10
Passing by Maynard’s Deli, I noticed quite the commotion. Curious, I went to take a look and found the family arguing loudly.
“It’s all your fault!” Russell Maynard shouted. “I told you not to piss off that influencer, but no, you just couldn’t help yourself! Now look at us- business is done for. Happy now?”
“Oh, now it’s my fault?” Martha retorted, her voice sharp and defensive. “You didn’t stop me, did you? Everything I did was for this family! I scrimped and saved, and now I’m the bad guy? Where’s your conscience?”
“Don’t think just because you’re my mother, I won’t slap you!” Russell snapped, looking exasperated.
“Oh, did you all hear that?” Martha turned to the gathering crowd, wailing dramatically as she plopped down on the floor. “My own son wants to hit me! An ungrateful brat like this–I might as well just die!”
The scene grew more chaotic as his wife rushed over, whispering fiercely, “Can you two stop embarrassing us? Everyone’s watching!”
She gestured for Russell to drag his mother back into their living quarters.
Later that evening, from my apartment upstairs, I heard the sounds of a full–blown Kitchen Wars erupting below.
“You old hag! You humiliated me in front of everyone today. I’ve had enough!” Russell bellowed.
Martha’s wails echoed through the walls.
The next day, my dad informed me he’d decided not to renew their lease. He’d already arranged for a realtor to handle the listing and told
them to move out within a week.
“I’ve been renting this place for two years! How can you just kick us out like that? This isn’t fair!” Martha screeched over the phone.
“Because it’s my property,” my dad said coolly.
“Fine! I don’t need your shabby space anyway. I’ll find a better spot,” she spat before slamming the phone down.
Despite her bluster, they didn’t move out. After checking out other rental spaces and finding them all hundreds of dollars more expensive, Martha changed her tune. She tried buttering up my dad, but he wouldn’t budge.
Frustrated, she resorted to insults. “You’ve got such a cold, black heart! You only rented us this dump during the worst years, and now you’re throwing us out like trash! You’re just a bully taking advantage of a poor family from the countryside. Shame on you!”
She added with venom, “You’ll never rent this place for $1,800 again. Unless you pay me the difference in rent, I’m staying put. What are you gonna do about it?”
When the deadline came, and they still hadn’t left, I called the police. After an official report and investigation, the Maynards were forced to leave.
As they packed up, Martha cursed my dad one last time. “You think you’ll find better tenants than us? You’re delusional if you think it’s your location bringing people in. It’s our food that made this place special!”
But what Martha didn’t realize was that her reputation–more than the business–was what had become infamous. Everywhere they went, people recognized their faces.
“Hey, isn’t that the scammy family from Maynard’s Deli?”
6:24 PM
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“Places like that deserve to fail.”
