My roommate, "Drake," and I get along great. We didn't know each other before we moved in together, but things have worked out swimmingly. For example, I had enough stuff to furnish the entire apartment (except for his bedroom) and he had nothing except for bedroom furniture when he moved to the city. We haven't had any fights yet and I know I would feel comfortible approaching him with any problems that I had about our living arrangements.
Four months ago, for Drake's birthday, his girlfriend, "Sadie," gave him twelve martini glasses. They are very nice and he uses them often because he usually drinks cocktails in the evening. (He lives in Milwaukee but doesn't like beer!) When he first received them we joked about not having any room to store them in the cupboard, but not to worry about it because we were sure to break some of them soon. This weekend, after four months, the first glass was broken.
And I was the one to break it. while I was washing dishes. his dishes. Well, they're actually my dishes, except for the broken glass, but it was his dirty dishes. But I was washing them. And one broke. He wasn't home at the time but I told him afterwards. He laughed and said he was surprised it hadn't happened earlier.
Do I replace the broken glass? Or give him money for it? Would I give him one-twelfth of the price of the entire set? I just thought about this today. I hadn't even considered giving him money. I hadn't even offered. It just seems like we share the household stuff and I wouldn't expect him to pay me if he broke something like a dish or a glass. But I feel differently about single ticket items, like a TV or a book.
Which leads me to the next twist. A month ago, Sadie borrowed a book of mine. She spilled something on it or dropped in the sink - she got it wet - and instead of returning it damaged, she bought me a new one. I wish she hadn't done that though, because, really, I'm not going to read it again.
So, I feel that a precident has been set. But a book, easily found and purchased, is different than one of a dozen martini glasses.
9 comments:
Dear "Ken"
I agree that the glassware is shared property and you offering money to replace it, or "Drake" expecting you do so doesn't jibe. I'm heartened to hear of two young men living so peaceably together.
Also, I'm heartened to see that you don't mind doing "Drake's" dirty dishes. Thou truly art a good roommate.
Also, I wouldn't worry about the book that "Sadie" replaced. Books are cheap. Though, if you don't want things to continue in that vein I would encourage you to speak to "Sadie" and/or "Drake" about the matter.
Finally, you misspelled "precedent."
Thanks for writing!
-Abby
I agree with Adina. Go buy a glass. Martini glasses can be super cheap and you don't have to buy the EXACT same glass. Get something that completely doesn't match so you have a diverse collection. Am I the only one thinking you are stressing over this too much?
Also, books aren't that cheap, unless we're talking about those erotica books from Target, in which case why doesn't Sadie go buy her own softcore porn?
Fel
I'm hoping to hear from John because he has the best idea of what our living situation is like. Everything that I had in our kitchen during junior year is currently in this kitchen plus a dozen (minus one) martini glasses.
I thought "Abby" might be John, but then realized who would use the "Ken" reference. This was also first assuming that it was Tom until I got to the spelling correction.
hey! I spell things correctly!!
It's commas I use incorrectly. And superfluously.
BAM!
OK, I don't know who "Abby" is but her comment is basically meandering drivel. I read it three times, and it was only on the third time that I realized that I couldn't understand it because she used a comma incorrectly in the first sentence. The rest of the comment would normally be called a "waste of ink" were it actually in, say, ink, though I did also notice the misspelling of "precedent." It is such a common misspelling, however, that it did not make me cringe so much as the comma misuse in Abby's comment. The spelling error does not change the meaning of the sentence, whereas the comma makes hers unintelligable.
Now, to the matter at hand:
Adina's solution sounds fair and perfunctory, though I think that it would have made a better immediate remedy than bringing it up now, which would indicate that it has been festering in your mind and possibly make Drake think you have nothing better to do than focus obsessively on what is most likely a relatively inexpensive martini glass. I can't imagine Rosenthal boxing their crystal in a set of 12.
Glasses break. To recompense to show your remorse is admirable, and if you can't let it go, I suggest the following to ease your guilt and strengthen your friendship: buy him a bottle of Grey Goose, Belvedere, Pearl, Vox, or even Absolut and call it a day. He can use one of his remaining glasses to toast you and you can both enjoy the spoils.
Also, I find it odd that you seem more concerned about breaking a glass in the midst of washing it for someone else than you are about losing someone else's credit card.
And the last sentence in my last post is missing a comma.
You can borrow one of mine, or Abby's...
Superfluous commas are like life's "take a penny, leave a penny" trays.
That's a good point about the credit card. I also like the idea of the bottle of Grey Goose. Tom, I know you can spell, but you never correct others' spelling.
or OR you can send ME a bottle of Grey Goose and THEN call it a day.
and, in defense of my "perfunctory" solution - i assumed that donny would go home on monday night and say "hey roommate i realized i didn't even offer to replace that martini glass i broke. my bad. not to mention the thousands of dollars that got charged to that credit card of yours that I lost."
instead he waited for more advice, which made MY advice no longer applicable. stupid over-analytical donny, making it look like i'm doling out non-applicable advice.
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