Untangled 39: One Down, One to go

After lowkey ruining my birthday, I knew I had to cut the tie and never take him back, no matter how many crocodile tears he cried. I knew I didn’t want to do it out of anger because I wanted it to last. I didn’t want any fickled emotions to be involved either, so I needed to deal with those first. I started by working on my self-esteem. I began to see myself as Christ saw me. Though I was embarrassed to be back in the same predicament, I needed God’s help more than ever to show me where I went wrong and to help me never return to that place.

When I took him back, I told him I would give him one year, but I knew that was a waste of time. He didn’t need a year to marry me; I only did that so he couldn’t say he was caught off guard when I walked away for good. His apartment lease was up in May, and mine was up in June. When I took him back, the discussion was that he wouldn’t sign another lease because, by then, we should be married and living together. I knew he would sign another lease behind my back, and that would be just what I needed.

I decided I would move again to have a fresh start. I didn’t want him to have keys to my place or a code to my door. I also wanted to shut the door on every man in my past. They represented the old, broken me with few standards, and I didn’t want anything around me that saw me as broken.

While in the midst of planning my permanent escape from my ex, I remembered the thousand dollars I loaned to the hobo. He had been commenting under a few of my posts until he saw I wouldn’t respond to anything he said—that’s when he unfriended me. This wasn’t looking good. I had no plan on unfriending him until I had my money back.

After a few weeks, he texted to ask if his ex-wife’s attorney had reached out to me. I ignored him. I knew that was an attempt to open lines of communication. I also knew he was the type of man who would dangle the money he owed me over my head, and the last thing I needed or wanted was two owners. One day, he texted me out of the blue that he would be sending me my money back on Friday. Friday came and went, but he sent nothing.

Another two weeks passed, so I texted him to ask when I should expect the money. He responded very nastily, saying he had other things to do and would send the money when he could. He also said his son wouldn’t be missing Christmas for me. Isn’t that something? When he needed the money, he was humble; now he’s got the money, he’s prideful. This was just what I needed. This guy was a jerk and hadn’t had his comeuppance yet because he’s tall and handsome. He ran into the right woman this time. Hobo Joe, meet Woman Scorned.

Yeah, it may have been my fault that I loaned him the money, but he wouldn’t be keeping it. I would make sure of that. Another week passed, and he sent me $150, then nothing. I simply would not be breadcrumbed my money by a man with tape on his reading glasses. I decided I would take him to small claims court. It was the principle. I googled how to go about filing suit. I had all the text messages, the memo line from Zelle, along with his $150 payment. I would ask to have him pay the court fees, and I would blast him on social media if I wasn’t paid in full. I had it all planned.

In my search for small claims, I found an attorney online who would send out a demand letter for $25. This was intriguing… I would have a copy of the official letter and have him served at his job like his wife did with the divorce papers. The attorney informed me that these things go one of two ways: either he would pay fast or not at all. Then, I could take him to small claims with the documentation. The letter was ready to go within 24 hours. A processor served him at his job, and I got the email telling me he signed for it.

Two days later, he texted me that he got the notice and would be sending me my money in a couple of days. I didn’t respond. Three days later, he sent me the money via PayPal goods and services. I was charged a fee, and I know he did that on purpose, but that was okay—I got my money back. Good riddance Hobo Joe. One down… one to go.