My neighbor Denise had a habit of borrowing things and returning them late, dirty, or damaged.
I should have stopped lending her anything long ago.
Then she asked for my old cream-colored KitchenAid mixer.
It had belonged to my mother, who used it every Sunday for decades. I told Denise it was sentimental and I didn’t want to lend it.
She kept pushing.
I finally gave in.
Days later, I found the mixer abandoned on my porch, covered in dried frosting.
When I plugged it in, the motor made a horrible grinding sound and stopped.
Denise simply shrugged.
“It was ancient. You should buy a new one.”
A repair technician later confirmed she had overloaded the motor and kept running it after it began struggling.
The repair cost $347.
Denise refused to pay.
Then, days before a graduation party she was hosting, she asked to borrow my cooler, crock pot, and folding tables.
This time, I handed her a lending agreement.
Everything had replacement values, return deadlines, and a $350 refundable deposit.
At the bottom was another charge:
“Outstanding mixer repair: $347.”
She called me petty and walked away.
But when her rental company failed on party morning, Denise returned.
She signed.
She paid.
And surprisingly, every borrowed item came back spotless and on time.
Later she apologized.
The mixer was repaired too.
When I switched it on again, it sounded exactly like my mother’s kitchen on Sunday mornings.