she’d always known her heart wasn’t as committed to him as it should be and she felt guilty stringing him along. She’d never expected to care for him as genuinely as she did and so the break-up was painful – even if she knew it was the right thing for both of them. They still keep in touch.
Carl Harrison Benny’s ex-husband. They met when Benny took her first job in publishing after moving to New York. The company belonged to Carl’s uncle and he held a nice, cushy job up the management ladder. There was an instant attraction between them – and he was much more in the mold of her usual type than Alan had been. Rich, unwaveringly self-assured, and used to getting what he wanted, he wouldn’t take no for an answer from her. Not that she’d been saying no in the first place… She was too caught up in it all.
Their relationship moved quickly and after only a year of dating, they were married. For a few years, they seemed to have it all – they were young, wealthy, and popular fixtures in New York society. But… Benny couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. None of this life was as satisfying as she’d expected it to be. Maybe it was her husband’s frequent infidelities or that they’d only grown further and further apart, but it became apparent that their relationship wouldn’t last. Not even the birth of their daughter could make things right. And so, when he finally went a bridge too far by having a very public (and very cliched) affair with the nanny, she left him. They were divorced after only five years of marriage - and remain on unpleasant terms.
Abigail Harrison Benny’s daughter – and by far the best thing about her life. After she divorced Carl and moved to a new job, Benny tried to get sole custody of her daughter, but was unsuccessful. Still, Abby lives primarily with her mother and sees her father on weekends and certain holidays.
Naturally precocious and curious, the little girl is a constant source of amusement and pride to her parents, who, despite not liking each other much, can generally agree where she is concerned. Abby wants for nothing – including love – but her mother is careful not to spoil her as much as she herself was spoiled. She wants her to avoid the pitfalls of the life she grew up in.
FC: Maggie Elizabeth Jones
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