Apparently I’m quite a gullible individual. Or too trusting. That’s the story I like to stick to anyway. I always fall for the pranks on April Fool’s Day. Fortunately this year, I managed to only almost fall for one of them. Then I decided it didn’t matter what anyone said, I was going to assume it was a joke. It worked for me. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to pull any doozies on people though. A few years back, I pulled a killer one on my grandma and she fell for it perfectly. If only I could master that trick again. It was the year after I’d come back from Bible school. Grandma was always worried about my dating life…afraid I wouldn’t find a good guy, or worse yet, afraid I would find one who lived clear across the country. “I just know you’re gonna pick some guy who lives on the opposite coast and then I’ll never get to see you again.” Most days I would just laugh and shake my head at her. April rolled around that year, and a brilliant idea struck me. Armed with a genuine imitation diamond engagement ring and a mischievous sense of humor, I made the trek into her house with my brother in tow (he’d agreed to playing along with my master deception). The first glitch in my already sketchy plan was none other than my uncle’s car in her driveway. How in the world would I con them both into believing my far fetched tale?! Never mind…it would have to be done. I hemmed and hawed my way through a nerve wracking 20 minutes before my uncle finally decided to leave and grandma was in my sole powers of deception. I flashed the ring importantly. “Waaaait a minute,” Grandma caught the sparkle and eyed me warily. “What’s this?” “Well…” I paused for dramatic effect, “Remember how you were always so worried about me finding a guy when I was away at Bible school? So I’ve been talking to this guy and he flew in to town last weekend. I couldn’t tell anyone til now but…TADA!!! I’m engaged!” You could tell she was reeling from this piece of news. “Well, where’s he from?” “Maine.” I didn’t skip a beat. “He actually just moved from Virginia to work for a cruise line up that way. He’s a great guy. We’ve set a date for next April. A year from today actually. April 1st.” I don’t remember many of the other details of the conversation, but I do remember she ended the note on, “Well, I guess as long as you’re happy….” As we drove home, I played the conversation out in my mind. Had I really fooled her or had the impish grin on my face been the tell-tale sign that my story was truly just a whoppin’ big one? Who knew? I would let it simmer for a few hours before calling to let her know the truth. They were painfully slow hours but finally 4 o’clock rolled around and I picked up the phone. “Hey so grandma…guess what?” “What that, hon?” “Do you know what today is? April Fools!” There was silence for what seemed an eternity. “You little stinker!” she finally exclaimed. “You were joking with me then? Oh my goodness. What am I going to do with you?” Turns out, she’d been on the phone that afternoon, telling all the extended family about her newly engaged granddaughter. Heh. Couldn’t have planned it better myself. Nothing like a gullible grandma to make you feel like a master prankster. | 
