MASKED

Masquerade ball in Versailles celebrating marriage of Louis,Daupin of France to Maria Teresa Rafaela, Infanta of Spain Feb 1745 by Charles Nicolas Cochin

The party had finally arrived, all  the planning and primping, the rehearsed conversations and affected behavior that would occur and of course the chance to remove life’s invisible mask of station and occupation and revel in the life she was meant to live, if she had been born into the right class and the right century. Finally she was unshackled from the reality of being a waitress in a greasy spoon on Route Whatever, free to impersonate and disguise herself while at the same time revealing and unmasking the Queen she was meant to be, regaled by her court, pursued by her suitors, sought out for her knowledge and experience on matters of state, finally achieving her full potential. She was freed of her cage, not gilded or fancy, but bent, dented, and scratched, surrounded by the lowest miscreants of society. With the cage door unhinged, this bird was free to fly, liberated from her prison.



She intentionally arrived fashionably late while desiring to be prompt. She was whisked into the ball by a masked footman to be announced to her subjects. The ballroom was brilliantly luminous and grand beyond her wildest dreams; the drone of polite chatter in her ear was soothed by the harpsichord. Guests prattled on in small groups, none of which seemed to have any vacancies. Finally, in her element, she absorbed the sights and sounds of the extravaganza. Magnardises were served as Baroque music filtered through the air. She danced and socialized, masquerading and burying her true self, shut away deep inside so as not to be embarrassed.



At midnight reality invaded, whispering in her ear as the swirling, dancing mystical masquerade continued late into the night. Morning would be coming and a full day at the diner lay ahead, her job providing no paid sick time. It was time to leave, remove the mask, hang up the ballgown, reapply the invisible mask and lock the cage door behind herself to wait for dawn.

Jim

June 2020