Life With A Stepmom

Ryan Receives A Proposition From Heather

Since Rose told me that Heather was going to be coming early, I headed home from work at lunch. I don't know how long this discussion is going to be, and I'm nervous about what she has to say. I've been home for thirty minutes, and the doorbell just rang. I walked over to the door to open it, and it was Heather.

"Hey Ryan, how are you today?"

"Good, how are you?"

"I'm pretty good."

"Why don't you come in and sit down. Rose told me that you wanted to talk to me before the kids got here. What's up?"

"Ryan, I know that you and Rose are in love with each other very much. It's been a strain for her to be a mother and a school teacher though to both of your kids. It would be nice for her to be able to separate being a mother and a teacher to Victoria and Hanna."

"Well, I don't know how to fix that. She loves being a teacher, and she would never want to quit."

"I gave Rose a proposition last night, and she told me that you needed to approve of it. I know that Rose is supposed to talk to you before she disciplines the girls, but that is a big strain on your relationship. I told Rose that I am willing to punish your children for things that happen at school. Rose shouldn't have to parent her kids when she is at the school, and she's had to do that multiple times."

"What are you trying to say? Can you be a little bit more specific?"

"If this were okay, when Victoria or Hanna get in trouble at school, I will deal with how they are punished. I will go to the school as their parent too. Rose will only have to punish the girls when they misbehave at home. Rose and I both use the same punishments, so it won't be very different from what they're used to."

"I don't know."

"Ryan, this will help your relationship with Rose. You both deserve that."

I really do want the best relationship with Rose, so this proposition from Heather is very intriguing.

"So, how would this work?"

"If something were to happen at the school, I would meet with the principal if they needed to speak to a parent. After school is over for that day, I would pick them up from school and take them home with me."

"I was fine with you punishing Hanna yesterday, but I don't know if I want you punishing her frequently. I think that the parents should be responsible for that stuff."

"Ryan, don't tell me that when your parents sent you to boarding school you were never punished by someone else. They sent you to that school just so someone else would punish you. Look how you turned out, you're great now."

"That is very true. I do have some things to say before we agree to this though. I don't want you going easy on them just because they're not your own child."

"Trust me, they'll probably straighten out pretty soon if I'm the one to punish them. I do have some experience up my sleeve."

"Another thing, I'm okay with Rose punishing the kids at home without telling me as long as she talks to you first. She can get really heated when they act up, and she has been known to punish them more than what they needed when she's like that."

"I think that will help Rose a lot."

"When the kids get here, I think you should be the one to tell them everything. They're going to be shocked, but I think it will be good to hear this coming from you."

"Agreed."