ransvestia

I felt a violent pain in my chest. I don't know what it was, but I could hardly breathe. I stood leaning against the door frame for a long time, my mind a whirling rage of thought. There was the sound of doors and drawers being slammed, the sound of running water, and after another short time the chiming chorus as three contralto sets of snores rose to punctuate the night air. The sleep of the just.

I turned on the light on the bureau and looked at myself in the mirror again, but my short haircut ruined the image. I got the wig out of the closet and tried to put it on, but after fooling around for a while it was obvious I couldn't get it to look the same. Disgustedly, I snapped the light off and opened the French windows leading to the lawn. My eyes grew used to the darkness after a few minutes and I looked across the dark lawn to the screened-in structure near the back fance. The summer house we called it.

"Ask the girl in the summer house," Wendell had said. Yeah, sure. A lot of help she was she had never had an answer to any question in the past and God knows, I've asked her enough. I walked across the cool, damp grass, shivering slightly as a slight breeze came in from the sea. In the moonlight the ballgown swirled around me like a living pool of silver.

I slipped quietly into the screened enclosure and stood there watch- ing. Back across the moonlit lawn the house remained asleep. “Once again, the forces of good triumph over evil.” The sound of my own voice was comforting. "Well, then here we are again, sports-fans. Evening broadcast from the moonlit pagoda; special guest tonight is that new, brilliantly smashing social success, the entrancing Cinderella Hochen- schneider excuse her bare feet, ladies and gentlemen, but Cindy, it seems, left one of her slippers in the hands of the entrancing young Prince. Will he search the kingdom for the girl whose foot fits the magic slipper? The answer depends on your reaction, ladies and gentlemen, so send in those postcards immediately, saying “Yes” or “No.” and mail them to Queen for a Night, in care of your local beauty parlor. Remember, a “No” vote means that Cinderella goes back to his miserable existance as an eighteen year old juvenile delinquent and barbecue pit cleaner. A “Yes” vote means that but suppose we let Cindy herself tell you ..

(There is a long, long pause. Technical difficulties, you understand. We are having momentary difficulties with the audio portion of our broadcast. We shall continue the video portion. Please stand by.)