Man Offers to Buy His Cousin a Trip and She Tries to Bargain for a Better One

Summer is peak time for Instagram-worthy vacation getaways. That's great if you're flush on vacation time and disposable income. But if you're low on funds, it can be tough scrolling through social media and seeing the fun others are having in exotic destinations. Everyone deserves a vacation every now and then... except maybe the woman in this story on reddit's "Choosing Beggars" community that beggars belief.

A woman with the username "shygirlturnedsassy" posted about a conflict with her boyfriend's cousin, who she admits they haven't gotten along with for some time. The cousin is married with four children and doesn't approve of the couple's choice to remain unmarried and child-free, which has caused them to keep their distance from the cousin.

However, during a visit with her boyfriend's extended family for his parents' anniversary celebration, they had a run-in with the cousin. It turns out, his dad thought the occasion was a good opportunity for the estranged cousins to mend fences. Despite their feelings about the cousin, Sassy and her boyfriend made polite small talk, and the subject of their upcoming vacation to Melbourne, Australia came up. 

"Oh that sounds like so much fun" the cousin said, remarking that she and her husband "haven't gone anywhere since our honeymoon."

The Melbourne vacation sounds like a dream vacation to be sure, even if it is winter there now, and I can't blame the cousin for wanting to go on a trip like that. What I can fault her for, however, is what happened next.

After hinting about how nice it would be to be able to afford such luxuries, Sassy's boyfriend made a generous offer to pay for a weekend at a resort in Mt. Abu, located in the Northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It's not clear where the poster lives but it seems at least his extended family lives in India, so while this might not be the most exotic of locations for his cousin, he was offering a free weekend getaway. 

However, the cousin wasn't interested and suggested he foot the bill for her family of six to go to Melbourne. 

Despite the audacity of this response to someone who has just offered a free vacation, Sassy's boyfriend tried to remain polite, explaining that they wanted to spend some time together just the two of them, and would also be spending time with close friends. "Plus, Mt. Abu is a beautiful place," he added. "Your kids will love it." It really is beautiful. Look at the place his cousin turned her nose up at!

Then she got the "brilliant" idea to make a counter-offer: That she and her husband would go to Mt. Abu alone, and her cousin and his girlfriend could take their four kids with them to Melbourne. She actually seems to think this is not only a tremendous compromise but honestly a win-win for everybody, since it would give her kids a chance to get to know their uncle better and... well, the upside is unclear for Sassy and her boyfriend. 

The fact this woman would think anyone would agree to pay for the privilege of taking someone else's kids on a vacation to Australia is honestly sufficient grounds for being committed.

So it's understandable that her cousin's generosity and desire to keep the peace met its breaking point. After several more protestations, he essentially said the offer he made was non-negotiable and rapidly expiring. Wisely, the pushy cousin didn't say another word about it through dinner and the rest of their stay. 

It seems they were heading right on to Melbourne after their family visit, and the day they were scheduled to depart, pushy cousin showed up at their door — with her four children.

She tried to convince her that her boyfriend had relented and agreed to take the kids to Australia without having discussed it with her, which is a pretty ballsy move. Also, does she not know how plane travel works, or traveling internationally? How on Earth would this have worked even in a scenario where Sassy didn't question her boyfriend on this obvious lie. Look, I'd probably be a little crazy if I had four young kids, too, and probably just as desperate for some time alone with adults, but this really is complete delusion. 

All it took to end the madness was one phone call to Sassy's boyfriend, who over speakerphone chewed out his insane cousin in earshot of her poor kids, the true victims here. Their mom probably had convinced them they were going on a free trip to Melbourne with their rich and generous-beyond-belief uncle. 

And now instead, those four kids find out their mom is completely cracked and has screwed them out of a perfectly lovely vacation in Mt. Abu. Life comes at you fast.

While some of the reddit community is skeptical about the veracity of this story — and I am one of them — a few commenters from Indian families chimed in to say it rings true for them. While Western people couldn't fathom offering to buy a vacation for a cousin they don't even like — nor feeling entitled to it, a couple people from South Asia pointed out that extended family relationships are different there versus the U.S. and Western Europe.

Still, the story does seem to defy the bounds of reality. But hey, even if it's fiction, it's a great story with a very satisfying ending. And that ending is that the boyfriend obviously revokes his offer and chews out the cousin for proving exactly why he had been right to cut ties with her the first time around. 

Let this be a parable for anyone who looks a gift horse in the mouth. Take the weekend getaway and get a sitter if you want some time away from your kids so much.