A Look

To the boy I gave a look of pity earlier:

When that other woman came up and assured your step mom that she looked too young to have such a tall, strapping son, and your step mom replied that you had a different mother, I gave you a look of pity. You noticed, and I would like to explain it.

I don’t pity you because of your birth mother leaving you, or divorcing your dad, or abandoning you, or whatever other story I could make up. I don’t know what happened, and I’m not pretending to.

I looked at you like that because now you have to live with a woman who labeled you in public as “not hers,” and who also can't recognize empty flattery. She looked plenty old enough to be your mother to me.

I hope you don’t go through this stage in your life feeling embarrassed because your step mom denies you in public. The shame should be on her, not you.