Rich people problems: when you can afford anything but still insist others pay. That’s my in-laws in a nutshell. They’d book reservations at the hottest restaurants, order like royalty, then develop sudden wallet amnesia when the bill arrived.
After getting burned too many times, my husband and I stopped dining with them. But they found a new mark – my sweet, retired schoolteacher mother.
When they invited her to a “special birthday dinner,” I warned her: “They’re going to leave you with the check.” Mom just patted my hand and said, “I’ve been handling classroom bullies since before you were born.”
The dinner was a spectacle of excess – Kobe beef, vintage champagne, desserts that required a fire extinguisher. Then the great escape began: urgent calls, forgotten items, sudden emergencies. Within minutes, my mom sat alone with a $1,800 bill.
Here’s the beautiful part. The restaurant’s owner recognized my mom – she’d taught his children. After a brief chat, security was calling my in-laws to inform them they had ten minutes to return and pay in full, or face charges.
The speed at which they came running back would qualify them for the Olympics. Now? They’re suddenly very concerned about “everyone paying their fair share” before we even sit down. Some lessons, it turns out, only need to be taught once.
