Man’s Best Frenemy: The Wild Tale of Family Drama, Dogs, Nephews, and a Big Ol’ Pack of Lies
Alright my dear readers, gather ‘round because we’ve got a juicy piece, hot off the Reddit presses, and you’re absolutely going to want to hear this one. Imagine a garage sale, a house full of in-laws, a mischievous nephew, and a poor dog caught in the middle of it all. Oh, and sprinkle in some lies as thick as grandma’s gravy. Yep, this story can give any telenovela a run for its money!
Garage Sales and Drama Scales
Our protagonist, a fabulous 24-year-old woman (let’s call her Jean), is married to Erin (also 24, a bit unconventional but hey, it’s 2023!). Jean and Erin host a garage sale over the weekend. No, not your average, “Let’s sell our old DVDs” garage sale; this one comes with a side of family drama soggier than last year’s Thanksgiving stuffing.
Enter Cameron (27), Erin’s brother, and his 5-year-old son, Archie. Now, Archie isn’t your run-of-the-mill, cookie-stealing toddler. Oh no, this kid has behavioral issues and Cameron, the doting father, has about as much control over him as a carrot does in a horde of hungry rabbits. So, to keep an eye on Archie, we have Jean’s equally sassy brother-in-law Emmett (21), who was just trying to catch some Z’s on the couch—that is until he woke up to something that would shake anyone’s slumber (more on that in a hot second).
Paws and Private Parts: The Shocking Awakening
Buckle up, folks, because this part of the story hits like an asteroid on a collision course. Emmett wakes up to find little Archie with his pants down, trying to do the unspeakable with Jean’s dog! Yes, you read that right. Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the couch!
Emmett, being a sensible human, shooed the dog away and confronted Archie who then ran away screaming the classic, “Nothing!” Now, whether this incident is a twisted product of some bizarre children’s game or something more sinister, it nevertheless requires some serious attention.
The Blame Game: When All Else Fails, Blame the Phones!
Jean’s hubby, Erin, and Cameron rush in only to find a crying Archie and an equally emotional grandma duo (MIL and GIL). Cameron quickly exits stage left with Archie and GIL, leaving everyone’s jaws on the floor. Meanwhile, MIL takes up her usual role in this family sitcom—defender of the indefensible—claiming it’s all the fault of ‘those damn phones.’
This is when our heroine, Jean, makes her boldest move. She decides to break the familial omertà (that’s code of silence, for you non-Godfather fans) and tells Cameron’s wife, SIL, about the incident. And why not? Cameron’s been lying more than Pinocchio on a bad day! So, off Jean goes to unmask Cameron’s deceit.
The Facebook Messenger Dance
Jean first tries to meet up with SIL over coffee, but hey, it’s 2023, who answers Facebook Messenger immediately? When coffee invites get ghosted, Jean sends another message, and still nothing. Finally, she’s like, screw this, honesty is the best policy, right? So she spills the whole story!
Guess what? SIL didn’t believe her at first. Surprised? Neither am I. Jean had to produce evidence like Perry Mason to confirm that Cameron and his behavioral disaster of a son were indeed there.
The Hammer Incident and Cameron’s Demise
Besides the dog fiasco, Jean uncovers another masterpiece of negligence: Archie smashing his own head with a hammer at another BIL’s place. Of course, Cameron told SIL that Archie had just ‘fallen’. Oh, but wait, there’s more. Cameron also admitted to leaving Archie in a hot car in the Texas heat! Like, what kind of father does that?
SIL rightfully flips out. Storms out. Vows to file for full custody and Cameron, predictably, has his head spinning faster than a revolving door. Now, Jean’s in-laws are as furious as cats in water, with MIL blocking her on social media. Erin, too, isn’t too thrilled about this can of worms Jean opened. But hey, our girl Jean did what had to be done.
Roger’s Final Verdict: Not the A**hole
Listen, Jean. You did the right thing! Archie needs help, and your pets and family need protection. If Erin and MIL want to keep sweeping Cameron’s mess under the rug, let them trip on it later. Someone needed to be the responsible adult here, and you stepped up to the plate like a champ. In this story of family debacles, you’re the heroine, hands-down. To Cameron and MIL: Clean up your mess. It’s not anyone else’s job to cover for your incompetence.
