RANSVESTIA

"Well, who were you expecting? Prince Charming?" came the answer in Wendell's light tones. I'd never have recognized him. Not with the aura of masculinity he was projecting at that moment.

“You'll never realize what a personal sacrifice this is for me," he said. "I've never been so uncomfortable in my life. But, we are wasting pre- cious moments." He walked to a closet and took out a pale blue mink stole and draped it around my shoulders and steered me out the back door, pausing only to take a box out of his refrigerator, and led me around to the carport to where his yellow XKE was parked.

"My pumpkin,” I said.

"Your carriage..."

Pumpkin, carriage, or whatever, the XKE is not made for getting into and out of, especially not in a full-skirted ball gown and high heels - and even more so when you're not used to handling these things anyway. Wendell grimaced noticeably as I finally plopped into the seat and began hauling my gown in after me. “I should have left you among the ashes."

It is impossible to relax in a bucket seat, but I doubt I could have even if there had been a full-sized couch present. I chattered inanely about what I don't know While Wendell drove the twenty miles into town. There was a question I wanted to ask, but for some reason it kept eluding me until just before we reached the hotel where the Ball was being held, and then it came through loud and clear. “Why are you do- ing this?" I asked.

Wendell just looked at me for a split second before turning his atten- tion back to the street. “We don't have time to go through that now,” he said. "You'll see, very soon. Now, before we go in there's a couple of things I want you to do. First of all, dance with no one but me or the Prince if he happens to ask you."

---

"I doubt that will happen,” I said, “in spite of the plot of the story · I mean, that would be going too far, wouldn't it?"

"Would it? We'll see. Secondly, don't intentionally avoid your mo- ther or sisters and keep an eye on either them or me as much as pos- sible. If they leave and come home before you do, there'll be all sorts of hell to pay."