I have an ethical dilemma that I am struggling to work through.
Every now and then you find yourself in a situation that's just a doozy with too much to work through on your own. This morning I thought 'I should write into one of those agony aunt columns for assistance' and then I realised that I had something much better on my side... the great blog community!
So, if you don't mind...
Here's the thing.
Months ago my boy was at a play date at a certain parent's house. About two days later I had the following conversation (shortened, so you don't fall asleep):
Me: Hello?
She: Oh, hi there Bron. I just thought you'd want to know that when Maxi was here on Tuesday, he broke the cupboard door of our games cupboard. I thought you'd want to know.
Me: Oh? He broke a door?! He didn't say anything. How did it happen?
She: He was leaning on it when they had the door open to get the games out.
Me: So it was an accident?
She: No, not really. He was leaning on it. I'd consider him to be at fault.
Me: Well, he's six and to be honest, the 'leaning on cupboard doors' conversation hasn't really come up at our place before, so he wasn't to know that the door might break. What are you asking of me here? Do you want us to replace the hinges?
She: The thing is, it's an antique cabinet that was a wedding present. It's worth thousands of dollars.
{Pause while I quietly gag}
Me: Really? Oh my! {Pause} And you were storing kids' games in there?
She: Yes. It's in the living room... {Pause} I think we need to source the hinges from a specialist and then get a craftsman carpenter to fit them... if we can't find the hinges, I think we'll need to replace the cabinet. {Pause} Do you know of any hinge specialists?
Me: What? Oh, um... no... can't say I do. You know, it really does strike me as an accident waiting to happen storing kids' toys in a precious cabinet like that... But, um, gee, anyway you can see why I'm a bit taken aback by this phone call. Are you really just ringing to 'let me know'? What are you asking of us?
She: I don't know what I'm asking. I will need to think about it.
Me: Okay, well, have a think about it and let me know when you're ready. We can talk about it then.
It's been months and she hasn't mentioned it since, but whenever I see her around the place, the Expensive Cabinet Incident lurks in the background, waiting to pounce.
On Sunday Maxi went to a birthday party at her place and when I dropped him off, there stood the Expensive Cabinet, still full of games, minus doors. It was looming right in front of me, its presence so dominating I could hardly breathe.
Nothing was said. I felt incredibly guilty even though I don't really think I should have felt that way.
Help!
Was it an accident?
Was it an accident?
Should we have to pay to replace the cabinet when she was clearly negilent stocking it with kids' toys?
Who pays for accidents anyway?
Should I say something to her or wait for her?
[Image from here]