An Inconsiderate (অবিবেচক/ অপরিণামদর্শী) Lady Story

About twenty years ago, I lived in an apartment overlooking a cemetery. Back then, I was just getting by financially, and I was keeping busy from morning to night. During that time, a woman wrote to me, praising something I had written that had been published in the newspaper. I was really excited about this, so I sent her a thank-you letter. Right after that, she wrote back again. She mentioned that she was visiting Paris and wanted to meet up. She had limited time, and the only free moment she had was the following Thursday morning at Luxembourg Gardens. She also suggested having lunch at a fancy place called Foyot's afterward. This restaurant was quite expensive, and I had never even considered going there due to my tight budget. However, I felt flattered, and being young, I didn't know how to say 'no' to a woman.

At that time, I had only eighty francs left for the rest of the month, and I thought I could manage with a modest lunch costing around fifteen francs if I skipped coffee for the next two weeks. So, I replied that I would meet my pen-pal at Foyot's on Thursday at twelve-thirty. When we met, she wasn't as young as I had expected and looked more imposing than attractive. In reality, she was about forty years old. She seemed to have more teeth than necessary, all white and large. She talked a lot, but since she wanted to discuss me, I was ready to listen.

I was surprised when the menu came because the prices were much higher than I had imagined. However, she assured me that she only ate one thing during meals. It was a polite way of saying that. She ordered salmon, caviar, asparagus, champagne, ice cream, peach, and coffee. On the other hand, I chose the cheapest option, a mutton chop. When the bill arrived, I realized I had just enough for a very small tip. When we said goodbye, she advised me to eat only one thing for lunch. I responded by saying I'd do even better and that I wouldn't have dinner that night. It turns out, I was taken advantage of by the lady. Of course, I felt quite happy when I later saw that she had gained a lot of weight and looked unappealing.