Dear Woman II Woman: 

Awhile back I went out with someone that I’d been seeing off and on for about six months.  He called me and asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was on my way to go buy a new television.  He asked me what size television I was going to go buy, and I told him a twenty inch.  Well, I was happy when he told me to keep my money because he had a twenty inch television that I could have.  He also wanted to take me out to dinner, so he offered to bring the television when he came to pick me up.  As we discussed dinner plans, I asked him where he wanted to go.  “Your choice”, he said.  I was thinking, “Oh my, this guy is spoiling me tonight.”  It didn’t take me long to make a decision, I chose Outback Steak House.  When he arrived at my house with the television he told me that it didn’t have a remote which wasn’t a big deal to me (that’s why they make universal remotes).  After we got to and the restaurant and were seated the waiter asked if we wanted appetizers, but I said no (trying to be considerate of my date).  When I looked across the table, my date was shaking his head, as if to tell me that we should order an appetizer.  I went along with it, but since he was paying I allowed him to choose the appetizer.  Later after we’d finished eating our steak dinners, and were about to leave the table, my date picks up the cheque from the table and asks, “Did you pay this?”  I looked at him and said, “Boy, please!”  I got up from the table and started walking towards the door and my date followed.  I had imagined that he had quickly slipped some cash into the holder after I started walking.  We had made it all the way out into the parking lot when our waiter came chasing us down in the parking lot, “Ma’am, Sir!”  I turned around and looked at the waiter.  ”Did you pay this?”, he asked.  I didn’t know what to do, I quickly reached into my purse and handed him my debit card.  I’m not sure if I’d ever been more embarrassed in my life.  While we sat in my date’s car waiting for the server to return with my debit card my date apologized about the misunderstanding.   He thought I understood that he was going to bring the television, and I was going to pay for dinner.   I never saw him after that night, he would call, but I would blow him off.   Weeks afterward I realized that I couldn’t even connect my DVD player to the old television.  I would’ve rather spent the money that I had saved up on a brand new television.  After awhile I ended up changing my phone number, not because of my date, but I never contacted him to give him my new number.  I still have some guilt about disappearing on him.