The problem is “them”

The following is an excerpt from part two:

In response to the rent increase letter, we send a notice that we are moving, effective the day before the rate hike. It turns out to be an unsurpassed opportunity that spurs us into finding a decent place to live. The inordinate increase is a clear message that she wants us gone. It is the nose-cutting for- spite routine. Rationality is ignored. At least we need no longer be concerned that we will cause hurt feelings. Now she has both units empty. She will probably need another home equity loan to carry her through the next few months of gambling.

Helen is destined to a lifetime of misery and suffering; she is accustomed to perpetuating exactly that. We are the first tenants in fourteen years who lasted longer than a few months. No one can put up with her nonsense. She sees the problem as being “them.” They are all screwed up. Her paltry existence makes her happy. That is the important thing. She will take her happiness to her grave. Is it any wonder that countries go to war when “friends” cannot even get along?

I could get angry over the affair. I could even choose hatred. The only person to be affected would be me. I could live the life of debauchery and discontent that infects Helen’s joyous abode. It comes down to a choice. I could rekindle the despondency that loomed in our home up until the very second of Erin and Cole’s displacement; that’s another choice.