My third stepmother was a mere flash in the pan, clocking in at around a year and a half of matrimonial bliss. I didn’t have the pleasure of living with she and Dad but Jason tells me she was a real swell gal; very sweet, he says.

After my departure from Houston, Dad and Vicki divorced within a year. Dad, being a firm believer in the institution of marriage, married soon thereafter. Dad and Jason had moved to an apartment in Dallas where Dad met Jackie, whom I am told lived across the hall. It appears that Dad’s thick mane was too much for this southern belle to ignore and within a year, the two lovebirds were bonded.

Despite needing to put on a fresh coat for the newest members of the family, Dad continued to be physically and emotionally abusive to Jason. Jason explains that the beatings moved to the confines of his bedroom so that Jackie was none the wiser. We’re pretty sure that Dad’s marriages all had an average life span of around four years, because it took each wife about that long to catch on and wise up.  Jackie, it appears was much more savvy than the average as their marriage lasted less than two years.

At the start of Jason’s eighth grade summer, Jason was allowed to visit our aunt and uncle in Montana. Upon his arrival, Jason told our aunt that if she made him return to Dallas and to the care of his father, he would either run away or commit suicide. Like myself, Jason became a ward of extended family. Within a few months Jackie called Jason in Montana and said she now was aware of why Jason needed to leave. She apologized for the acts of his father, said that she and Dad were getting a divorce and wished Jason a long and happy life.