Sis-in-law demands I pay for her everywhere. Today, I requested separate bills. Left her wallet, she claimed.
I prepped and grinned. However, I had anticipated this moment for months. For five years, Dalila has been married to my husband’s younger brother.
From the start, she had this anticipation. Any time we went out, I paid her share. She sometimes did the “oh no, you don’t have to” hand wave but never pulled a card.
Other times, she didn’t pretend. She’d watch the waiter hand me the bill like it was my job. First, I believed it was cultural miscommunication.
Dalila said, “the oldest in the group always treats.” She was raised in an affluent Argentine household. I thought she thought I was “the oldest” because I married the older brother. We live in the U.S., and she’s lived here a decade.
She understands. Beginning with coffee runs. Then lunch.
Then dinner. Then she took her pals on group outings that I paid for. Mateo, my husband, shrugged.
“It’s family,” he said, as if that made money grow on trees. Not wanting to be the greedy sister-in-law, I let it slip for the first two years. I was fed up by last year.
The “forgetfulness” of Dalila had grown. She “forgot” her wallet at a spa, so I paid $300 for her massage and facial. She never paid me, even after reminding her.
I told Mateo I was done. He mumbled something not wanting “drama” between me and his brother’s wife, which enraged me. I chose to handle it myself.
Started tiny. I offer inexpensive meeting sites. She might “accidentally” be busy when she wanted to go nice.
But she always managed to sneak an invitation that made declining awkward. So when she contacted me last week, “Let’s do lunch, I’m craving that new seafood spot,” I knew what to do. I said, “Yes.
Just so you know, I’m running separate checks now. My budget is thinner this month.” Maybe that might scare her off. It didn’t.
She said, “No problem!” with a smile. Our restaurant meeting was today. I think her new expensive purse and gold bracelet cost more than my monthly mortgage.
Ordered. She received lobster special. I ate grilled fish.
When the server brought the bill, I smiled and said, “Separate checks, please.” Dalila immediately went wide-eyed. “Oh no… I realized I left my wallet at home.” She tapped her purse for show. “So embarrassing.”
The old me would have sighed, pulled out my card, and said it wasn’t worth the embarrassment.
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