There was so much
to celebrate, so many
places to be, so much
to try, so many dances
to be raucously danced.
But it was already a
quarter past ten!
There were big
decisions to
make, like
what to wear,
how much make-
up, what to wear,
whether to drop by
the pre-party, what to
bring just in case he
decided to go to the
after-party, of course
he’d go to the after-
party, or maybe he’d
wind up someplace
unexpected, one
never knows how
a night is going to go,
he thought, what to
wear, what to wear,
and who’s going to
be wearing it, now
that was always
the real question,
wasn’t it? It tickled
him to no end to
think such
thoughts, to
know that it
had become
such a game amongst
his modicum of a scene
to see what he might
show up wearing,
what mood he’d be
in, and, always,
what the evening’s
charade or ploy,
in essence,
what the
entertainment
of the evening
would be, the antici-
pation and, once it’s on,
the giddy participation,
the delight, the fun!
And all of it simply
because he had arrived!
And yet, he never really
understood why, or what
the big deal was, about
who he’d be from one
evening to the next.
Because, to him, that
was not even a question.
Sure, he played at
enjoying the attention,
reveling in it, in fact.
But wasn’t the notion
that he’d be anything
but his own pure self no-
think such
thoughts, to
know that it
had become
such a game amongst
his modicum of a scene
to see what he might
show up wearing,
what mood he’d be
in, and, always,
what the evening’s
charade or ploy,
in essence,
what the
entertainment
of the evening
would be, the antici-
pation and, once it’s on,
the giddy participation,
the delight, the fun!
And all of it simply
because he had arrived!
And yet, he never really
understood why, or what
the big deal was, about
who he’d be from one
evening to the next.
Because, to him, that
was not even a question.
Sure, he played at
enjoying the attention,
reveling in it, in fact.
But wasn’t the notion
that he’d be anything
but his own pure self no-
thing but a construct, given
that no matter how late
for the ball he was, no
matter how hard a day
he’d had at the office or,
if he were still there, no
matter how much longer
he might have to stay, nose
to the proverbial grindstone,
no matter who was over for
company, no matter who was
over for fun, no matter with whom
it was he awoke of a morning, no
matter if there was no one there
but himself (and Fifi, of course,
she’d always be there, that thought
that no matter how late
for the ball he was, no
matter how hard a day
he’d had at the office or,
if he were still there, no
matter how much longer
he might have to stay, nose
to the proverbial grindstone,
no matter who was over for
company, no matter who was
over for fun, no matter with whom
it was he awoke of a morning, no
matter if there was no one there
but himself (and Fifi, of course,
she’d always be there, that thought
had him grin one of his wide-eyed
grins; some wore their hearts on
their sleeves, it’s true, but he wore
his on his lips), the one thing
that remained absolutely con-
stant was that, through every
bit of it all, he was who he
was, he knew who he
was, and he lived his
mostly very pleasant
and happy life know-
ing at least that much.
Sure, he was 100%
Gemini, there was
no mistaking that.
But… “Oh my God!
It’s 10:30! It’s time
to jump into overdrive!”
And with that, he began
to quickly glide toward the
bedroom. But, once there,
as he was just about to pass
the vanity, he stopped hard,
turned to face it and leaned
in, using each of his palms
to hold himself up while taking
a long glare into the mirror.
“But, honey, it’s true,” he
breathily declared, looking
his on his lips), the one thing
that remained absolutely con-
stant was that, through every
bit of it all, he was who he
was, he knew who he
was, and he lived his
mostly very pleasant
and happy life know-
ing at least that much.
Sure, he was 100%
Gemini, there was
no mistaking that.
But… “Oh my God!
It’s 10:30! It’s time
to jump into overdrive!”
And with that, he began
to quickly glide toward the
bedroom. But, once there,
as he was just about to pass
the vanity, he stopped hard,
turned to face it and leaned
in, using each of his palms
to hold himself up while taking
a long glare into the mirror.
“But, honey, it’s true,” he
breathily declared, looking
himself right in the eyes,
