So Much For My Happy Ending

October 2000

Utopia. I wasn't sure how I got there, but there was no question that Utopia is where I ended up.

No one around but the brown-haired, green-eyed Adonis who brought me here. The stars were twinkling above the Golden Gate Bridge, the Legion of Honor glowing behind us. The night was relatively mild (which in and of itself was a small miracle considering the fall season), the champagne was Cristal and the caviar beluga. I felt Tad's fingers thread themselves through my mane of wavy dark-brown hair as he cuddled closer to me on our little bench on the cliffs.

"God, you've got to be the most exotic and beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on."

I squeezed his hand and leaned in a little closer. I'm not so conceited as to think of myself as beautiful, but exotic is a good word.

I'm probably black. Maybe part Native American—that would explain my hair. My father was a one-night stand who my mother describes as being gorgeous and ethnic, so on the college applications I just checked all the boxes, and let affirmative action do its thing.

"April, you know how much I love you, don't you?"