A long time ago I half jokingly told my husband " In the God awful scenario where we divorce or you die before me, I'm waiting until after Jenny is grown and out of the house before dating again. I've read enough reddit horror stories about abusive step parents and the parents not noticing haha."

Gosh i wish that idiot had listened. I watched him move on, it took a while. Stoic should have been his middle name. He was in full "Robotic Robert" mode as i used to call it. It was his coping mechanism and i understood it. Ya know, when I was alive and could take on the other burdens of parenthood and general adulting until he could come to terms.

But I wasn't there anymore and for the first month or two I would silently offer comfort. But by the third month i was practically screaming at him to get his act together. If I still had vocal cords, they would've been shredded. Our daughter was starting to think daddy didn't love her anymore and she was falling apart. He needed to be there for her more. Not just cook and go to work.

God, I knew I should've encouraged him to learn how to actually cook more. This man has had nothing but frozen meals, take out and pb&j for 3 months. Until Jenny got incredibly sick from one of the meals. I think that shocked him back into trying to live, not just survive. And possibly into realizing he needed to do better for Jenny as she puked on him just like she did as a baby.

His attempts at cooking weren't the best but he tried. He was burning or overcooking a lot of foods out of fear of Jenny getting food poisoning again. But he managed. Still not a lot of veggies in the dinners but at least he was trying. He and Jenny began to bond over cooking together and failed cuisine experiences.

3 years later he met a woman at Jennys swim meet. Maybe it was the fact that as a ghost all I do anymore was people watch and I had learned to read people but I didnt like her. Sure, it could've been jealousy but he'd met other women before that I liked for him and Jenny. In my mind she was Umbridge. Down to the pink wardrobe and hairclip.

It didn't take long for Umbridge incarnate to start asserting her dominance over Jenny after moving in. Then came the blaming her for everything, and accusations until it devolved into outright physical and verbal abuse. As this continued and Robert seemed disinclined to stop it, my rage grew. Did you know if a ghost stays angry for long enough it can affect the mortal plane?

And Robert fell for it every God damn time. Believed his new "future" wife's tears over our baby girl's bruises. The first time Umbridge had laid hands on my Jenny I cracked the bathroom mirror with a loud bang. It felt good, but not as good as watching the fear in that witch's face. I started torturing Umbridge every chance i got. I HAUNTED that woman until her mask cracked and she tried attacking Jenny in front of Robert over nothing. Robert finally cottoned on and kicked that disgusting pink monstrosity to the curb.

Afterwards, I made sure pamphlets for family and individual therapy kept getting into the mail or on the kitchen table. While I loved my husband I didnt need him to fall back into Robot Robert mode right then and honestly? He's not exactly the greatest with words. He got the hint after i broke his car in front of the therapist's office.

A couple of years later, and after Jenny had moved out to start her own life and family, I may have orchestrated for Robert to meet and fall in love with someone. I liked 'em Spunky yet kind. They made a wonderful grandfather to our grandbabies and partner to my husband. Robert and Sam got to realize their dream of living on a homestead. I couldn't have been more content with how life turned out for all of them.

So it came as no surprise when my door showed up to take me to the afterlife. With only a single glance back i leapt through the doorway. It was time for me to rest. Finally.