happy birthday to the caped wonder

Originally uploaded by kristalynn.

several years ago my best friend made a movie that received a good amount of buzz around town and made it into the montreal film festival. this was the year that i finished grad school and was moving to new york. i was in between homes and shacked up for a few weeks with said friend. we lived in the old servants quarters behind a mansion. we woke up every morning and gazed at the mansion's tenant. "would you sleep with him?" my friend would ask me. "yeah, totally. would you?"

"totally."

it was a lot of fun living with my male best friend. there was only one thing that got on my nerves, however. every morning, at around quarter to nine, the guy who played the lead in his movie called to complain that his newly-acquired model girlfriend would not let him have sex with her. this was my first exposure to girly "guy talk", and i didn't found it very cowboyesque. i'd get up, give my friend the evil eye, he'd shrug his shoulders, and i'd start brewing the coffee while watching the neighbour putter around the garden.

i left for new york before the film's premiere. i called my sister to see how it went.

"oh really well. everyone seemed to love it. the lead guy though... he showed up wearing a cape."

"what?"

"yeah, he walked into the theater - it was all flowing and stuff."

"what an ASShole."

"totally."

so whenever the lead actor was mentioned again, i'd say, "capeboy?"

one evening, when i moved back to montreal, i was getting antsy and trying to coax my friend to go out for a beer. i noticed him pause and think for a second, and then he agreed.

as we were walking up the street, we passed by a bar and my friend said, "oh, let's just pop in and say hi to george."

"capeboy?"

we sidled up to the bar while my friend proceeded with the introductions. "george, you remember krista?"

"yeah sure. how was new york?"

"great." i said.

my friend continued, "krista here needs to get laid."

[slight pause]

"well, let's get some drinks going then!", he replied.

the rest, as they say, is history.

a few years later, something jogged my memory and i blurted, "my sister saw you wearing a cape!!"

we searched through his wardrobe for a cape. nothing came up. he steadfastly declined ever having owned a cape.

"well, maybe you rented one for the premiere?"

the ultimate verdict is that he was had his overcoat draped over his shoulder. "look, it's billowy!" he said as he pranced around the living room.

"yeah, i guess. it's billowy..."

happy birthday, capeboy.