My Parents Sold Their House To Fund My Sister’s Party And Moved Into Mine Rent-free. I Finally Evicted Them On My Birthday After One Last Insult. Now They Called The Cops—am I The Jerk?

The Wedding Hijack

And then came the wedding incident. This is the one that still makes people’s jaws drop when I tell it. So Sarah, my now wife, and I planned a simple wedding. Nothing crazy. We’re not rich and we didn’t want to be. We rented a community hall, did BBQ catering because we actually like food that tastes good, strung up some lights and kept it about us.

My dad said, “We’ll see.” When I asked for help hauling chairs, which is his way of saying no.-

Mom promised to handle desserts and then showed up with two store-bought pies acting like she just catered the royal banquet. Whatever. We weren’t expecting much from them anyway.

The big day comes. I’m nervous but excited. Sarah looks amazing. We do our vows. People clap. Everything’s fine. Then we get to the reception and my best man Louise is telling funny stories about our college days. Aunt Lisa says something sweet about watching me grow up. It’s nice. It feels right.

Then Emily… she struts up to the DJ table like she owns the place. Grabs the mic. “Hi everyone. Just a quick announcement.”

She holds up her left hand. Giant shiny ring on her finger. “Derek proposed!”

The room claps automatically because that’s what people do. I clapped once then stopped because what the hell? This was my wedding, my day, and she just turned it into her engagement party.

Mom, tears streaming down her face: “Oh my baby girl, this is the best news ever.”

She hugs Emily like she just returned from war. Dad stands up, claps, and says to Emily and Derek, “This family just keeps getting blessed.”–

And I’m standing there with Sarah thinking, “Did my dad just toast her engagement at my wedding?” And it didn’t stop there. Emily requested her special song from the DJ so she and Derek could have a moment on the dance floor. People crowded around them.

Meanwhile Sarah and I cut our cake with half the room missing because they were taking selfies of Emily’s ring. There’s literally a photo of me feeding Sarah cake. And right behind us you can see Emily holding her hand up with the ring while three cousins admire it. My wedding pictures look like promo shots for her engagement.

Later mom cornered Sarah and said, “Sweetie you’ll help us plan Emily’s bridal shower won’t you? You’re so good at this stuff.”

At my wedding. Not congratulations or you look beautiful. Just recruiting her as free labor for Emily’s next big event.

The kicker? More people flew across the country for Emily’s wedding later that year than mine. Our day was nice but hers was the event of the year. Mom’s exact words. They spent thousands on hers, bragged about how amazing it was. And if my wedding ever came up in conversation it got brushed aside with, “Oh that was sweet.”–

Selling the House for a Party

So after the whole wedding fiasco—yes I’m still mad, don’t worry—you’d think my parents would maybe, I don’t know, chill out for a bit. Maybe let me have a win. Nope. If you thought stealing my wedding wasn’t enough, buckle up because this one made me question if I was in some kind of hidden camera show.

It started with Emily’s engagement. After she hijacked my wedding to announce it, my parents went into full planning mode for her. I’m talking spreadsheets, color-coded binders, Pinterest boards, all for the engagement party. Not even the wedding, just the pre-party to celebrate the fact that Derek managed to buy a ring.

Now keep in mind my parents aren’t rich. Dad worked at a car dealership for most of my life. Mom did part-time stuff here and there. They’re comfortable but not throw a luxury party comfortable. So when they started talking about renting a fancy venue, catering, a live band, I was like, “Uh with what money?”–

Mom waved her hand and said, “Don’t worry about it son. We’ll handle it.” That’s her classic line when she’s about to do something completely reckless but wants you to not say a word about it.

Fast forward a month. I get a knock on my door. It’s mom and dad. Both of them standing there with suitcases. Sarah looks at me like, “What is happening?”

I ask, “What’s with the luggage?”

Dad all casual goes, “So funny story. We sold the house.”

I thought he was joking. I actually laughed. “Huh yeah right.”

But nope. Mom’s nodding like this is totally normal. “We needed the money for Emily’s engagement party. It’s going to be so beautiful. You’ll see. Anyway we don’t have a place right now so we’ll just stay here for a bit.”

I swear my brain short-circuited. You sold your house to pay for Emily’s engagement party. Not her wedding. The party before the wedding.

Mom goes, “Well it’s important. She deserves to feel special. And besides we’ll find another place eventually. This is just temporary.”

Sarah was standing next to me clutching the door like she might slam it shut. She said, “You didn’t even ask us.”

Mom frowned like Sarah had just farted in church. “Ask? We’re family. Of course we’ll stay here. You have the space.”

And just like that they moved in.