What's The Catch?

My husband bumped into a friend he had lost contact with and invited him to our place for a catch up. I had never met Ben but I tend to get anxious about the company Ian keeps, because of the trouble they can bring into our livessbut I refrained from showing my annoyance. All that ever did was cause arguments while his friends kept showing up. Besides, friction between us made him less inclined to share, which made it less likely that I would pick up on anything that spelt trouble. At least, during those times I could express my alarm as my upset would be legitimate.

I strove to maintain a pleasant demeanour when I met Ben, doing my best not to let on my true feelings. Shortly after his arrival, he came up with a rather odd request.

"May I wash your dishes please?"

Ben had noticed that our sink was stacked to the brim. This was a common occurrence in our household with four young children. The sink would pile up not long after the dishes were done, which was a source of great frustration for me. With a new baby, this problem had gotten worse. Soliciting help with washing had been uneventful. I had about resigned to thinking this load was entirely on me.

Now, this person who was in my home for the first time was offering to lighten my load. He was not family nor a close friend. And, yes this was a guy, which made me it all the more surprising. Guys don't do that.

I was perplexed and in my confusion, I became skeptical. Surely something must give. I wondered what the catch was. Well, I'd soon know. I had to say yes, out of curiosity as much as the offer was irresistible.

Ben washed all of the dishes. He washed the tabletop area around the sink. He was meticulous and thorough. He was also jolly at work and appeared to really enjoy the process.

As Ben lived near to us, he came over often. Each time, he'd wash the dishes and he did two or three rounds of it, depending on the frequency of dirty dishes stacked up. He'd bring dishwashing liquid when we ran out. He also brought other household items like soap, shampoo, air fresheners, trash bags, broom. He brought drinks and snacks for the kids. When my husband needed help with repairs, he chipped in. He readily did whatever he saw needed to be done at our place.

Ben even helped to carry my baby who fell asleep in his arms when my husband and I were overwhelmed. He had limited access to his child as his marriage was on the rocks. He gushed about his baby girl as he proudly showed us photographs of her that his wife would send him.

All of us in the family grew fond of him. He was considerate and good-natured. He never asked for anything in return. There was no catch.

This arrangement went on for almost half a year until we moved out of the place into an impermanent living situation. It was hard to keep track of where we were since we were changing accommodation every few days. Naturally contact with Ben waned. Not much later, we heard he had failed a drug test and could go to prison for drug consumption. If found guilty as a fourth time offender, he faced an incarceration with a sentence of about seven years.