Im spending my day off at home, catching up on chores. Out of nowhere, an acquaintance phones and tells me straight up she and her son are on their way. I try to explain that Im cleaning, but she doesnt seem to hear a word I say.
Within ten minutes, they arrive at my door. Lets just say Im not thrilled that Harry is here hes a handful at the best of times.
We settle in the kitchen with some coffee while my friends son watches cartoons in the living room. Its not long before I hear a dreadful crashing noise. I rush in and find my aquarium shattered the fish are flopping about on the carpet, water soaked into every corner.
My friend is immediately checking Harry for injuries while I grab a towel, desperate to mop up the water and avoid flooding the neighbours below. After the mess is sorted, she suddenly says theyre off.
Could you help me haul the carpet to the cleaners? I ask her. No, Harrys still shaken up; we need to settle him down, she replies.
When I question Harry about what he was doing near the aquarium, he tells me his paper airplane flew in, so he was trying to fetch it. The irony is theres not a scrap of paper in sight. Harry points at the cupboard, saying thats where he got it. Thats when it hits me he tore up my marriage certificate to make his plane.
My friend shrugs, Just get another one. Its not a big deal.
So apparently, its all down to me Ill replace the aquarium, sort another certificate, pay for repairs if my neighbours flat was affected. On top of it, my friend blames me for leaving the certificate in plain sight.
Once theyre gone, I pop next door to check alls well, finish tidying up, and finally head to bed, exhausted. Later that evening, my friend texts demanding money. She says they took Harry to see a psychologist because he was so frightened, and I owe her for the session. I dont bother replying I simply block her number.
