My house used to be spotless when it was me and my husband. But then his friend came to stay and fights and clashes began. My husband didn’t care how I felt or about the distress I shared. It all finally came right when I took matters into my own hands.
When my husband offered his friend sanctuary at our home, he did it without my consent. Little did I know that having his longterm pal there would become a nightmare. Circumstances pushed me to take drastic measures to remedy things.
A dirty and messy bedroom | Source: Pexels
This is a photo of the bedroom after my husband’s best friend, Alex, had been staying with us for a few weeks. I cannot describe the smell to you, but believe me, it is putrid and unbearable! Alex moved in with us because his house was undergoing major renovations.
To be honest, my husband invited his friend to come live with us without discussing it with me first. I wasn’t happy with this arrangement, asking, “How long will he be here? And why didn’t you talk to me first before making such a drastic decision?”
A couple having a serious conversation | Source: Pexels
“I am sorry, love. I wasn’t thinking straight. I allowed my excitement to control me,” he explained. The poor thing looked sincere in his apology, so I relented. But little did I know that would be a big mistake on MY part.
Initially, it was supposed to be a short-term arrangement, but weeks turned into months. My husband, Jake, thought it would be fun to have his best friend around. But he didn’t consider the extra work it would create for me.
A frustrated woman sitting next to someone | Source: Pexels
“Don’t worry, babe,” Jake said the day Alex arrived, carrying his duffel bag and a box of video games. “It’ll be like old times. We’ll have a blast!” He also vowed that they’d stay out of my way and wouldn’t be a nuisance.
I forced a smile, but inside, I was already dreading the mess and the idea of living with two men. Jake and Alex had been inseparable since college, bonded by their love for gaming and sports. I, on the other hand, liked my peace and order.
A happy man carrying a duffel bag while his friend follows behind | Source: Midjourney
Within days, the house transformed, and NOT in a good way! Empty beer bottles littered the living room, snack wrappers were everywhere, and dirty laundry piled up in Alex’s room! Jake and Alex would stay up late.
All they did since our guest came to stay was play video games or drink beer together. Their laughter echoed through the house, while I tried to sleep with a pillow over my head. I was so overwhelmed by all the extra cleaning I had to do.
An upset woman sitting on a windowsill | Source: Pexels
And to add to that, I was starting to feel increasingly lonely. One evening, after a particularly long day at work, I found the kitchen in shambles. Crumbs covered the counter, the sink was full of dirty dishes, and a mysterious sticky substance featured on the floor.
I couldn’t take it anymore! “This has to STOP!” I said to myself through clenched teeth and balled-up fists. I decided to tackle my issues with Alex alone with my husband. But, he and his friend were glued at the hip and it was hard to get Jake by himself.
A dirty kitchen with used plates, glasses, and mugs | Source: Pexels
When I finally got a small gap where my husband was by himself, I decided to confront him. “Jake, can we talk?” I called from the doorway of his home office, where he was immersed in work while Alex was knee-deep in another video game in the living room.
“Sure, babe. What’s up?” he said, not looking away from the laptop screen. “I can’t keep up with all the cleaning. I need some help around here.” Jake paused what he was doing and turned to me with a dismissive wave.
A man working on a laptop in his home office | Source: Pexels
I must say, I didn’t expect the response I got from him and it really hurt. Brushing my concerns off he replied, “Oh, don’t be such a downer! You just can’t stand that everything is not about you. Besides, it’s only one more room to clean. It’s not a big deal.”
His words stung! I was about to say something back to him when I noticed he’d gone back to his work! He wasn’t acknowledging my presence anymore! I walked away, feeling both angry and hurt. That night, I lay awake, listening to the childhood friends having a great time!
Two men sitting on the floor eating burgers while playing video games | Source: Pexels
Then and there I started planning my next move. I decided to show Jake what “not a big deal” really meant. I figured he needed to experience it firsthand. The next morning, I woke up early and gathered all of Alex’s trash.
Since they slept late, they were going to wake up much later than me. I picked up the empty cans, dirty clothes, and half-eaten food and dumped them all in Jake’s office. By the time they woke up, the room looked like a war zone!
A woman holding a full trash bag | Source: Pexels
“Hey, what the hell?” my husband shouted from his office as soon as he opened the door. I knew throwing all the trash in there would have the most impact since Jake worked from home. He needed that space to be functional.
I didn’t bother responding or attending to him since I knew why he was shouting. Instead, Alex popped in and laughed, “Whoa, bro! Your office is a mess! You should do something about that if you want to get any work done.”
A shocked man standing in a dirty room | Source: Midjourney
Off he went to prepare some breakfast and get back on the couch! Jake didn’t confront me but pushed everything into one corner so he could enter and work. As the days progressed, dirty dishes, random socks, and leftover food piled up in my husband’s office, causing him to freak out.
“I can’t work like THIS!!!” he shouted for the whole house to hear. I walked in with a sweet smile. “It’s only one room to clean, Jake, so do it. Not a big deal, right?” My husband was FURIOUS, but he couldn’t argue with my logic. Alex, on the other hand, looked sheepish.
