Sometimes you’re wrong no matter what you do.

What would you do if your partner asked you to park closer for convenience, but then got mad because you parked near someone they recognized? Would you defend yourself? Or would you sit back and let them handle everything alone just to avoid another argument?

In the following story, one husband finds himself in this exact situation and can’t seem to do anything right. Here’s what happened.

AITA for parking near someone my wife knew during camp drop-off and making her mad?

This morning, I dropped off my wife and our kids at summer camp.

The parking lot had plenty of open spots, but I parked next to another parent who was unloading. I left extra space, probably two or three feet more than usual.

I wasn’t blocking or crowding anyone.

As we were driving in, my wife said, “Oh, that’s [redacted], I know her,” when she saw the parent ahead of us. I didn’t know who it was, but since she recognized her, I figured it was totally fine to park nearby.

Suddenly, his wife got really irritated.

Honestly, I thought she might even prefer it since it was someone she knew.

I also parked close because I wanted to stay near the van they’re all traveling in to make unloading easier. In the past, she’s gotten annoyed when I park too far away, so I thought I was doing the helpful thing.

As soon as I parked, she got irritated and said something like, “All these open spots and you park right next to her?!”

I said something along the lines of, “If I had parked farther away, you would’ve gotten mad at me for parking too far!”

At the risk of looking lazy, he did what she asked.

That made her even more upset. She said, “Don’t get out of the car,” so I couldn’t help her unload all the bags.

So I stayed put while she got out and unloaded everything herself in front of other parents. It made me look like the guy who just sits there while his wife does all the work.

Later, she said she didn’t understand why I would park next to someone who was unloading their car.

That wasn’t what I meant at all. I felt like I couldn’t win either way and was just trying to make things easier.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s easy to see both sides of this, but people do tend to say things they don’t mean.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit have to say about what happened.

After trying to explain himself in the comments, this person roasted him.

That’s a very valid question.

Here’s a reader who understands why his wife is mad.

According to this reader, he’s crazy.

He could’ve handled that better.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.