I am the front-of-house manager at a trendy restaurant. It isn’t “upscale” but it’s a local restaurant that receives incredibly good reviews from national media. It’s the type of place you take a date to impress them. Part of this is due to the food; part is due to the service.

On a somewhat slow Saturday night at 7:00 pm, I answer our phone.

Customer: “I’d like to make a reservation for 8:00 pm.”

Me: “Sure.”

Customer: “Can you help me with something?”

Me: “What do you need, sir?”

Customer: “I need to make the night extra special. Can you set the table up with flowers?”

Me: “That’s not a problem. We have fresh flowers delivered for décor every few days so I can make a bouquet for you.”

Customer: “Do you have greeting cards?”

No? But it is a slower night, and we have a market next door where I could send a server to grab a card.

Me: “What would you like it to say, sir?”

I struggle to keep up with his rambling, but the gist is about how much he loves this woman.

By this point, I’m thinking, “Holy s***. This guy is proposing.” I tell some of our servers and everybody is stoked because none of us have ever seen a proposal before. We go all-out on this table.

Eight o’clock rolls around and there’s no sign of this couple.

Eight-fifteen comes and a couple walks in the door. I think it’s them, but I’m not sure. The guy looks incredibly nervous; he’s sweating bullets. The woman seems very tired and lethargic. Then, the guy asks for a table for two. The server walks him to a table. He sees the table with flowers and asks to sit at that table. The server tells him it is for a reservation, and he says, “Yeah, that was me.” Weird start, but okay. We seat them there.

The woman opens the card and reads it. She doesn’t seem that interested; she just sets it to the side. Every employee is watching this table from the corner of their eyes, waiting for something to happen. But they are silent. The only words spoken are their drink orders to the server.

After their drinks come, they order some food and sit in more agonizing silence.

Then, the woman turns to the guy.

Woman: “Do you think this is going to change anything?”

And the fighting started. Once the shouting began, it became clear that this wasn’t a proposal. The guy had cheated on her and was trying to win her back.

The woman stormed out of the restaurant. The guy started crying, chased her, and didn’t come back.

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual Assault

I got food poisoning in college. My boyfriend offered his apartment to rest during the day; it was more comfortable and private than my dorm, he had classes all day, and his roommate was already gone for winter break. He came back in the evening while I was asleep.

Boyfriend: “[My Name]?”

Me: “Yeah?”

Boyfriend: “How are you feeling?”

He slipped his hand up my shirt.

Me: “No.”

I pushed his hand away.

Boyfriend: *Disgusted sound* “Did you sleep all day?”

Me: “Uh, mostly.”

Boyfriend: “I know you’re sick, but you could still, like, load the dishwasher or make dinner or something. My mom always had the house clean, even when she was sick.”

He tried again for my shirt.

Boyfriend: “I can make you feel better.”

Me: “I came over because I’m sick, not because you need a housekeeper or a mom. Stop touching me. I’m serious.”

I slapped his hand and he withdrew.

Boyfriend: “You really didn’t do anything all day?”

Me: *Sarcastic tone* “Well, I threw up a couple of times.”

Boyfriend: “When my mom was sick, she still took care of me and my dad!”

I started to stand up.

Boyfriend: “What are you doing?”

Me: “I’m going back to my room.”

Boyfriend: “But—”

Me: “I can’t talk to you right now. I’m sick. I’m angry. I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

I called him the next day but he rejected the calls. Then, I found a letter taped to my door saying we should no longer see each other because his mother didn’t like me. My friends and I referred to him as “Oedipus” for a long time.

I just got out of a horrible nine-year relationship. I had to flee, actually. In hindsight, the entire relationship was nothing but gaslighting, but I managed to reconnect with myself and got out moderately safe.

My ex has been on the verge of stalking since I left. I was still somewhat under his influence, I guess, right a few days after I ran away, so I agreed to have “just one last talk” with him two times. I had agreed on five minutes by the front door, but of course, it turned into more than two hours inside his house where I got extremely uncomfortable and very, very tired. It was nothing but telling me how much I hurt him and what a complete b**** he thought I was and always had been.

After I blocked his phone number and social media accounts, he started hanging around my workplace. I ignored him, got friends and colleagues to walk me home, and told him I would get the police involved if he didn’t stop. I made it very, very clear that I never wanted to see him again.

It’s blissfully quiet for a few months until he sends me a text from his work phone. Shoot, forgot he had that!

Ex-Boyfriend: “There’s still mail coming in for you.”

Me: “Leave it by your door when you’re at work so I can pick it up.”

Ex-Boyfriend: “It’ll get stolen. Come get it.”

Me: “Fine. I’ll come by and pick it up, but only that. You hand me my mail and I will leave right away.”

He agrees. I ring the doorbell on date we agreed on.

Ex-Boyfriend: “Just come in for five minutes.”

Me: “Okay, bye!”

I start walking.

Ex-Boyfriend: “Wait! This is really important mail! There are some other things you left behind, too.”

Me: “So give them to me.”

Ex-Boyfriend: “I just don’t understand why you have to be so hostile when I’ve been nothing but nice over this whole ordeal. Won’t you give me just five minutes?”

Me: “No. This is not what we agreed on. Bye.”

I walk away and he actually comes running after me.

Ex-Boyfriend: “Stop! I really want to give you your stuff back!”

