Chris stared at his father.
The father-in-law held the banknote between his fingers and then placed it in front of his son.
—It’s yours.
Chris tried to answer.
—Dad, it’s not like that.
—Then explain to me what it’s like.
Chris looked around.
For the first time there was no easy way out.
For months, it was easy for me to say I was paying because it was “easier.”
But now everyone had the exact outcome of their decisions before them.
My sister-in-law intervened.
—We all understood that she was supposed to cover the costs of dinner.
I looked at her.
—I have never invited anyone to dinner on my tab.
—But you always did.
-Not.
I stopped.
—Because I didn’t want every family dinner to turn into an argument.
She looked at the piece of paper.
— So it’s about money.
-NO.
I shook my head.
—Because they stopped asking.
The difference seemed to bother her more than the amount of the bill.
My father-in-law was silent for a few seconds.
Then he looked at Chris.
—Since when has this been happening?
Chris didn’t answer.
—How long have you been letting her pay for everyone?
—It’s not that I left her.
—So what did you do?
Chris took a deep breath.
—She never complained.
I felt a twinge of disappointment, even though I already knew I could say something like that.
Because that answer turned my silence into permission.
And that’s exactly what she decided to change.
“Just because I didn’t make a scene doesn’t mean I agreed,” I said.
My father-in-law nodded slowly.
My sister-in-law started picking up her bag.
—I have no intention of paying for all this.
“You don’t have to pay for everything,” I replied. “Only for what you asked for.”
One of Chris’s brothers checked his account again.
—But I ordered it thinking it was already taken care of.
-Exactly.
The word remained on the table.
This had been going on for months.
They placed the order thinking the matter was settled.
Not because someone told them so that night.
But because they found out that I covered the costs.
The first part of the lesson wasn’t about making them feel bad.
This consisted in taking away from them the comfort they wrongly believed to be right.
Some people started taking out their cards.
Others checked their phones to calculate how much money they had at their disposal.
One of them asked if they could modify the account.
The waiter explained that the bills had already been sorted according to the instructions received.
The father-in-law paid the amount due to him for his ceremony.
I paid for my meal and the birthday dish I ordered for him.
Chris remained seated across from me.
His bill remained on the table.
“Did you really want to do this on my dad’s birthday?” she asked.
—I didn’t want to do this on any birthday.
—So why today?
—Because today they asked me for the most expensive things again, without even asking if I would pay for them.
Chris looked down.
—I thought it didn’t bother you.
—I’ve told you this several times.
—You told me you didn’t like it.
—No. I told you I’m tired of paying for everyone.
There was one more difference that I tried to ignore.
