Disclaimer: Yeah, you guessed it. See the previous chapters. Heads up! Bitchiness and insults eschew, so don't say I didn't warn you! Okay, ducking and hiding! Huge thanks to Cara for proofing and Gayle for the delicious tidbits she suggested. This one's for Kym and Tara, 'cause they both need some happy, and I can't imagine them NOT laughing their asses off at this one, Gayle because she DID laugh her ass off, and Cara, because men suck!

Locked Up & Pissed Off – pt 37

Helen's POV

WHY ME?

EVEN BEFORE she was even born, I knew my youngest daughter was going to be different. I just didn't realize how much, or how difficult. She was always much closer to her father than me, and even more so with my mother. That woman has been such a horrible influence on Stephanie from the time she was born that I wonder how she could possibly be my mother! It's so frustrating; I just don't understand how she could change so much! Back when my father was alive, my mother was the epitome of the 'burg. It was what I aspired to be, and I was so proud that I was able to become just like her. All that changed when Daddy passed away, and to this day I can't figure out the reason why.

I thought that maybe Stephanie was finally growing up when she married Richard, and that I had at last achieved all that I had strived for. Both of my girls were married to successful men, and soon the grandbabies would begin to arrive. I felt I had done my duty as a proper 'burg woman then. Valerie hadn't disappointed me, but her younger sister? Oh, the embarrassment she caused me when she made that racket after she found her husband with that Joyce woman! I still don't get why she couldn't do like every other 'burg woman does and keep his infidelities quiet. After all, Richard had only done what all men do; you simply looked the other way and worked harder to recapture your husband's attention! That was the 'burg way, but no matter how hard I tried to get that across to her, she refused to behave, and her divorce turned into a circus that still haunts me to this day.

I had great expectations when Joseph Morelli began to pay attention to her. After all, no other man had seemed interested in her, different as she is, and he was obviously more than capable of controlling my reckless daughter in the beginning. Of course, that was before she began to hang around with that bounty hunter that dressed like a thug and his men. I get so angry when I think how much he's encouraged her in that dangerous job of hers, and as for helping him? Good God, he wasn't even from the 'burg, and he was accused of murder! How can she possibly settle down into her proper role as a housewife and give Joseph children like she's supposed to when she insists on associating with 'those types' of people? It's not like any of them are of importance in the 'burg. They don't even behave properly! It's so unladylike of her, and certainly not the 'burg way!

Shortly after the 'kidnapping incident' with that bounty hunter's daughter, that sweet boy Joseph took her away to the Poconos for two whole weeks to spend time with her and to help her deal with all that she had gotten herself into. He'd confided in me after their return that he'd had to be a bit strict with her, but felt he had finally managed to tame her and was very confident that they would be announcing their engagement shortly. I was so relieved! At last she would behave like a proper 'burg woman, and I would be congratulated on raising two dutiful daughters that every woman would be proud of.

But no! Instead of falling in line as expected after her return, my poor excuse for a daughter had rebelled yet again, and loudly denounced the only man brave enough to consider taking her as a wife. She refused to even attend dinners at home if Joseph was invited, which angered me immensely. All of our hard work had been for nothing, as she had immediately thrown herself into her horrible job and began spending more and more time with those criminals. It's a wonder I can still show my face outside of my home! Every time I go grocery shopping for my family, choosing only the best ingredients to make Joseph and my husband the most satisfying meals, I see the pitying looks the other 'burg women wear when they see me, and I hear them whispering behind my back. It's so mortifying! And Stephanie still absolutely refuses to learn how to cook like a proper woman, even when I take time out of my busy life to train her the right way. I never had any trouble with Valerie!

And Frank! Oh, that man just makes me furious! From the very beginning he's made no secret of how much he prefers that bounty hunter over Joseph, and he's encouraged Stephanie to keep doing that job almost as much as those men do! How could he do this to me?

Now, oh good heavens! Another one of those horrible people Stephanie chases after has tried yet again to kill her, and she allows that man to spirit her away! Margery D'Antonio's daughter doesn't have anyone trying to kill her! What will the neighbors say? Poor Joseph has been worried to death about her, and she doesn't even have the decency to call him to apologize! How could I have possibly raised such a disappointing and hateful daughter?

Why me?

tbc