Pineapple on Canvas: The Odd Adventures of a Toy in the City

The one where Papple doesn't fit in

Ella called Maher from inside the closet of her studio apartment, peering just outside the door at the scene unfolding on her plain, single bed. In fact, the entire apartment was quite plain, and the only thing exceptional in it was in her closet, where rows of dresses from Maje, Sandro and Alice & Olivia lined the walls. Ella never left the house without looking effortlessly polished--a feat accomplished only by the fact that Kitty helped her choose her outfits each morning.

"Babe, it's going so badly," she lamented, worry lacing her voice.

"What do you mean? Wasn't Sir'Duke some help?"

"It's not the boys that are having an issue with him, it's the girls! Well, actually, to be specific, it's just Kitty."

"Why? Papple is the sweetest kid," said Maher, in a rather defensive tone.

"Well, I think it has more to do with jealousy," replied Ella. "Kitty just found out that Papple hangs out with you all day long."

"Oh, right . . .."

"Plus he laughs at the wrong time, talks way too loudly and generally doesn't seem to understand the context of most of the conversations. And he apparently sweats a lot when he's nervous. Like pools of it!"

"He sweats? Aww, poor little guy. He can't help it."

"Yeah, and talks a mile a minute too. One time he swung his arm too quickly and he accidentally sprayed his sweat all over Kitty. She looked like someone had just killed a puppy in front of her."

"He takes a bit of getting used to, but I'm sure he'll win them over. Heck, he won me over!"

"I know," said Ella with a smile. "Let me get back and do some monitoring. I'll text you later."

Ella left the closet and looked nervously at her bed as the toys interacted and, for the first time in their lives, were all completely oblivious to her presence. All eyes were focused on the bright yellow and sweaty figure. The too-loud toy that got to spend most weekends all alone with their Ella.

"Come on guys, want to watch a basketball game?" suggested Sir'Duke, as he tried to diffuse the situation.

"No," replied Kitty, before turning on her heels and walking to the corner of the bed to a little hammock that had been set up for the toys to relax in.

"Well, what do you want to do?" countered Sir'Duke. "I say we play a board game or something!"

Despite meaning, with every fiber of his being, to say, "That sounds great," Papple ended up yelling, in hyper speed, "Ya ya ya ya ya! A ball game board game good game! PAPPLE WANNA PLAY!"

To which Kitty, turning around just so that everyone could see her roll her eyes, replied, "You go ahead. I'll sit in that corner and watch the paint peel."

Sir'Duke, sensing the dejection in Papple's sad gaze, draped his arm around the yellow orb, whose whole body had drooped with rejection. He pulled Papple close to him and whispered, "Don't worry, dude. She'll come around. We can go check out a replay of the eighty-four Lakers versus Celtics Championship game that I saved. It's legendary!"

Papple sniffled and a single drop of liquid fell from his face, and it wasn't sweat this time.

"Sweet Lou and I will come join you guys," added Maple, the giant brown bear with the comically large head, as he scooped everyone up in his paws and placed them on his shoulders before hopping off the bed to go to the kitchen. Since Ella never cooked, the toys had created a mini entertainment room on the kitchen counter, complete with beanbags and a small television.

Being close to two and a half feet in height, with almost a third of that height dedicated to his head, Maple was by far the largest toy of the bunch. His abnormally skinny body and legs did nothing other than to highlight the largeness of his head. Maple had been crafted with the perfect proportions for hugging, with arms long enough to reach all the way around and give Ella a real hug. He was a surprisingly strong bear, which was odd, because when he was sitting, his large floppy ears and gangly appendages made him look like a rag doll of sorts. But he was a true gentle giant, who had led quite an interesting life before making his way into Ella's.

The other toy on Maple's shoulder, Sweet Lou, was a small plush seal that Ella had received as a "deal toy" for working on the credit facility of a billion dollar roof sealant company earlier that year. Sweet Lou wore a backwards baseball cap that had the name of the deal, and the credit facility amount, etched across it. He had originally been named Lou the Seal, in honor of the company (Lou's Sealant Co.), but his name eventually evolved to "Sweet Lou" after it was discovered that he had an almost obsessive fondness for the Marvin Gaye song, "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You."

As they got to the kitchen, which in reality was mere steps from Ella's bed, the sight of the oven and the fridge suddenly triggered something in Papple's memory and a very bright idea popped into his head. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally do something that would make him cool in Kitty's eyes! It all depended on whether or not he could pull it off. It could be a success or a major disaster . . ..