Confessions · Advice & Questions · Oct 16

I replaced my housemate's chipped mug and hid the broken original

Confessions

My housemate picked up the replacement mug and said, 'Funny, I thought the handle had a little chip.' I said I hadn't noticed.

I'd dropped the original while washing it. The handle broke off. I found the same design in a shop, bought it, and put it in the cupboard. The broken mug is still wrapped in a towel in my drawer.

I thought I was solving a small problem. Then she mentioned that she'd bought the original on a trip with her dad. The replacement has the same painted bird, but it didn't go on that trip.

How do I tell her now? I also don't know whether offering the broken one back would be thoughtful or look like I'm presenting evidence she never wanted to see.

Discussion

3 community replies

@TheoInTransit

The broken original belongs in the conversation because she may want it, even if you can't imagine a use for it. Tell her you still have the pieces and let her choose. Don't decide on her behalf that a new matching design makes the old object irrelevant.

@maren17

Dropping the mug and hiding the break are two different things. The first happened while you were doing an ordinary household task. The second includes your answer about the chip. Naming both lets you apologize without turning a washing-up accident into a claim that you're generally careless with her belongings.

@northstar88

The towel in the drawer is the detail that keeps this from being a completed replacement. You haven't actually resolved the sentimental part; you've stored it out of her sight. Returning the choice to her seems more useful than making another purchase before you speak.

I replaced my housemate's chipped mug and hid the broken original

Discussion

Join the discussion

More in Confessions

I apologized to end an argument, but I still think my friend was unfair

I explained my friend's family argument to someone she hadn't told

I invented a work call to leave my farewell dinner. Now my friends think they planned it badly

I kept our friends' dinner invitation from someone I was annoyed with