Sing pol-ly wol-ly doo-dle all the day.”
He washed his feet and in-between his toes. He washed behind his ears four times. He washed behind his knees. He couldn’t remember the last time he had washed the back of his knees.
“Fare thee well,
Fare well,
Fare well my dar-lin’ tru-u-ue…
Oh I’m off to Lou-si-an-a wid a head full o’ ba-na-nas,
Singin’ pol-ly wol-ly doo-dle doo-dle doo-oo.”
He turned off all the hot water, leaving just the cold. He stayed under it as long as he could, then stepped out of the shower and vigorously dried himself off. “Angelini!” he called. “Guess what? Gus is coming over tonight. He’ll have dinner with you. Just you and Gus, Angelini!
“Do you want to know where I’ll be?” he called. “Angelini? Angelooni?”
He lathered his face with shaving cream. “I’ve got a date!” He waited for her to respond. “I have a date, Angelooni!” He was so excited he cut himself shaving.
He went into his bedroom to get dressed. “Do you want to know with whom?” he called. “You’ll never guess whom I’ll be going out with tonight!” He walked out into the living room. “Do you want to guess?”
She wasn’t in the living room or in the kitchen. “Where are you, Angelooni?” he called. He looked for her in all the usual hiding places, under the bed, in the closet, although he knew, with Angeline, there were no usual hiding places. “I haven’t got time for this!” he called. “I have a date!” He decided to break the news. That would surely get her to reveal herself.
“With Mr. Bone!”
He waited. She still didn’t respond. He knew Angeline was great at playing hide-and-seek. It suddenly occurred to him that it had been a long time since they had played. He wondered why that was. “I’ve got a date with Mr. Bone, Angelooni!”
He looked for her all over the apartment. It was a small apartment but he knew she always found a new place to hide, one that he would never think of. Once, he remembered, she sat on top of the refrigerator, right out in the open, but he was so busy looking behind things and under things that he didn’t see her. If she hadn’t laughed when he looked inside the mustard jar, he never would have found her.
The bell rang. He wondered if it was Angeline. He wondered what she was doing outside. He buzzed open the front door to the building and waited. It was Gus.
“Where’s Angelini?” Gus asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Is she home?”
“She’s just hiding. Angelini, Gus is here.”
“Then I’ll find her,” said Gus. “I happen to be the world’s greatest hide-and-go-seeker. Look out, Angelini! I’m gonna getcha!”
“You have to search everywhere twice,” said Abel. “She watches you and waits until you’ve already looked in one hiding place, and then she hides there.” He bent down and looked under the sofa.
“She couldn’t even fit under there,” said Gus.
“You don’t know,” said Abel. “She can fit anywhere.”
While Gus searched the apartment, Abel sat on the sofa and proceeded to tell a story. “Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was left all alone in a great big house. Suddenly she hears a very faint noise…rap…rap… rap.”
“What are you doing?” asked Gus. “Why don’t you help me look for her?”
“You’re not going to be able to find her that way,” Abel explained. “The only way to find her is to tell her a joke.”
“How do you know she can even hear you?” Gus asked.
“Oh, I’m sure she’s real close,” said Abel. “You don’t know her like I do. She’s probably on the verge of hysterical laughter.” He continued with the story. “So, Angelini, the girl walks down the hallway and the noise gets louder…rap!…rap!…rap! And she walks into the room at the end of the hall where the noise is even louder…RAP…RAP…RAP. And she opens the closet door and it is even louder…RAP!…RAP!…RAP! And she looks into the closet and what do you think she sees?”
“What?” asked Gus.