Finishing up the meal

Dessert is served. You pick at it, but you're too full to do much damage to the creamy slice of cake. You wipe your lips with your napkin and pat Ernie on the arm.

"You ready to go?" He asks.

"I think so, handsome," you smile and kiss him on the cheek.

"It's on me," he says to Mr. Crassle.

Crassle and his wife thank you and Mr. Wood for a lovely lunch. Crassle shakes your hand and gives you an extra squeeze. You and Ernie return to your seats and watch them depart.

"Sorry if he was a bit of a...," Mr. Wood searches for the polite term.

"A huge fucking asshole?" You suggest.

Mr. Wood bursts out laughing, a hoarse guffaw that makes his barrel chest and ample belly shake. It makes you laugh just to watch him laughing.

The check arrives and Mr. Wood's distress is immediately apparent. He furrows his brow and even flushes a bit before digging into his wallet and flipping through his credit cards. You catch sight of the check and see that it's almost 300 dollars!

Mr. Wood excuses himself to the restroom without leaving a card to pay and you wonder if maybe you should do something. He can probably afford it, but that's an awful lot of money to waste on a jerk like Mr. Crassle. Maybe you could talk to Vito Calagari, the restaurant owner. On the other hand, he might have some demand that you don't want to fulfill since he's so fat and icky. You could always go ahead and let Mr. Wood pay.