Dear Queenie,
We had dinner at some friends’ house last week and one of the guests broke a dish by accident. He got a small cut on one hand while he was picking up the pieces, but the hostess didn’t even notice. She was just going on and on about how he had broken one of her best dishes and spoiled the set.
The guy who broke the dish finally offered to replace it for her and she said maybe she could get a new dish from the place in the States where she ordered the set, but it would cost a lot, what with the shipping and all. He gave her the money and she calmed down.
A couple of days later I saw what looked like the same dishes in a store on the French side and a whole place setting didn’t cost nearly as much as the money he gave her. I think she made a profit on the whole deal.
Queenie, do you think I should tell him he was cheated?—Dinner guest
Dear Dinner guest,
Let’s be charitable and assume that the hostess didn’t know her dishes were available on the French side, or that the dishes you saw were cheap knock-offs of an expensive pattern.
However, if you accept any more invitations from these friends, I suggest you be very careful not to break anything. And if you ever have any financial dealings with this woman, check the receipts carefully and count your change at least twice. And then count your fingers, just to be sure you still have all of them.
