My in-laws left my mother in a restaurant so as not to pay the bill – Too bad my mom had her own plan
Category: Interesting News
For years, my wealthy in-laws used the same trick: “forgetting” the wallet at dinner to not pay. When they invited my mom to a luxury restaurant, thinking that she would also fall into the trap, they had no idea that she was ready. This time, the shot backfired… spectacularly.
I was educated to believe that family meant something: loyalty, honesty, covering each other’s backs.
Growing up, my parents taught me that a person’s character was not measured by what he had, but by what he gave.
We were not rich by any means, but we never thought twice before helping others or paying what was due to us.
Then I married my partner, and I realized the reality.
My husband’s family had everything money could buy: a huge house in the most beautiful part of the city, luxury cars in the heated garage and vacations in places that I had only seen in magazines.
But despite their wealth, they had a peculiar habit that made a knot in my stomach every time we met: they never paid their share in restaurants.
“They’ve done it again,” I complained to my husband, Dan, after his parents sneaked out of a restaurant while he was in the bathroom, leaving us a $300 bill. “Your father literally pretended to receive a call!”
Dan sighed, his shoulders drooping as he took out his credit card. “I know, I know. They’ve always been like that.”
“But they have more money than they could spend in their lives! Your mother’s bag costs more than our monthly rent.”
“Believe me, I’ve tried to talk to them about it. They just… I don’t know. That kind of money doesn’t mean much to them, so they don’t see anything wrong with it.”
Over the years, it became a feared routine of elaborate orders, expensive wines and then clock excuses.
“Oh, I left my wallet at home!”, her mother announced, patting her designer bag.
“I have to answer this call,” his father murmured, already halfway to the door.
Even Dan’s brother, Tyler, and his wife, Jen, had adopted the family tradition and had become masters of “dinner and going out.”
No one caught their attention. Neither the friends who had to pay the bill, nor their partners, who murmured about it later.
Then the invitation arrived.
“Mom is going to celebrate her 60th birthday with a dinner at that luxury Italian restaurant downtown,” Dan told me one night. “He told me yesterday. He wants the whole family to go.”
“When is it?” I asked, already feeling how my wallet was shrinking.
“Next Friday. Which is good news for us, since we will be out of town, but the fact is that, since we can’t go, they want to invite your mother.”
I was frozen. “To my mother? Why?”
“He mentioned that I wanted to get to know her better,” Dan said, but I smelled a rat.
My mother-in-law had never shown much interest in meeting my mother. In fact, he had mentioned on several occasions that they did not have much in common.
This looked a lot like a montage.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t even interfere.
Dan and I had planned a weekend getaway to Mexico months ago, a rare opportunity to celebrate our anniversary without interruptions. The dates coincided and our tickets were not refundable.
“We have to let him know,” I said, picking up the phone.
My mother answered the third ring.
“Hello, honey! How are you?”
“Mom, Dan’s parents want you to go to his mother’s birthday dinner…”
“Yes! He sent me a message an hour ago. I’m very excited.”
A knot of terror formed in my belly. “Mom, I have to tell you something important about Dan’s parents…”
I explained his pattern, his tactics and how they would surely try to take a toll on him. I got nervous just talking about it, and my voice rose with every example.
But my mother laughed. “Honey, don’t worry so much.”
“Mom, I’m serious. They always do the same thing. They’re going to order the most expensive things on the menu and then they’re going to disappear when the bill arrives.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said with a calmness that baffled me. “Your mother-in-law seems very excited about her birthday. I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Don’t worry, honey. I’ll take care of it.”
When I hung up, I turned to Dan.
“I don’t think he took me seriously… he’s falling into a trap.”
“Maybe they won’t do it this time,” he offered weakly. “After all, it’s a birthday celebration.”
I looked at him. We both knew it wasn’t like that.
On dinner night, Dan and I were at our pension, three hours away.
Throughout the night, I didn’t stop looking at the phone, half waiting for a panic call from my mother. But nothing arrived.
Until the next morning I didn’t receive a message from you: I had a great night. Call me when you get home.
The suspense was killing me.
As soon as we got back on Sunday, I called her.
“Well?” I asked without preamble. “What happened?”
I could hear the smile on his voice. “Well, it was a pretty interesting night.”
According to my mother, the evening began in a fairly predictable way.
My in-laws arrived at the restaurant dressed in white point, my mother-in-law dressed in jewelry that could have financed a small country.
They sat them at the best table in the house: a corner overlooking the garden and the pianist.
“They asked for everything, honey. Of everything.” My mother’s voice was tinged with amazement.
“They had appetizers that I couldn’t pronounce, bottles of wine that the waiter had to take out of some special case. Your father-in-law got the wagyu fillet that was literally covered with gold flakes.”
“And you?” I asked, already shrunken.
“Oh, I just ate pasta and water. I wasn’t very hungry.”
Smart woman. Minimize damage.
“And then what happened?”
“Well, when the bill arrived, it was like watching a play in which everyone knew his lines. Your mother-in-law suddenly remembered that she had left her bag at home. Your father-in-law felt his pockets and made a gesture of realizing that he had his wallet in the car.”
“Your brother-in-law, Tyler, said he needed to see how his nanny was, and his wife followed him. One by one, they all disappeared, leaving me sitting there with a bill of more than 1,500 dollars.”
“Mom!”. I was about to scream. “Tell me you haven’t paid for that!”
“Of course not,” he said too calmly. “I called the waiter and ordered dessert.”
“The chocolate soufflé. And a drink of his most expensive port. The waiter seemed confused, but I just smiled and said that I was still celebrating it.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“But… I don’t understand, mom. If they did their usual act of disappearance and you didn’t pay the bill, what happened?”
“Well, when the waiter brought me dessert, I asked him to call the manager. His name is Robbie. You must have heard me mention it.”
“Robbie? From your time as a teacher?”
“The same! He was that sweet boy who always brought me an apple, remember? Now he has three restaurants.”
My mother had been a primary school teacher for 30 years before retiring. Apparently, he had taught half a town, including, apparently, successful restaurant managers.
“We had a lovely chat,” Mom continued. “We got up to date on the old days. I told him that I was waiting for my dinner companions to come back with their wallets, and he thought it was hilarious.”
I smiled. “Oh, I think I see where this is going.”
“Robbie and I hatte a little plan,” Mom said. “He called your in-laws and informed them very politely that their group had left without paying, but not to worry, that they could go back and pay the bill. Otherwise, I would have to contact the authorities for a dinner and run situation.”
“He didn’t!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, he did. And he put it on the speaker so I could hear it. Your father-in-law started spitting excuses about the fot he was going to withdraw money from an ATM. But Robbie just said: ‘Well, sir, it’s wonderful news. We’ll wait for you shortly’.”
“As if their designer pants burned,” my mother laughed.
“Your mother-in-law was practically purple with rage. But what could they say? They had been caught red-handed.”
“Robbie added a 25 percent ‘collection fee’ for his small act of disappearance. In total, it was just over $2,000.”
I was left in a stunned silence before bursting into laughter. “Mom, you’re my hero.”
“The best thing has been this morning,” he continued. “Your mother-in-law called me to thank me for going to her celebration. And he told me: ‘So you know, at family dinners we always pay. We’ve always done it’.”
“Some people only learn when there are consequences, honey. I think your in-laws just got a very expensive lesson.”
In the following months something miraculous happened. Whenever we went out to eat with Dan’s family, my mother-in-law announced loudly at the beginning of the meal: “Tonight, we all pay separately.”
The waiter nodded, confused by his emphatic tone, while Dan and I exchanged complicit glances.