My brother and I have an age gap of six years, and he’s the elder one. Three years ago, he got married and chose to live with his wife in her flat, rather than staying with our parents. Due to the steep rent prices in the city, that was the only sensible option for them. Meanwhile, I’ve been married for six years, and my wife and I have two childrena six-year-old son and a four-year-old daughter. My wife is from London, so naturally we settled there, where we first met. My workplace was also in London, which allowed me to buy a small flat with a mortgage.
Not long ago, my parents got in touch to say that my brother and his family would be visiting for a week and expected me to put them up in my flat. I was happy at the prospect of seeing my brother after such a long time, but accommodation was a problemmy family of four live in a one-bedroom flat.
After meeting them at King’s Cross, we spent the day wandering around the city. My parents repeated their request that I should host my brother, his wife, and their son, because finding a room or flat to rent in London was prohibitively expensive. Sadly, I just couldnt make it work. That evening, over dinner, I offered to take them to a hotel, but my brother was rather upset and insisted they should stay at my place.
I tried finding alternatives: suggesting a nice hotel, a hostel, or even renting a flat through friends, yet they rejected every option. It was clear they expected to spend the week in London at my expense. Still, I firmly believe I have the right to manage my own home as I wisha home my wife and I earned through hard workand I dont owe anyone my hospitality.
