{"id":88602,"date":"2025-02-10T16:54:49","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T09:54:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/levanews.com\/?p=44033"},"modified":"2025-02-24T12:21:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T05:21:30","slug":"i-cooked-a-festive-dinner-for-20-people-for-my-husbands-birthday-then-he-ditched-me-to-celebrate-at-a-bar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/i-cooked-a-festive-dinner-for-20-people-for-my-husbands-birthday-then-he-ditched-me-to-celebrate-at-a-bar\/","title":{"rendered":"I Cooked a Festive Dinner for 20 People for My Husband\u2019s Birthday \u2014 Then He Ditched Me to Celebrate at a Bar"},"content":{"rendered":"
I planned a festive dinner for my husband Todd’s 35th birthday, but right before the guests arrived, he ditched the party to watch the game at a bar. What happened next? Let\u2019s just say, I got the last laugh.\n You\u2019d think six years of marriage would teach someone a little gratitude, but not Todd. Every year, I\u2019d pour my heart and soul into his birthday, only for him to take it all for granted.\n This year, though, his entitlement hit a whole new level.\n Six years. That\u2019s how long Todd and I have been married.\n Don\u2019t get me wrong, our relationship isn\u2019t all bad. Todd can be charming when he wants to be, and we\u2019ve had some wonderful times together. But there\u2019s one thing about him that drives me absolutely up the wall.\n His entitlement.\n Take last Thanksgiving, for example. Todd had this brilliant idea to host a dinner for both of our families. He announced it at breakfast one day, grinning like he\u2019d solved world hunger.\n Claire,\u201d he said, \u201cI think we should host Thanksgiving this year.\u201d\n \u201cOkay,\u201d I replied. \u201cThat sounds nice.\u201d\n For two weeks, I planned and prepped while Todd played fantasy football.\n On the big day, I roasted the turkey, whipped up side dishes, and even made two pies.\n And Todd? He carried the cooler of beer into the living room. That\u2019s it.\n After dinner, as everyone raved about the food and decor, Todd decided it was time to take credit for everything.\n \u201cGlad you all love it,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted it to be special this year.\u201d\n He ignored me, of course.\n And that\u2019s Todd in a nutshell. He wants the credit without lifting a finger. It made me realize he wasn\u2019t the man I\u2019d fallen for anymore.\n And then came his 35th birthday. The final straw.\n We were having dinner when Todd casually told me his plans.\n \u201cClaire, I want a big, proper birthday dinner this year,\u201d he said. \u201cInvite the family, my buddies, everyone.\u201d\n I raised an eyebrow. \u201cYou mean you want me to plan it?\u201d\n \u201cWell, yeah,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re good at this stuff. Just make it decent, alright? I don\u2019t want to be embarrassed in front of everyone.\u201d\n \u201cDecent?\u201d I repeated.\n \u201cYeah, just don\u2019t go overboard or anything. Keep it classy.\u201d\n Honestly, I didn\u2019t want to agree, but I decided to give him another chance. After all, it was his birthday, and I wanted to make it special even if he didn\u2019t deserve it.\n For the next two weeks, I threw myself into planning Todd\u2019s \u201cbig, proper birthday dinner.\u201d If he wanted classy, I\u2019d give him classy.\n Every day after work, I\u2019d come home, tie my hair up, and get to work cleaning, organizing, and prepping. I even borrowed extra chairs and a folding table from our neighbor, Janice, just to make sure everyone would have a seat.\n Todd\u2019s contribution? Absolutely nothing.\n \u201cI\u2019m swamped at work,\u201d he said one night, kicking off his shoes and plopping onto the couch. \u201cBut you\u2019ve got this, babe. You\u2019re good at these things.\u201d\n Good at these things? I was so tired I could\u2019ve cried.\n But instead of snapping, I smiled and said, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got this.\u201d\n The day of the party finally arrived.\n I woke up early, determined to make everything perfect.\n The house was spotless. The table was set with matching linens and little name cards I\u2019d handwritten. The appetizers were chilling, the main courses simmering, and the cake was decorated with edible gold flakes.\n Yes, I went that far.\n Todd strolled into the kitchen around noon, scrolling through his phone as usual. He barely glanced at the spread I\u2019d laid out.\n \u201cLooks good,\u201d he said, shutting the fridge door. Then, like it was no big deal, he added, \u201cBut hey, uh, don\u2019t bother finishing all this.\u201d\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\n \u201cI\u2019m heading to the bar with the guys to watch the game instead. Cancel everything. Tell everyone something came up.\u201d\n \u201cYou\u2019re ditching your own birthday dinner?\u201d I asked. \u201cTodd, I\u2019ve been planning this for weeks!\u201d\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a big deal, Claire,\u201d he shrugged it off. \u201cJust call everyone and tell them we\u2019re busy or something. They\u2019ll understand.\u201d\n \u201cYou can\u2019t do this, Todd!\u201d I shouted, but he\u2019d already left.\n I was so heartbroken. I\u2019d poured my heart, soul, and savings into this dinner, and he just walked out like it was nothing.\n Cancel everything? After all the work I\u2019d done?\n But more than anything, I felt humiliated.\n How could he treat me like this? How could he brush off all my efforts as if they didn\u2019t matter?\n I stared at the table while the candles flickered mockingly.\n Is this what you\u2019re worth, Claire? I asked myself. Is this how you\u2019ll let Todd treat you? No. You can\u2019t do this.