Tom was in shock as he heard Margaret call out, "Hello?" from downstairs.

"Oh no, my sister’s here!" Tom whispered nearly hysterically. "You gotta go change quickly, hon! You can’t let Margaret see you in my Mom’s clothes!"

"Don’t worry Tom – your mother hardly ever wears this outfit. I doubt Margaret will recognize it as belonging to your Mom!"

"I sure hope you’re right, hon! By the way, did you put away her other outfits?"

"Yes I did, Tom, don’t worry – everything will be fine, I promise!"

"Well if you say so hon!" Who was he to argue with his fantasy, he thought to himself.

"Hello??", Margaret called out again, increasingly curiously to Tom’s whereabouts.

"Hi Margaret!" Tom finally called out.

"Hi Tom. Did I get any phone calls?"

"No you didn’t Meg." Tom was rather surprised in fact that this was the case, since he was used to answering several calls a day for his sister, who gabbed on the phone almost incessantly every night while she was home.

"Really?"

"Sorry Meg – no one called tonight."

"Aw well – c’est la vie!" she responded.

Margaret then began making her way up the stairs. Tom was still very uneasy about her seeing his unseen companion in his mother’s clothes. Finally, as Meg ascended to the top floor, she was quite shocked as she saw Tom with a beautiful blonde who looked to be in her mid-twenties, wearing a beautiful floor-length flowered gown and Tom in his suit, which he hated to wear. After several awkward seconds of intense staring in the face by Margaret, Tom’s fantasy finally responded.

"Hello. You must be Margaret. I’m very pleased to meet you. Tom’s told me a lot of nice things about you."

Margaret continued to give her the same condescending stare for a few more seconds and finally responded, "He has??"

"Yes he has! He’s really a great guy, once you get to know him!"

"He is? Who are you anyway??"

Tom figured it was his turn to introduce his new love to his sister. He had to think of a name quickly though. Finally he said, "Margaret, I’d like you to meet my friend Celeste. Celeste, this is Margaret, as it looks like you’ve already figured out."

Margaret was still quite uneasy, but she realized she should be polite, so she chimed in, "Pleased to meet you Celeste" rather timidly.

"Likewise. Tom and I were just heading out actually."

"Where are you two going at 10 at night all dressed up?"

Tom was at a loss for words, so Celeste offered, "We’re just going for a short walk around the neighborhood. It’s such a lovely night, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, I guess so!" Margaret responded.

Tom finally decided to chime in, "Yeah, we’re just going down to Bud’s to get some ice cream. Care to join us?"

"No thanks!" After a second, Margaret responded, "You’re going to eat ice cream, dressed up like that??"

"Yes we are, Margaret, why not?"

"Well suit yourself Tom! Just make sure you don’t spill any ice cream on your suit, or Mom will kill you!"

"Don’t worry Meg – I’ll be careful! Please don’t say anything to Mom and Dad about Celeste and me going out, okay?"

"Don’t worry Tom – you’re secret’s safe with me!" Meg responded. Tom wasn’t sure whether he could trust her though. He’d rarely been able to in the past, so why should this time be any different?

"Are you sure Margaret? I really want you to promise you won’t tell them anything, okay?"

"Okay Tom! What’s the matter, don’t you trust me?"

"Well actually I don’t, but what can I do?"

"Don’t worry Tom. Nice meeting you Celeste. Hope the two of you have a good time!"

"Thank you Margaret – we will! Nice meeting you too!" Tom and Margaret then walked down the stairs and headed out the door.

It was a very nice, warm night with a clear sky. A full moon shone brightly overhead. Tom very rarely ventured out, especially at night, but the last several hours had been anything but typical for him. Indeed, he really felt like an entirely different person, and he was quite satisfied with the change. He felt he was no longer the pathetic loser loner he’d been for nearly all his life – now he was proudly venturing out with the perfect companion. Nothing could be finer, he felt. He continued walking down the street arm and arm with his invisible companion in the long flowery gown. He was still a bit uneasy as to whether anyone else could see her, but in any case, he hardly encountered anyone else along the way, so he felt safe. Besides, Margaret had apparently been immune to Celeste’s invisibility as she has informed Tom she’d be, so why shouldn’t everyone else be? Tom still felt the need for reassurance though.

"Are you sure everyone else can see you, Celeste?"

"Yes Tom – don’t worry!"

"OK, I’ll take your word for it, but how is it possible that only I can’t see you?"

"It’s pretty difficult to explain, Tom. You’ll just have to take my word for it!"

"OK, fair enough I guess, but this is all pretty strange, you know!"

"I know, Tom, but I think you’ll get used to it. Besides, I think you’ll like me better this way. It’d be pretty hard to show off an invisible woman, you know!"

"You got that right, Celeste! Do you like that name, by the way?"

"Yes I do, Tom, it’s very nice. I’m glad to see you place me up with the stars!"

"You know I do, Celeste!"

"You’re so sweet, Tom!" Celeste then stopped Tom in his tracks, grabbed him and gave him a kiss on the street corner. Tom was in ecstasy. He found it strange being able to see the starry night sky in the background while kissing her.

"Why don’t you close your eyes when you kiss me, Tom?"

