Just puttin' it out there. Again.

Once again, my wicked step-daughter, Sarah Leslie, is bringing her mother to our cottage -- our sacred place, the place the six of us enjoyed as a blended family for 25 years.  It's so wrong.  She first pulled this evil stunt seven years ago; I haven't spoken to her since.  It's gotta be about money, I reckon 'cause the mother will be paying.  

B's divorce was of the classic "From Hell' variety.  Even though it's been 45 years, I wince every time it crosses my mind, which is never unless something triggers the nightmare -- like inviting Madame Darth to our hitherto, happy, blessed place.

"Please don't make this ugly," B pleaded.  "It's war!" she shrieked in reply.

So it wasn't like he and the ex parted amicably.  She argued over every toss, every cookie crumb.  "I don't want to be Mrs. Marley-Clarke, but I'm keeping your name."  Huh?!

"You have to read 'The Woman's Room' to understand how liberated I am and what a feminist I've become, but I want your money and your name."  Huh?!

"I want full custody and you can see the kids when it suits me."  Really?!  To drive that one home, she changed the locks and left with the kids one afternoon when B was scheduled to pick them up.   

It was the last one that killed her off.  The psychologist who interviewed all of us decided her fate.  He wrote, "Diana Marley-Clarke sees the world in two colours, black and white, with her holding the latter colour.  I have confidence that Brian Marley-Clarke would share custody, but I don't have the same confidence in Diana Marley-Clarke.  Hence, it is majority custody to the husband."

Thank you Dr. L.  She ended up with two nights a week and every third weekend, so that didn't turn out too well for Mrs. "Me Me Me".  So, as I say, it was never friendly and cuddly after that.  Frankly, I deserved a Mother's Day card from her for raising her kids, hahaha!  (Note, even though we had majority custody, we still had to pay her a fortune.  WTF?!)

To say the arrangement was strained would be a breathtaking understatement.  Her lawyer even wanted us to quit the club and cancel our summer vacations so she could get more money.  So, yes, when Sarah invites her to that place, I see red because I see it as a defilement.  As an added bonus, she even tried to go after my money and my parents'!

So, you bet it angers me when she goes up to our cottage.  By the way, it is a private club and step daughter is not a member, thus has to mouch off of a member --  usually a childhood friend whose family has been there for generations.  This means that one of the scarce and highly-sought-after cottages is not available to an actual member for the three weeks she plants her a-s there.  

And, of course, she rents it using her maiden name of "Marley-Clarke".  That's because B was on the board for nine years and president for two.  In fact, he was the guy who saved the club from financial ruin and his name and reputation remain highly-regarded up there.  So hey, why not dine out on the moniker at club dinners and take advantage of the reverence in which he is still held!?  What a good look that will be when the daughter of a former president is seen lurking behind the clubhouse sneaking a smoke.

Oh, did I forget to mention she is a heavy smoker?  And did I mention her daughter has a congenital heart defect?  I googled 'smoking while pregnant and heart defects' and the link is clearly there.  Can you imagine smoking while you're pregnant?!  Rhetorical.  

Anyway, that's off my chest.  However, it needed to be said because step-daughter needs to be outed as the wicked sociopath she really is, devoid of any shred of integrity.  All I can say is the apple doesn't fall far..............

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p.s.  I asked B's permission to post this.  At first he worried it might destroy his relationship with his daughter.  What relationship, I asked?!  She NEVER EVER calls you!  EVER!  So, he agreed because he knows how used and abused we have been by an ingrate.  Just read it to him and he said, "Good."