Will She Ever Pay?

I came home on Saturday from my brother's house, where he and his wife had converted a small room in the finished basement to a Brother Retreat. I have to say that it was unbelievably comfy in this smartly decorated bedroom. A queen bed, nightstands, wall sconces, and pictures on the wall all made me feel welcome.

We had been to Washington, DC for a tour of the White House and the Capitol, courtesy of a high school friend who has made it big in Washington. We walked at our own pace through two floors of the White House; through the rooms were Jefferson dined, Lincoln worried, and JFK entertained. Abigail Adams hung laundry in the East Room in 1801. Many years later, Grant saw his daughter married in the East Room. Garfield was carried through the Blue Room from the south portico after he was shot at the train station. Winston Churchill smoked cigars with FDR upstairs. And both Lincoln and Kennedy laid in state in the East Room. It was a very cool tour.

I came home early so that my daughter wouldn't be left with the neighbors while my ex-wife gets her drink on. But when I got home, surprisingly enough, she was not getting ready to go out. I asked anyway, if she was going out, and that changed her mind. She grabbed some overnight clothes and took off. She came home on Sunday at 11:00. She was surprised to see us, thinking that she would arrive while we were at church. But we fooled her and stayed home.

Show Me the Money
Monday night I asked her to please move her car so that I could put mine in the garage. She went out and moved her car -- into the garage. And that was that.

Later on, I asked her if she wouldn't mind if, when she got her new house, if I could come park in her garage for a few months. Seems fair to me. Not so much to her.

She unleashed on me about how I torture her. "This is why I don't give you any money," she says. "Because you torture us every chance you get."

In other words, providing her free housing is torture.

Granted, I do bother her on occasion about paying the $360 per month she agreed to and is now 4 months behind. I have taken away her garage door opener and EZ Pass. But otherwise I keep to myself, in the basement.

So I took issue with this idea that I am torturing her, because this is not the torture I had been imagining for so long. This is nothing like it. She isn't supposed to be Giving me money out of kindness, she is supposed to be contributing to the many bills, and hasn't.

I told her, "Sorry, but I'm not paying $x,000 per month to sleep in the guest room, park in the driveway, and live in the basement. This is my house and you need to keep up your end of the agreement."

She told me that she is entitled to everything in the house as she sees fit and that the money is hers. She reminded me twice that she will not move out until 30 days after collecting my retirement money. And it is up to her as to when she collects that. (That means she might be here for a very long time.)

I didn't argue. I just went to bed. And in the morning there was a check and a nasty note from her. She paid me for 3 months (not 4) and told me that I am abusive.

Again, I am surprised that she really thinks this way. I mean, I am not perfect. I am not friendly to her at all, but I rarely say anything to her or interfere with her life.

Nonetheless, I cashed the check and look forward to going to my brother's Safe House again in a few weeks.