"Is that how it’s supposed to be done? Sorry. I still can’t get over being able to see through you while kissing you though!"

"I know, Tom, but I still think you’d enjoy it better if you closed your eyes. Perhaps you wouldn’t find me as strange that way."

"Okay, I’ll try it like that from now on." Celeste then gave Tom another long kiss, and he closed his eyes this time. Now his senses were enhanced by the kiss itself. Though he’d been somewhat excited by being able to see through her head, now this was no longer an issue – he could concentrate on the intense feeling of her warm, passionate lips against his and the smooth sensation of her tongue gently rolling inside his mouth. For the moment, this was all Tom cared about – the rest of the world no longer seemed to exist. Finally, as Celeste slowly removed her mouth from his, Tom once again opened his eyes, which gazed at the starry sky.

"Didn’t you like that better, Tom?" she asked.

"Yes I did. As always, you were right!"

"Glad you think so. Let’s go get some ice cream, OK?"

"OK" Tom then continued his walk with Celeste to Bud’s Ice Cream Parlor on Sacramento Street. Once inside, Tom was greeted by a young man wearing the company uniform.

"What can I get the two of you?" he asked.

"What would you like, Celeste?" Tom asked his sweetheart.

"I’m not particular. I’ll get whatever you’re having."

"We’d like two single scoops of chocolate chip on plain cones."

"Coming right up!" the attended responded. "That’ll be a dollar and fifty cents." Tom reached into his wallet and pulled out two crisp one-dollar bills and received the change. A minute later, he handed Tom and his unseen companion their ice cream cones. Tom was still awed by the sight of Celeste’s unseen hand grabbing her ice cream cone, which seemed to float in midair a few inches from her sleeve. "Thank you!" she responded. "Let’s sit down and eat in here, okay Tom?"

"Sounds good, Celeste" he responded as he found an empty table for two. He then pulled the chair out for Celeste and watched the flowered gown seat itself in it, with the cone floating in front of the right sleeve. "Thank you Tom – you’re such a gentleman!"

"Anything for you, my sweet!" Tom responded as he sat himself in the seat across from her. Tom then watched a napkin remove itself from the dispenser in the middle of the table, followed closely by Celeste’s left sleeve. The napkin floated towards him and tucked itself under the top of his shirt. "You’d better use this to keep yourself clean!" she said.

"Good idea! I’d hate to get ice cream on my suit! You’d better do the same, hon, don’t you think? I’d hate to know how my Mom would react if ice cream got on her nice dress!"

"You’re right Tom. Would you mind giving me a napkin?"

"Sure thing, dear!" While nibbling at his ice cream cone, Tom grabbed a napkin from the the other side of the dispenser and proceeded to place it under Celeste’s dress. "Is it okay if I do the honors, Celeste?"

"Please do, Tom!" Excitedly, Tom placed the napkin inside her dress. While doing so, he could feel the cleavage between her breasts and became very excited. As he did so, other people in the parlor began to take notice. One of the people inside was Paul Sandler, an old City School classmate of Tom whom he despised.

"Hey Tom! Who’s the shiksa you brought in?" he asked.

"Why don’t you go mind your own business, Paul!" Tom responded angrily.

"Why are the two of you all dressed up? Are you going to the opera or something?"

"Butt out, Paul!"

"Make me, Tom!"

Tom was ready to throw his ice cream in Paul’s face, but Celeste calmed him down. "Tom, why don’t we leave?"

"I think that’s a good idea, Celeste. I don’t care much for the company in here anyway, do you?"

"No I don’t, Tom!" With these words, the flowered gown rose from the chair, ice cream cone still hovering near the right sleeve, and shortly afterward, Tom followed pursuit. As he left, Tom gave Paul a sinister stare and said, "Catch you later, Paul!"

"I can’t wait, Tom!" Paul responded, equally adamantly.

"I think I’d better get back home, Celeste. I’m sure my folks will be back soon, and I don’t want them to get worried."

"That sounds like a good idea, Tom. I’ll see you again tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Sounds great! What’ll you do meanwhile, though?"

"Don’t worry about me Tom – I can take care of myself! I’ll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds great, hon! How about we finish our ice creams first though, okay?"

"Okay." Tom and Celeste slowly made their way back to Tom’s house as they finished their ice cream cones. Tom was rather amazed by the sight of the ice cream disappearing as Celeste ate it.

"That’s strange how the ice cream disappears as you eat it, Celeste. You’d think I’d be albe to see it inside you."

"That’d be pretty gross Tom, don’t you think?"

"Yeah, I guess it would. Well at this point, I’m far too taken by you to be surprised anymore!"

Tom and Celeste finished their ice creams just as they made their way back to Tom’s house. Finally, just outside the front door, Tom gave her an almost tearful goodnight kiss.

"Don’t worry Tom – I’ll see you again tomorrow. We’ll still have a chance to have a lot more fun, I promise!"

"I can’t wait, hon!" Tom responded exctedly. He gave her one final long kiss before opening the door. "You’d better go before my parents return and see you in my Mom’s dress!"

"Right, Tom. Goodnight!"

As Tom opened the front door, he threw Celeste a kiss, and she followed with the napkin in hand.

TO BE CONTINUED