“Please put them on this table’s bill.”
He nodded and walked away without another question. When she returned, the check arrived moments later. $280.
She stared at the total, brows furrowing, lips parting in confusion. “Wow… that’s way more than I expected,” she said, tapping the receipt as if it might explain itself. I looked at the number, then at her overflowing list of orders, and finally back at her face.
“Yeah,” I said evenly. “It adds up.”
She laughed nervously and said, “I guess prices have really gone up, huh?”
I paid my half without hesitation, picked up my bag, and stood. As I left, the waiter handed me a neatly packed bag with three steaming boxes inside.
Dinner, after all, was something I planned to enjoy—on my own terms.
