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From ground level on Park Avenue you can just see the
trees in some of the rooftop gardens on the expensive
apartment buildings. It was a sunny morning so Sue found
a deserted roof with the right view, and lay in someone's
hammock to wait. She munched a muffin, paid for from
last night's tips.
On warm summer afternoons she used to nap on the Empire
State Building, near the radio antennas, but when the
local rock station advertised "Fifty thousand watts
of power" she began to worry about the health risk.
She spotted James easily, the sling gave him away.
She finished the last crumbs of her breakfast, making
sure not to let anything go to waste, and then swooped
down, ducked into a doorway to turn visible, and walked
out into his path. He almost bumped into her.
They had made small talk for more than a block before
James plucked up his courage.
"Listen, about yesterday. I should apologize."
Sue shrugged. "I was wondering about it. But you
don't need to apologize."
"Yes I do." He told her the whole story about
Debbie and Kath, hoping that she wouldn't find it too
weird. She listened carefully, sometimes glancing across,
and he could tell by the look on her face that she could
sense his pain. Finally he finished the story. "So,
that's it. I just didn't want to get either of us in
trouble. I'm sorry."
"It's OK. No problem. Kath saw me, didn't she?"
"Yes. Where did you vanish to?"
"Oh, I just grabbed my food and slipped out of
the back door. I thought I'd better leave you alone."
"The back door?" James stopped and looked
directly at her.
"Yes."
"That place doesn't have a back door."
"I snuck through the kitchen," she confessed.
James knew that the kitchens were at the other end
of the restaurant. There was no way Sue could have taken
that route without meeting Kath on the way.
"Why aren't you telling me the truth? I only asked
where you vanished to."
"I am telling you the truth."
"We both know you aren't. And that's twice you've
disappeared. You did the same thing right after you
knocked me over."
"Oh, not that again. I told you, you got a bump
on the head. People don't disappear."
"You do."
A crazy connection suddenly formed in James' mind.
Maybe it was the visit to the comic book store yesterday.
Maybe it was the city itself, which served as a backdrop
for so many four-color stories from his childhood.
But what if it were true? What if someone really could
turn themself invisible? What if the city did have someone
with special powers like that. What would that person
be like in their normal life?
Sue studied his face carefully, not saying a word.
"You do!" he finally said. "You can
really do it!"
"Do what?"
"You can, can't you?"
Maybe it was the fatigue that she felt, or maybe the
fact that he had just bared his soul about his marriage.
Maybe it was pure recklessness, or maybe she sensed
that she had finally found a good friend. Maybe it was
because she had thought of a way she could help him
at work. Whatever the reason, her next word surprised
her even more than James.
"Yes."
James felt his heart miss a beat.
"Yes?"
She nodded. "You've heard of Batman and Superman?"
She shrugged. "I'm See-Through Sue."
He was speechless. He had pushed for the answer, but
now that he had it he could think of no way to deal
with it. Perhaps he should have been frightened but
Sue was so simple, so real, so harmless, there just
didn't seem any need for fear.
"Wow," he said. "You really can?"
"What? Now you don't believe me?" She pulled
him into a doorway and held both his hands in hers.
"Ready?"
He nodded. She disappeared. He could still feel her
hands. He squeezed them and she squeezed back. But he
could see the wall directly through her. Suddenly she
reappeared, looking anxious.
"You have to promise me you won't tell anyone.
It's important. I couldn't stand it if people knew."
"I won't tell."
"I was thinking about something you said yesterday,"
she began. "About wanting to be a fly on the boardroom
wall. I could sneak in if you want. Do a little spying?"
"You could?"
"It's one of the things I'm best at!"
She had a point, now that he came to think about it.
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