Karen stood next to me and handed Mother her official notice. “You do not have permission to enter/occupy/store things in this house, copy keys to enter this house, or represent yourself as an occupant of this house.”
“This is bullshit. We’re her sisters,” Brianna said with a laugh.
“That does not give you the legal status to occupy,” Karen replied.
At this point Chloe stopped recording.
Dad read page one and his expression became tight with what he saw words that were “unauthorized entry” and “trespass warning.”
Mother said to me in a whisper, “You would really call the cops on your own family?”
I looked into the three bedrooms they wanted to take from me before my curtains were even hung.
“Yes.””The emphasis on Family”
Part Three:
The first tear shed was from Mom, and since Mom’s crying has always been a faster way for her to get her way than apologizing, it came immediately after she was done.
Mom said that Brianna’s lease is up; that Chloe needed a quieter place to live after having gone through a breakup, and that Madison is just too little to know how hard rent has gotten.
I listened to her without interrupting.
Then I asked her, “What is it about what you just said that makes my home their home?”
Brianna rolled her eyes. “Don’t act like we were stealing your home. All we needed was a room.”
“You moved in before I even said anything about you moving in,” I told her. “That is stealing my space.”
Chloe began to get louder. “But you have five bedrooms.”
“Good. And now, I have five locks that work.”
Dad finally said something, but it was in a lower tone than normal. “Linda, your mom should have asked.”
Mom immediately turned on him. “Don’t even start with me.”
This time, Dad didn’t back down. “No, Linda,” he said, “Your mom bought this house; we had no right to be living here.”
That one sentence hit harder than the legal notice.