Beauty the Sleuth 19: Alexandra and Ariel
Cheering us in Loneliness
Ariel was verbally exhausted by explaining to strangers, teachers, and all the other people and or the strangers whom she had recently met, about both the correct pronunciation and spelling of her rather unique and special name. She had yelled at her mother recently saying, “Why did you and dad, bless me with such a label that no one claims to have ever heard of it, or said, or even comprehended? Your” blessing” has made a mess of my current social life! It has also caused strife and is ruining my lifelong wish to date interesting men, become a true love baiter, (not a hater) and eventually become a real life wife! Why would you two choose to title me so cruelly that I can’t even find joy, and men choose to toy with my affections and question me about such a silly nomenclature choice that leads to overprotection, and my ultimate rejection of your outdated manipulation of the language. OHhhhhhhh! I wish I could trade it in or give it to a friend (or better a mortal enemy!) I would like to see them shimmy through dates where they can’t relate or seriously even begin to
contemplate any future relationships, without cracking a whip to get the men under control and to stop being so bold and outrageous. I think they believe they are my rulers and they most truly are not. I have found them to be (occasional) “sots” and mental robots, and they enter into nefarious plots just because of my ultimate claim to fame, this infamous and unfortunate Name !”
She then turned to her best friend, a lovely young lady named Alexandra who was better known as Alex. “You, my friend, only have to contend with those men who want to know why you have a man’s name! And that is bad enough stuff to deal with. But you simply have to tell them your full name and that quenches the pathetic flame which only engenders more outrage when it is attached to MY name, for I have no easy answer. I can’t provide a simple notation for their consideration! Lucky you and poor me, don’t all of you see? I am condemned before a single word is said. No one wants to date a woman who has to carry a concordance or thesaurus with her so all who line up to meet her must look her name up for heaven’s sake. I might as well bake a chocolate cake and ask them to have a slice as they withdraw from my life and any consideration of dating a woman who cannot provide a cute ditty, or a yellow kitty or a simpler title, and thus they would need a fortune in money to be her honey and have some kind of reason to go out with a” low life”, no name, kind of lady!”(Like me).
Then she burst into tears and dashed rapidly from the room. Alex followed her and gave her an encouraging hug, at which she simply shrugged. (She was still feeling “bugged” at this whole contradiction and wished she did not sound like fiction). She knew it all was real and a truly bad deal. After she stopped weeping, she apologized to all and asked Alex to come out in the hall. “I am so sorry, for I have convinced the group that I have no shame and thus I seriously doubt I have any clout or power with them at all. I just ran away from the fray, and now I am crying like my life is at an end. I really wanted them to be my friend, and I have messed it all up like some silly snob or person of no worth and now there is no way to convince them that I am not berserk or even a jerk. Will you take over and try to explain me into the “clover” rather than this blatant fog of disillusionment into which I have cast myself? I so hate being left out on a shelf. But I have made a bad situation worse, and I did not even need cash from my purse!” Then she stumbled into the bedroom and flung herself into her bed with a full array of covers thrown over her head. (Hiding) She was tired of being sad and alone and needed more people in her life. And she now felt she had stabbed a knife into her own possible new life. TEARS AND LONELY FEARS. Needs encouragement, Father God.
Alex took over and assured them she was not Rover or a badly filed folder, and that she was really an exceptional person after all. Also that being with her was truly a ball. The visitors were very sweet and thought her performance a great treat. They did not care if she had stumbled over her own feet. “I find her quite refreshing and an astonishing person to meet.” Alex told them to give her a minute and she would drag her back out. They thought that was a splendid idea, since she was surely their peer and seemed to be a terrific “dear.” Eventually she was roused from her bed and they all shook her hand and patted her on the head. (Do you think they thought she was a dog? Rover?) Well all the beginning was behind them and the ending was still far away. They all went out for drinks and to see an astonishing play. (Grandma in the Sandbox) by the writer Edward Albee. It was fun, they laughed until they were almost done in, and now they were truly friends. They made plans to do more of the same, minus the crying and shame, and all ended well. (No one even ended up in jail!) So it was considered a win- win. Now our time is at an end and my friends, I will soon return again. Hope you enjoyed this little prosity. I will write one soon and hope you will love the tune.
God loves us all no matter what name we find ourselves saddled with. He knows us all, and we are not as numerous as His heavenly stars, but He knows them all by name also. Praise His name.Amen and amen. Until we meet once
Judith Lehman 