MONKEYSAYS

6 O'CLOCK SEATING, NEW YEAR'S EVE

"It's almost quarter after," I said. "Anyone hear from Lewis and Sandra?"

"Lewis is always late," someone said.

Appetizers came and went. Then soup.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" I asked. "Maybe someone should call?"

"It's all right," someome else said. "Lewis is always late."

Louis came in halfway through the salad.

"Where's Sandra?" someone asked.

"Sandra won't be dining with us this evening." Lewis said.

There was silence for a second. Lewis dug into his salad.

"And why won't Sandra be dining with us this evening?" someone asked.

Lewis stopped chewing and sat up. He looked around the table. Finally he spoke:

"For years, for years, people have been saying, 'Lewis is always late.' But I have been ready. I should not have been late. All these years I have been waiting for Sandra. Sandra is always late. But no more waiting for me. That is my resolution. I told her, 'If I'm ready, I'm going,' and she didn't believe me. But then she saw. I was ready. And I went."

Lewis returned to his salad.