An Expensive Celebration.

• Author: Galanes, Philip
• Position: The Dilemma - Excerpt

I was invited to a friend's birthday dinner. The restaurant she chose is notoriously expensive. We're all in our early 20s, and I think it's unreasonable for her to expect us to shell out so much. (Plus, the birthday girl or boy never pays, so we'd incur even more expense.) Is it OK to bail? I don't want to make up an excuse, but I don't want to tell her I'm not coming because of money either.--Anonymous

LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT: You don't want to tell the truth, and you don't want to lie. (Are you under the impression that I have magical powers?) It's never...