Dear Queenie,
On my daughter’s 25th birthday I invited her to have dinner with me at a nice restaurant. When she arrived she had two friends with her and they didn’t offer to pay for their food so I ended up having to pay for everyone.
Queenie, should I say something to her or just not invite her to eat out?—Offended mother
Dear Mother,
You should explain to your daughter that she should have let you know in advance that she wanted to bring her friends to her birthday dinner and should have asked you if it would be okay with you.
You also could have asked the person who waited on you for separate checks and then paid for yours and your daughter’s, and handed their checks to your daughter’s friends. You might still have had to pay for them, but I am sure they – and your daughter – would have gotten the message.
