What she didn’t know was that I had quietly asked the waiter for separate checks before we even ordered.
I knew my friend well enough to suspect this might happen. She loved expensive restaurants, ordered whatever she wanted, and then somehow expected everyone else to “just split it evenly.”
So when the waiter returned, he placed two folders on the table.
Mine was $24.
Hers was $176.
She stared at them, then looked at me.
“What is this?”
I calmly reminded her that I had told her before dinner that I couldn’t afford an expensive meal and would only be ordering something small.
She immediately became annoyed.
“That’s so awkward. Friends don’t nickel-and-dime each other.”
I nearly laughed.
I told her friendship also didn’t mean ordering a huge steak, multiple sides, drinks, and dessert and expecting someone eating a salad to cover half.
She accused me of embarrassing her in front of the waiter, but he simply smiled politely and walked away.
Eventually, she paid her bill, though she barely spoke to me afterward.
A few days later, she texted saying I had “ruined the evening over money.”
I replied that money hadn’t ruined anything.
Ignoring a clear boundary had.
We stayed friends, but from then on, every time we went out, she asked for separate checks before ordering.
Funny how quickly something becomes “fair” once the person ordering the expensive meal has to pay for it.
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