I had a friend who lived with his brothers in a house they built a few years ago. Before that, they rented, but they saved their money and built a great place.
I used to go there often, as much as I could. They had a lot of friends and I became friends with their friends.
One day, I was driving by and I saw my friend leaving the house with his bags packed. He told me later that he didn’t plan to leave, but that his brothers had given him an ultimatum, either him or them. At that point, upset by the situation, he left in haste.
I called one of the brothers to find out what horrible thing had occurred to cause them to part ways after all these years. He assured me it was nothing big (not scandalous), but that it was permanent…my friend would never be back.
I’m not worried about where my friend will go or what he will do (he already has a few offers), but I worried that the explanation given was both “nothing big” and “permanent.” If it was nothing big, why couldn’t it be reversed just as quickly as it came about?
They told me it had been going on for years, this problem, but they hadn’t resolved it. At this point, I quit worrying. I figured my friend would be back soon. They were a forgiving group, these brothers, always willing to go the extra mile for even a stranger.
A week or so later, my friend tried to go back to the house, but the brothers stood firm. He wasn’t allowed back in. When I asked why he wasn’t able to come back, one of his brothers told me, “It’s complicated.”
When someone tells me something is complicated, either 1. They think I’m too dumb to understand or 2. They don’t really have a reason or 3. They just are dodging the question. I don’t know which one it is…I’m hoping it isn’t that they think I’m dumb, but you never know (they might read this blog).
I went to the house this past week. A lot of people were there that I had met through my friend. We all agreed the house was still a good place to be, but some (like me) wonder about the brothers.
I wonder why my friend left and never could come back. Not so I’d have some bit of juicy gossip, but so I’d be able to understand the character of the brothers that are still there.
They’ve put a “roommate wanted” sign in the window. I’m wondering what kind of person they will look for in a roommate this time. The brothers and my friend haven’t told us they reconciled the situation and have gone their separate ways in peace…in fact we know they haven’t.
I wonder what the new candidates for roommate will think of that…
