28 October 2025
Dear Diary,
Its all clear now, I said with a sigh, theyre kicking us out of our own house.
Victor, Mum and I are on the way to you! shouted Rachel at three in the morning.
Dont bother coming, I replied groggily, were under the covers!
Victor, this is no joke! Find a folding cot for me and a proper bed for Mum! she snapped.
We dont keep cots and every spare bed is already taken! I yawned, trying not to sound too irritated.
Are you having a laugh? she yelled into the receiver.
Sis, what do you want from me? Why are you showing up at my doorstep at this hour? You have your own flat go spend the night there!
Victor! Rachel barked, you have to let us stay. Weve nowhere else to go!
Whats happened? I asked innocently, nudging my wife aside.
Covering the handset with my hand I muttered, Emily, Mum and our little sister are at the door, begging to come in!
Couldnt you have found a better time? Emily asked sleepily.
Glad were on the same page, I smiled.
Rachel kept rambling, mixing sighs, groans and occasional shrieks.
Give me the short version, please, I demanded.
Victor, the front door is jammed!
How badly? I asked.
It started with the lock sticking, then the hinges twisted and refused to close. When I tried to push it open, the latch caught and now the lock wont turn at all! Rachel blubbered, tears welling up. Mum and I were in our pyjamas on the front steps! Were neighbours, you know how nosy they can be.
Right, thats rich, I laughed broadly. Looks like the payback door finally caught up with you!
My wife, who had been listening, shook her head theatrically, covering her mouth to stifle a yawn. She was trying not to burst into laughter, but also not to interrupt me.
Victor, well have to wait until morning and then call a locksmith. Order a taxi and pay by card weve got cash in the flat!
So youre staying or waiting? I pressed.
Dont be daft! Rachel shouted. Were sitting here like two chickens under that cursed door!
Only in early childhood do parents love their children equally, giving them everything they can. As the kids grow, favourites emerge, and the same happens with care: the beloved get more, the rest get whatevers left.
When I was about to get married, my younger sister Rachel instantly raised the issue of me and my new wife, Claire, sharing our family flat.
Victor, youve got your wife, Ive got a meddlesome aunt! And Im living at home! I want to move about, speak and do as I please!
Do as you like, unless someone stops you, I replied, bewildered.
The very thought of a stranger in the house makes me uneasy, Rachel confessed, having copied the line from some online forum.
What kind of unease? I frowned. Claire and I are at work most days. In the mornings you and Mum are still asleep, and in the evenings were home for dinner and then retire to our room!
Exactly! Rachel huffed. You wont even use the loo, will you? I might be at the gym doing yoga while youre fussing about!
Believe me, theres nothing thrilling for us here, I said. Whos going to stare at you anyway?
Victor! Rachel shrieked, then added Mum to the call. Tell him why we dont want a stranger in the house!
Nina Harper, Mum said, shes Claires mother, and to us shes a daughterinlaw practically family.
That makes her a relative from some faroff village, but legally shes an outsider! Mum, I dont want to live in a council flat!
Nina, as biased as she was, favoured her own daughter because my son reminded her of the husband whod abandoned her years ago with their two kids. She thus sided with Rachel, gently but firmly:
Victor dear, we love you, but we barely know Claire. Well meet her, just not by crashing into each others lives. Youre a man it would be odd if you were constantly perched on Mums neck. The kids will come along, Rachels still young. What if they bring friends over at night? Youll argue, but youre family!
Everythings clear now, I sighed again. Theyre throwing us out of our own home!
Victor, no ones throwing you out, Mum said. We just want to avoid trouble where we can.
You could live without a wife, Rachel suggested, but with yours, go your own way!
Claire quickly realised something was off between me, Mum and Rachel; after the wedding we had planned to stay with them to save for a deposit. Three weeks before the ceremony I moved my belongings into a rented flat and brought Claire along.
Claire understood, but she didnt intervene. She wasnt thrilled about living next to my family, yet she was willing to endure as long as it meant helping me.
Things didnt work out, and thats fine, she told a friend. Victor looks miserable.
Claire, stay out of this, advised her mate Katie. Itll keep your head clear!
Ill manage, but Victors really struggling!
Thats why youre his wife to support him. In essence, youre now his family, and were just relatives.
