What my parents did not know was that I had spoken with an attorney before listing anything. Every notice required for their occupancy had been prepared and served properly before the sale closed, and the buyers had received the house vacant under the agreement. I had also arranged for my parents’ belongings to be packed, inventoried, and placed in prepaid storage for sixty days. Nothing had been thrown away. Nothing had been hidden.
Dad called me twelve times from the driveway. Mom left messages demanding hotel money, another car, and access to the storage unit. I answered once. I gave them the storage information, forwarded the documents they had already been sent, and explained that I would not be providing another home. Dad immediately started talking about family obligations. I reminded him that three years of free housing had apparently taught him the wrong lesson.
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