A heartless landlord gives a woman who falls short on her rent notice. But when he goes to his sister’s house for a family dinner, he is shocked to find her there.
Life is hard, and it becomes even harder if the hearts that surround us are made of stone. Diane Salinger knew about life. At sixty-two, she’d seen a lot more dark days than sunny and cried a lot of tears.
But Diane wasn’t the kind of woman to give up. Every time life knocked her down, she bounced back up again, ready to fight again. She had lost her husband three years before, then a tornado razed her home. But she just picked up the stakes and started over again.
Even when Diane explained why she was short on the rent, Chris showed no sympathy. | Source: Shutterstock.com
She took her savings and bought herself a small grocery store in a pretty mid-sized town in Michigan. It was perfect for her. A big enough town that would appreciate a few of the exotic items she intended to carry, small enough to be cozy and warm.
Cozy and warm might describe the community in general, but not Diane’s landlord, Chris Turkle. It was from Chris that Diane rented her small apartment within walking distance of the store.
When the going gets tough it’s important to be there for each other.
As far as it went, Diane was the perfect tenant. She was quiet, didn’t damage the property, and always paid her rent on time. And then one month, she was short.
Chris fanned out the money he’d taken from the envelope in front of Diane and waved it in her face. “$120 short, Mrs.Salinger.”
Diane’s house was destroyed by a tornado. | Source: Unsplash
Diane blushed. “As I was explaining, Mr. Turkle, since so many of the small businesses have been struggling during Covid… Well, I extended credit to some needy families…And this month, I’m a little short. But you know I’m good for it! I will pay you the $120 in two weeks…”
“If you’re willing to go under playing Mother Teresa, that’s YOUR problem,” Chris snapped. “I, Mrs.Salinger, am a businessman, not a charity! I want you out by the end of the week!”
“But Mr. Turkle…” Diane protested. “It’s only for a week, and it won’t happen again!”
Diane opened a lovely little grocery store. | Source: Unsplash
“It happened once, and it’s enough for me, Mrs.Salinger. You’re OUT.” Chris said coldly, and he turned his back and walked out. He felt quite justified. He’d seen Diane’s grocery store, and it did brisk business.
There were always people trooping in and out with heavy shopping bags full of delicious-looking produce, and her deli section, he’d heard, was extremely popular. “Short on cash indeed!” he snorted to himself. “Taking advantage is what it is!”
Chris went home and got himself ready to go to dinner at his baby sister’s house. Vanessa was his favorite sister, and he often worried about her. She had married and divorced a man who seemed to be constantly unemployed, and Vanessa worked two jobs to make ends meet.
He’d offered to give her 16-year-old son a weekend job, but Vanessa always refused, blushing. “It’s okay, Chris,” she’d say. “I’ll make do!” But Chris had seen the dark shadows under her eyes and how thin her face was getting.
One month, Diane was short on her rent. | Source: Unsplash
It was his nephew’s birthday, so Chris tucked a $20 note into an envelope and put it in his jacket pocket. Then he headed for the door and walked the three blocks to Vanessa’s house.
He knocked on the door, and Vanessa welcomed him with a happy smile. She looked more relaxed and a lot happier. Whatever she was cooking for dinner smelled delicious, and his mouth watered.
“Hey there!” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Where’s the birthday boy?”
“Playing video games with Diane!” Vanessa smiled. “Come on in!” Vanessa walked to the stairs and shouted: “Joss, Diane, come on down! It’s dinner time!”
“I want you out by the end of the week!” | Source: Unsplash
To Chris’ chagrin, in walked Mrs.Salinger, the tenant he’d just booted out of his property, and she seemed to be on great terms with his nephew and his sister! Diane was just as stunned to see Chris, but she was admirably cool.
“Hello,” she smiled. “Nice to see you. I didn’t know you were Vanessa’s brother…”
Chris blushed and cleared his throat. “Ehr…Yes, my younger sister…you know…”
“Come on, everyone,” cried Vanessa. “The roast will get cold!”
Chis was shocked to see Diana at his sister’s house. | Source: Pexels
“Roast!” cried Joss. “That’s my favorite…But mom, I know you only get paid next week! How can we afford this?”
Diane smiled at Joss and patted his hand. “Don’t you worry about that,” she said. “Your mom’s credit is good with me. That smells AMAZING, and I’m starving!”
In a low voice, Chris leaned in and asked, “Is Vanessa the person you’re helping?”
Diane smiled. “She’s one of them,” she replied. “Maybe she didn’t tell you, but one of her jobs fell through, so I’m just helping out until she’s back on her feet.”
Chris felt a wave of shame color his cheeks. “I’m so sorry about…you know… But why doesn’t Vanessa come to me?”
