âSuch paltry items. Meanwhile Iâm donating an antique desk worth a couple thousand dollars.â
âNot everyone is as successful as you,â Alvetta says. âAnd the reunion is still a week away. Iâm sure more donations will come in.â
Alvetta is about to continue reassuring Raynell when Christyâs phone rings.
âRaynell Rollins Real Estate. This is Christy. How may I help you?â Christy is silent for a moment before she nicely asks the caller to hold. âRaynell, itâs Gregory. Confirming you are meeting him to show properties at two.â
âYes. Tell him Iâll meet him at the Brandywine location.â
As Christy passes on Raynellâs words to the gentleman on the phone, I realize I havenât once heard her use the word âpleaseâ or phrase anything as a question when she speaks to Christy. Everything she says to the poor girl is simply a command.
âLike I was saying,â Alvetta interjects when Christy wraps up the call. âMichael and I will make some donations, and while I doubt weâll get anything as valuable as the desk you contributed, as some of our former classmates who live outside the area arrive for the event, Iâm sure theyâll check in and make some donations.â
âI hope so. Iâll have Christy make some more calls this week . . . shake a few trees,â Raynell says, her eyes suddenly pointed in my direction. âSpeaking of the desk. I was going to hire someone to take it to the hotel to display at the reunion, but itâs not that large and, surely, you must have a van or a truck or something for that little lunch counter of yours . . . no? Would you mind picking it up on Saturday and taking it over to the hotel?â
âUm . . .â Iâm not sure what to say. She already has Christy and Alvetta acting as her lackeys. Iâm really not eager to add my name to the list, but it is for charity and, honestly, Iâm a little curious to see Raynellâs house. âI guess so. Iâm sure weâll be running back and forth to the hotel a few times on Saturday anyway to get the catering set up.â
âGreat. Christy, write the address down for Halia.â
As Christy writes Raynellâs address down on a piece of paper, the young man who approached the table earlier returns with two others, and the three of them, all holding trays, begin laying down plates. While I watch people who were in line at the counter when we first stepped inside the cafeteria continue to wait for their turn at the serving station we enjoy table serviceâthe perks of being guests of the First Lady I suppose. Dishes loaded with eggs, bacon (pork and turkey), sausage, English muffins, pancakes, and oatmeal land in front of us. Theyâre accompanied by containers of whipped butter, syrup, and a selection of jellies.
We enjoy our breakfast and begin discussing the menu for the reunion. I present Raynell and Alvetta with a list of options for appetizers to be passed around during the cocktail hour, main and side dishes for the buffet, and desserts. I also suggest that I whip up a few pitchers of our house cocktail to be served at the cash bars.
Generally this approach works well when planning a menu for catered eventsâcustomers review the options, make a few selections, and we wrap things up. Such is not the case with Raynell Rollins, though. Alvetta is mostly agreeable to my suggestions, but Raynell doesnât like any of the appetizer recommendations. She wants to know if I can arrange for chilled shrimp cocktails, but when I inform her of the cost of quality fresh shrimp and the effect it will have on my catering price, she lets it go. Sheâs decided she doesnât want fried chicken on the buffet as âfried chicken has no business at a formal event.â But apparently macaroni and cheese does have every business at a formal event because she insists that it be part of