Just The Facts, Ma'am

Okay, so I haven't written in quite a while because...well, because the stuff that I really want to write about, the stuff that is really beginning to get under my skin, isn't pretty. It's not pretty at all, and quite frankly, I think, scratch that... I KNOW my husband is tired of listening to me...umm...'complain'.

So, what better place to vent my frustrations than here in Blog-Land?! (Insert sarcastic smile here)
In my lamest attempt at humor (it's really all I have left...) I am going to use "Dragnet" as my inspiration for this post...err...story line.

( "Ladies and gentlemen: the story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent." Cue instrumental music..."Duuun du-dun-dun. Duuuun du-dun-dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun")

"The Accidental House Guest"

(The premise of this story: The adventures of a young wife (Michelle), her husband (Quincy), and child (Alexander) as they deal and cope with a friends sudden change in status, both financially and figuratively.

It was Summertime in Houston, 2008. Hot. Humid. Always.

Michelle and Quincy had just celebrated their 5th Wedding Anniversary. A few months later, Quincy was made aware of some troubles his friend, T.J. , was going through. See, T.J. was an attorney who had a private law practice in Beaumont. Some may have called him a 'smooth talker'. You know the type...a charmer. He had a way about him that most people just fell in love with him instantly. You wanted to like him.

T.J. found himself tangled in what seemed to be a real web of deceit. He was gripping to hold on to everything he worked so hard for his entire life, but the tighter he held on, the faster everything seemed to slip away.

He lost his girl, his home, his car, and eventually had no other choice but to dissolve his practice and move to another city. T.J. was breaking down.

Quincy and Michelle saw what this was doing to T.J., and they wanted to help him. They bought T.J. a car...nothing fancy, but it got him from point A to point B just fine. They gave him thousands of dollars over the next few months, and even allowed T.J. to stay in their home with them from time to time.

And then it happened. T.J. got comfortable. Too comfortable.

He began to overstay his welcome. He'd stay one or two nights...then three, then four. Before Michelle knew it, it had been a week. She became worried, and asked her husband what was going on with T.J., as she felt like she was being left out of the details of his stay. Quincy assured her that T.J. wouldn't be staying for long, and he reminded her of the friendship he and T.J. had. They had pretty much known one another since Quincy was born, so Quincy felt a little obligated to help his friend who was in need. Michelle nodded with understanding, and tried to put her best face forward while her new house guest was with them.

Some days passed, and then T.J. was gone. Luckily, T.J. remained on good terms with his ex-wife, Carrie, and she offered her house as a place for T.J. to stay until he got on his feet. Little did Carrie know that this would come to bite her in the end...

(Three months later)

On the other side of town, Michelle was busy planning for their son's birthday party...an Astronaut-themed party. Alexander was very interested in Space, and Michelle wanted to give her son a great party to celebrate his milestone birthday.

The winds of change began to turn, and before Michelle knew it, T.J. was back...the same weekend of Alexander's party.

By this time, Michelle, had little patience left. She was focused on her son, and the party, that she didn't have time to deal with the demands of a house guest on top of everything else that was going on.

T.J. seemed to sense that Michelle was displeased with his current situation, and wanted to help. Though Michelle graciously thanked him for his efforts, she made it quite clear they were unnecessary. Well, she thought she was clear.

The day before Alexander's party, T.J. thought he would 'help' Michelle with a few dreaded household chores by taking all the clothes in the house to the dry cleaners, even though Michelle told him specifically NOT to touch the laundry, and to stop 'cleaning' her house. Michelle left to go run some errands, and when she returned home, everything was clean. Too clean. A wave of fear washed over Michelle because she sensed that something wasn't right. She asked T.J. where everything was, dreading the answer.

T.J. explained that he didn't listen to Michelle's pleas to leave the clothing alone, and how he paid no mind to the boundaries of the house to gather clothes and take them to the cleaners once Michelle left. He said it was to help Michelle so she could focus on the party.

