A harmless joke about a 'finder's fee' has made things incredibly awkward with my in-laws.
By @tateagain · Family
I jokingly asked for a small finder's fee after I found my father-in-law's lost wallet, which had a lot of cash in it. He laughed it off, but my mother-in-law is now insisting on paying me, and it's become this whole weird thing.
The full story
My in-laws came over for dinner last weekend. It was a normal Sunday thing, kids running around, total chaos as usual. After they left, I was cleaning up and found my father-in-law's wallet wedged in the sofa cushions. I almost just texted them, but when I opened it to confirm it was his, I saw it was stuffed with cash. I didn't count it, but it looked like at least $400, maybe more. He's a contractor, so it's not unusual for him to have cash on him, but it still felt like a lot to just lose. So when I called him, I was trying to be funny and make light of it. I said something like, "Good news, I found your wallet! The bad news is my finder's fee is 10%." He chuckled, said "Yeah, right! Thanks so much, we'll swing by tomorrow." I thought that was the end of it, just a dumb dad joke. But when he came to pick it up, my mother-in-law came with him, and she was not laughing. She had this weirdly serious look on her face and tried to hand me two $20 bills. I was immediately mortified and said, "Oh my god, no, I was completely joking! Please don't." But she just kept insisting. they said things like "a deal's a deal" and "you earned it." It was so uncomfortable. My father-in-law was just standing there looking at his shoes, not saying a word, which honestly made it worse. I refused to take the money, but now my husband says his mom keeps bringing it up on the phone, saying she wants to make sure I don't feel "unappreciated." It's turned my silly, throwaway comment into this big, awkward transaction. I feel like I've accidentally implied they're the kind of people who wouldn't be grateful on their own, or that I'm greedy, or both. Now I'm dreading the next family dinner because I know this is going to hang in the air.
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 30% (32 votes)
- Both Messy — 43% (46 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 28% (30 votes)
Readers say “Both Messy” (43%) — 108 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@nottoday — lmao
@jakobok — My father in law once 'tipped' me for making a good cup of coffee. Some people are just weird about money.
@codywelp — Why is your husband letting his mom make this weird instead of shutting it down?
@sageagain — Your mother-in-law is using malicious compliance because she felt judged by your joke.
@jaredhm — Next time you see her, you should 'find' a dollar on the ground and loudly insist that she take it because you want to make sure she feels appreciated.
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