I threw caution to the wind and jumped head first into my new role as housewife and stepmother with open arms. The only problem was that not everyone else's arms were open.
My first official morning as a member of the Norton household began at the breakfast table. I woke at daybreak to make a huge feast for my new husband and my growing boys. Eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage, pancakes, real maple syrup, waffles, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, fresh squeezed orange juice, hand-whipped butter, biscuits and an assortment of fresh jams made from 100% fruit. I didn't even need to call everyone to the table as by the time the smells from the kitchen started wafting through the house, everyone had come to the entrance of the kitchen to stare at my growing feast. Anderson was the last one down and strolled up behind the boys to see what I was up to.
"Well, look at this," he exclaimed. "Everyone grab a seat and dig in before it gets cold." Anderson slipped through the trio of boys at the doorway and took a seat at the head of the table. His three sons warily stepped to the seats and sat down to start picking away at the food. During the couple of months since I had married Anderson, I had tried to strike up various conversations with his sons, but the awkwardness of the situation was apparent.
Each of his sons had very different personalities which became very obvious in our earliest interactions. Tucker, the oldest at 19, was defiant and jaded. James, the middle boy and 18-years-old, was more of a loner and very creative. Alexander, the youngest at 17, was the risk-taker who had obviously been the most spoiled. Most of our conversations at that point had been very short, usually happening when I came over to meet their father or when we were lounging around watching TV. So when I moved in and suddenly showed up in their kitchen that morning cooking their breakfast, they were very guarded with me.
Anderson did the most talking, asking his sons about their plans for the week while they mumbled their responses and quickly inhaled their breakfasts. When I would add my own two cents or ask one of the boys a question, they would either give me a very curt response or not really say anything at all. Finally, as they were about to get up to leave, Anderson clanged his fork against the side of his glass to get their attention.
"Ok, ok, enough of the awkwardness," he said. "Everyone just stay seated for a minute while I say a few words." His sons put down their utensils and looked at me, and then back at their father. "I just wanted to ask everyone to give Danielle a warm welcome into our home. I know all of this has happened very sudden and all of you will need some time to get to know each other, but it is a situation which you will learn to accept. She is your new stepmother and you will treat and respect her as such."
"She's not my mother," Tucker interrupted.
"Tucker!" his father scolded him. "What did I just say? Be polite. Now Danielle is a wonderful woman but she is not trying to replace your mother. Your mother is gone and that's just life. We have to deal with that pain and move on. Danielle is a new chapter in all of our lives. She is not trying to replace your mother but you better understand right now. She is your stepmother and you listen to what she tells you, or you will suffer the consequences. Is that understood everyone?"
His two youngest sons nodded their heads while Tucker just rolled his eyes. I felt at that moment that if I didn't say anything, I would be treated simply like Anderson's wife and not their stepmom.
"Listen guys," I said in the warmest tone I could voice, "I know I am the stranger here and it is my job to get to know all of you and see how things work around here. So please be patient with me while I do my best to get to know each of you individually. I understand that you boys are getting older now and are on the cusp of manhood and don't want a mother to tell you what to do. So I hope I can be there simply to support you in whatever you need and please don't hesitate to tell me if I am doing something wrong."
Each of them had kept their eyes cast downward while I spoke but they would occasionally glance up at me with a furtive look. I could tell they listened to what I was saying, but only time would tell how everything would play out. They rose almost in unison to clear their dishes, and then each of them gathered their backpacks and were out the door. Anderson and I looked at each other.
"What do you think?" he asked me. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I'm sure it will all work out," he added as he got up to leave. He kissed me goodbye and was out the door as well.
While each of his sons had very different personalities, it was evident that his oldest son Tucker was going to be the most difficult to get to open up to me. He had just turned 19 and had started to attend classes at the local college. Because of the bad economy, he was living at home and his father was paying for all of his expenses, including his tuition, his car payments and his monthly allowance. Anderson had told me that I needed to make sure that he kept on track and that any negligence in his school work would result in removal of his privileges, the most important one being the use of his new Tahoe SUV that was the center of his life.
I learned right away from overheard phone conversations that Tucker liked to spend most of his time out meeting girls and drinking with his friends. He would usually come home from the gym every evening and then go right back out until late at night. He would tell his father that he was at the library studying, and because he was a very good liar, his father never wised up to his antics.
I knew from the very beginning that my relationship with Tucker was going to be tough for one simple reason. Tucker Norton was the cutest younger guy I had seen in a long time. From the first time that he opened the door for me with a towel draped around his young half-naked body, I simply could not hide my attraction for him. He looked like he was straight out of the Abercrombie and Fitch catalog- blue eyes, thick light brown hair, a pearly white smile and a perfectly sculpted six pack carved into his muscular body. How could I possibly be a responsible mother to this young, dashing suburban stud?
The first few conversations that I had with Tucker were antagonistic and strained. He would come back from the gym and quickly go to his room where he would strip down to his boxers and then open the door only to slip into the bathroom to take a shower before he went out again. Finally one day, after he came home from the gym, I knocked on his bedroom door to talk to him.
"What?" It was a blunt, irritated reaction. He knew it was me.
"Tucker, can I talk to you a second?"
"What do you want? I'm on my way out," he shouted back.
"I just want to talk with briefly. Can you open the door please?" After a few seconds, the door opened a few inches and he stood there staring at me with a cold look on his face, wearing only a pair of clean white boxers.
"Can I come in to talk?" I asked him sweetly. Without looking at me, he turned from the door and went and sat on his bed. I went in after him and sat down next to him.
"Listen Tucker, I know this is hard for you but you can't keep ignoring me like this every day. I am your stepmother and you need to be able to talk to me normally."
"You are not my mother nor will you ever be," he shot back at me.
"Tucker, listen. I already told you that I am not trying to replace your mother but you need to accept me for who I am." He just stared straight ahead while I spoke. "Look at me Tucker," I told him. He continued to look straight ahead so I put my hand on his chin and turned it toward me. His beautiful blue eyes looked up at me and I was suddenly ready to devour him on the spot. "I know it's painful for you," I told him, "but you need to make an effort to get to know me."
He turned his head away again and looked straight ahead again. There was a moment of silence and I couldn't help but eye his young toned body sitting there on his bed. He had incredible skin from head to toe and the only thing covering him was a pair on boxers, cinched tightly around his waist. I couldn't help but put my hand on his bare back and warmly caress him, but the moment I did, something completely changed in him. The feeling of my hand on his skin made him suddenly tense and he immediately got up.
"I have to go," he said abruptly. "I'm supposed to meet some people at the library."
"Tucker, sit down right now. I know you don't go to the library every night. I know you go out with your friends to drink and meet girls. I can smell the liquor on you when you come home."
When I told him this, his eyes grew larger and he immediately tried to protest. "You don't know what you are talking about. I go to the library or to a friend's house to study. You can ask any of my friends."
"Don't lie to me Tucker. Listen, your father asked me to make sure you are pursuing your studies. So from now on, you will spend at least two nights at home studying. Is that understood?"
He just looked at me like he thought I was crazy and turned to walk away. "I have to go. I'm going to be late," he muttered. The bathroom door closed and the sound of the shower being turned on could be heard. He was completely ignoring me and I wasn't going to stand for it. I got up, went to the bathroom door and opened it up. He was standing there stark naked and he looked up at me in shock. He tried to cover himself with his hand.
