Stepmom Makes The First Move -

“This.” She gestured at the table, the two plates, the careful distance between their chairs. “The performance. I’m not your dad. I’m not trying to replace him. But I’m also not a ghost you have to be polite to.”

He opened his mouth, probably to deny it, then closed it. Rain hammered the window. A branch scraped the glass. stepmom makes the first move

“You’re not a monster.”

She was his father’s widow. A technicality with a pulse. For Mark, she was a living museum exhibit labeled: Dad’s Second Wife. Handle with Awkwardness. “This