First Posted: 3/5/2013

Shawn was a nice, slightly younger guy that I had met through friends.
We seemed to get along really well when we met and decided to try a dinner together. We went out for Mexican on date number one and had a wonderful time. He asked me out for Thai the next night. Apparently, we were going to do the culinary tour of the world via Wilkes-Barre.
Tuesday night arrived and I picked him up. We drove to the restaurant and had a lovely meal. The check came and he looked at me and asked if I was getting it this time since he paid the night before. I assumed that since he had been the one to invite me to dinner that he would be paying, so I didn’t bring any cash or my card with me, only my ID.
I sheepishly explained my dilemma, and at first, he didn’t believe me. I said to him I was serious and that next time maybe this is something that should be discussed prior to going out. Maybe I am just old-fashioned, but this is how dating works. He paid the check and we left the restaurant.
Shawn said he wanted to grab a drink before we called it a night. We decided to walk over to Rodano’s and grabbed a beer. While there, I was still uncomfortable about the whole money situation. We talked casually, but the tension and awkwardness was obvious to anyone within a 10-mile radius of our bar stools.
I decided to only have one beer and nurse it since money was apparently an issue. After his third beer, Mr. Excitement looked at me and said he was in the mood for karaoke and wanted to go to Old Tyme Charley’s. He said that I would need to cover the drink tab there since he took care of this one.
My face contorted into an odd expressive combination of confusion and disgust. I looked at him and said that I didn’t have money or a card 20 minutes ago, so where would I magically come up with currency on the 50-foot walk from the restaurant to the bar?
Shawn said he didn’t think I was being serious at the restaurant and that he just figured I had some extra emergency cash set aside in the car. I told him that the night was over. I didn’t have cash or a desire to continue this date. I drove him home and dropped him off.
On the drive back to my apartment, I contacted just about every guy friend in my phone to see if I was being too old-fashioned, thinking money shouldn’t have been the reason for this date’s untimely demise. They agreed with me; apparently chivalry in his case was dead. He was not my knight in shining armor, just another guy in cheap tin foil.
W