Who pays the bill tonight

We’re all just sitting here, the plates cleared away, and no one’s made a move for the little black folder. I keep glancing at my phone, watching the minutes tick by. It’s not about the money, really. It’s just that moment of quiet hesitation that stretches out a bit too long.

The quiet stalemate

Someone will usually crack a joke about splitting it, and we all nod. But then there’s that tiny pause, the unspoken thought that maybe we should just pick someone. It feels a bit silly to be so stuck on it. The waiter has probably walked past our table three times by now, and we’re still just smiling at each other.I can see my friend fidgeting with a napkin, and another is pretending to be very interested in the last drops of their drink. We’re all thinking the same thing, but no one wants to be the one to actually say it. It’s a familiar little dance, one we’ve done a hundred times before.

Letting something else decide

So we pull out a phone, or someone grabs a pen to write names on coasters. There’s a kind of relief in handing the decision over. It takes the weight off, that small pressure of choosing. We’re not arguing; we’re just tired of the silent back-and-forth in our own heads.The moment the name is picked, the air changes. The person who ‘lost’ might groan playfully, but it’s a good-natured sound. The rest of us exhale, a collective little release. The problem is solved, not by us, but by chance. And somehow, that feels perfectly fair.

After it’s settled

You hand over your card, or someone starts passing cash to the center of the table. The conversation picks right back up, as if that awkward gap never happened. We’re already talking about what to do next, the bill forgotten.