[Kitsa]

Oh! Yes, well, the check is a different thing entirely. I forgot to tell you about her system with checks.

It used to be, among this group of 5 people, that at these lunches the remaining 4 people would split the bill of the fifth "guest of honor". You know, in lieu of a gift, they'd split the cost of your lunch 4 ways. It worked out well. Except she gradually began souring on that concept.

At the end of her own birthday lunch, after everyone had paid for her meal, she announced that at the next person's, everyone would start paying for their own.

Let me repeat that...she decided that after hers was taken care of, ensuring that she had one last hurrah before she got to enjoy an entire year of not paying for $4 or whatever of someone else's lunch.