Me: “Last chance, then. If I follow you to that door, you hand over my things and that is it.”

Ex-Boyfriend: “Don’t scream at me. I still have to live on this street.”

Me: “Bye.”

I walk away.

Ex-Boyfriend: “No, wait. I’m sorry! I’ll get your things.”

He gets two little boxes but doesn’t hand them over. He’s suddenly shaking with anger and speaking really aggressively.

Ex-Boyfriend: “WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! YOU’RE SUCH A TOTAL B****! I COULD’VE JUST SET ALL OF THIS ON FIRE INSTEAD OF TELLING YOU I STILL HAD IT! YOU HAVE TO TALK TO ME! I HAVE THE RIGHT TO A DECENT CONVERSATION! I DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THIS S*** FROM SUCH A C*** WHO…”

I smile calmly, turn around, and start walking, calling the friend I’ll be spending the night with.

Me: *On the phone* “Hi!” *Pauses* “No, I didn’t get my things back.” *Pauses* “It’s okay, I know where we stand. I knew already, of course, but now I’m really sure.” *Pauses* “Yeah, it was…”

My ex comes running after me. I turn around.

Me: *To my ex* “NO.” *To my phone* “Could you stay on the line, please?” *To my ex* “You stop right there. You have absolutely no rights with me whatsoever. You never speak to me again. You stay away from me. As for my stuff, burn it for all I care. I haven’t missed it; it can’t be that important. Go away right now!”

I turned around and kept talking to my friend. My ex actually continued to follow me to the end of the street, but I completely ignored him and he left. I blocked his work number, too. I haven’t seen him since.

I had been dating this guy for a little over a month. I have no problem with guys looking at other girls because I know that it happens even subconsciously. [Boyfriend] and I were out to dinner one night when a girl walked by in a tight dress.

Boyfriend: “You think she works out?”

Me: “Probably.”

He took my hand across the table.

Boyfriend: “We should get a girlfriend.”

I choked on my drink.

Boyfriend: “You okay?”

Me: “Why do we need a girlfriend?”

Boyfriend: “Why not?”

Me: “Because we’re monogamous.”

Boyfriend: “We don’t have to be.”

Me: “And I don’t like girls.”

Boyfriend: “Yes, you do. You talk about them all the time. Just now you were checking her out.”

Me: “Noticing that a person takes care of their body and wanting their body are two different things.”

Boyfriend: “It’s okay! I’m totally cool with bisexuality.”

Me: “Okay then, let’s get a boyfriend.”

Boyfriend: “F*** no!”

Me: “Why not? I see you looking at guys at the gym all the time.”

Boyfriend: “I’m watching their form, not their— No, no. I do not like men.”

Me: “And I do not like women.”

Boyfriend: “Look. Just give it a try. You never know; you might like it.”

Me: “Okay. I’ll try it if you will.”

Boyfriend: “Deal!”

Me: “Great. Who’s our boyfriend?”

Boyfriend: “Woah, woah, hold up. That is not what I agreed to.”

Me: *Fake confusion* “Oh. You just meant bisexuality is okay if it’s two girls. But two guys aren’t okay. Right?”

Boyfriend: “Exactly! I’m not sharing you with a dude. That’s f****** gross. Look. Let’s just try adding a girl to see how it goes. If you don’t like it, then she’ll be my other girlfriend and you don’t have to interact with her at all. Maybe she’ll be a girl who likes girls and she can teach you!”

I stared at him, waiting for him to say it was a joke or something. When he didn’t, I got up and left him with the bill. Since I drove us there, I also left him without a ride home. I blocked his number and all his social media accounts before I got home. Sometimes I wonder how many other women he pulled that on and how it worked out for him.

Our roommate has ricocheted from a long-term relationship into a new girlfriend. We all think it’s way too soon, but as much as we think that, and as annoying as we all find her, we are happy for him.

Me: “[Roommate]! Has your girlfriend been eating food from the shared fridge again?”

Roommate: “I’m sorry, man. She gets hungry and I don’t have anything she likes.”

Me: “Get something she does like, then. Order in, or spend time at her place. Don’t let her eat my food; it’s expensive and I have to go across town to get it.”

Roommate: “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to her. Just, you know, we have fun hanging around with everyone.”

Me: *Sigh* “Fine, it’s fine. Just have a word before tomorrow. I’m getting my grandad’s chilli peppers and I’m not sharing with anyone.”

He says he will. I don’t know if he will do it or if she is ignoring him. A couple of days later, [Roommate]’s girlfriend shows up again and goes straight to his room. I’m in and out all night, and I arrive to find the two of them in a shouting match. The girlfriend pushes past me to leave the house.

Me: “That looked bad. You had an argument?”

Roommate: “Yeah, I don’t think she’s coming back.”

Me: “I’m sorry. This isn’t about the food, is it? I’m sorry if it is, but it had to be said.”

Roommate: “Oh, no. She was angry about that. But when I said it was you, I guess she sneaked into the kitchen to eat some of your food.”

Me: “No, not my chillis.”

Roommate: “Yeah, she took a big mouthful and started crying about how hot they were. She said you poisoned her on purpose and I had to make you apologise.”

Me: “Mate, she wasn’t good for you, and she was annoying as h***.”

He moped around for a few weeks, and after a few months, he found a great girl. They moved in together a while later. They come round every so often and she even brings her own food to share. Definitely an upgrade!