So I left, heading towards the manager’s office.
I came out about 15 minutes later and went back to the table.
Grandma was sitting there alone, clutching her purse in her hands and looking around the room with wide, frightened eyes. The rest of my family was nowhere to be seen.
I knew they were planning on not paying the bill, but to stoop so low as to abandon my grandmother on her birthday! It was just cruel.
‘Grandma, are you okay?’ I asked, sinking down into my seat.
‘There you are!’ said Grandma, relief spilling over her face as I joined her. ‘Everyone just got up and left. They said something about getting the car ready, but it’s been ten minutes.’
She leaned over and spoke in a serious whisper. ‘Are we all right, Jade? Is everything paid for? I can pay for something if I need to, honey… I don’t have a lot of money with me, but I’ve been saving up…’
I put my arm around her shoulders, rage rising in my chest that they had left her confused and worried on her special night.
‘Don’t worry, Grandma. Everything is under control.’
We took our time finishing up while the staff took care of the rest of the chores. Miguel brought a complimentary dessert for Grandma – a beautiful chocolate cake with a single candle. The whole staff sang for her.
Grandma still looked a little worried, but I promised her that everything would be taken care of.
‘What about the others?’ – She asked as I drove her home and the stars twinkled above us.
‘They probably needed somewhere else to be,’ I said, keeping my tone light. ‘It’s a shame, but I have to admit I’m glad I got to spend most of the evening with you, Grandma. You had a nice holiday dinner, didn’t you?’
She nodded, but I could see she was offended. That made me even more angry.
When the angry phone calls started the next morning, I was ready to gloat over my selfish and frivolous family who thought they could get away with offending Grandma.
The first call I answered was from Aunt Linda. She was screaming that the restaurant was ‘harassing’ their account.
‘They’ve called three times already! How dare they! It’s your fault, isn’t it?’
Kathy left me a three-minute voicemail note accusing me of ‘ruining the mood’ at my grandmother’s birthday party. ‘We were just about to pick up the car! We were going to come back! You’re being so dramatic!’
Mark wrote that I was a traitor for snitching on the family. Each day his subsequent messages became more and more panicked.
Uncle Joe wanted to know if this was some kind of joke, because now the restaurant was threatening a lawsuit. ‘Fix this! Now!’
Ah, yes. I forgot to mention.
Turns out the manager of this steakhouse was my old college buddy Eric.
As they made their dramatic exit through the kitchen door (clearly visible on the security cameras), I made sure Eric had all of their contact information. Full names, phone numbers, addresses.
He only charged me for my and my grandmother’s share of dinner. And the rest? Oh, yeah. He’ll charge them directly, with interest, if they continue to avoid his services.
Grandma called later to thank me again for the evening.
‘I just wish your cousins hadn’t disappeared like that,’ she said. ‘It was such a nice dinner while…well…’
I just smiled, imagining Katie’s face when she got the official demand for payment.
‘Don’t think about it, Grandma. They won’t do anything like that again.’
And next year? Grandma and I will celebrate her birthday somewhere very nice and quiet. Just the two of us.
And I’ll leave my phone on silent.