I Returned From My Work Trip And Discovered My Sister Had Moved Into My Apartment Without Permission — Transcript

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1. 0:00The first thing I noticed was that my
2. 0:01sister had replaced my framed wedding
3. 0:03photograph with a picture of her dog.
4. 0:06The second was that she had changed the
5. 0:07Wi-Fi password. By the time I discovered
6. 0:10my parents had secretly copied my
7. 0:12apartment key, I understood that nobody
8. 0:14had expected me to come home early. My
9. 0:16name is Natalie Brooks. I'm 31 and I
10. 0:19work as a traveling lighting designer
11. 0:20for small theaters. I had spent 12 days
12. 0:23in Chicago helping restore the lighting
13. 0:25system of an old playhouse. My return
14. 0:27flight landed in Philadelphia on a rainy
15. 0:29Thursday afternoon, two days earlier
16. 0:31than planned. When I unlocked my
17. 0:33apartment, my younger sister Paige was
18. 0:35sitting cross-legged on my sofa eating
19. 0:37cereal from my favorite blue bowl.
20. 0:39Two suitcases stood beside the
21. 0:41television and my bedroom door was open.
22. 0:43She glanced up. "Oh, you're back. What
23. 0:46are you doing here?" Mom said you
24. 0:47wouldn't mind. "Mind what?" "Letting me
25. 0:49stay here for a while." I looked past
26. 0:51her. My kitchen cupboards had been
27. 0:53rearranged, my hallway was crowded with
28. 0:55shopping bags, and a damp towel hung
29. 0:57over the chair where I kept my work
30. 0:58sketches. "Paige, this is my apartment."
31. 1:01She sighed as if I were making an
32. 1:02unnecessary fuss. "I know. Mom explained
33. 1:05everything." I called our mother Denise.
34. 1:08She answered cheerfully, then became
35. 1:10defensive when I asked about the key.
36. 1:12"Your father made a copy months ago."
37. 1:13she said. "We thought it would be useful
38. 1:15in an emergency." "You gave it to
39. 1:17Paige."
40. 1:18"She needed somewhere to stay." "Her
41. 1:20landlord sold the house and she has a
42. 1:22little girl now. You have two bedrooms."
43. 1:24I stared at the small pink backpack
44. 1:26beside the refrigerator. "Where is
45. 1:27Lily?" "At preschool."
46. 1:29"Paige was going to tell you." My niece
47. 1:31was four. I loved her fiercely, but
48. 1:33nobody had asked me whether I could
49. 1:35accommodate a child, much less another
50. 1:36adult. "Mom, you can't move someone into
51. 1:39my home without permission."
52. 1:41"We're family, Natalie. Don't make this
53. 1:43ugly." The call ended before I could
54. 1:44respond. Paige followed me into the
55. 1:46kitchen. She was 30, newly separated
56. 1:49from her boyfriend, and had spent most
57. 1:51of her adult life moving between
58. 1:52temporary jobs and relationships. She
59. 1:54wasn't lazy or cruel. She was simply
60. 1:57accustomed to her parents rescuing her
61. 1:58before consequences became
62. 2:00uncomfortable.
63. 2:01"I thought you'd understand." she said
64. 2:03quietly. "I really didn't have anywhere
65. 2:05else." Then why didn't you call me?
66. 2:08She studied the cereal bowl. "Because
67. 2:10you would have asked how long."
68. 2:12That answer hurt more than the stolen
69. 2:13key. I told her she could stay that
70. 2:15night while we discussed a proper
71. 2:17arrangement. She immediately relaxed,
72. 2:19interpreting my decision as permission
73. 2:20to remain indefinitely.
74. 2:22The following morning, I discovered
75. 2:24something stranger. My apartment's
76. 2:26narrow storage closet had been emptied.
77. 2:28Inside, someone had placed a folding
78. 2:30crib, a box of children's books, and a
79. 2:33small plastic nightlight shaped like a
80. 2:35moon.
81. 2:36Underneath them lay an envelope
82. 2:37addressed to me in my father's
83. 2:38handwriting. Inside was a receipt from a
84. 2:41locksmith dated 3 months earlier, along
85. 2:43with a note, "Natalie, please don't be
86. 2:45angry with your mother. We need you to
87. 2:47hear Paige's side before deciding
88. 2:49anything." I found my father, Martin, at
89. 2:51his house that evening.
90. 2:53He looked exhausted when I showed him
91. 2:54the note.
92. 2:56"Your mother didn't tell me she gave
93. 2:57Paige the key." he admitted. "I made the
94. 2:59copy because you asked for one after
95. 3:01your surgery last winter."
96. 3:02He was right.
97. 3:04I had asked him to keep a spare during
98. 3:05my recovery.
99. 3:07"Then why did you write this?" He rubbed
100. 3:08his forehead. "Because Paige told us
101. 3:10something I don't think you know.
102. 3:12Apparently, 6 months earlier, Paige had
103. 3:15discovered that Lily's biological father
104. 3:17had been secretly opening credit
105. 3:18accounts in her name."
106. 3:20Paige had spent months disputing the
107. 3:22debt while trying to keep her daughter
108. 3:23out of the conflict. Her landlord's sale
109. 3:26had forced her to move, and our parents
110. 3:28had promised her temporary shelter.
111. 3:30They had also promised her something
112. 3:31else.
113. 3:33That I would agree. My father admitted
114. 3:35they had chosen my apartment because it
115. 3:36was close to Lily's preschool.
116. 3:39"Not because they believed I had room.
117. 3:40Your mother thought you'd say yes once
118. 3:42Paige was already settled." he said.
119. 3:44"She thought you wouldn't put Lily out."
120. 3:46I left furious, but the next morning
121. 3:48brought another revelation. Paige had
122. 3:50applied for subsidized housing weeks
123. 3:52before moving in. She'd already received
124. 3:54an offer for a small apartment across
125. 3:56town. She had declined it because our
126. 3:58mother insisted that moving there would
127. 4:00separate Lily from family.
128. 4:02"You had a place available?" I asked.
129. 4:04Paige nodded embarrassed. "It needed
130. 4:06repairs, and Mom said I should wait for
131. 4:08something better."
132. 4:09"Something better for whom?"
133. 4:12She didn't answer. For the first time, I
134. 4:14realized my parents hadn't merely helped
135. 4:16Paige. They had made decisions about
136. 4:18both our lives, then used Lily's needs
137. 4:20to discourage disagreement. I gave Paige
138. 4:221 week to collect her belongings. I also
139. 4:25offered to help transport her furniture,
140. 4:27but I refused to become her permanent
141. 4:29housing plan. She accepted the original
142. 4:31apartment offer and moved out the
143. 4:32following Saturday.
144. 4:34My mother didn't speak to me for a
145. 4:35month. My father eventually apologized,
146. 4:38though he never admitted how easily he'd
147. 4:40followed her plan. Paige and I are
148. 4:42rebuilding our relationship slowly. She
149. 4:44now calls before visiting, and sometimes
150. 4:46Lily sleeps over after we've agreed on
151. 4:48the arrangements. I changed my locks,
152. 4:51but I kept the old blue bowl, not
153. 4:52because I had forgiven everyone, but
154. 4:54because I finally understood something
155. 4:56I'd avoided for years. Helping someone
156. 4:58is a choice.
157. 4:59Being volunteered for a sacrifice is
158. 5:01not, and family doesn't get to decide
159. 5:03that your home belongs to them simply
160. 5:05because they know where you keep the
161. 5:07spare key.