Oh, Brother (In-Law)

My wife and I host a barbecue for us and my wife’s sister and her husband, our brother-in-law. My sister-in-law is okay, but I don’t like my brother-in-law and I’m not afraid to call him out on his selfish and controlling behaviour.

They show up late and empty-handed. My brother-in-law walks into the house without thinking to knock and immediately starts looking at his phone.

He spends most of the barbecue on his phone. We eat, drink, and eat some more.

We run out of food quickly, but to my surprise, [Brother-In-Law] offers to drive me to the shops to help buy more. When we are there, he even offers to buy some food!

We get back, I cook some more, we eat and drink, and eventually, it is time for them to go.

My wife and I tidy up and I start to sort through the leftovers and unused food.

Me: “Err… where did you put the ribs?”

Wife: “What ribs?”

Me: “The ones [Brother-In-Law] brought. There should be some more burgers and rolls, as well. I bought some nice sauces we haven’t opened yet; I can’t find them, either.”

Wife: “You don’t think [Brother-In-Law] took them, do you?”

Me: “No. No one would just take a load of uncooked food, right?”

It turns out that was exactly what he did. He hid the stuff he brought behind mine in the fridge so I would use his last. When we used some of “his” food, he took some of mine. 

My sister-in-law apologised to us a while after when he tried to pass off the stuff he took as his own. We see her occasionally, but we have nothing to do with him.