| "April's Fool"
Posted: 10/25/2007 9:48:05 AM | April's Fool
April believed everything she said was true. She was a misunderstood genius and would often say so. April looked as if she had walked right off of a 1940 movie set. Her auburn hair, crimson nails, immaculate makeup and clothing were from a bygone era. Though there was considerable time and effort put into her looks, you would never say it was intentional. April was unique in almost every regard. She didn't just walk to the beat of a different drummer, we suspected for April that there wasn't a drummer at all.
Often, we would organize dinner parties just so we could sit agog at the wonders of April. At times, I thought this was almost an act of cruelty. Were we laughing at April? Were we watching April as if she were part of some circus sideshow? I didn't really think so and this was not some moral relativity on my part. To know April was to understand why people would go out of their way to be around her and hang on every word that fell from her mouth.
To say that April was a fool or a liar or the best actress the world has ever seen, truly missed the point. We would sit around and wonder these very things. Does she know what she is saying? Is she playing us for fools? We decided that April was April and that was that. As hard as we tried, we could no more decipher April than we could figure out the true nature of the universe. Some things just are the way they are and so was April.
Before the start of every dinner, before April arrived, we would pick a subject. On this very night the topic would be history. It was wide open enough and would allow for some interesting conversation.
Once April arrived and everyone was seated, we would start. Allen started off, "You know I was reading today about the first lunar landing. I was surprised to find that moon dust is highly toxic. Neil Armstrong must have been covered with the stuff."
Immediately April jumped in, "You mean John Glenn. John Glenn was the first man to walk on the moon." April said this as if Allen was the stupidest person in the room. Her words didn't drip with contempt but they were certainly condescending in tone.
"No," Allen said politely, "John Glenn never walked on the moon. It was all political at the time. He wasn't allowed to, I believe, because of his hero status."
Fran chipped in, "John Glenn did ride in the space shuttle. Maybe you are getting the two confused."
Incredulously, April shot back, "No, I wasn't thinking about the space shuttle." April now had a look on her face that said she was now sitting with two of the stupidest people in the room. "You can read it in any history book and it will tell you that John Glenn was the first man to walk on the moon. They teach that stuff in school people." She laughed to herself and rolled her eyes.
The goal now was to change the subject. There were ground rules for these dinners. One of the rules was to "bait the monster but not feed it". We all locked eyes and silently we knew that if we went any further we were definitely feeding and that crossed a line somehow.
Amy quickly switched gears, "I read a biography about Billy Jean King this week."
"Was it good?", I asked.
"It really was a nice read. I really didn't realize how much she had closed the gender gap in professional sports.", Amy said thoughtfully.
"She was an amazing woman. Such a strong role model," April said.
We tried to not be taken aback. Occasionally, April would say something that didn't sound utterly preposterous. In the end, April never failed to disappoint.
Sensing the pause in conversation, April added, "That's why Michael Jackson wrote that great song about her."
We all stared at her as if she had just appeared out of thin air. She continued, "You know, the song 'Billie Jean'." She then proceeded to sing the chorus of the song.
It went on like this for the rest of the night. Sometimes we would take pains to correct her and other times we just let her spin her web with no intervention on our part.
At the end of the evening, April was incredibly polite and cordial. There was a sweetness about April but a toughness too. If it weren't for these two facets of April, these evenings wouldn't be nearly as much fun. The sweet aspect of her personality made her condescension bearable while the tough side meant she would fight for what she believed, no matter how wrong.
Later in the week, I received a call from April. She asked if she could bring her new "paramount" to the next dinner party. I was tempted to ask her if she meant paramour but didn't want a long conversation. Of course, I told her, why not?
We all met earlier than usual before the next dinner party. What was he going to be like? Without any true maliciousness, we wondered what kind of person would date April. Not that April wasn't attractive but any length of conversation would reveal the April we knew. Perhaps, it was someone who wanted a mothering type. Maybe, it's a blind date. We immediately squashed the thought. Firstly, because it was mean and secondly, April was someone who was very concerned with appearances. She maintained hers and it wasn't unreasonable for her to want the same.
We were milling about when we heard the doorbell. The anticipation was almost palpable. I opened the door and there was April with her new beau. April immediately introduced her acquaintance out of strict politeness, "I would like you to meet my friend William Ash."
We all took turns greeting William as he walked into the room. William was strikingly handsome. He, like April, could have walked off the cover of a 1940's movie magazine. His suit was dapper and he was extremely well groomed. His slicked back black hair was perfection and his handshake was firm but not bone crushing, he could easily have been a male model. April and William were at least a perfect match by appearance.
We soon realized, in all the excitement of meeting this new person in April's life, that we had forgotten to choose a subject for the evening. As we sat down, we stared uncomfortably at each other for a moment or two.
Fran tried to save the day by saying, "So William, where did you and April meet?"
"Well," William smiled at April, "it was just chance really. I was picking up some dry cleaning and so was April. We made some small talk and the rest is history."
We could easily tell that they were smitten with each other. It was also easy to tell that we were all restraining ourselves from asking what William meant by small talk.
"So," I said, "fate brought you guys together then."
April beamed, "Isn't it wonderful?"
We all smiled at April and nodded approvingly. This was genuine on our part because I don't think any of us could ever recall seeing April so happy. She was floating; she glowed. I wanted to take a picture of the two in black and white, they were so amazing with each other. I could instantly tell, after watching the both of them, that our hearts weren't into baiting tonight. Sometimes it just seems beneath contempt to disturb such moments.
"You guys seem to have hit it off almost immediately.", Allen said.
"Oh yes, I think when we met. It was magic," she looked fondly at William. She waxed almost poetically, "It was like I had discovered electricity for the very first time." April paused and grabbed William's hand, "I felt just like Alexander Graham Bell."
No one said a word. | |
|
Home
login 
