Dining out at a restaurant is usually a pleasant experience. However, for some, it can turn sour. Here are three stories illustrating how a lovely meal can go awry.
In our first story, a mother looked forward to a quiet lunch with her daughter, Christine, only to have the dynamics changed unexpectedly by Christine’s boyfriend, Simon, whom she didn’t particularly like. The mother’s anticipation for a private catch-up was dashed, leading to an awkward confrontation over who should pay for the uninvited guest. As Simon ordered extravagantly, assuming his share would be covered, tensions rose when the bill arrived. The mother declared she would only pay for herself and Christine, since she had not invited Simon.
This decision sparked a heated moment when Christine demanded her mother pay for both her and Simon, or for none of them. The mother chose to pay only for herself and left the restaurant. Later, Christine told her mother that she and Simon had to ask a friend to cover their bill, expecting her to reimburse the money they now owed their friend.
The second story shifts to a New Year’s Eve dinner, where an engaged couple faced an awkward moment with the man’s family. Invited to join her fiancé Sam and his parents for dinner, the woman was surprised when, after a lavish meal, it was revealed that none of her companions had brought enough money to cover the bill.
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