Page 11 of Seen by Her Stepdad

EPILOGUE

July 1

“Wow!” I say as I look at the little house. “I can’t believe you guys did this.”

Mom smiles at me and says, “You can thank your stepfather. He ran the numbers. The mortgage payment is only a little bit more than we would spend on the dorms and since it’s a duplex, he’ll rent out the other side, and then it’s even less. Plus, we can stay here if we visit. He worked it all out and it makes sense. He gave me the deed to this place as my Mother’s Day present. You have no idea how hard it was to keep the secret!”

I turn and smile at him. “Thank you, Daddy.”

Mom smiles. She likes that I call him Daddy. She thinks it’s me finally thinking of him as a real father. She has no idea. When he replies with, “Well, I’m proud of you Princess,” she beams. I’m glad she’s happy and I’ll never tell her we seem like a Norman Rockwell family from Rockwell Pass not because Daddy and Princess mean something completely different to her than they mean to us.

“Well, let’s get inside there,” Daddy says, “and then we’ll go shopping. Last week, I was here when all the furniture was delivered but you’ll need some food and linens. You have three bedrooms. One is yours. One is your schoolroom for schoolwork. The third one is a guest room your mom and I will use when we’re here. Just so you know, if any of your friends visit you in college, they can use the sleeper sofa in the living room. That guest room is like our bedroom. Understood?”

“Yes, Daddy,” I say and it’s a good thing me beaming with happiness makes sense right now.

“Boy, this is a lot different than back home, Honey,” Mom says, “so don’t you worry about it if you need to call and get advice and stuff.” I nod and she says, “I remember when I went to college in the big city and how it was tempting to just go crazy.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, Mom,” I say, “I’m here to get my education and this isn’t really a big city just because it’s bigger than Rockwell.”

“Well,” I say, “You don’t have to worry. I’m going to pay attention to my studies.” She has no idea how truthful I am. I know exactly how hard it will be to sit down if I don’t stay on top of things.

“But live a little, too,” Mom says, “College should be fun.” She smiles and takes Daddy’s hand. “In fact, your stepfather is coming back up here in a month to coordinate with getting a renter in the other duplex and if he tells me there’s no evidence you’re having fun, you and I are going to have problems.”

I giggle and say, “Mom, you know, you can call him my father and not just stepfather. He’s done more for me than anyone but you.” She beams at that, looks at Daddy, and smiles. “And I promise you, when Daddy gets here, I’ll be having a whole lot of fun.”

She has no idea how true that is, either.

“Well, I’m going to go to that chicken place we saw and get lunch. Meanwhile, your stepfather…your father… can show you your new place.”

A few minutes later, I’m in my new bedroom and on my knees.