One week, and $638.00 later (a bill that was NOT footed by T.J., and was quite a set-back for Quincy as he and Michelle had still not quite fully recovered after the purchase of T.J.'s vehicle...), Michelle got every one's clothing back.

Michelle was fuming! At this point, she couldn't even look at T.J. without nasty thoughts filling her head! Michelle would complain to Quincy about her frustrations, and Quincy would relay Michelle's frustrations to T.J.

Eventually, T.J. began staying at some local places in the city. Unfortunately, those places didn't work out well for T.J.

Three months later, T.J. was back.

Things were hard for T.J. He was out of work, and had no place to call home. He was a drifter that was falling into a depression that Quincy was afraid T.J. wouldn't going to come out of. T.J.'s behavior became more unpredictable and erratic. He was drinking, crashing cars, and doing God knows what else. T.J.'s attitude toward Quincy and Michelle's son grew tense. He began yelling at Alexander, and trying to excuse him to his room to watch a movie or play with his toys so that T.J. wouldn't have to deal with a young, curious child.

This angered Michelle, and her animosity toward T.J. surged.

Quincy and Michelle tried to explain to T.J. that his actions were out of line, but their words fell on deaf ears. It seemed like nothing they said to T.J. clicked in his head. They would tell him to stay out of their bedroom, T.J. would still rifle through their things when they were gone. They would tell T.J. to stop cleaning/re-arranging/re-organizing their house, he would spend all day on it, stating that he "needed to earn his keep". He would walk around their house in his underwear (or no underwear at all!), or feel free to throw things in the garbage that didn't belong to him because HE felt there wasn't the need for them. Quite simply, T.J. wouldn't take NO for an answer, and was absolutely clueless when it came to "house guest etiquette". T.J. was quickly becoming a nuisance, and there seemed to be little that could be done about it.

Quincy established a deadline for T.J.'s departure - March 31st. This gave T.J. more than enough time to get his affairs in order so he could get out of their house. Michelle thought this time frame was fair, but she wanted to make sure that Quincy meant what he said.

"So, what happens at the end of these 30 days, and T.J. hypothetically doesn't have everything in order?" probed Michelle.

"That isn't our problem, Michelle! We've been more than generous with T.J., and quite honestly, that is why there is a Star of Hope!" exclaimed Quincy.

For some reason, Quincy's words reassured her. She felt confident that soon, every ones troubles would be over. She just needed to focus on the goal...the goal of the 31st, and bite her tongue when necessary.

That wouldn't be to hard, would it??

As the weeks passed by, Quincy's attitude became more hostile. The little stresses of 'everyday' became mountains. Michelle grew more bitter and resentful , and Alexander would simply withdraw to his bedroom to be "out of the way". The couples bills were mounting due to the added expense of another person in their home. Quincy and Michelle began fighting for no reason at all, using one another as their personal whipping-post. Sometimes these spats would happen in front of T.J., and it didn't even seem to phase him! The once happy family was now falling apart, and all T.J. would do is scratch his head, shrug his shoulders, and say, "Hmm...wonder what's eating them?"

As the much anticipated "Goal Time" drew near, it became increasingly more obvious that T.J. hadn't done anything to prepare to move out of Quincy and Michelle's home. He saved no money, and he hadn't got a full-time job (he did some work as a substitute teacher, when someone called in). He did, however, manage to find a little shack by a river by the school he taught at. A rent to own (in 10 years) for $500.00 a month. Things were looking up, or so they seemed.

Earlier this week, T.J. dropped the bomb that he couldn't afford this place by the river, that he needed additional time to save money.

Quincy, without talking to Michelle about it first, told T.J. that he would give him an additional 30 days! When Michelle learned about this, she was heartbroken.

"We are at each other's throats as it is, Quincy! Do you really think our relationship can survive an additional 30 days?! What happened to the "Star of Hope??!!?!"

"If you have a better plan, Michelle, we'll use it. But right now, I don't see another option."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Duuun du-dun-dun. Duuuun du-dun-dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun