Dear Queenie,
Living here in St. Maarten I have lots of relatives and friends who want to come visit me on their vacations and mostly they are welcome.
However, one of them stays for a couple of weeks but never offers to help around the house or take me out to dinner or chip in for groceries even though they have all sorts of requests for special food they like or need.
Queenie, are they being unreasonable or am I?—Harried hostess
Dear Hostess,
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.”
Depending on how much you care for this moocher you might want to give him (or her) a little more than three days, but I would suggest a week at the most. After that they can either chip in or move to a hotel.
Make your limits clear to them when they first inform you they are coming to visit (I assume they give you advance notice!) and when their time is up insist that they pony up or move out. Pack their bags and put them out of the house, if necessary.
As far as their special requests are concerned, tell them go to the grocery and purchase whatever they want – and even insist that they prepare it themself so it will be exactly how they want it.
