On the first day, Edith packed her clothes into crates and suitcases. On the second day, the movers came for her things. On the third day, she sat in the dining room one last time and treated herself to a quiet lunch: a pound of shrimp and a jar of caviar.
When she finished, she walked through every room and slipped a half-eaten shrimp shell, smeared with caviar, into the hollow curtain rods. Then she cleaned the kitchen and left.
Jake and his new companion moved in, and for the first few days everything seemed perfect. Then a terrible smell began to spread through the house. They cleaned, aired out every room, checked for dead rodents, washed the carpets, filled the place with air fresheners, and even called exterminators. Nothing worked.
The smell grew worse. Friends stopped visiting, the repairman refused to work there, and the maid quit. Finally, Jake and his companion moved out and put the house up for sale, but no buyer would touch it, even after they cut the price in half.
Desperate, Jake took out a huge bank loan to buy another house.
Then Edith called and asked how things were going. Jake told her all about the smell. She listened patiently and said she missed the house so much that she would reduce her divorce settlement if he let her have it back.
Thinking fortune had smiled on him, Jake agreed to sell Edith the house for one-tenth of its value, on one condition: she had to sign the papers that day. Edith agreed, and the deal was done within the hour.
One week later, Jake and his new companion watched with relief as the movers packed their things and carried them to the new house.
Including the curtain rods…
Was Edith too ruthless, or exactly clever enough? Share this with someone who appreciates a perfectly timed comeback 😄
