Oh Bethy - that's such a nice, positive thought. That's so sweet of you to think of that. I'd love to be able to see it that way in this case...

I'd buy into it a little more if I thought that my stepmom loved my dad. It's a marriage of convenience at best - she tolerates him because she's afraid of being left penniless. I hate to say something like that about someone I love, but her feelings are pretty out in the open.