For five years, Elric and Fallon had given up their guest bedroom, turning it into a storage room for her parents’ belongings. But once the couple discovered that they were pregnant, they asked the older couple to remove their things, causing unnecessary friction and a surprise reward.
Five years ago, my in-laws just wanted a smaller house. So, they started looking for a little place just for the two of them.
“We have too much space and too many things,” my father-in-law, Bramwell, said.
So, they asked if they could store some of their stuff in our house for a while.
“It’s just the things we want to keep, darling,” Bramwell told my wife, Fallon.
We both didn’t mind, and we had a guest room we didn’t use.
“Sure, Dad,” my wife said. “The guest room is all yours for now.”
The key word here is for now.
But guess what? They never took their stuff back. Instead, they just kept bringing more.
For a while, Fallon and I used to joke about the guest room and how it had turned into a storage room in our own home. The bed had been pushed to the corner, and the room was stuffed full with boxes and old furniture.
“Where should we put the vacuum?” Fallon asked me one day as we bought a new vacuum cleaner.
“Throw it in the storage room,” I replied, making my wife laugh out loud.
But then, we discovered something a little unexpected.
“I’m pregnant, Elric!” Fallon said, running into our bedroom with a pregnancy test.
We had both thought about having kids for a long time, but we still wanted to do so much and travel more. So, this was an unexpected little blessing.
Together, Fallon and I sat and talked about everything from baby names to nursery colors when it hit us.
“The storage room has to go,” my wife said, sitting up in bed. “We need that room for the baby. We have to tell them, Elric. I won’t have us changing our lives just because my parents keep too much stuff.”
“Okay, I agree,” I said calmly.
Fallon was already getting upset.
“We’re meeting them on Sunday for brunch. We can tell them about the baby and their things then,” I said.
My wife nodded, smiled, and settled back down.
“I just need us to come first here,” she said.
The next morning, Fallon sat with her laptop and planned the nursery from start to finish.
“I know it’s too early, Elric,” she said shyly as she sipped her tea. “But I’m excited, and I need to do something with all this excitement.”
Then came the Sunday brunch. I wasn’t exactly sure how Fallon’s parents would take the news because they seemed happy leaving their things at our home.
“We’re having a baby!” Fallon announced when we sat down at the coffee shop.
My in-laws jumped up and started hugging and kissing us to say congratulations. Eventually, when their excitement calmed down a bit, I decided it was time to bring it up.
“Mom, Dad,” I began, calling them what they always wanted me to. “We need you to move your stuff out of the guest room as soon as possible because we plan on turning it into a nursery for the baby.”
“Oh, sure,” my mother-in-law, Thaliah, replied with a quick wave of her hand. “We’ll get to it soon.”
After that, she started looking at the menu, and the talk about their belongings was forgotten.
Weeks passed, and “soon” seemed to mean never in their minds.
Fallon and I started getting more worried because other than just waiting for our baby, the only real thing we could do was set up the nursery.
But her parents were in the way of that.
Eventually, I had to be firm.
“Do it,” my wife encouraged. “Just get them to clear things out.”
The following day, I went to my in-laws’ house to pick up some soup for Fallon and to tell them I had enough.
“We need it cleared out by the end of this month,” I told them straight. “We have a lot to do before the baby arrives. And I don’t want Fallon stressed out by this. No excuses.”
My mother-in-law nodded slowly.
“Fine, Elric,” she said. “We’ll sort it out.”
Finally, Thaliah came over and started going through her old things. As she dug through the piles, she suddenly let out a scream.
“Oh my God! Look at this!” she yelled, pulling out a moth-eaten fur coat from one of the boxes.
“Really? Elric! Fallon! I can’t trust you with anything! You and your dirty house ruined my favorite vintage coat!”
I couldn’t believe what was happening. Not only did she not thank us for keeping her belongings in our house, but now she was blaming me for the damage.
“Are you serious?” I snapped. “You left this here for five years, and now you’re blaming me for it?”
“Yes, I am!” she screamed. “This coat can’t be replaced!”
I tried to stay calm.
“I think you’re overreacting, Thaliah,” I said. “And anyway, if it was such a special coat, you should have taken better care of it instead of letting it sit in a box for all these years.”
The argument got worse, and she stormed out of the house, mad as can be. Fallon stood by, wide-eyed, clearly stuck between her mother and me.
And then things just got messier.
The next day, I received a notification for a bill of $695.
“What? What on earth could you have bought for that amount?” Fallon asked me.
“It’s not me, love,” I replied. “It’s your mother. It’s a bill for a new fur coat.”
“It’s the middle of summer, Elric,” she said. “She’s ridiculous.”
“If she wants to play it this way, then fine,” I thought. “Two can play this game.”
I sat at my laptop and looked up the price for a storage unit the size of our guest room in the city where we lived.
The rate was $150 per month. So, calculating the cost for five years of storage came to $9,000.
Next, I made a bill in Thaliah’s name. She was going to learn a lesson.
Here is the bill for five years of storage at our house. Thank you for your prompt payment. The money will be used toward your grandchild’s nursery.
– Your son-in-law.
A week passed, and there was no response.
Then one evening, just as Fallon and I were sitting down for dinner, the doorbell rang. It was my father-in-law, Bramwell.
“I’m here for the rest of the things,” he said, not looking me in the eye.
He and Fallon packed up the remaining boxes and furniture, and by the end of the evening, the guest room was finally empty.
“It’s about time,” Fallon said, sighing. “I’m glad the mess is gone.”
My wife and I spent the next few weeks painting and decorating the nursery, turning the once-cluttered space into a cozy spot for our soon-to-arrive baby. It felt like a big weight was lifted off our shoulders.
But just when I thought the drama was over, another twist came.
“Did you know that Thaliah is trying to sell that moth-eaten fur coat as a rare vintage item online?” Fallon said one night, scrolling through her phone.
My wife only called her mother by her first name when she was annoyed.
“She’s claiming that it is an antique with ‘natural wear and tear’ and asking for $1,200!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how crazy it was.
“She’s unbelievable. First, she blames us for the damage, then buys a new one, and now this?” Fallon said.
“Or maybe she’s just confused,” I replied. “Either way, we are done with that.”
One afternoon, I received a call from Bramwell.
“I’m really sorry about everything,” he began. “Thaliah’s been a lot lately, and I know about her wanting to make you pay for her coat. I want to make it right. Can we meet?”
We met at the usual coffee shop, and Bramwell handed me an envelope. Inside was a check for $9,000.
“Consider this payment for the storage,” he said, looking truly sorry. “I know Thaliah would never agree to this, but it’s the least I can do.”
Later that evening, Fallon and I had taco night to celebrate with Bramwell.
