My wife and I spent years saving up for a country house, and at long last, we finally bought one. For the past year, weve been travelling down on weekends, often staying for the whole summer.
We were also fortunate to get a bit of help from my mum and dad, who wanted to support us in achieving our dream sooner. We were over the moon, and so we threw ourselves into repairs and renovations with real enthusiasm. We built greenhouses by the garden so we could grow things during the colder months, as well as set up a sandpit and a few swings in the back garden for the children to play on. From the very start, our friendsmine and my wifesseemed to pop round almost daily. Sometimes wed venture down to the river, which is only a few hundred yards from our house. Then in the evening, wed come back and fire up the barbecue, and some nights people would stay over if it got too late for them to drive home. All our friends and acquaintances seemed genuinely pleased for us and congratulated us on our purchase.
A year on, most of those friends realised they needed to show a bit of restraintin time, the constant visits dwindled. Now, people usually come over for special occasions, when we invite them. But theres one person who just doesnt seem to grasp the notion of boundaries. If this woman gets wind of anything going on at our cottage, shell pack her bag without hesitation and show up, putting my patience to the test. For her, it doesnt matter in the slightest whether we actually want companyher priorities always come first.
It wouldnt be so bad when it was just my wife and me, but my parents and our young children are often with us as well. I kept hoping shed take the hint and leave, or at least make her stay brief, but nothing worked. She spent two whole months with us.
Despite all my subtle hints, she refused to get the message that it was time to go home. I even tried suggesting she move along, telling her my wifes parents were about to visit and it would be crowded, but she only agreed to sleep on the cold floor if Id give her a mattress.
Her visits always followed the same pattern: shed turn up Friday evening, then lounge about on the sofa watching TV all weekend while my wife and I sorted out the garden, watering the plants and so on. Any time we asked her for a helping hand, shed say, I came here to relax.
Neither my wife nor my parents ever made a fuss about her; it seemed like I was the only one growing increasingly annoyed with her presence.
Eventually, winter came and it got cold outside. One afternoon, I was sitting with her in our cottage, sipping coffee, when she said, Ah, its such a shame its winter now; if it were summer Id be visiting much more often I felt a chill at her words and wondered to myself why I couldnt bring myself to just plainly say how much her constant presence every weekend wound me up. But what if she takes it badly and stops speaking to me?
I dont want that, but I desperately wish shed stop coming round every weekend. I just dont know what to do.
