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The crowd grew restless, with side conversations starting up.
“Wish me luck,” Evan said as he stood up.
“You’ll do great,” I assured him.
Evan started toward the stage.
“Ladies,” Chelsea said from up front. “We have one more item to auction tonight which wasn't in the catalog—a chance to dance with one of New York city’s most eligible bachelors. Three gentlemen, have volunteered tonight, Duke Draper, Francois Martin, and Evan McAllister.”
The sighs from all the women present almost covered up Chelsea's next words. “And yes, it’ll be a slow dance.”
Evan was the last to step on stage and drew the most catcalls and applause of the three.
That at first made me jealous, and then proud, because I was the one going home with him tonight.
“First up is Duke Draper. We will start the bidding at one thousand,” Chelsea said.
The bidding quickly took on a life of its own, and got up to twenty-five thousand.
The bidding for Francois reached thirty-one thousand.
Evan was last. The dance with him was won by Tracy Dimple, with a bid of fifty-three thousand.
Evan took the microphone from Chelsea, and my best friend made her way off the stage.
“Now, there goes a woman of not only great compassion and commitment as it relates to this cause, but also impeccable judgment. I should know.” He coughed once. “Because she's one of only a few dozen women on this island we call Manhattan who has refused to date me.”
A raucous round of laughter rose from the crowd.
“In all seriousness,” Evan continued. “Let's give a round of applause to Chelsea and all of the other women of Alpha Kappa from Columbia, NYU, and Fordham who started the Three Sisters Fund, and continue it today by volunteering their time.”
The crowd applauded.
Chelsea stood up and took a bow, and I couldn't be more proud of my friend.
Rachel tapped my shoulder. “You too.”
I rose from my seat as did the others of our group.
“As a proud donor myself,” Evan said. “I'd like to thank all of you here tonight who have dug into your pockets to support this worthy cause. As you know Three Sisters Fund is one of the few charities in the country with no overhead because it is staffed entirely by volunteers.”
As I looked around, most but not all of the guests were still paying attention.
“We also have a special set of volunteers serving your drinks and food tonight. Can I get all the waitstaff up here, please.”
Chelsea looked at me confused and mouthed “What?”
I shrugged.
Evan had wanted to keep this next part a secret even from her.
The crowd got restless with the delay as all the young people in catering uniforms made their way to the stage, forming a line of sorts.
“My Gramps had a saying, you can't help everybody, but you can help somebody.”
More side conversations started up in the audience.
“Boring,” somebody behind me said.
