I could already imagine calling my mother.
I wondered what the ring looked like.
I even became nervous about whether I would cry.
Dessert arrived.
Nothing happened.
Then the server placed the bill on the table.
My boyfriend picked it up, looked at the total and casually said, “Want to split it?”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Dinner. Fifty-fifty?”
For a moment, I genuinely thought he was joking.
This wasn’t about whether I could afford my half. We had split expenses plenty of times during our relationship.
But he had invited me out.
He had arranged everything.
He had repeatedly described it as a special Valentine’s evening.
And after spending dinner talking about our future, suddenly asking me to split the bill felt strangely transactional.
“You’re serious?” I asked.
His expression changed.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I just thought you were taking me out tonight.”
“So?”
