OMG I Forgot My Wallet!

Disclaimer: Some of the stories I write, although they are in first person, belong to other women/men. If you recognize anyone you know to whom you think this story belongs, rest assured I have their permission to share it. Names of non-first-person characters have been changed to protect their identity. 

As dating stories go, this one is a classic. Or appears to be anyway: boy meets girl, boy asks girl out, girl suggests wildly expensive restaurant and orders wildly expensive wine, and when the bill comes, she grabs it only to discover she has no wallet. Guy winds up footing bill. Do you think that it was contrived? That she purposely did all of the above to get herself a free meal with wine at an expensive restaurant? I wouldn't really blame you if you did, because I sure felt that way when it happened.

Image courtesy STIL on Unsplash

I was really looking forward to meeting Jai. He was young, good looking, had a fantastic sense of humor, listened to things I said and was an up-and-coming investment banker. He was also 13 years younger than me. 

I was trying hard to dress in a way that wouldn't make him feel he was dining with mom (or aunty). I had lost some weight and figured I could still carry off a little dress and heels. My blue leopard print Charles & Keith stilettos came out to play paired with a little navy-blue Zara outfit. My hair was long, still black, and down my back, and I just loved the red lipstick on me. 

I was on the phone with a friend making last minute accessory decisions when I caught sight of the clock by my bed. I had five minutes to be gone, and I did not want to be late. I was never one to perpetuate the fashionably late fallacy, not I. I grabbed my new black purse from its box, stuffed my lipstick in it (who knew?) hunted for the car key, the house key, turned off various lights, oops forgot perfume so ran back in to get a quick spray, and then ran out, locked the door and dropped my phone and keys into my purse and rushed to my car. The place wasn't a huge distance away, but still, with traffic being what it was, I should have a buffer of five minutes or so.

As it turned out I arrived first, but I didn't mind at all. It gave me a chance to pick a table I liked and sit where I wanted, and look at the wine list. These guys had an extensive one, with some seriously good reds. Yeah, it was expensive but what the heck, I didn't do this often, and I love good wine. I was just deciding on a South African pinot noir I think it was, when I saw Jai come in. He looked like he had come in straight from work as he had on formal trousers, shirt and even a jacket. I could feel my heart start to race just looking at him. He was tall, built like a runner, a warm tan color, a slight stubble on his well-defined jaw, and he wore glasses that accentuated an intellect that I knew was already razor sharp.

I stood up and we exchanged our hellos, a brief hug, and sat down. He looked like how I felt: quite smitten. "You look amazing!" he says and from his eyes I can tell he means it. I can feel the heat in my cheeks. This was so sweet.

"You look pretty good yourself," I replied, smiling. "Did you come here straight from work?"

"Kind of. I live around the corner, so I dropped my bag and tie off first," he said. I asked him a few questions about his lifestyle, work hours and what he did for fun, and as he was telling me all these details, I became aware of how acutely thirsty I was. 

Image courtesy photo-nic.co.uk on unsplash

"Um," I interrupted him, "shall we order something to drink?"

"Sure! Sorry I was going on and on. What would you like?" Such a gentleman. I couldn't stop myself smiling at his impeccable manners and politeness. He happily encouraged me to order a whole bottle of the wine I’d been thinking of, and carried on with our conversation.

He told me so much about his life growing up, his family, his twin sister, his dog, his friends and his dating life. "So why did you want to go out with me?" I asked.

"Women my age are - to put it bluntly - boring. Older women are so sure of themselves, what they want, and importantly, they don’t play games."

"I have to tell you that most men my age are boring too!" I laughed. It was true. They either wanted to be sugar daddies, or wanted money, or a brief fling. None of them looked at me with real admiration, or ordered a bottle of wine just because I liked it, and told me I look amazing, and none of them ever made me blush! Most were past their prime, cynical, tired and haggard, and looked at me as they would a property listing – tentatively. Not like this young go-getter in front of me, whose dreams were in technicolor and whose life had barely just begun. Gosh, I remember when I was in my twenties. Everything was so rosy, and everything was possible. I don’t think I ever understood the word "impossible". If I wanted to do something, I could never think of why I couldn't... it was always about how to get there next. So very different from who I was now.

We ordered our food and he told me some very interesting stories about his travels, wine, women and work. For someone so young he sure had seen a lot and knew a lot too. I told him a lot about myself as well, and so the evening ran pleasantly on. And before we knew it, it was closing time and we were being asked to leave. Merrily tipsy I laughed and waved at our server to bring us the bill. When he brought it, Jai and I both reached for it and I grabbed it from Jai, determined that I would pay. I opened the docket and the numbers that stared back at me were sobering. Boy, I should have known a whole bottle of that pinot noir would cost a bomb. But never mind, I'd had such an enjoyable evening with this chap, it was worth it, I told myself. I reached for my purse, snapped it open, to find that it contained a lipstick, car key, house key, phone... and nothing else. 

Jai must have seen the look of consternation that lit me up. "All OK?" he asked. "Hey, let me pay or at least split it with you if it's really that much," he said with a half smile. But words would not come out of my mouth. My throat had closed in on itself and I couldn’t breathe. This had to be the most embarrassing moment of my entire life. I'm out on a date with this handsome, engaging, kind, funny, intelligent, and charming younger man, and I offer to pay the bill and I don’t have my wallet, no card or cash (these were days before Googlepay/PhonePe etc. and anyway this place only accepted cash or card). I can barely look at him, but somehow, I do, and squeak, "I forgot my wallet!"

The guffaw that bursts forth from Jai bounces of the walls around us. I look to see if he's laughing because he thinks it's funny or because he thinks I pulled a fast one. I don't know him well enough to recognize which it is. I'm still clutching the bill in one hand and my empty purse in the other. He looks at me, and smiling broadly, gently reaches out with both hands and cups my face. "Don’t worry. I’ve got this," he says. He then reaches for the docket in my hand, and I have no choice but to let him take it. I watch him as he looks at it and says, "Oh, it's really not that bad, love!" Sigh, I could have melted and become a puddle right there. He pulls out his wallet, gets out his card, hands it over to the server who has watched all the proceedings with great interest, and punches in his pin and is done. All the time, I’m still sitting there just clutching my purse.

"Jai, I am so incredibly embarrassed, I don’t know what to say," I tell him finally. "I really wanted to pay that bill."

"Hey, relax," he smiles at me. "You can bring your wallet the next time and pay every other time too, that we meet, OK?" What? He wants to meet me again after this fiasco!? a mixture of relief and disbelief settles over me. Who would buy this story!? I must make it up to him if we really do meet again.

“Thank you, Jai,” I say, and I am filled with gratitude for this man who took a really awkward situation and turned it into a humorous one. He puts an arm around my shoulders as we saunter out of the pretty restaurant. The street is quiet outside. I can see my car in its spot under a streetlamp. "Can I take you home at least – since you walked up?" I ask, looking up at his handsome face.

"If you’re sure that's your car and that you have keys?" he raises his eyebrows at me. I smile and raise my hands in surrender. Yeah, I deserved that!

 

Image courtesy Joseph Keil on Unsplash