DEAR ABBY:
I’m part of a group of four girlfriends. We gather for all of our birthdays and treat the birthday girl to dinner at a restaurant of her choice. However, one girl in the group orders several expensive cocktails, and the bill comes out to be a fortune. She seems to have no regard when it comes to the bill.
This friend’s birthday is coming up soon, and she has chosen a very pricey restaurant where the bill will be a minimum of $900 for four people. I’m scared to think about it. How do we nicely tell her she has gone overboard, or do we just not say anything at all? — TOO MUCH IN MIAMI, FLA.
DEAR TOO MUCH:
What “we” say to the birthday girl is that her choice of this restaurant is going to cost more than any of you can comfortably afford, and to please make another selection that will fit into your budgets. Order a bottle of wine and skip the cocktails.
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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
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