You know, its always been a dream for me and my husband to live right by the seaside. Wed been chasing it for ten long years, trying to find ourselves and scrimping and saving every penny to finally buy a place near the coast. We werent aiming for anything posh, just a normal two- or three-bedroom flat, and honestly, we didnt care much about the details of the renovation.
Well, that dream finally became reality. Admittedly, my husband and I still had a couple of loans hanging over us, but the goal was achieved. We had the sea, and our own little flat just a stones throw from the beach exactly what wed been hoping for.
We finally breathed a huge sigh of relief, and for the first two months, it felt like we could truly relax. But then, my mum came down to visit. She got the grand tour of our cosy home and promptly asked for a set of keysjust for friendliness, you know, so she could pop round any time without any faffing about. Little did we realise, that set of keys would soon multiply.
One morning, while we were still in bed, we heard the lock turning and someone knocking on the door. My husband, not particularly thrilled but assuming it was dear old Mum, threw on some clothes and went to greet our early guest. To his complete astonishment, standing in the hallway was a family with two kids. When I joined the welcoming committee, I realised it was my cousins crew.
We did our best to act delighted at this unexpected reunion. My cousin explained, quite cheerfully, that shed made a copy of the keys from Mums set, and Mum had apparently told them wed be thrilled about the surprise.
These holidaymakers stayed with us for a week. They brought their own food along from the village, so at least feeding them wasnt a big issue. But having another family in our flat, all in holiday mode, did not exactly lift our spirits.
After seeing off my cousins family, I rang Mum and asked her nicely to please stop arranging these impromptu family gatherings at our place. Mum acted baffled, saying there was nothing to be upset about, and my cousin was chuffed with how wed hosted them, already looking forward to more free seaside accommodation next summer.
Thats when it all kicked off. Other relatives, inspired by Mum, soon followed suit. Uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces all sorts of close relations turned up without warning. More often than not, there were more visitors than expected. Theyd greet each other merrily and chuck out lines like, Well, where else would we all meet if not at Samanthas?
Problem was, no one really noticed me, let alone my husband we were just the owners, supposedly wandering about like ghosts while the villagers invaded!
After two seasons of these drop-ins, I finally asked Mum to return the keys, which she took as a mortal offence, accusing me of being stuck-up and distancing myself from the family. When I told my husband about the argument, he gave me a big hug and said, You do realise there are so many keys around now, your mums set barely solves anything. If you dont mind, tomorrow well put in a new doorwith new locks.
I wasnt upset. A week later, we sat quietly at home and listened for nearly an hour as our new door resisted efforts by some aliens to open it with old keys. The phone started ringing, but we put our feet down and didnt answer.
That evening, Mum rang in a fury, huffing about how my third cousin had to sleep at the train station while waiting for his train. When I asked who this uninvited guest was, there was nothing but a few short beeps and silence…
After that, there were two more failed attempts by relatives to occupy our flat. The new door held up well, and my husband and I finally felt sure this flat was oursnot some public footpath.
Mum doesnt visit us anymore, out of solidarity with the rest of the family, and I try to keep things friendly with her, but Im definitely not letting anyone else in. This place is mine and my husbands, earned through our own hard work.
Funny thing is, none of my relatives have thought to just do what we did, and get their own place by the sea. But when it comes to freeloading, they all seem much happier than we ever were!
