I never expected a family barbecue to change my relationship with my wife’s family—forever. But here I was, sitting across from my brother-in-law, Eric, in small claims court, waiting for the judge to rule on what should have been an obvious case. I wasn’t out for revenge. I wasn’t trying to make some grand statement. I just wanted what was fair.
But looking at the glares from my wife’s side of the family, you’d think I had committed some kind of unforgivable crime.
Let me back up.
It started a few months ago at a barbecue at my in-laws’ house. It was one of those perfect afternoons—warm sun, cold beer, and the smell of grilled burgers in the air. I had a few too many drinks, I’ll admit that much. At some point, I found myself in a hammock, belly-up to the sun, shirt off, completely knocked out.
Enter Eric.
Now, Eric is the type who always needs to be the funniest person in the room. He’s that guy who watches prank videos online and thinks, Yeah, that’s a great idea!—without considering the consequences. He’s also got a bad habit of blaming his ADHD whenever something goes wrong, as if that somehow absolves him of responsibility.
And that day, he decided the funniest thing in the world would be to fill my belly button with super glue.
Yeah. Super glue.
I must have moved in my sleep because when I woke up, my hand was stuck to my stomach. At first, I thought it was some kind of weird sunburn situation, but then I saw the dried glue. I tried pulling my fingers apart, but the glue was relentless.
It wasn’t until I started peeling at it that the pain hit. The skin around my belly button was red, raw, and torn. I stumbled inside, my wife, Jenna, rushing after me, and together we tried everything—acetone, warm water, even scraping it with a spoon. Nothing worked.
And that’s how I ended up in the emergency room, facing a $2,253 bill.
Here’s the thing: my insurance isn’t great. A $1,000 ER copay meant I was immediately out a grand, and that was before the other fees started stacking up. But what else could I do? I couldn’t exactly live with my stomach glued together.
I figured Eric would do the right thing. He was the one who admitted to the prank. He was the one who laughed about it. So, I asked him to cover the bill.
He refused.
“Dude, it was just a joke,” he said, shrugging. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
I told him it didn’t matter whether he meant to hurt me—the fact was, he did. I was out over two grand because of his stupidity.
That’s when he started making excuses. He was “between jobs” because of his divorce. He was “dealing with a lot” mentally. He even tried to say his ADHD made him do it, as if that somehow justified dumping industrial-strength adhesive into someone’s belly button.
I tried to be reasonable. I told him he didn’t have to pay it all at once. We could set up a payment plan. I even suggested splitting it, just to keep the peace.
He still refused.
So, I did what I had to do: I took him to small claims court.
Jenna wasn’t happy about it, but she understood. At least, I thought she did. She was the one who took me to the ER, after all. She saw the bill with her own eyes. But the moment her family got involved, things got complicated.
My mother-in-law begged me not to go through with it. She even offered to pay the bill herself. But she’s retired, living on a fixed income. I couldn’t take her money. It wasn’t her fault her son was an idiot.
My father-in-law? He just sighed and said, “Is this really worth all the trouble?”
Even my other in-laws, who usually avoided drama, started acting like I was overreacting. “It was just a prank,” they said. “You’re making it a bigger deal than it is.”
But it was a big deal.
I couldn’t just pretend it never happened. I was already dealing with financial stress, and now I was supposed to just eat a $2,253 bill because Eric didn’t think before acting?
So, I went through with it. And I won.
The judge ruled in my favor. Eric was legally obligated to pay me back.
And yet… he still hasn’t.
Now, I’m the villain. My mother-in-law still offers to pay, but I keep refusing. My father-in-law barely speaks to me. Most of my in-laws have stopped inviting me to things.
The only person on my side is Jenna’s sister, who seems to be the only one in the family with common sense. But even Jenna is struggling with it. She’s upset—not because she thinks I’m wrong, but because of the fallout.
“He’s going through a rough time,” she keeps saying. “This just made things worse.”
To which I reply, “He made my life worse. Why am I the only one suffering consequences?”
She doesn’t have a good answer for that.
I love my wife. I love her family, or at least, I did. But this whole situation has made me realize something: some people value keeping the peace over doing what’s right.
I don’t regret taking Eric to court. He did something stupid. He refused to make it right. Actions have consequences.
But now, I’m left wondering: was it worth it?
What would you have done? Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like and share!
