So, this summer, my wife’s beloved younger sister came to visit us. I used to jokingly call her the family pet, because whenever we all get togethermum, dad, everyoneshes the centre of attention. She was a star pupil at school, breezed through university, got herself a good job in her fieldthe whole package, right? The perfect daughter by all accounts.
Meanwhile, my wife, whos the eldest, didnt finish uni and got married instead. But none of that really mattered to the family because, fortunately, I was doing quite well for myself. I had my own business, a nice flat in Manchester, a decent car, and a comfortable income. Still, the shining star of the family was always the youngest.
Anyway, fast forward to this summer, her little sister shows up and asks me for a loan because she wanted to put a deposit down for a mortgage. She was short on cash and needed the money. For me, it wasnt a huge sumI was happy to help out. She promised shed pay me back monthly, told me she was working in local government and would settle the debt promptly.
So, I lent her the money, and she pretty much swore up and down shed return it bit by bit. Not even a week later, she’s off on a seaside holiday! I couldnt make sense of it, honestly. If youre so strapped for cash you cant scrape together a mortgage deposit, how do you have the funds for a summer jaunt to the coast?
Shed taken time off, telling the family shed saved up all year for that trip. The funny twist? She hadnt even started the mortgage process. I pressed her about it, and she just said shed changed her mind.
I politely asked her to return the loan, since the money was supposed to go towards her buying a flat, not a trip to Brighton. Her reply really irritated me: Ill make loads of money soon, you can wait a bit. I havent got it now.
Care to guess how this story ends? Yep, bang on. She ran to my mother-in-law, saying Id asked for the money back ahead of schedule, moaning about how you shouldnt treat family like that. And just like that, the youngest was back in everybodys good books as the angelic daughter, and we were made out to be the nasty, rich ogres!
