RANSVESTIA

I lowered her to the floor, my hand slipped; something gave as I tried to put her down.

She fell. She landed off balance on her right leg, and it broke. I heard it crack. I'll never forget the sound, and then the sight of Janet's leg at an odd angle. And my dreams and hopes crashed at the same time.

Lois and I did what we could. We got her to the hospital where the doctors put a cast on her. They didn't even keep her long, a couple of days, and reassuring us that it would be alright, they sent her home, together with a pair of crutches, to recuperate with a strict regimen of rest and exercise to do.

No more dancing for Janet for awhile. I would have to cancel all of our contracts and notify the people who had listened and approved of my sales pitch. I moped around as if the world had turned to dust. All of my work and plans dashed and ground into dirt. Caught in my own misery, I didn't notice Janet and Lois having intense conferences, looking up at me now and then as I wandered back and forth, in and out, aimlessly, not able to think of any direction and lacking the energy to stop my drifting.

Poor Janet and poor Carl. Then, one day as I walked along the street, my head downcast, I didn't even notice Lois until I almost bumped into her. I started to kick at a pebble, and there she stood, directly in my way. Her fists on her hips, dressed in black slacks and a man-tailored shirt, she looked stern, and somehow, forceful.

Startled, I stopped and looked up, but I felt too depressed to say anything.

She glared at me. "You can't keep going on like this," she said angrily. "You can't keep blaming yourself and acting as if you broke Janet's leg deliberately. The world has not come to an end."

"But... but." I was really down, completely defeated, and I could only wave my hands through the air. "All my plans," I muttered. "All my hopes..."

"The world has not come to an end," she snapped again. "You've got the rest of your life ahead of you."

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