З життя
My Brother Had Been Married for Five Years, Yet We Had Never Met His Wife. Then He Told Me They Would Stay With Me for Two Days. When They Arrived, I Couldn’t Stand That Woman for Even a Moment
My brother, Michael, after finishing university, moved to another, far-off city for work. His plan was to spend just a year there, save up some money, and return to our home city to buy a flat. But life had different plans for him. He met a girl there and they decided to get married. So, my brother settled down in that city. None of us had ever met his wife before. It so happened that during their wedding, I was nine months pregnant and about to give birth, so we decided there was no way I could travel. My father couldnt get time off work either, so it was only my mum who attended the wedding. My mum didnt become close with Michaels wife; she simply met her and that was that. After the wedding, the couple went on their honeymoon and mum came home a few days later. She said the girl was pretty, friendly and always seemed to be smiling. The years went by, and we never once met my sister-in-law.
But this year, my brother rang with some brilliant news. Hed organised a packed itinerary. First, he and his wife would come to ours for a couple of days. Then, they would travel on to a friends wedding, go to a school reunion, meet up with her parents by the seaside, and finally head home. They were to spend two days with us. I didnt see any issue with that, even though our flat is quite small. Thankfully, my in-laws have a holiday cottage not far away, and my mother-in-law kindly let us use it for their stay. The cottage hadnt had much work done on it in ages, but the place was decent enough for a short visit.
I was in good spirits and looking forward to seeing everyone. They arrived, and that was when the trouble started. Michael introduced us, and from the very first moment, my sister-in-law began to complain: the journey was too hot, too loud, uncomfortable, and so on.
Then we got to the cottage. I showed them round. The way she looked at the shower and toilet, it was as though a stray dog had just licked her. She drew Michael aside, had a bit of a grumble, and soon after, my brother asked my husband to drive them back into town. She flat-out refused to use the shower at the cottage. They went to our flat so she could shower and do her make-up, then they came back.
It soon turned out she wouldnt eat a thing wed made. Wed put in our best effort, but there was gluten, fat, and I cant even recall what else that didnt suit her. In the end, she picked at some vegetables but eyed everything suspiciously, even those. She wouldnt sleep in the room wed set up for them, so in the end, we all returned to our cramped flat. The next day, as we tried to show them around town, she was fussier than my three-year-old soneither too hot, or her foot started aching, or she was bored. I was honestly relieved when they finally left. I cant help wondering how my brother has managed all these years. She managed to wear us out after only two days.
