I sat on the bed and started to explain about Megan, Olivia, and Mum, how I always liked their clothes and now that I had a flat on my own I liked to dress. Nisha's reaction was a world away from Katie's - she put her arm around me and stroked my back and listened to my tale and it somehow made us stronger.
Nothing was said about it for a while but one time, when we were out for a meal together, I said, "Michaela may go shopping on Thursday."
"Who's Michaela?" Nisha asked.
"My female alter ego," I said. "Would you like to come?"
Nisha smiled. "I see. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to see you dressed as a woman, Marc. Seeing you naked is bad enough."
We both laughed at that. I knew she was having a hard time putting together the image of Marc the TV, but unlike Katie at least she tried. After Katie, I had vowed never to tell anyone. I tried to keep my past time a secret, but it was hard once we were in a relationship, which is what I had always feared: I liked dating Nisha, she was nice, really nice, classy and sweet... not to mention discreet. So Michaela went out on her own... once more.