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Question
Although the author was not a vindictive man he was very happy to see the twenty-one stone lady
who had impoverished him twenty years ago, and says he had finally had his revenge. What makes him say this?
Solution
The story Luncheon relates incidents, replete with humour and irony, involving the author and a lady in a restaurant twenty years ago. The author narrates how he was tactfully suggested by a lady to meet her at a high-grade restaurant Foyot. Given the poor economic condition of the author at that time, visiting a highly expensive restaurant like Foyot along with a lady for a luncheon was very ironical. The author narrates in a flashback how at that point in time he could not turn down her request only to meet with embarrassing situations at the restaurant. In the name of a little luncheon, the lady started placing order after order for highly expensive items from the menu like salmon, caviare, champagne, asparagus, etc. without bothering about the bill. Unable to reveal his actual position, the author kept giving excuses for not ordering items for himself. Ultimately, he had to give away whatever money he had with him in paying the bill. He was left without even a penny and the whole month was before him.
The author was not a vindictive man so he did not say a word to her but chose to endure. It is in this context, the author says on seeing the lady after twenty years that the embarrassment done to him in the restaurant by the lady was avenged in due course of time as the lady is now only twenty-one stone.
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