My sister announced her fourth pregnancy and said, “The kids will move in with you for a few months until I give birth.”
My sister announced her fourth pregnancy and said, “The kids will move in with you for a few months until I give birth.” I refused and walked away. A week later, she left them on my porch and called the cops when I called her crazy. Well, let’s go.
My name is Marina. I’m 32 and I work as a software developer for a large tech company. The good news is that I work remotely, which means I can operate out of my home office. The bad news is that my family thinks working from home means I’m perpetually available to babysit.
I have retired parents and an older sister named Sylvie, who’s 37. Sylvie got divorced about two years ago and has three kids: Ashton, who’s nine; Clara, who’s seven; and Miles, who’s six. Since the split, Sylvie has been laser-focused on getting back into the dating scene and finding a new husband. The catch is that having three young kids makes dating pretty complicated. So Sylvie’s go-to solution has been constantly dumping her kids off at my place.
At first, it was just for a few hours here and there when she had dates. But over the past year, it’s gotten completely out of hand. I’m basically raising my nephews and niece. Ashton, the oldest, is actually a pretty chill kid and helps me manage the younger two, which is honestly the main reason I haven’t completely lost my mind. Even with his help, though, taking care of three kids while trying to juggle a full-time job is exhausting.
Sylvie lives in a rental apartment and pulls in decent alimony from her ex-husband. She works part-time at some marketing firm—maybe 20 hours a week. Meanwhile, I’m making good money as a senior developer, and I’ve been helping her out financially on top of everything else. Our retired parents chip in and give her cash regularly, too.
Here’s what a typical day looks like for me: I wake up at 6:00 a.m. to get a head start on work before the kids are up. Around 7:00 a.m., Sylvie drops them off on her way to work or whatever she’s got going on that day. Then I have to scramble to make them breakfast, get them dressed, drop them off at school, and squeeze in a few hours of coding.
After school, it’s homework time. I sit down with each kid to help with math, reading, whatever they need. Then I have to figure out dinner for four. By the time I get them fed, bathed, and settled down for the night, it’s usually 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. That’s when my actual workday begins. I stay up past midnight trying to catch up on all the projects I couldn’t finish during daylight hours. I’ve already missed several deadlines, which is brutal for my career.
The worst part is that Sylvie acts like this setup is totally normal. She never asks if I’m free or if it’s a good time. She just assumes I’ll take care of her kids whenever she snaps her fingers. But apparently, things were about to hit a whole new level of ridiculous.
This past Wednesday, Sylvie called me around lunchtime.
“Marina, I need you to come to dinner at Mom and Dad’s this Saturday. I have a huge announcement to make, and the whole family has to be there.”
“Can’t you just tell me now over the phone?”
“No, it has to be in person. Trust me, you’ll want to hear this.”
I had no idea what she was cooking up, but I was curious. Maybe she’d finally found a serious boyfriend who actually wanted to help with the kids. That would easily be the best news I’d heard in months.
Saturday rolled around, and I drove over to my parents’ place around 5:00 p.m. Sylvie’s car was already in the driveway alongside another car I didn’t recognize. When I walked inside, I saw Sylvie and the kids in the living room, hanging out with a guy I’d never laid eyes on before. He looked to be in his late 30s, average height, and kind of nervous.
“Marina!” Sylvie jumped up and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you made it. This is Brennan.”
Brennan stood up and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you. Sylvie’s told me a lot about you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
My parents came out of the kitchen, and we all sat down for dinner. The kids were being unusually well-behaved, which honestly should have been my first warning sign that something wild was coming. About halfway through the meal, I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer.
“Okay, Sylvie, what’s this big announcement?”
Sylvie cleared her throat and reached for Brennan’s hand, practically glowing. “Well, everyone, Brennan and I have some exciting news to share.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I’m pregnant, and Brennan and I are getting married soon.”
The room went dead silent for about five seconds. Then my parents started screaming with joy and rushed over to hug Sylvie. Brennan was grinning ear to ear, soaking in the congratulations. I just sat there in absolute shock. Sylvie was already barely hanging on with the three kids she had, working part-time, and living off alimony and family handouts. How on earth was adding a fourth child going to make any of this better?
“Congratulations,” I finally managed to spit out. “That’s… wow, huge news.”
“Thanks, Marina, but actually, there’s more.” Sylvie turned to me with a casual smile that immediately set off alarm bells in my head. “I’m going to need you to take the kids for a few months while I get through the pregnancy and recover after the birth.”
I damn near choked on my water. “What?”
“Just temporarily. You know, so I can focus on staying healthy while pregnant. And then after the baby comes, I’ll need some time to adjust.”
“Sylvie, are you completely out of your mind?”
The continuation is in the first c0mment 