A frustrated man | Source: Pexels
“Dude, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it was that bad,” he mumbled. “Maybe you should help out more,” I suggested and left them to deal with the mess. For a few days, things improved. Jake and Alex tried to keep the house cleaner, but their efforts were half-hearted at best.
The mess crept back, and I felt my frustration rising again. One Friday evening, I couldn’t take it anymore and confronted Jake. We got into a huge fight where he accused me of being a party pooper. Alex even tried mediating, but since he was the main cause of our stress, I told him to stay out of it.
A couple arguing | Source: Freepik
My husband tried defending his friend but that made me angrier. I decided I’d had ENOUGH! I packed a bag and called my best friend, Lisa. “Can I crash at your place for the weekend?” I asked. “Of course, hon. What’s going on?” she replied.
A man watching as his partner leaves their apartment with a bag | Source: Pexels
I explained the situation, and she welcomed me with open arms. That weekend, I enjoyed the calm and cleanliness of Lisa’s apartment. I didn’t have to pick up after anyone, and it was a much-needed break.
An emotional woman being comforted by a friend | Source: Pexels
On Monday morning, my phone buzzed with a call from Jake. “Please come home,” he begged, all desperate and ashamed. “The house is a disaster, and I can’t find anything I need. Alex is impossible to live with!” This man had a nerve calling me after going silent the whole weekend.
But I still felt a pang of sympathy, yet I stayed firm. “I’ll come back when the house is clean, and Alex is gone.” Jake sighed. “Okay, okay. We’ll clean it up immediately. Just please come home today, my love?”
A man talking on the phone in a dirty home office | Source: Midjourney
“I’ll think about it,” I replied, not wanting to commit to anything and make him think he’d won. To my surprise, within minutes he sent me a video of them tidying up the house. I chose not to reply to the message but after discussing the matter with Lisa, I decided to go back home.
Two men cleaning a filthy house | Source: Midjourney
I returned later that day to find the house SPOTLESS! Jake and Alex had scrubbed every inch, and my husband’s friend had packed his bags. “Thanks for the hospitality,” he said sheepishly. “I’ll find somewhere else to stay until the renovations are done.”
A man carrying his luggage bag | Source: Freepik
As Alex left, Jake pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry, babe. I didn’t realize how much work it was. I should have listened to you.” I softened, seeing the genuine regret in his eyes. “It’s okay. I just need us to be a team, not you and Alex against me.”
From that day on, things improved. Jake made an effort to keep the house clean and helped out more. Our home became a place of peace again, and our relationship grew stronger.
A woman hugging her man while he prepares breakfast | Source: Pexels
This is a photo of the extra bedroom after my husband’s best friend stayed with us for a few months. I cannot describe the smell to you, but believe me, it is blissful! Now the torment of having Alex over is just a memory of a lesson learned.
Jake smiled, wrapping his arm around me. “And one we won’t forget.”
A clean bedroom | Source: Pexels
Life returned to normal, but the experience brought us closer. We learned the importance of communication and respecting each other’s space. And I knew that no matter what challenges came our way, we could face them together.
A happy couple hanging out on a windowsill | Source: Pexels
In the following story, a frugal husband needs to learn a valuable lesson after trying to save by collecting food from food banks. His wife got the food bank’s director involved and cunningly they taught him why the poor need such services.
The former owner of my car called, desperately asking to recover something he had left under the seat — when I found it, I turned pale
When Samira buys a secondhand car at a dealership, she thinks it a victory because it was something she had done all by herself. But the next morning, the mysterious previous owner of the car calls her, claiming that he left something “alive” under the seat of the car. Will Samira meet him or uncover the secret package by herself?
When I first bought my car, it was supposed to be a small victory. I had left my corporate job to take time off to write my collection of short stories. So, I didn’t want to splurge my savings until something big came my way financially.
It was nothing fancy, just a used Toyota Corolla from the local dealership. The thrill of owning it was enough to make me overlook any thoughts about its previous owner. Whoever they were, they were in my past, and I was cruising straight into my future.
Or so I thought.
But then came that random phone call which changed everything.
It was early, around 7 a.m., and I was in the middle of making my morning coffee when my phone buzzed with an unknown number.
Normally, I’d ignore it, but something about early morning and late-night unknown calls made me answer. I didn’t know if someone needed me.
“Hello?” I said, yawning.
“Hi, is this the new owner of the Toyota Corolla?” a man asked, anxiety in his voice.
“Yes, this is her. Who’s speaking?” I asked, suddenly feeling uneasy.
He took a deep breath.
“Oh, thank goodness! I’m so sorry to bother you, but I need your help. I was the previous owner of the car, and I left something under the seat of the car when I gave it in yesterday morning. You picked it up yesterday, yes?”
“Yes,” I replied, confused about what he was getting at.
“Okay. Good,” he paused. “I need to get my hands on what I left behind. It’s really important. It’s urgent, really.”
