After 37 years of marriage, John ch-eated on his wife and abandoned her for his young secretary. His new girlfriend requested that she live in John and Emma’s opulent home, and because John’s lawyers were of higher class, he won the house in the divorce. He offered his ex-wife Emma three days to go. She spent the first day organizing her possessions into boxes, crates, and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come retrieve her belongings. On the third day, she sat down for the final time at their lovely dining room table by candlelight, turned on some gentle background music, and ate a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of Chardonnay. When she was finished, she walked into each room and placed a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar in the hollows of the curtain poles.
She then cleaned up the kitchen and departed. For the first several days, everything was perfect after the husband returned with his new girlfriend. The house eventually began to smell. They tried everything, including cleaning, mopping, and airing the house out. The vents were checked for deceased rats, and the carpets were steam cleaned.
Air fresheners placed everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, forcing them to leave for a few days, and they even paid to repair the pricey wool carpeting. Nothing worked. People stopped coming over for visits. Repairmen refused to work in the home. The maid quit. They couldn’t handle the stench any longer and decided to relocate.
A month later, after having lowered their price in half, they were unable to find a buyer for their filthy home. Word spread, and ultimately even local realtors refused to return phone calls. Finally, they had to borrow a large quantity of money from the bank to buy a new home. The ex-wife called the man to see how things were going. He told her the story of the crumbling house.
She listened respectfully and stated that she longed for her old home and would be willing to lessen her divorce settlement in exchange for regaining possession of it. Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how awful the smell was, he agreed to a price that was roughly one-tenth of the house’s value, but only if she signed the paperwork that day.
She consented, and within an hour, his lawyers had handed the paperwork. A week later, the man and his girlfriend smiled as they watched the moving company pack everything for their new home ..include curtain rods.