the money is spent.
It does not mean one partner choosing an expensive purchase and informing the other afterward that half the cost is now their responsibility.
Eventually, he paid the restaurant bill himself.
At that point, she realized the proposal she had quietly expected was probably not coming.
What happened afterward made the evening far more troubling than a disagreement about money.
Her boyfriend later left her a note explaining that the dinner had been a test.
According to his explanation, he had been considering proposing to her. Before doing so, however, he wanted to determine whether she was genuinely prepared to share financial responsibilities within a marriage.
The $380 dinner had therefore not simply been a romantic surprise.
It had secretly been an examination.
She had not known she was taking it.
And according to him, she had failed.
That revelation changed the meaning of the entire evening.
