The Night Before Thirty Read Free Page A

waiter came back with the appetizer, saying, “I brought two plates so you and your date could share.” He looked over at the empty seat, snickered, and walked away.
    What a jerk,
she thought.
And just where is Rondell?
    By the time the snobby waiter returned with their entrées, Rondell was just coming back to their table. Catara had gotten so bored waiting that she had pulled out her cell phone and was cleaning up her phone book.
    “Where have you been?” she huffed in a low and angry voice. “I've been looking over my shoulder for the past fifteen minutes, wondering what had happened to you. Plus, the waiter was being an ass.”
    “I got a call from Wayne—remember him, the keyboard player I vibe with sometimes? Anyway, he was talking about this gig opportunity.”
    “You've been on the phone with him this long?”
    “I hadn't talked to him in a while, so we were catching up.”
    “Well, you haven't spoken to me in a while, either,” she said in a huff.
    “Girl, I see you've still got a mouth on you!” Rondell smiled, picked up his fork, and began digging into her side salad, which the waiter had set on his side of the table.
    Catara was getting ready to stop him, but decided against it because he was hovering over his food, going through it like it was the first bite he'd eaten in days.
    Then he dipped the tortilla chips into the spinach and artichoke dip. He was shoveling into the dip and devouring every bite with merciless chomps.
    “So where's the gig?” she asked.
    He looked up at her for the first time since he'd started eating and realized that she wasn't joining him. He looked confused but continued to munch on the chips. With his mouth full, he munched out, “I thought you were going to eat a side salad or something?”
    “Well, I was, but you seemed to be enjoying it so much that I didn't want to stop you,” Catara responded.
    “My bad,” he replied nonchalantly and picked up a rib, licking his lips in anticipation.
    At that point, Catara was astonished, not only by his devouring of the meal but by his inconsiderate attitude. She stared at him and her jaw dropped as she watched him tear into the rib.
    “These things are good!” he sang. Catara continued to sit in silence, watching.
    Rondell felt her staring and looked at her, chuckling to himself. “I'm being rude,” he said and then pushed the basket of tortilla chips to the middle of the table. “Why don't you eat some of these? The dip is slap-yo'-momma good!”
    Catara continued to stare.
    “I didn't mean to eat your salad, man.”
    “Man?” Her questioning was more out of shock than of wanting an explanation. There couldn't possibly be an excuse for his behavior.
    “Catara, man … I mean, Catara I'm not trying to be rude, or anything.” He nervously wiped his hands on his napkin. “Why don't you order another side salad? I'm sure they'll have it here in no time.”
    “I've lost whatever appetite I walked in here with,” Catara said, and she wasn't referring only to the food.
    “Listen, I haven't eaten anything all day. And if you don't count that wimpy burger that I ate yesterday, it would be two days.” He picked up another rib and consumed it.
    Catara didn't like the way this evening was going one bit. Her first inclination was to get up and leave that sorry excuse for a man to enjoy his meal in peace, but she couldn't seem to move. She had to know why he wanted to see her, and she wasn't at all in a hurry to get back on the subway. This trip had to be worth her while.
    “So why did you want to see me tonight?” she questioned. “I mean, it's been a while.”
    “It has been a while. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
    “Oh, really?” Catara replied. She had no idea what he could possibly want to talk to her about.
    “Yeah, really. I'll be finished with this food in no time and then we can talk, okay?”
    Rondell seemed so sincere that Catara's heart softened a little. She realized that maybe she was being