So, I’ve been giving my coworker Emily a ride to work for about a year now because she used to live close by. But now that I’m going on maternity leave, I can’t continue driving her.
When I told Emily about it, she came up with a surprising suggestion – she asked if my husband could give her a ride instead! I was taken aback and explained that he needs his sleep and has his own job to get to. But Emily didn’t seem to understand and even made a joke about it being his fault that I couldn’t give her a ride because he got me pregnant.
I thought that would be the end of it, but on my first day of maternity leave, my doorbell rang at 5:45 am. Still half asleep, I hoped it wasn’t Emily, but to my dismay, it was her expecting her ride. I had to say no, which left her super offended.
But that wasn’t the end of the surprises. A few days later, I woke up early to buy some baby formula, leaving my husband Mark at home with the baby. When I opened the front door, I couldn’t believe my eyes – Emily was standing there with a suitcase in hand.
Confused, I asked her why she was there. She explained that she had a fight with her roommate and had nowhere else to go. I was torn between frustration and compassion, but I couldn’t let her stay with us. We needed our space with the newborn.
Despite my initial refusal, she pleaded with me to use my phone to call a friend. I reluctantly allowed her in but kept a close eye on her. She made a quick call and left, muttering something about me being unreasonable. I hoped that would be the end of it.
But it wasn’t. The next morning, I found Emily sitting on our porch, waiting for her ride while scrolling through her phone. I was speechless. I tried explaining to her that she couldn’t just camp out on our porch, but she didn’t seem to get it.
Eventually, Mark came to the door with the baby in his arms. Confused, he asked what was going on. I explained the situation, and he firmly told Emily that she needed to find another solution because we had our hands full.
Even after that, the drama continued. A week later, I received a call from HR. Emily had complained, stating that I was creating a hostile work environment by refusing to help her with transportation. I was shocked.
Thankfully, HR understood my side of the story and supported me. They suggested that Emily find alternative arrangements and even offered to help her connect with a ride-share service.
When I saw Emily at work again, she barely acknowledged me. It was both a relief and sadness, knowing that our friendship had been damaged. However, I couldn’t let her take advantage of me and my family during such an important time.
In the end, Emily found another coworker willing to give her a ride, and things slowly went back to normal. This whole experience taught me a valuable lesson about setting boundaries and not allowing others to take advantage of my kindness.
