I sit next to my stepmother, Linda, trying to pay attention to what’s being said. It’s something about an upcoming event and what everyone is wearing. My mind drifts to my husband Daniel like it always does and I wonder what he’s doing right now.
I discreetly look down at my watch to see the time. Our morning makeout session was cut short when Linda showed up two hours early to make sure I was properly dressed, but at that point I wasn’t dressed at all.
If she hurries up, I can catch him before he’s finished with work. I love interrupting his work day more than I should. I can’t help myself. Even after being married a few years I love how I can still easily snag his attention from whatever he’s doing. It makes me feel sexy, but he made me feel that way from the moment he looked at me. I’d never felt truly wanted until that moment.
It makes my heart flutter when I hear people mention how different he is with me. I didn’t know the cold Daniel others talk about because he was never that way with me. All he’s ever been is warm and sweet, but I guess that’s not how he is with everyone else. Even after our getting married, my father and stepmom still don’t care for Daniel. They pretend, but I can feel their tension and hear their quiet comments and it’s growing harder to ignore. My husband doesn’t give a shit what they say or think about him, but it bothers me.
I hate that they don’t see him as I do. If anything they should be happy for me. The problem is that Daniel doesn't fit the mold they had in mind when thinking about who my future husband would be. Daniel has plenty of money, but he’s not educated like they would have liked. To be honest that’s part of the reason why I fell madly in love with him so quickly. He was different than everyone around me. I liked that he didn't care what anyone thought of him. He didn’t play by anyone else’s rules. He does what he wants and makes no apologies if you don’t like it. He is who he is, take it or leave it. Though I’m not sure he’d have that motto if I tried to leave it, and the thought makes me fight a smile.
If he didn't want to wear a suit, he wouldn’t, and if he didn't like you, he wouldn’t be fake and make nice. Everyone knows exactly where they stand with him, and when I first met him it was so refreshing. With him I feel like I belong, unlike right now as I sit in a room with women around me carrying on about what they’re wearing to the next social event. I’ve never felt like I belong here and maybe it’s because I don’t.
It wasn't until I lost my mom that I was introduced to a world I didn’t know was out there. I went from having no dad to having a father and stepmother. My mom was the only family I thought I had and she was gone from this world in the blink of an eye. I learned about losing someone I love early in life and how everything can be completely turned upside down.
I went from having a mom who was a little wild and free with her parenting to a world filled with rules and structure. I’d heard my stepmother say not long after I came to live with them that she was trying to fix me and break the bad habits I developed in my old life. I let her because I wanted to feel like I fit somewhere. I was molded into what they wanted and it wasn't until Daniel came barreling into my life that I realized what I lost. I didn't even know who I was anymore and he showed me that. With him he let me find myself. There were no wrong answers or rules I had to follow, and it didn't matter what other people thought of us.
I fight another smile thinking about the rules we do have and how they only come out when other men are getting too close to me. I love watching my husband get jealous. It’s adorable, but I wouldn't ever tell him. I also don’t think anyone else would call him adorable.
My stepmother nudges me in the side, making me sit up