How The Ex Got The House Back; Don't Try This at Home

With tears in her eyes, a recently divorced woman spent a few days packing her belongings into moving boxes, going through "memory lane" at almost every step. About every other item had something that was special some long time ago, but not any more.

The day before the movers came to collect her things, she sat down for the last time at her dining room table, lit a candle, put on some soft background music and began to eat her last dinner at her old house; She had shrimp, caviar and soda.

Once she finished half her dinner, she went into each room in the house, took down the curtain rods and methodically stuffed half eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow rods. Then she put them back up.

The next day, she finished clearing out her San Leandro house and left for the last time. Then her ex-husband and his new girlfriend took over the house and happily moved in.

For a few weeks all went well, and then a bad smell began to make the house an uncomfortable place to be. They tried cleaning everything, airing the place out, calling a pest inspector to make sure there were no dead rodents under the house.

Carpets were steam cleaned, air ducts were inspected, air fresheners were installed everywhere, but nothing worked! The stench made it impossible to live in the house and they decided to move out and rent a place while they tried to sell the house.

Almost four months later and having reduced the price almost in half, they could not find a buyer for the stinky house. Then the ex-wife called the man who had cheated her and with whom she had had a bitter divorce, and asked how things were going.

He told her about the problems with the rotten house. She listened politely. Then she told him that she missed her old house, and that she would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house at about a 60 percent discount.

Angrily, her ex-husband agreed, but only on the condition that she sign the papers that same day. Within hours, his lawyers delivered the paperwork and the deal was done.

Two days later the ex-husband and his girlfriend came back to the house to take the last pieces of furniture. He was not happy that he had given so much to the ex, so he took everything he could to his new place — including the curtain rods!