Let Them Eat Cake!
by Annette Langer
April is National Volunteers Month. I’d received an invitation in the mail for the annual Volunteer Appreciation celebration at the local senior center. I’d begun volunteering there recently, working in the center’s gift shop a few hours a month in exchange for selling my books. I’d met just a few people so far and probably wouldn’t know anyone at the event, but I decided to attend anyway.
The coffee and dessert portion of the evening (a decadent five-inch-high slice of chocolate truffle cake surrounded by a drizzle of chocolate sauce, fresh raspberries, and strawberries) began at 6:30pm. I timed my arrival for 6:30 sharp because I didn’t want to stand around during that awkward first few minutes as people began trailing in. But it took me two laps around the parking lot before I finally found a space to park. (Gee, those seniors get there early!) I entered the building and immediately began my search for a friendly face.
The place was packed, and the tables set for eight were filled nearly to capacity. I spotted someone I knew and walked up to her table where there remained just a single unoccupied seat. Lucky me! But it was saved for someone else, so I drifted around the banquet room in search of another place to sit.
After making almost a full circuit of the room, I finally spied two empty seats directly in front of the stage. Good seating, I thought, even if I didn’t know anyone at the table. An awards presentation was planned following dessert, so at least I wouldn’t have heads in the way as I watched the program. Pointing to the Reserved sign on the table, I asked if it was all right for me to sit there. “Yes,” a man said. “It’s reserved for you.”
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Everyone at my table seemed to know one another and chatted away amiably. I glanced at the empty chair beside me, wondering who the two latecomers were, one of whose seat I had appropriated. Or maybe they blew off the event and wouldn’t even show up. Soon, a woman approached, placed her coat over the chair and sat down, greeted heartily by everyone at the table. She knew them. They knew her. It was the mayor!
She traded pleasantries with everyone, casually glanced at me and said hello. The emcee for the event introduced her then, and she ascended the steps to take the podium onstage where she’d give her “thanks for volunteering” speech. Several attendees received recognition. Everyone at my table was famous for something, it seemed, and took their respective bows as the audience applauded. Silently, I drummed my fingers nervously in my lap. When the gift shop volunteers were acknowledged, I shot up out of my seat like a human rocket, just glad for something to do.
After offering her concluding remarks, the mayor descended the stairs, grabbed her coat, and left without even eating. Oh, well. More cake for me…
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Annette currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is an active member of the 100-year-old California Writers Club, and when not pursuing her writing and speaking events, she also keeps busy as a police volunteer with her local police department. Vist here website: Annette Langer |
Annette Langer |
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