Besides our grit, my brother and I don’t have the same personality and traits. We came from a family of white-collar workers and ended up having successful careers. I married an electrician with an incredibly victorious business, but my brother can’t shake the fact that he is an electrician. One day, my brother’s snide remarks got the best of me. Karma got to him before I did.
I’ve always been blessed to have the most hardworking parents, who raised me comfortably. We had more than we needed growing up, but my parents made sure to teach their kids how to work hard and have a business mindset.
My dad, Tom, runs his own business, and my mom, Linda, is a brain surgeon. My older brother, Jack, is a lawyer who loves flaunting his wealth. He had been wanting to start his own law firm but was too lazy to do the dirty work.
He preferred maintaining his lavish lifestyle, buying expensive suits, shoes, and belts. He also drives a Porsche that he talks about non-stop. To top it off, he’s engaged to his third fiancée.
In contrast, I’m much more introverted and usually happy to stay in the background. I run my own business, which does quite well. However, my husband, Mark, is the real breadwinner.
He’s a master electrician with a highly successful business that brings in more than four times what I make. Despite our income, we live a modest lifestyle and prefer to keep our earnings private. Jack doesn’t know that Mark didn’t just become an electrician; he also went to business school, which helped him turn his skills into a thriving enterprise.
Mark’s humility is one of his most admirable traits. Instead of splurging on luxuries, he channels a significant portion of his income into charitable donations and investing in startups.
My parents are aware of this generosity, especially after we surprised them with an all-expense-paid cruise for their 30th wedding anniversary. As a frequent traveler, my dad knew the hefty price that came with the ticket and was taken aback by the gesture.
On Mother’s Day, both Jack and I brought gifts for our mom. Jack gave her an extravagant watch, while I got her certificates for several spa treatments near her hospital. As always, my mom thanked us both warmly during our celebration.
But then Jack couldn’t resist bragging about the cost of the watch. He glanced at Mark and made a snide comment about how an electrician could never afford something so lavish.
“The watch is actually a limited edition, Mom. The sales associate knew I was a big-time lawyer so she immediately offered it to me knowing I would get it. Would have been a different story if an electrician walked in” Jack sneered. “No offense,” he added, looking at Mark.
Mark just smiled and shrugged it off, but I could see the tension in his eyes. Jack kept going, making more belittling jokes about Mark’s job. “I mean, fixing wires and outlets? How hard can it be?” Jack chuckled.
At one point, I had enough of him insulting my partner, who worked harder than my brother to get where he was. In fact, Jack probably didn’t know that my husband made five times what he does and could probably buy his law firm. My husband and I kept silent.
Jack’s arrogance had always been a thorn in my side, and his latest display was the last straw. I decided then and there that he needed a lesson in humility, but little did I know, karma had already set the stage.
A few weeks later, our family gathered at my parents’ house for a barbecue. Jack arrived late, as usual, making a grand entrance in his Porsche. He parked it conspicuously out the front, where everyone could see it.
He walked in with his fiancée, Emily, on his arm, flaunting her like another one of his trophies. He made his rounds, boasting about his latest courtroom victory and the lavish honeymoon he was planning for his third marriage.
As the afternoon wore on, I took a deep breath, ready to bring my plan to teach Jack a lesson into action. I discovered that the handbag he bought for Emily was a fake. I owned the same bag, a genuine one gifted by Mark.
I planned to expose this by comparing the two in front of everyone. Just as I was about to gather everyone for the reveal, we heard a commotion from the front of the house.
We rushed outside to find a tow truck hooking up Jack’s beloved Porsche. Jack, visibly panicked, was arguing with the tow truck driver.
“This is a mistake,” he stammered. “I’ll sort this out.”
The driver shook his head. “It’s being repossessed. You missed several payments.”
Jack’s face went pale. He looked around at the gathered family members, his confidence crumbling. Emily, clearly mortified, slipped away into the house. Jack was left standing alone, a far cry from the boastful man who had walked in earlier.
He finally confessed: “I lost my job. The car had been leased under my firm’s name, and with no job, I couldn’t keep up the payments.”
We all gasped. “What? How come none of us knew?” my dad asked, clearly shocked.
Jack sighed, looking defeated. “I’ve been trying to keep it under wraps. I led a high-profile case that went terribly wrong. My negligence led to a significant financial loss for the client, and they sued the firm. No one wants to hire me now.”
As I watched him, I felt a mix of satisfaction and pity. He had needed to be humbled, but the reality was harsher than I had intended. The fake bag also made sense now. He tried to keep that image, but he eventually failed. I approached him quietly.
“Hey,” I said softly. “Maybe this is a sign to rethink things.”
He looked at me, his eyes filled with a vulnerability I had never seen before. “I guess I had this coming, huh?”
“Maybe a little,” I admitted. “But you’re still my brother. We can get through this.”
Mark stepped forward then, placing a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I could use an extra pair of hands at my business. It’s not glamorous, but it’s honest work, and it pays well.”
Jack looked shocked. “You’d really hire me? After everything I said?”
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Mark replied with a kind smile. “I’ll teach you everything you need to know.”
As the sun set on that eventful day, Jack accepted Mark’s offer. It wasn’t easy for him to start over, but he worked hard, learning the trade from the ground up. Over time, he developed a newfound respect for the value of honest, hard work. His arrogance faded, replaced by humility and gratitude.
Sometimes, life has a way of teaching lessons more effectively than we ever could. Jack had been brought down a peg, and though the journey ahead was tough, our family supported him. And perhaps, just perhaps, he emerged from this ordeal a better man.
Similarly, another narcissistic person was taught a lesson by a family member when she least expected it.
