I was cleaning out the closet the other day when I came across this familiar looking hat box. It was a cylindrical shaped pink box with a delicately tied bow of pink silk. It was kind of old and worn looking with an inch of dust on it. I couldn't remember the last time I had it out. So, I moved all the junk that was stacked around the box, and pulled it down off the shelf. I opened the box and there it was, the pink hat; the one with the fine pink feathers fluffed over the pink velvet leaves and pleated silk top. I remember the day I got it like it was yesterday. I was on a trip to Africa with my friend Trisha. We were wading through a shopping mall, when I spied the hat. An ancient Nigerian man had it out on his table, and everyone who looked at it thought it was horrible. It called my name out, and said “rescue me!” I had to have that hat. I tried it on, and it was a perfect fit. Everything about it fit me. The size, the colour, the personality. The fact that there was some poor Malawatchian Hoopie Bird out there, stark naked, without his feathers didn’t even cross my mind. They looked too good on my new hat. The old Nigerian sold it to me for a song, and I took it back home. I wore that hat everywhere. I went to many speakeasies and dance clubs wearing the hat. I didn’t have anything that matched it, but in my mind, that made it all the more stylish. When I went out, I would usually wear a bright green blouse. To clash with that, I wore a dull brown pleated skirt. To top it all off, I wore the hat tight on my head to cover my hair. I never went unnoticed.
I met my first husband, Harold, while I was in Tabby's. I was doing the Charleston when he walked in. The first thing he saw was me and that hat. He came over and asked me to dance. It was love at first sight. He even liked the hat! We were married soon after and had many happy years together. I always wore the hat when we went out. Harold liked the hat as much as I did. However, when Harold died, I retired the hat. It reminded me too much of him. Every time I see the hat, I am overtaken with the memories of all the good times we had.