Steph was ready. Here came the part she’d prepared for.
Her mom started with a couple of sniffles. At least two. And then she would wipe away a little wetness from the right eye.
“I just don’t know what to do with you anymore.” The words came out in a pained tone. Steph quietly mouthed them as her mother spoke them. “I’m at my wit’s end. I’m trying to raise my daughter to be a young lady so that she’ll grow up and marry a good husband who will take care of her so she doesn’t have to spend every waking hour trying to scrape by.”
“I don’t need anyone to take care of me!” Steph said. She saw herself marrying someday, but she’d be damned if it would be anything like her mom said.
“Oh yeah? You think you can go out there”—her mom pointed at the door—”and take care of yourself?”
“If I had t
