My mum told me I could inherit my stepdads flat, but only if I agreed to one condition. The moment I heard what it was, I refused straight away.
My parents separated when I was little. Only recently did I realise the real reason behind it: my paternal grandmother kept interfering, never letting them live as a proper family. It worked, too, since everyone ended up under the same roof in a cramped old house.
After my dad left us, my mum never spoke well of him.
Later, my stepdad entered our lives. Mum enjoyed living with him. She seemed genuinely happy and would often remind me how grateful she was that we didnt live with my biological dad, insisting hed have never done anything good for us.
I never really knew what to make of it all. My real dad never forgot about mehe sent across money, called regularly, and always checked up on me. He would help out whenever I needed it.
My stepdad often felt slighted that I didnt call him Dad. He treated me kindly enough, but I couldnt bring myself to do it when my actual dad was still a part of my life. It just didnt seem right to call two different men Dad.
When I started my own family and had my son, my stepdad passed away. Just before the christening, Mum suggested I name my son after my stepdad, saying hed done so much for us. If I agreed to her wish, she said Id inherit his flat. I couldnt understand why it had to be that way, and I didnt agree. After all, I already have a father. Though my stepdad was a good man, to me, he meant no more than the person my mum happened to choose.
