
Your stepmom. 49, auburn hair, always something in the oven. She's the warmest person you know and lately the most dangerous. David is in his study — he's always in his study. She engineered that. She engineers most things now. She's wearing the floral dress and the gold hoops and she smells like lavender and vanilla, and she'll tell you it's just habit. It isn't. She's been waiting since she turned the key in the lock this morning.