[Essay] Is it okay to eat at a high-end Italian restaurant?

After my writing class, I decided to go to lunch with my teacher to discuss an upcoming event.
Although she is my teacher, we have known each other for ten years, so we are practically friends.

“There’s a place I want to go. Is that okay?”

my teacher asked.
When I heard the location, it clicked. It’s a slightly upscale Italian restaurant.
I recall that even lunch cost around 3,000 yen...
Is it okay to eat something so luxurious after taking a lesson on a weekday?
I don’t know what I’m feeling guilty about, but a little bit of guilt started to creep in. But I had no reason to refuse, and a desire to go started to bubble up inside me.

As we approached the shop, I saw the shutter was down.
“Oh, maybe they’re closed.”
My teacher said in a disappointed voice.
Meanwhile, I felt relieved inside.
If they’re closed, it can’t be helped.

However, as we got closer, I realized the shutter was down at the shop next door, and the Italian restaurant was open.
“It’s open!”
Beside my teacher who was delighted, I quickly checked the price written on the blackboard.
“2,200 yen. That’s high-end.”
The words slipped out.
My teacher’s eyes widened as she asked,
“Are you okay with that?”
But as I looked at the menu on the blackboard, my desire to eat there grew.
It’s 2,000 yen, not 3,000, so it’s fine, right? I can come up with plenty of excuses.
“Yeah, I’m fine! Let’s go in.”
I opened the door.
A woman with a lovely smile welcomed us with a pleasant voice, saying, “Welcome.”
The interior was a cozy and cute shop.
It didn’t feel stiff at all.
All three types of pasta on the menu looked delicious.

“What is a Japanese scallop?”

“It’s something like a scallop...”
While nodding at the staff member’s polite explanation, I became curious about another menu item.
Following this flow, I should probably order the Japanese scallop cream pasta, but

“But,”
I started,

“I’ll have the steamed chicken and new burdock root oil pasta.”

“You’re ordering something different,”
my teacher immediately teased.
The staff member narrowed her eyes and smiled, saying, “Certainly,” as she took our order.

By the way, what was that guilt thing again?

The appetizer, pasta, and dessert were all delicious.
As we were leaving, my teacher told the staff member it was delicious and added,
“2,200 yen is easy to remember, which is nice,”
she commented mysteriously.
The staff member smiled again. She didn’t say anything, though.

When I got home and switched into housewife mode, I started to think that 2,200 yen might have been a bit too special. Remembering the group at the next table who seemed to be having a welcome and farewell party, I thought, “That’s the kind of place it is,” and a sense of what felt like guilt began to seep out.

“I had a high-end lunch.”
I couldn’t keep it to myself and confessed to my husband.
However, my husband just said, “Hmm,” and didn’t seem interested.
Can’t you show a little more interest?
I took out my smartphone to try and pique his interest with photos.
But all that was on my phone were photos of the appetizer and dessert.
I had forgotten to take a picture of the pasta.
How ravenous must I have been?

It was so delicious.
I looked at the photos by myself and savored the lingering memory.

And finally, I realized that I actually knew all along that “it was perfectly fine to eat it.”

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