Word: pavonine

 

pavonine

\ PAV-uh-nahyn, -nin \  , adjective;

1. of or like a peacock.

2. resembling the feathers of a peacock, as in coloring.

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Jack was quite happy as he walked down the street with his new girlfriend, Abby.  The sun was hidden by just enough clouds to keep it from getting too hot out, and there weren’t many people on the street either.  It had been a very good day for him.  Abby seemed happy to as she glanced through the windows of the shops they passed .  The two would sometimes pause and joke with each other about some of the things they saw in the window.  Suddenly though, Abby stopped dead in front of one of them.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”  She said.  She quickly darted into the store, leaving Jack more than a little confused. 

He waited for her for several minutes, spending his time watching the sparse crowd and wondering what Abby was doing in the store.  As far as he could tell, it was a just a small clothing store.  One of dozens they had passed by, with nothing special about it.  He was just relived he didn’t have to wait too long.  When she came out though, he was more than a little surprised by what she had on.

“So, you like it?”  She asked hopefully.

“Uh…What, uh, what is it?”  Jack asked nervously. 

“It’s my new hat.  What do you think?”

“It’s…interesting.”  Was all Jack could say.

The hat was hideous.  It possessed an overly wide brim that stretched out passed Abby’s shoulders, with a smallish, round crown.  But it was the colors that threw him off.  The thing looked like it had been pieced together from a combination of random swathes of fabric and peacock feathers.  Colors clashed and mixed with each other at random, with peacock like patterns woven throughout, probably in order to give it some kind of semblance of order.  It clashed horribly with everything else Abby wore.

“What’s the matter?  You don’t like it?”  Abby said.  Her eyes narrowed playfully as she saw through his words.

“Uh, well…” he said.  He knew he was trading on thin ice here.  He couldn’t just say he hated it, otherwise there could be hell to pay. 

“Yeah, you don’t like it.  Why not though?  It’s a great hat.  I mean feel it.  Just feel it!” 

She proceeded to bend over and prod Jack with the top of the hat, poking his face and head with the thing.  It felt the same as it looked.  Each different color had a different feel.  Some were soft, others were tough.  Some felt like leather, others like cotton.  It was like some third grader’s attempt at hat making.

Jack backed away a few steps to escape Abby and her new accessory.  She was clearly enjoying herself though, as she continued to move in close with the thing every time he backed away.  Soon though, she stopped dead and stood up straight. 

“Ooo, I just had an idea.” She said gleefully.

“Uh, what’s that?”  Jack asked, hoping it was to take the hat and burn it.  She took it off and placed it on Jack’s head before he could protest.

“You wear it.  That was, you can learn to appreciate fine fashion.”

“Uh, right.”  Jack said, at a complete loss for words. Although it would be fine for a hot, sunny day, that day it was just heavy and cumbersome.  Plus, the shallow crown made it abnormally difficult to keep it on his head.  A stiff breeze would probably carry it away, since it didn’t have a chinstrap.  He lamented that it wasn’t a windy day.

“So, what do you think?”

“Honestly? I think I look ridiculous.”

“No way, you look great!  Here, check it out.”  Abby said.

She guided him over to the store window, where his reflection appeared in the glass.  Just as he thought, he looked ridiculous.  There was nothing great or flattering about the horrible thing.

“Yeah, I look stupid.”  Jack said.  “I really hate to tell you this, but this is not a nice hat.”  Abby huffed and snatched the hat off his head before returning it to her own.

“Well, I can see such an amazing work of art is lost on you then.  I, however, will continue to wear it proudly.”

“Uh, right.  You do that.  Just, uh, do me a favor.”

“Shoot.”

“Could you maybe stand a few feet away from me while you have it on?”  He said with a wry grin. 

“Why you little…”  Abby said.  “I will smite you for not believing in the hat!”  She called out in a mock threat. 

Abby dashed forward, charging playfully at Jack, who ran the other way.  People watched the two of them chase each other through the sidewalk while laughing like maniacs.   Jack didn’t even care about how bad the hat was anymore.  Well, for awhile anyway. 

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I'm sure that somewhere out there a hat like this exists.  I'm quite glad I haven't seen one, but there's no doubt in my mind it's out there.