Perhaps I was too conciliatory, but I quickly let go of any grudge when my own households affairs piled up. We needed to settle in, sort the bills. Then Claire gave me a son.
Nothing more to haul, I said ruefully. We wont be able to save much now. Well just scrape by.
I feel the same, Claire agreed. When the mortgage payment is due you cant dodge it.
We signed a thirtyyear mortgage. We wanted twenty but the monthly instalment would have stripped away any leisure from our lives.
Four years after little Tobys birth, joy began to fade. Our second boy, Harry, arrived with a cheerful cry.
Nothing to worry about, I said. Well manage.
Of course, love, Claire replied. Whats next for us?
When the younger child turned five, I managed to snag two vouchers for a holiday resort. We rarely went on holiday, at most visiting Claires family in the countryside, which felt more like work than a break.
Then a tempting offer came in:
Claire! Theres a spa resort with a pool, treatments, a disco for those over thirty, and five meals a day its practically royal!
And the kids?
For a small extra fee you can bring them, or we could leave them at home.
Will we stash them in a cell or ship them to your mums village? Claire joked.
Both jokes were halfserious; shed never really look after the kids while we were away work, garden, housework would keep her busy. Shed probably lock them in a room with a TV and feed them on a schedule.
Mum, I asked, could I take the children with me for a week? Claire and I need a break.
What? Where are you going? Rachel snapped, not giving Mum a chance to answer.
To the sanatorium out of town, I replied. We havent had a proper holiday in eight years.
So youre off to a sanatorium and we have to guard your little bandits? Rachel fumed. What a lovely prospect!
Theyre decent lads. Just feed them, make sure theyre dressed, and put them to bed on time. Otherwise theyll manage themselves.
Nina considered this for a moment.
Victor, no! Rachel shouted, Mum and I just finished redecorating, new furniture its expensive!
And now our kids will wreck it? Youll have to pay for it later, especially since my husband sometimes drops by.
Enough, Mum! I exclaimed, losing my last shred of hope.
Son, the renovation is fresh, and Rachel is getting her life together. You and Claire are a family sort your own affairs!
Thanks, Mum, I said, each word feeling like a broken piece.
We went to the sanatorium with the children and didnt speak to the rest of the family for a while. I felt bitter.
Soon a crisis hit: our salaries were delayed and the mortgage instalment loomed. I called Mum and Rachel.
Mum, Rachel, our wages are held up. We need three or four days credit, please!
We dont have that, love, Nina replied, looking at Rachel.
Weve got some, Rachel said, patting Mums hand. Dont worry!
Youve saved my skin! I sighed with relief.
No! Youll have to sort it yourself. The money we set aside is for the frontdoor installer. Hes due next week, and we need a deposit for the work as well.
What are you talking about, Rachel? Im only asking for four days!
Its still unclear how youll pay! I need to give the man his money in a week, then five days later hell fit the doors and we must settle the whole bill!
Then youll pay, Rachel! I snapped. Were in an emergency. The loan is due tomorrow, the salary arrives the day after. Ill bring the cash straight away or transfer it!
Nice talk, but Im not going to fly in with the doors! If they delay you again, what will I do?
Lets go to the solicitor right now and get everything in order. You could even draft a thousandpercent penalty!
Ill wait for your fines, the door promotion will end! So, brother, off you go, dont cough!
I managed to wrangle the money, handed it over early, and drove the solicitors old friend to the office. Yet Mum and Rachel landed on my blacklist. I told Claire everything; she quoted a line shed read once:
A wise person does not seek revenge; they wait for life to settle the score.
The waiting didnt last long.
Here we go, I said, staring at my empty card. I have no money and Im too tired to look for ways to help the family.
Youre mad! Were your kin!
And the doors! I added. Your doors were the final chord that left me with no desire to speak to you.
How can you be so low, son? Thats petty revenge! Mum shouted.
Im not revengeful, I replied. I finally began repaying my debts!
You never took anything from us? Rachel asked, confused.
I took your attitude, your love, your care the very things you gave me. Now Im returning them in equal measure.
I hung up. It wasnt vengeance; it was a debt settled.
Lesson learned: holding onto grudges only keeps you chained to the past; repaying what youve taken be it love, aid or favour is the true way to free yourself.
