RANSVESTIA

front of a gas station. They'll be all right—the road's well-traveled, but most important, I bought you a little time."

"Yeah. Thanks. We're going to be cutting it mighty fine as it is — ha! Cinderella very nearly flubbed it, didn't she? Boy, all I'd needed was to find a pumpkin and six white mice out in the parking lot and I'd have really been in trouble." I suddenly sat up and began searching around beside me and under my feet.

"What's the matter?" asked Wendell.

"You won't believe this," I said, starting to break up in hysterics, "but I seem to have lost one of my slippers.'

It was too much for both of us. We were laughing so hard Wendell had to stop the car and he slumped over the wheel convulsing with laughter. I was laughing so hard I was crying and then, for some silly stupid reason, I was really crying.

―

Wendell was very sympathetic and tried to calm me down, saying over and over, "It's all right, I understand."

"But it's not all right," I blubbered. "It's not all right at all. You don't know what happened to me tonight."

"Don't I?" he said. "I understand exactly what happened to you tonight and every other night. And if you think, maybe you will, too."

"Every other night? What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing much

mer house

M

if you can't figure it out, ask the girl in the sum- she's there quite often lately, I've noticed.”

I was silent. There was absolutely nothing I could say in return. I knew only too well who "the girl in the summer house" was. By that time, however, Wendell had pulled up in his driveway, helped me out and led me down toward the gate into our lawn. “Get going,” he said. “You should have enough time to get cleaned up and everything put away before the thundering herd gets home."

"But but what about these clothes

they're yours after all."

19