Eat and Run

I've been a victim.

it’s the first time it has happened to me ...

I did not plan on going out yesterday. I was going to leave work early, go to the gym and then stay home and watch a movie. I have a friend coming down to visit for the weekend plus I had a bit of insomnia the night before and was tired as f***k so I was not trying to exhaust myself.

I get a call at my desk and it’s my friend ND. "Hey we haven't hung out in a while, lets meet up, we simply must do drinks later" Fast forward to after work, and I'm sitting in a bar with her and like 10 of her work colleagues (it started out as a smaller group, but people kept joining us) I got in 1st round (just hers and mine) and then the second, I didn't really mind its just drinks and I can afford it.

Then I'm ready to go home. I'm hungry and I'm already dreaming about the beans and pepper my mum made for me. (Beans is my favourite food: D) Mum fries the pepper for hours and its gorgeous. Then ND suggests we leave the pub to eat. I wrinkle my nose because nothing anyone is going to serve me at this point in time is going hit the spot like the beans and pepper I have at home. But she keeps trying to persuade me, and I decide not to be a spoil sport and agree to go get some food. ND asks "what do you fancy" and I say ... "oh anything homely" (still thinking about my beans)

So ND leads me to this Indian/ Nepalese fusion restaurant; I’ve never been there before. She vouches it’s nice because she has eaten there before. I shrug and follow; I'm too tired to care.

She recommends some stuff from the menu, I follow her lead ...it looks a bit pricey for a after the pub kind of meal, but it won't break the bank. We have a lovely dinner ...and some good conversation.

Then we finish eating. I mean we did Poppadums, starters, mains, desert and coffee, and we were at the restaurant at 8.30 it was now 10.55 so a good 2.5 hours.

The waiter starts clearing the coffee cups ... ND looks at her watch and says "gosh my bus arrives in 4 minutes" she brings out a bank card and waves it in the air .....I think to myself ok I guess we better ask for the bill ...I turn to the waiter "May we have the bill please?"

Then ND stands up... "Oh gosh that is the last bus, if I miss it I won't be able to get home". Normally I'd interrupt, and say “I'll take care of it run along” ...but I have no intention of doing so, because I know it’s going to be a big one tonight, plus this heifer dragged me here when all I was looking forward to was my peppered beans and a DVD. So I keep quiet, but there’s a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth, because I realise that I'm about to be stitched up ...I can see it coming.

The bill arrives and ND is still at the table. The waiter tries to hand her the bill I’m guessing because she is standing up, and also because she did all the ordering, but she points at me and says “Ohhhh my bus my bus my bus” so he hands it to me instead. She doesn’t even make a start to check it, instead she turns to the waiter and asks if he can break her £10 for the bus (they don’t give change on the bus). The waiter disappears to go get her the coins. She stands at the table for another 5 minutes.

I keep quiet and don't point out that she has missed her bus already, because 10 minutes ago she said it was arriving in 4 minutes, I also don't point out that in the time its taken her to break her £10 she could have paid her share of the bill or at least said something about treating me to dinner next time or repaying. Instead she flaps around arranging her woolly hat, scarf, and her coat and generally acting like she is in a rush. LOL ...its like I'm in a comedy, and I play along because:
1. I can take the hit (best believe if it was like 5 years ago and I was still a broke ass , I'd have held her cloth…who the hell does she think is going to wash dishes here tonight)
2. I am genuinely finding her amusing ...in fact I feel like giggling at how ridiculous she is being.

Then she runs over to the waiter collects her coins, waves at me and looks at her watch then runs out of the restaurant. Buahahahah , now I can start laughing. I give the waiter my card and pay the bill.