by Miss Behavin
Dating and money don't mix. I was 23 when I figured it out. I had been dating a boy I worked with for a few months and I decided to move to New Orleans. We liked each other, so he decided to come with me.
We got an apartment, we moved in. I got a job. He didn't. My new job was fabulous. I made much dinero-- a whole bunch more than I made before I moved.
Two
months later, he still didn't have a job. He was sitting on my couch
(that I paid for), eating pizza (that I paid for) and smoking weed (
that I paid for).
Now this boy had worked up to the last day we moved. My parents even liked him. Everyone thought of him as a 'winner.' But now he was a loser sitting on my couch belly-aching about not wanting to work "any old job." He wanted to find his calling-- and I was stuck footing the bill.
Strangely, I noticed that he never got any mail. He used credit cards and gas cards, but no bill ever came in the mail. I got mail all the time-- even junk mail that had been forwarded from 1000 miles away. He also never got any phone calls from old roommates or friends. It's like he just dropped off the face of the earth and landed on my futon.
I
didn't realize how hard it is to dump someone you live with, and extra
because they are completely dependent on your for their well-being. I
had visions of throwing him out and then I'd see him in a cardboard box
and couldn't live with myself.
Then it happened. I went on vacation for 2 months. I gave him money orders to pay the rent and the bills. I arrived home to an eviction notice, no electricity and a disconnected phone. He had cashed the money orders and spent them , and he wasn't even in the house like he was supposed to be. He was living with his parents, blowing through my money. He ruined my credit in one hit. I had to pay penalty fees and sweet talk my landlord into letting me stay.
Then he had the nerve to show up like nothing happened. But that was it. He took a nap and I took his key off his key ring. I gathered up all of his things and threw them on the sidewalk. Then I woke him up and threw him out. He just didn't get it. He didn't understand why.
He said he loved me. I say love doesn't screw people over. After he was gone I found a box of papers. He never got any bills because he really was running. Ex-room mates were suing him for back rent and phone bills. He'd missed court dates for stupid little misdemeanors, so now he was really in trouble. His credit card bills went to daddy.
Daddy. Turns out Daddy was a millionaire and he'd been riding on his coattails for all of his adult life. I'm guessing he never knew what money meant to everyone else-- to those of us who have to earn it, live paycheck to paycheck, and have the real threat of being without it.
He never knew how hard I worked for his pizza.
I bet it felt great to throw his crap out in the gutter. Gah, what a loser!
Posted by: elisabeth | February 13, 2009 at 12:34 PM