\n At that point, I decided I wouldn\u2019t cancel the dinner. I won\u2019t allow him to make me feel bad again.\n If Todd wanted to act like a spoiled brat, I\u2019d let him, but not without showing him what \u201cembarrassing\u201d really looked like. He had no idea who he was messing with.\n I grabbed my phone and sent a group text to all the guests:\n Party\u2019s still on! Change of plans. Meet us at the bar on the main street near our place. Bring your appetite!\n Then, I got to work.\n I packed all the food and loaded it into the car. Then, I drove straight to the bar Todd had mentioned.\n When I arrived, the place was already buzzing with noise. I looked around and spotted Todd sitting at a table with his buddies, his back to the door. He was completely oblivious to my presence.\n \u201cUh, ma\u2019am? Can I help you?\u201d the bartender asked with wide eyes after noticing the trays of food I was carrying.\n I flashed him my sweetest smile. \u201cOh, I\u2019m just here to share a meal with some people who\u2019ll actually appreciate it.\u201d\n I picked a table near the bar, in full view of Todd\u2019s group, and began unpacking dish after dish. The aroma of the food quickly caught everyone\u2019s attention. Patrons nearby craned their necks to see what was going on.\n \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d one man asked, gesturing toward the feast I was setting up.\n I raised my voice just enough to carry across the room. \u201cOh, this was supposed to be my husband\u2019s birthday dinner. But he decided to ditch me and come here, so I thought, why let all this food go to waste?\u201d\n The room erupted in murmurs and laughter, and a few people even clapped. That\u2019s when Todd finally turned around and spotted me.\n He immediately stormed over while his buddies murmured amongst themselves.\n \u201cClaire! What the hell are you doing?\u201d he hissed, his eyes darting nervously between me and the growing crowd.\n I didn\u2019t even look at him.\n Instead, I addressed the nearest group of patrons. \u201cYou like ham? Help yourselves! There\u2019s cake coming too.\u201d\n Just as Todd sputtered out another protest, the front door swung open, and in walked his parents, my parents, his sister, and our cousins.\n They looked at us, then at the food, and then at all the people munching on what was supposed to be a formal dinner.\n Todd\u2019s mom, bless her bluntness, walked right up to him. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on, Todd? Claire said to meet here for your birthday dinner, but why is she serving food in a bar?\u201d\n Todd looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor.\n \u201cUh, it\u2019s complicated, Mom,\u201d he muttered.\n \u201cOh, I\u2019d love to explain!\u201d I intervened. \u201cTodd decided that watching the game with his friends was more important than the dinner he demanded I plan. So, I brought the dinner to him!\u201d\n His dad shook his head. \u201cHow disrespectful,\u201d he muttered.\n Meanwhile, my mom grabbed a plate and said, \u201cWell, the food smells amazing. Let\u2019s eat!\u201d\n Soon, both our families joined the other patrons and dug into the feast I\u2019d worked so hard on.\n And Todd\u2019s friends? They were still laughing at his expense and told him they\u2019ll never forget this day.\n By the time I brought out the cake, the bar felt like a full-blown party. On top of the cake, in bold frosting letters, I had written:\n HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SELFISH HUSBAND!\n The bar erupted in laughter when I read it aloud, but Todd wasn\u2019t too happy about that.\n \u201cWas this really necessary, Claire?\u201d he muttered under his breath.\n I tilted my head, smiling sweetly. \u201cAbsolutely.\u201d\n Once everyone was done, I started packing up the empty trays. That\u2019s when the bartender stopped me.\n \u201cMa\u2019am, you\u2019re a legend,\u201d he said. \u201cDrinks on the house if you ever come back. Without him, of course!\u201d\n I chuckled. \u201cThank you! I\u2019ll definitely drop by sometime.\u201d\n The families didn\u2019t stick around long after the food was gone. My dad gave me a proud nod as he left, while Todd\u2019s mom told him he could\u2019ve done better.\n As we drove back home, Todd kept muttering about being \u201chumiliated.\u201d Once we were back, he protested even more.\n \u201cClaire, you humiliated me in front of everyone!\u201d he said, throwing his hands in the air.\n \u201cNo, Todd,\u201d I shot back. \u201cYou humiliated yourself. And for the record, don\u2019t expect another homemade meal anytime soon.\u201d\n He knew he couldn\u2019t argue with me at that point. He just turned around and stormed off to the bedroom.\n It\u2019s been two weeks since that night, and I kid you not, Todd has changed. Well, mostly. His unrealistic demands have dialed down, and he\u2019s been unusually polite, almost as if he\u2019s afraid I\u2019ll pull another stunt like that.\n What would you have done if you were in my shoes?\n This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.\n Source: thecelebritist.com\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I planned a festive dinner for my husband Todd’s 35th birthday, but right before the guests arrived, he ditched the party to watch the game at a bar. What happened next? Let\u2019s just say, I got the last laugh. For illustrative purposes only You\u2019d think six years of marriage would teach someone a little gratitude, …\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88602"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102568,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88602\/revisions\/102568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}