Rapunzel had it coming. After twenty years in the tower? Never complaining when her stepmother dropped in without calling? (Despite her 70-minute commute, her stepmother always seemed to be “in the neighborhood”)

For twenty years, refusing to let her leave, and yet for twenty years refusing to fix the loose light switch in the bathroom?

Clearly. Rapunzel had some payback coming. And her stepmother knew it. That’s why she was playing up the “ill and infirm old lady” business when Rapunzel walked in the door.

Rapunzel ran her fingers through her brand-new pixie-short hair and dumped a Hefty bag on the floor. “This is my hair,” she said flatly. “I can’t use it.”

“Your…your beautiful hair!” croaked her mother, letting another pseudo-cough wrack her body.

“There’s seven more bags just like it in the pickup. That’s not why I’m here.”

Her stepmother looked hurt, but Rapunzel didn’t have time for niceties. She had a day job now, and the drive back to the Valley at this hour was going to crush her.

Her stepmother pinched her own nose, scratched her eyebrows, and belched. She didn’t have a lot of company to keep up appearances for anymore. “I suppose you want me to heal your boyfriend’s eyes,” she said.

Her naivete honestly surprised Rapunzel.

“We’ve got doctors for that,” said Rapunzel. “I want the deed to the tower.”

“But…but…Rapunzel!” said her stepmother. “What can you do with a tower? It’s rent-controlled and the market is dead right now!”

“Right now,” said Rapunzel. “But I’m not selling it right now. I’m going to fix it up, invest small amounts at a time. Install fiber optic Internet and a jacuzzi in the penthouse. It won’t be worth much at first, but after twenty years or so, the market will be back, and I’ll be sitting on a prime piece of luxury real estate.”

Her stepmother groaned, but Rapunzel would not relent, and within the hour, the deed was transferred into her name. “You see, Stepmother,” said Rapunzel, her hard eyes shining, “I did learn something from you after all those years of brushing my hair and singing.

“I learned how to think long-term.”