Yesterday my husband mentioned my stepmother...

... by emphatically calling her a sociopath.

Damn that was validating.

And man, she really was. This woman was SCARY. Like, "the smile never reached her eyes" isn't a cliche in this case, it's real. The first time she smiled at him he actually drew back from her a bit on reflex- and this is a man who NEVER spooks. Ever. He asked me after if that was normal and I just shrugged and said "Normal when she smiles at me or anyone who cares about me? Yeah."

Looking back, I wonder now if the REAL reason no one in her family could ever stand up to her (for all they'd tell me in private what she was doing wasn't okay) is because they were just as scared of her as I was. Sure would explain a lot.