Modern Love

Here’s a serious moral dilemma, reported by Kiri Blakeley at Café Mom, via Maggie’s Farm.

A 70-year-old man hires an escort for an evening. When she arrives at his door he recognizes her immediately. She’s his son’s fiancée.

They did not consummate their business.

His son had been led to believe that the woman he is going to marry works as a waitress. Should Dad tell his son what she does for a living?

As it happened, the father chose the ethical path and told his son.

The son was enraged at his father. Not for frequenting escorts, but for shattering his illusion.

Blakeley reported on what followed:

The son was apparently furious with the dad and the two got into an argument. Four years later, the pair are still in court, where the son has sued his father for "injuries." It's unclear if these are physical injuries related to the fight -- or psychological injuries related to the shock of your dad telling you the woman you plan to marry is an escort.

It’s not clear whether the two fought physically or verbally. We don’t know whether the son and his inamorata eventually got married.

We do know that father and son have been at each other ever since. A judge was unable to negotiate a cease fire.

Blakeley says it’s about punishing the messenger. It also tells us that no good deed goes unpunished. It might even tell us that the apple never falls far from the tree.

Did the father do the right thing? Blakeley thinks he did. Withholding such information from your son seems to be nary unto impossible.