Dinner was a wonderful roast from Diane’s store. | Source: Unsplash
Diane said gently, “You know, we all have our pride. Vanessa wants to stand on her own two feet and raise her boy. Help from a friend is one thing — being a poor relation asking for charity is another.”
Chris whispered, “I tell you what, from now on, you have the apartment at half-price — call it an investment in the town’s well-being and my sister’s!”
By the end of the evening, Chris had discovered that Diane was a very lovely and funny woman and that he enjoyed her company immensely. That night, his perception of his community shifted. He was going to follow Diane’s example. He was going to give a helping hand.
After that dinner, Chris started helping the community. | Source: Unsplash
What can we learn from this story?
- When the going gets tough, it’s important to be there for each other. Diane was quietly helping the poorer people in town by selling them food on credit she knew they could never repay.
- Being able to admit you’re wrong and change your ways is an extraordinary thing. Chris not only realized he was wrong about Diane, but he also started to help those who were struggling.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.
If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a curvy girl who arrives at a dinner party to discover her fiancé there with a woman assuming her identity.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life.
Never ever kill a house centipede again if you find inside your home
When you encounter insects around your house, how does it make you feel? It’s understandable that your first instinct would be to snatch anything and run over them. Some of them carry dangerous poisons and can sting you brutally and fatally.
The creepiest ones make you feel the worst; you usually want to strangle those small, frightening animals with so many legs as soon as possible.
However, after reading this, you may be reluctant to kill those menacing-looking centipedes the next time you see them in your toilet.
It might be quite hard to resist the impulse to smash centipedes when you notice them crawling around the house. You can be shocked by centipedes. However, after learning how useful they have been around the house, you might wish to just express your gratitude by not killing them in the future.
It turns out that those squirmy, fast-moving organisms have been keeping other tiny insects out of your house. There’s a special kind of centipede around the house that has about 20 legs wrapped around its body and is slightly shorter than its other wormy brethren.
These tiny animals have acted as an undetectable pest deterrent for your house, keeping out ants, bedbugs, silverfish, spiders, and cockroaches. Their appetite is so great that they practically eat any arthropod they find about the house.
Centipedes are good guys, but that doesn’t mean you should open your doors and let them in in large numbers. Instead, it means you should be grateful to the one or two you find about the house and give them a free pass the next time they come.
They may make some noise when they are found, particularly if small children or even adults think they are disgusting and dirty. Let them go on their own or send them outside to munch some leaves instead of just squashing them.
Don’t squish every bug you come across inside your house to avoid the possibility of introducing hundreds of small baby spiders into your house. You really don’t want to see it.
Furthermore, centipedes aren’t all that terrible. They are only weak, small creatures that, aside from terrifying your heart, are hardly strong enough to cause serious harm.
Considering that they don’t actually spread germs throughout the house like other insects do will help convince you that they are genuinely good people.
Since centipedes are basically non-lethal, you shouldn’t be afraid of them either. However, we are unable to say the same regarding a few others. These insects cause a number of terrible diseases that are quite dangerous and could be fatal if properly treated.
Definitely keep an eye out for those. These are a few of the poisonous insects you should avoid coming into contact with indoors.
After being bitten, bullet ants give you the sensation that you have been fired, as their name implies. Therefore, you should try to avoid getting bitten. One of the largest ant species, they are commonly found in the rainforests of Nicaragua and Paraguay.
The problem is not the botfly itself, but rather its larvae, which are an inside parasite of many animals, including humans. The female deposits her eggs beneath the skin, and the developing larvae dig further into the skin, causing an infection that alters the tissue of the skin significantly.
According to some parents, they can feel the larvae scuttling inside their skin.
Fleas: Because they feed on blood, flea bites can cause itching, irritation, and sometimes even skin infection.
An invader may sustain agonizing white pustules on their skin for weeks after being repeatedly stung by the notorious fire ant. There are about 295 different species of ants. Some of them discharge toxic venom that might cause allergic reactions in certain persons.
Up to 12,000 people may die each year from the trypanosome cruzi parasite, which is spread by the kissing bug biting its victims’ lips.
The largest hornets are giant Japanese hornets, which may reach a length of 2 inches and have a deadly sting that kills about 40 people per year.
Tsetse Flies: An estimated 500,000 people die from sleeping sickness on the African continent as a result of being bitten by tsetse flies.
Killer Bees: Due to their immense numbers, killer bees usually launch aggressive, overwhelming attacks that are frequently fatal.
Driver ants: These ants use their powerful mandibles to strike with tremendous force. They may kill several animals in a single raid. In addition to attacking other insects, they have a horrible habit of biting humans.
Mosquitoes: Known as the deadliest insects and maybe the deadliest organisms on the planet, mosquitoes are believed to be responsible for up to one million deaths each year from diseases like yellow fever, encephalitis, West Nile virus, and malaria.
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