Stay sassy, dear readers, and remember: Sometimes the truth hurts, but it also sets you free!
Original story
Aita for telling SIL about BIL’s lies regarding my nephew and an incident involving my dog
AITA for telling my SIL about my BIL’s lies regarding incidents with my nephew
Hi Morgan and friends! Long time listener here, and i need advice bad.
Trigger warning for animal abuse and child neglect.
I (24f) am married to Erin (24m) fake names for obvious reasons. Erin has Several brothers, 6 of them to be exact.
For this specific situation you just need to know about Cameron (27m), his son Archie (5m), and Emmett (21m). My MIL and husband’s Grandma were also around for this situation.
We were having a garage sale this past weekend and everyone decided to come over. For a little bit of back story SIL does NOT want Cameron and Archie talking to MIL or having anything to do with them.
It has been this way since Archie was born. Thankfully my daughter (3f) was not home for this and was at my mom’s house.
My husband, myself, MIL, their grandma, and Cameron were all sitting outside. Cameron doesnt really watch Archie, so usually when my daughter is home i am the one to watch them so nothing gets destroyed and no one gets injured.
Emmett was laying on the couch trying to take a nap before he went to work and Archie, who was playing in my daughters room, hadn’t noticed him there. Emmett was awoken by a strange sound.
He looked over to see Archie (5m) with his pants down trying to get my dog to lick his private parts. He proceeds to ask what Archie is doing and he pushes my dog away before running away yelling “nothing”.
Emmett tells Cameron who then comes outside to tell my husband. His face looks very grim and my husband is thinking something got destroyed so he rushes inside as we know Archie has some behavioral issues.
When they go inside we can hear Archie crying and MIL and GIL (grandma in law?) Go inside to see what is going on.
I stay outside as someone is trying to buy something. When my husband returns he looks horrified.
He proceeds to tell me as Cameron, Archie, and GIL leave without saying goodbye what happened. MIL says it was an accident and not to be upset with Archie because he didnt know any better.
She proceeds to blame it on phones and tries to take responsibility off of Cameron and Archie.
I immediately know i need to tell SIL as Cameron is an impulsive liar and lies to SIL about EVERYTHING. Erin tells me he trusts my judgement and to do what i think is right, that he wont be upset with me.
Problem is i know his family is going to hate me for this as they lie for Cameron and have done so for YEARS. SIL and i used to be best friends, and dont talk anymore due to me not lying for Cameron and him getting caught in lies causing drama in both of our lives.
I decided to text her on facebook monday morning asking to meet up for coffee. She ignores this text so yesterday (tuesday) i send another telling her i want to catch up.
Erin tells me that MIL is now trying to say Emmett was lying because he is jealous of Cameron (this makes no sense because cameron has nothing to be jealous of) and Archie just peed on the floor. She has been known to lie as well.
At this point im growing more and more anxious about the situation so i send her a text saying I’m going to be honest i wanted to talk about a situation that happened. She didnt believe me at first and i had to provide evidence that Cameron and Archie were at my house that day.
I also explain i no longer want them at my house as its unfair to my animals (2 cats and a dog) and i don’t want Archie around my daughter anymore. I refuse to let her be in a situation where she could potentially be SA’d.
Turns out Cameron never told her about the situation with my dog or another accident that happened where Archie had slammed a hammer into his head at 2 other BIL’s apartment a month or 2 ago. He told her that Archie had fallen.
After i explain what actually happened, as this is a serious issue, she decides to leave Cameron. She told me Cameron admitted to leaving Archie in a hot car in texas heat after she confronted him about this.
She is threatening to get full custody and now my in laws are all pissed at me. I think i did the right thing as this is a safety issue.
Archie needs proper counseling and will never get that if everyone keeps lying. MIL has blocked me on socials and no longer wishes to talk to me.
Erin even seemed angry with me for mentioning the hammer incident as well as the dog incident.
I do not think i am the asshole because my nephew deserves to get the help he genuinely needs and i should be an advocate for my child and pets. Not to mention my nephew probably didnt get a tetanus shot when he needed one due to Cameron’s lying.
So what do yall think? Aita for telling my SIL?