“That’s not a nice neighborhood! Just have them stay with us!” My husband must be taking in new guests. Again? He convinced his friend to cancel the Airbnb booking for their children visiting NY and brought them to our house. This time, it’s his elementary school buddy’s son. He is in law school in Atlanta and is doing an internship at the Brooklyn DA’s office for the summer. Our house isn’t super close to the DA’s office, but my husband assured his friend that it is within walking distance. Oh well… 9 weeks is a tad long, but what can I do? He already offered.
Since we only have one proper guest room, which is occupied by anyone passing through New York all year round, we decided to have him stay in the den. There is a separate bathroom next to the den, so we often use it as an extra guest room.
Everyone who knows us tries to reserve the guest room ahead of time to ensure they can stay, and my sister, who lives in Atlanta, is one of the regulars. She was scheduled to come stay at our guest room for a few days before her trip overseas.
I happened to overhear my husband talking to his cousin in Korea. It sounds like one of their daughters is coming to visit during the same week. My husband took in a guest anyway, even though I tried to signal that we might not have a room available.
We can simply refund the money if we were running a hotel, but this was impossible. I texted my son Kevin in a panic to see if he can take a guest for a week.
Our children are pretty familiar with our excessive hosting growing up, but this time, he sent his father a text. “Why would you take in so many guests at the same time?” After all, we were able to accommodate all three parties by adjusting the dates a little.
Kiyong, who stayed for 9 weeks that summer, became like family in the end. He was well-disciplined and neat, thanks to his military service in the Korean army, and had a keen sense to remain neutral whenever we were arguing about something. He is now an attorney working in New York City and happily married to his lovely wife, Choong Hee. They are regular dinner guests at our family gatherings.
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