Chapter 17 Noah
Noah
The dinner party I threw went off without a hitch.
Aldo and Ray-Ray were our guests of honor, so I’d called in two caterers, one for each of their individual palates.
I had Italian hors d’oeuvres that included antipasto, toasted ravioli, black olives in brine Riviera, and so forth.
For Ray-Ray, I had miniature beef patties, jerk chicken, oxtail, and rice and peas.
And of course a big green salad. And yes, loads and loads of wine!
We had a ball, and Zhan and Aldo really hit it off. They were holed up in the corner most of the night, engaged in what looked like to me an intense political conversation.
Ray-Ray really let his hair down—well, he sports a baldy—you all know what I mean. He was just a-singing and a-dancing, twirling around in the middle of the floor like one of those colorful spin tops from my childhood. I looked at him and found my eyes misting.
“What’s wrong, Noah?” one of Zhan’s office mates asked when she caught me wiping at my eyes.
“Watching Ray-Ray dancing around like that is making me homesick.”
The woman, a petite blonde with radiant blue eyes, considered Ray-Ray for a minute and then looked back at me. “Why is that?”
“Well, him dancing around like that—with all that energy—is reminding me of my days at the Garage.”
The girl—Mimi, I think her name was—just gave me a quizzical look, patted me on the shoulder, and walked away.
I knew she was far too young to know anything about the Garage. The baddest nightclub New York City ever had! I had my first sexual experience at the Garage, right in the bathroom stall. It was glorious!
Ahhhh, memories.
The evening lasted until four in the morning and after we’d bid our guests goodbye, Zhan and I fell into bed with every intention of making love, but somehow, all that ended up happening was a few sloppy, wine-soaked kisses and then we passed out.
When the phone rang, my head rang right along with it, and I grabbed up the receiver, muttered something that sounded like “Hello,” and “Yes, I’ll accept the charges,” and then Geneva was off and running her mouth.
“Stop yawning in my ear, Noah!”
“Well, what do you expect when you call me at this ungodly hour?”
“Noah, it’s just after two o’clock in the afternoon there.”
“I had a late night, Geneva.”
“Oh, please.”
“Go on, Geneva. You were fucking your pillow when Eric walked in and—”
“I was not fucking the pillow; I was kissing it.”
“Same difference.”
“Well, and I can’t stop thinking about him either. I mean, I think about him all the time.”
“So what’s wrong with that?”
“He can’t be much older than Eric!”
“Well, is he legal?”
“Yeah.”
“Then he’s not too young for you.”
“I don’t even know why I’m stressing. I mean, it’s not like he’s really interested in me.”
“You said the boy brought you roses and offered to take you out to dinner, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Sounds like he’s interested to me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop selling yourself short, Geneva.”
“I know.”
There was a marching band playing in my head, and they’d brought along a drill team and some knock-kneed cheerleaders. I couldn’t listen to any more of Geneva’s insecure whining.
“Okay, well, I gotta run. I have a colonic scheduled for three o’clock.”
“A what?”
“You know, I gotta keep the pipes clean.”
“What?”
“Oh, Geneva, I don’t have time to explain. Ask Crystal. Anyway, before I go, you heard from Chevy lately? I been calling that bitch for days now, but I just keep getting the machine.”
“No, Crystal told me that she was up for some job with Anja the Anaconda.”
“The radio diva?”
“The very same.”
“Interesting. Well, I hope she gets it so that I can get my damn rent money.”
“Well, it’s your own fault, allowing her to stay there when you’re halfway around the world—”
“Blah, blah, and fucking blah, Geneva, damn!”
“Okay, Noah, you win. Go on and get your colon thingy done.”
“Thank you, Jesus! And one other thing, baby girl.”
“Yes, Noah?”
“Don’t call me collect again, okay?”