“Oh, an orphan. How… resilient of you.”
He grew up very differently from me. His parents have a big, perfect house and a dining room that looks like it’s waiting for a magazine photoshoot. The first time I went there, I felt like a stray dog tracking dirt in.
Jason’s dad, Richard, hugged me right away. “So this is the famous girlfriend,” he said. “We’re happy to finally meet you.”
His mom, Diane, shook my hand like she was touching something fragile. “Jason mentioned you grew up… with just your father, right?” she asked, tilting her head.
“Yeah,” I said. “My mom passed when I was a kid.”
Diane smiled tightly. “Oh, an orphan. How… resilient of you,” she said. “Jason always did have a soft spot for charity cases.”
Richard gave her a look. Jason cleared his throat. I laughed it off, because what else do you do when someone stabs you with a smile?
From then on, every family event came with some digs about my background.
“Did you learn to cook from a box?” she’d ask.
Or, “We hope the poor little orphan girl can manage a casserole.”
Always with that laugh like she was just joking. Always in front of people.
Jason would check on me later, but in the moment, he kept the peace. I told myself I could handle it. I’d survived worse than a stuck-up mother-in-law.
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