At first, I did not even understand what she meant.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
She clarified calmly, “Do you own your apartment?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She continued the interrogation. “What kind?”
“A two-room apartment,” I replied.
She did not stop there.
“Where is it?”
I told her the district. She nodded and then asked the main question.
“How much do you earn?”
I am a straightforward man. I had nothing to hide. So I answered calmly:
“About one hundred and twenty thousand.”
She stopped stirring her coffee. Then she lifted her eyes to me and said something that, to be honest, threw me off balance.
“If a man earns less than two hundred and fifty thousand, you should not even sleep with him.”
At first, I thought she was joking. But she was looking at me with a completely serious expression.
“What?” I asked again.
She repeated, “Less than two hundred and fifty thousand is not serious.”
I sat there trying to understand what was happening.
Then she continued, “Are you planning to raise your status for my sake?”
I almost choked on my coffee.
“For your sake?”
She nodded.
“Of course.”
I asked, “We have known each other for twenty minutes.”
She shrugged.
“But I can already tell whether a man is suitable for a relationship.”
I looked at her and wondered whether this was a date or a job interview.
“So if I earn less than 250 thousand, I automatically do not qualify?”
She replied, “Well…”
She paused.
“For a serious relationship, no.”
I could not help myself.
“Interesting. And what do you offer in return?”
She smiled.
“I’m beautiful.”
I nodded.
“That’s true.”
She added, “I know how to inspire a man.”
“How?” I asked.
She answered calmly, “With my presence.”
I sat there realizing I had somehow entered a completely new economic genre.
“Kristina, do you work?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“How much do you earn?”
She frowned slightly.
“That doesn’t matter.”
I smiled.
“It matters a lot.”
She said, “About sixty thousand.”
I nodded.
“So a man has to earn a quarter of a million, while you earn sixty?”
She shrugged.
“That’s normal.”
“Why?”
“Because a man is supposed to provide.”
“But you are a modern woman,” I said.
She smiled.
“Of course.”
I nodded.
“Only the responsibilities are old-fashioned.”
She frowned.
“You are devaluing women right now.”
“No,” I said calmly. “I am trying to understand the logic.”
“The logic is simple,” she replied. “A man should grow.”
Then she looked surprised when I asked, “Why?”
I smiled.
“Because I am not an ATM.”
After that, the conversation ended fairly quickly.
We finished our coffee. I paid the bill.
She said, “It’s a pity you are not ready for a serious relationship.”
I laughed.
“For a financial one? Definitely not.”
That was our last date.
I left the café and thought that the relationship market really had changed.
But perhaps the problem was not only with women.
Perhaps the problem was that men like me try to date twenty-six-year-old girls and expect them to think like mature partners.
But they think more like contestants auditioning for the role of a sponsored muse.
And, honestly, after that date, for the first time in a long while, I actually wanted to meet a woman my own age.
At least because she would probably not ask about my salary before asking my name.
Psychologist’s Comment
This story reflects a clash between two very different expectations in relationships.
The man is looking for emotional renewal and the chance to “start over” with a younger partner, while the woman views relationships through the lens of social and financial advancement.
For some young people, relationships really do become a form of economic strategy. In that case, a partner is evaluated according to a set of criteria: income, status, and the ability to improve one’s standard of living.
However, there is another important aspect.
When one person is significantly older than the potential partner, a hidden exchange often appears between them: youth and attractiveness on one side, resources and stability on the other.
The problem begins when one side tries to receive the maximum while offering nothing comparable in return.
That is why dates like this often end in mutual disappointment: both people entered the situation expecting completely different rules of the game.
