Page 142 of Share with Me

He peeked into his old wallet with black duct tape at the bottom. He kept that part away from Brinley so she couldn’t see that there was a rip in the wallet that he had repaired some months before. There were no other credit cards he could use. They were all maxed out. As for his debit card, forget about it. Nothing there.

He was quite sure that he was short. Not sure by how much since he hadn’t worked on his finances in a few days. He had thought he had set aside a couple of hundred dollars for this dinner. Only now the bill said he owed Saffron over three hundred dollars, not including tips. A bowl of soup, salad, two main dishes, two extra side dishes, one dessert, soda, water, taxes. That was all. He peered at the check again.

Oh, my gold foil lobster thingy was $265.

Not $26.50.

Yikes.

Well, he’d never been to a restaurant where they didn’t put dollar signs in front of the prices nor decimal points at the end of them. He had assumed—

The bill shook in Ivan’s hand.

He started to panic.

* * *

“Are you okay?” Brinley asked.

Across the table, Ivan was sweating.

“Fine. Fine.” He tugged at his neckline. His tie skewed sideways. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that his right hand—his good hand—was shaking holding that guest check.

Brinley watched him place what looked like a brand new unscratched credit card into the guest check folder. The server came and took it away.

Ivan checked his disposable smart phone again.

“Expecting a call?” Brinley wondered who he had texted earlier.

“Uh, my friend Sebastian. Maybe he’ll come out here to meet you.”

“That’ll be nice.”

Then he pushed back his chair. It creaked. Several other customers glanced his way. “I’ll be right back.”

He was gone a long time.

Brinley finished her mineral water. The server was back before Ivan returned. He refused to put the check down.

“May I see it?” Brinley asked.

“I’m afraid I need to speak with the gentleman.”

“He’s probably in the men’s room. Anything I can convey to him when he gets back?”

“Not sure if he wants you to know…”

“Know what?”

“That his card was declined.”

Brinley remained calm. Ivan needed a budget. If they were to go further in this relationship, she was going to require him to get on a budget. “Let me see the bill.”

Yikes. Ivan’s done it this time.

Brinley couldn’t believe how much it had cost either. She reached for her purse and retrieved four one-hundred dollar bills. “Keep the change if you say no more.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

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