Am I wrong for leaving a family dinner at an upscale restaurant?
When we try to please everyone, we often end up pleasing no one, including ourselves. This is something an anonymous Reddit member learned the hard way.
Taking to the AITA subreddit, this person started his story by explaining that he has been a very successful individual compared to the rest of the members of his family. He frequently traveled abroad for work, but whenever he was in his hometown he made sure he treated his family members to dinner.
This time, it wasn’t any different. The moment his mom learned he was coming home, she informed him of the family gathering she organized. She texted him the location of a high-end steakhouse and told him the family would be waiting for him there.
However, when he entered the place he was shocked to see over 20 people gathered there. Until then, the family gatherings consisted of around six people whom he was close to. This time, his mom even invited one of OP’s grandma’s neighbors, a person OP only met a few times during his life. He never even spoke to this person, only waved hi.
At that point, those who were present at the upscale restaurant had already ordered pricey steaks, which cost from $80 to $250 per person. As the waiters were bringing more drinks and more appetizers, the grandma’s neighbor raised a toast in which he highlighted OP’s generosity in covering the expenses. This set the stage for an unforeseen chain of events.
OP wasn’t happy he was expected to cover the bill for that many people without even be consulted about it in advance. According to his calculations, the bill was around $4,000 until that point, and counting.
Realizing his family was trying to take advantage of him, OP decided to leave the place.
He left $100 on the table and said, “I’m not paying for dinner,” as he stormed off.
His phone wouldn’t stop ringing. He received numerous messages, mainly from his mother, but he decided to turn the phone off and retire for the night. The following day he left the country without saying goodbye.
Despite recognizing his less-than-ideal handling of the situation, OP felt devastated that his family wanted to take advantage of him and his generosity in such a sneaky way.
“I know I’m nta with the dinner but more concerned about my reaction [sic],” he wrote.
Following his mother’s persistent pleas to call her, he decided to talk to her and apologize for storming out of the restaurant in such a manner, offering an olive branch. Sadly, he was met with accusations of being selfish, greedy, and disrespectful.
