He sat at the corner of the coffee bar waiting for his café latte. Last week, he was at the same table, waiting for the same café latte. The difference between that week and last week is that he had a woman sitting across from him.
He began to recall the date. They met on an online dating app, and it seemed that they would hit it off. She was a young girl beginning her professional career and he was an older boy in the middle of his career. But society dictates that the first date’s bill falls in the man’s pocket. This was not a problem for him as he understood the rules. However, it was the conversation that he would have with the young girl that got to him.
**********
“Why didn’t you tip him?” she asked him. He was driving her back home when she started the conversation.
"Why should I?” he responded.
“It’s only fair. He served us and he served us well. He deserved to be tipped,” she said.
What she did not know was that he had set out an exact amount for the date. He did not, however, budget for the extra cup of cappuccino that she did not finish at the end of the date. He did not budget for the club sandwich she ordered to-go. The extra R150 or so that he had spent came from the monthly petrol allocation of his budget. Even though he worked as a waiter before and understood the importance of tipping, he could not afford to pay the man the R60, 10%.
He remained silent. His pride was shot. She delivered the headshot.
“That’s the problem. You men want to date women but you cannot afford us,” she said jokingly.
Even though he knew that she said that as a joke, the statement made him sad and angry. Sad because the last girl he took on a date made a similar joke and later ghosted him. Angry that this girl is only beginning to earn an income and already she was judging him. She has not taken a loan to pay for her registration fees to obtain a better qualification to get a promotion at work. She has not taken out a life cover policy to ensure that the seeds of her generational wealth are in place. She was probably on her mother’s, father’s or brother’s medical aid scheme and didn’t have to worry about paying for an illness that might never come. No. She was only beginning to earn her income. She was yet to learn the burden of receiving an income.
“There we are,” he said as he pulled over to the commune she stayed at with three of her friends.
“But anyway, it was a nice evening. Thank you,” she said as she got out of his car. He knew that was the last time he’ll ever see her.
And it was.
Comentarios