He bought an invisible dog of a man in the pub.
His friends said he was a mug, that the man was a conman. That, clearly, there was no such thing as an invisible dog.
But Mike could feel the dog's tongue lick his hand when he reached down to stroke the creature.
He could feel its fur, too.
He had always wanted a dog, but his wife was scared of them and had put her foot down early on in their marriage.
Mike was convinced he could sneak the dog into the house and keep it in his study. If his wife went in there, she wouldn't see the dog. So how could she be scared of what she couldn't see?
He paid too much, he knew that. But he was drunk, and he wanted the dog, so he staggered over to the cash machine on the other side of the road and withdrew some money.
The man counted it, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, like Mike imagined the dog was doing, and then he handed Mike the lead and scarpered.
Mike walked the dog home.
His wife was already in bed, so he was able to get through the door without any questions.
...
