Do we all have that one and only that got away? I try to think about a time when I thought I had a lover who was flawless -- there was nothing about him that got on my nerves. I think really hard, and the list is by no means long, but I can't think of a time in my adult life that I felt like I met Prince Charming.
That's not to say that I've never met Prince Charming. I did. But I was only seven years old at the time. And he, was also only seven years old. I met him at a dinner party. Of course, it was my parents who had been invited by his parents. My sister and I also went since they had two children were the same age as us, a girl and boy.
My sister, being five years older than me, was already into more sophisticated toys like easy-bake toy ovens, and she and my soon-to-be prince's older sister hit it off marvelously and were making batter for whatever mysterious thing they were about to bake. The boy on the other hand, introduced me to a cardboard refigerator box.
"This is my rocket ship," he explained to me proudly. He had juiced it up as best as he could with Crayola's box of 12. When I looked at him with a puzzled expression, he led me inside the box. He then proceeded to explain that the blue circles he had drawn unevenly along the cardboard wall were buttons to help the rocket start its engine. The red buttons were the brakes. And, of course, the invisible steering wheel was what took the rocket ship out into space. Of course.
There was a Tedddy Ruxpin already sitting in the box, staring up at me as if knowing that I had come to usurp his place.
"Sit here," said the boy, throwing the stuffed animal out of the box. "You'll be my co-pilot now."
I went along, not because I believed his rocket ship would take us anywhere, but because I knew my sister wouldn't let me play with her and her new friend, and I didn't want to be alone.
"Buckle up," he said, drawing aside a piece of cloth he had attached to an aperture in the box that served as a window.
At first, I didn't think he was serious. But I went along with his motions of buckling an invisible seatbelt, even making the clicking noises to pretend that the belt had latched.
"Roger, we're ready for take-off," he said, pretending to talk into an invisible walkie-talkie. "Yep, she's here. We're all ready." As he put down his imaginary gadget, he looked at me with his eyes wide open, full of enthusiasm. And that's when the spark hit me. He wasn't just inviting me into his world, he was clearly pulling me into it.
"All right, Ace," he said, smiling.
"Ace?" I asked.
"Yeah, you're, Ace, the best co-pilot in the universe. We have a very, very important mission. I can't do it without you." He then began to rapdily hit all the blue buttons. "Grab on to your steering wheel, we're heading out into the universe. Ready, count with me: ten, nine, eight, seven..."
In those few seconds, as I said the count down with him, and clutched on to my make-believe steering wheel, staring out through the hole in the cardboard box, I really felt like I was being taken somewhere outside my own little world. I watched him carefully to heed my cues; afterall, I was Ace, now. But I was also absolutely smitten with him. He thought I was the best co-pilot, and needed me on this very, very important mission.
"Hey you guys! Come eat this," said my sister and his sister from somewhere beyond the cardboard box. Whatever it was that my sister had made, I knew it was toxic. I looked despairingly at my prince. He was unfazed. His expression was serious.
"The aliens are after us," he said as grimly as a seven-year-old can. "Quick, press the super speed button, we might get lost but we need to get out of here."
"Okay," I said, relieved that he had a solution for the sticky situation. I quickly pressed my thumb against a large black circle on the roof of the box.
"Hold on!" he said as he made a loud vroom! with his mouth. The suspense lasted a few seconds. When he became silent, and we didn't hear another word from outside, he sat still breathing hard. Exhausted from his imagination as well as my own, I, too, was trying to catch my breath.
"Good job, Ace," he said, turning to me.
"Good job, to you, too," I said, shyly. We smiled at each other before he quickly poppped a kiss on my cheek.
"Now, let's go back home," he said, more energetic than ever. I nodded eagerly, so taken by him that I couldn't speak.
The evening ended too quickly. We said our goodbyes, reluctantly. And then, I never saw him again.
Even though over twenty years have passed, I still haven't forgotten him. I've been in BMWs, Escalades and even a yacht, but nothing compares to the time I spent in that refrigerator box. From time to time, I do wonder where he is and what kind of man he has become. I hope with all my heart he still has that amazing imagination.
And I wish (actually, I'm pretty sure) he has charmed some girl into his world, a lovely co-pilot. I think that's what every girl seeks for in her prince: someone who's willing to open up his world entirely to her -- cardboard box and all. Lucky girl. Whoever she is, I know she's having the ride of a lifetime.
05-29-2012 
