Every so often, a story of entitlement so pure, so potent, comes along that you have to read it twice just to absorb the sheer, unmitigated gall. This is not just a story of a Bridezilla. This is a story of an entire family of entitled monsters who made a massive, life-altering, and frankly, hilarious miscalculation.
Our narrator and his wife are, by all accounts, incredibly generous parents. Their son went to college in Pennsylvania and, like many new grads, wanted to stay in the area. So, what did they do? Did they co-sign an apartment? No. They bought him a four-bedroom house to live in. A whole-azz house.
The arrangement was an absolute dream for the son. The parents, who live in New Jersey, paid the taxes, the services, and all the maintenance. They figured it could double as a second home for them to visit and spend time together. The son’s only responsibility? Pay for his own groceries and the utilities. He was, for all intents and purposes, living rent-free in a 4-bedroom house. This kid had hit the jackpot.
For a few years, all was well. The son met a girl, they got serious, and she moved in. The parents met her, and she seemed “nice enough.” We all know where this is going. They get engaged, and it’s time for the families to finally meet.
This is where the dream turns into a full-blown nightmare. The parents, being the lovely people they are, host a “get to know you” BBQ at the PA house. The fiancée is there, her parents are there, her sisters are there. Everyone is seemingly getting along. Then, the narrator’s wife, daughter, the son, the fiancée, and her whole family go inside.
A few minutes later, the narrator’s wife and daughter come back out, and they are destroyed. They are so visibly upset that they can’t even talk. They just tell him, “we’re leaving,” and they all drive back to New Jersey in stunned silence.
Once they finally calmed down, the mom and daughter dropped the bomb. The son, his new fiancée, and her entire family had just informed them that they were all uninvited from the wedding. The reason? “We’re not their kind of people.” They were told, in no uncertain terms, that they weren’t “good enough” and would “embarrass” the new family at the wedding.
I am livid just reading this. The dad, to his credit, lets himself cool down for a full week. Then he drives back to the PA house, probably to have a very stern talk with his son. And who does he find? Not just his son’s fiancée. The entire future in-law family has apparently moved in. They have fully colonized the house.
When they see him, they ask him why he’s there. He says he’s there to talk to his son. And then, they say it. The five words that ended their entire free ride. They tell him, the man who bought and paid for the house, to “leave their house.”
Oh, the sweet, sweet, beautiful justice. The dad, understandably, “lost it.” He informed this nest of vipers that since he and his family weren’t invited to the wedding, they were all uninvited from his property. He gave them 30 days to get out. He was selling the house. He then walked out, went straight to a realtor, and listed the property for sale.
The in-laws, in a panic, call the son at work. And here’s the real kicker. The son calls his dad, furious, and asks why he’s selling “his” house! This 20-something-year-old, who had been living on his parents’ dime, had deluded himself into thinking he was the owner. The dad had to lay it out: “I paid for it. I pay the taxes. It’s my house. And since you don’t want us in your new life, you have to get out.”
The son, the fiancée, and the in-laws all thought he was “good enough” to provide a free 4-bedroom house, but not “good enough” to watch him get married. So is the dad the ahole for taking a hard stance? He is not the ahole. He is a legend. He just taught them all a very expensive, 30-day-notice lesson in the simple art of “Finding Out.”