No explanation. Just a cold, brazen demand for the exact amount they needed to pay off their expiring mortgage. They hadn’t even asked.
They simply assumed I would pay. I refused their request without hesitation. Less than five minutes later, my phone rang.
“Mom?” I didn’t answer. A text message came in: “Mom: Jacob, I know you saw the request.”
“Why did you refuse?” I didn’t answer right away. Finally, I typed: “Because it’s not my responsibility.”
“Try Eric.” Another call. Rejected…
Another message came: “Mom: We’ll lose our house if you don’t help us.” Oh, so now it’s an emergency? After all these years of being mobile wallets, they were finally feeling the consequences of their decision.
I replied, “I should have thought about that before deciding it wasn’t important to you.” A few seconds later, I received a text from Dad:
Father: Do you really want to let your parents become homeless? I laughed out loud. The manipulation was so obvious it was almost comical. After all, they weren’t homeless.
No one kicked them out. They simply didn’t want to touch their savings because they were used to me paying for everything. I ignored them for the rest of the day. But that evening, Eric texted me:
Eric: Damn, send him the money right now. You’re making a mountain out of something so insignificant. I gritted my teeth. That idiot was about to lecture me.
I replied, “Do you mean the inherited money? Why aren’t you paying?” The answer came immediately:
Eric: You know, I don’t have much money right now. “Oh, so that’s the point. It’s all about who has the money?” When I spent my savings, everything was fine.
But when his turn came, he suddenly found himself broke. I texted him, “Well, buddy, I guess you’ll have to make do…”
“After all, they elected you.” No response. I went to bed with an unexpected sense of relief.
I had finally freed myself from those chains. But the next day everything got even worse. I was at work in Chicago when the receptionist at my apartment building called.
“Hey, Jacob, your parents are here.” I almost dropped the phone. “What?” the girl on the other end asked hesitantly.
They say it’s urgent. And you’re not answering the phone? Oh my God! Did they really come all the way to Chicago just because I stopped paying?
I took a deep breath, held my nose, and said, “Don’t let her in. I’m not expecting her.” An awkward silence followed.
“Um, they’re… a little pushy.” I gritted my teeth.
“I don’t care. Tell them to go away.” I hung up and immediately received a message:
Mother: We’re downstairs. Open the door. No questions asked.