What on earth could be so important that he would track me down like this? Was the dealership even allowed to give out personal information?
“What did you leave?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
“It’s something… alive,” he stammered. “Please, ma’am, I need to come and get it as soon as possible. I promise you, I’ll explain when I see you.”
I remained silent for a moment.
Alive? The word echoed loudly in my mind. Was this man serious? What alive thing could possibly be in the car? My mind raced between a baby to a dog to even a package of narcotics that he was brushing off as something alive.
But I knew that I would have noticed something like that.
“Do you want to meet me somewhere or give me your address?” he continued.
I should have probably said no to all of the above. But there was something about him and the panic in his voice that made me hesitate to say no.
“Okay,” I finally said, my voice more firm than I felt. “Come over to my neighborhood. There’s a park not too far away from where I live. I’ll meet you there. I’ll send the address to this number.”
“That’s perfect,” he said, sighing in relief. “Don’t worry, it’s contained for now.”
I hung up and stared at my phone.
“What are you doing, Samira?” I asked myself. “Are you really going to meet a random person?”
But, what would be alive under my seat? My thoughts darted to worse-case scenarios again. What if it was a dangerous animal?
I had no idea what to expect, and that’s what made me nervous.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing next to the Corolla in the cool morning air, waiting for the mysterious stranger to show up.
The neighborhood was still quiet, and I imagined everyone in their homes slowly waking up or making breakfast for their families.
Finally, a man pulled up in an old pickup truck, just as he had texted me to say he would. His eyes scanned the area nervously before landing on me.
“I’m Ben,” he said. “Thank you for letting me come.”
He was younger than I imagined, and probably in his late twenties like myself, with dark hair that looked like he’d run his hands through it one too many times.
There was something endearing about his disheveled appearance, though I could tell he was genuinely worried.
Stop it, Samira, I told myself. This isn’t one of your romantic comedy stories. This isn’t a meet-cute.
“No problem,” I replied. “I’m Samira. So, what exactly did you leave under the seat?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he opened the driver’s door and dropped to his knees beside the car and reached under the seat. For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, Ben pulled out a small, sealed box with tiny air holes punched into the top. My stomach did a flip as I imagined a tarantula inside the box.
“I’m really sorry to bother you like this,” he said, standing up and holding the box.
“What’s in there?” I asked, almost amused.
“I have a pet gecko at home, and I feed it live insects every day. Yesterday, I stopped at the pet store to pick up some food, including mealworms and roaches, but I must have left the box under the seat when I was unloading the car.”
It took a moment for his words to register with me.
“You left a box of live insects under the seat?” I asked.
“Not by choice,” he replied sheepishly. “I was late to hand over the car as well. So the moment I unloaded everything else at home, I rushed over to the dealership to leave the car… for you.”
“You’re lucky that they didn’t escape,” I said.
Suddenly, a laugh bubbled up inside me before I could stop it, and once it started, it was hard to stop.
He looked at me, confused for a second, before a grin spread across his face.
“I know, it’s ridiculous, right?” he said. “I was so freaked out that I couldn’t even sleep. I kept imagining them crawling around your car, and I just…”
“My goodness,” I exclaimed. “That would have been quite the surprise.”
The thought of driving around with a box full of escaped bugs lurking somewhere under the seat was both horrifying and hilarious.
“I’m really sorry, Samira,” he said, his grin fading into something more genuine. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t know what else to do. The gecko, Samson, is actually my little brother’s pet. And as wacky as it is, that kid loves it.”
“No judgment here,” I replied. “I had a pet frog for a solid two weeks as a kid until my mother found it bouncing around my room.”
That was enough to set us both off again. We laughed until tears ran down our faces.
“Let me make it up to you,” he blurted out suddenly. “How about I take you out for a coffee? As an apology for the… bug thing?”
I stared at him, caught off guard by the sudden offer. I hadn’t expected any of this. But at the same time, I felt like I was in one of the romance stories that I wrote.
There was just something about the way he asked, something genuine and a little bit hopeful.
“I… um,” I started to say. “Sure, why not?”
“Great!” he said, his face lighting up. “I know a place not too far away from here. Would you like to go now?”
I laughed at his enthusiasm.
“How about you take me to a car wash to wash away any bugs and my paranoia, and then we can grab a coffee?” I asked, half-joking, half-serious.
“Actually, that’s the least I can do,” he said. “Come on.”
Ben put the box of insects in his truck and locked the door. I threw my keys at him, which he caught perfectly.
As we drove to the car wash, Ben told me all about his little brother, who was living with him.
“There’s a big age gap between us,” he said. “But there’s a really good school two roads away from me. So he’s enrolled there.”
“That’s wonderful,” I said, watching his hands on the steering wheel. “I wish I had a younger sibling to keep me on the straight and narrow.”
When we got to the car wash, Ben ensured that we would take the full package.
“Give her a good wash, guys,” he said.
We went for coffee while the car was being attended to.
And I wondered what was going to happen next…
What would you have done?
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