The Wanderings of Amy Ch. 25

Chapter 25 - Amy's 21st Birthday

The Mardi Gras party started Wendy's transformation to normal life about two weeks earlier than Burnside had planned. Burnside's original intention had been that Wendy should serve in the nude. She planned to have Wendy on the floor the entire evening, forcing her to be fully exposed to the party-goers. It was to be Wendy's ultimate act of submission and servitude, after which she would begin her slow transition to having her life back. Amy had changed those plans, as well as canceling part of the punishment Burnside had wanted to inflict on Heather. Burnside reflected that not only had she influenced Amy's life, but that Amy was beginning to influence her life and some of her own decisions as well.

Burnside had no problem that Amy's punishment of Alex took priority over her original plans. When Amy approached Burnside about allowing Wendy to wear a nurse's dress at the party, Burnside agreed. She knew that allowing Wendy to get dressed along with Heather, while forcing Alex to stay nude, would add all that much more to his humiliation. She held true to her word to Amy, that she would support any decision that Amy made concerning Alex's punishment. That evening Amy got everything that she wanted when she punished Alex, no questions asked.

After the party Burnside was glad that Amy had asked her to allow Wendy to get dressed, and that Wendy had performed so well along side Amy and Heather during the "medical demonstration". With her nurse's dress Wendy was much more confident during the party and fully participated in Alex's punishment. It was nice to see her like that, especially the moment that she held the jar of semen, up for the guests to admire. Burnside reflected that now, not the end of the month, was the time for Wendy to begin her slow transition back to normal life.

After Alex and Heather left, Wendy knelt in front of Burnside, waiting for her next orders. She was still in her white dress, since Burnside had not told her to take it off.

Burnside was exhausted, as was Wendy. Burnside ordered Wendy to take the dress off, put it in the washing machine, and then go to bed. Burnside was so tired herself that she actually would be able to get a few hours of sleep.

Wendy slept until about 2:00. She got up and heard Burnside in the shower. Wendy immediately went to the kitchen to fix lunch. She prepared a salad and dessert, then heated a pasta dish to have it ready as soon as her mistress was ready to eat. She set the dining room table and stood by Burnside's chair, waiting to seat her. Burnside came out, was seated and served, and then Wendy served herself and sat down. Burnside complemented Wendy on her help with the party last night. Then Burnside surprised Wendy with her next words.

"I want you to call Amy this afternoon, and make arrangements to get together with her. I will allow you to go out with her any afternoon this week. You'll have lunch with her and you may stay out until 5:00. Obviously your collar will come off when you go out, and you and Amy will be free to do what you want. You can wear whatever you want. The only condition is that I expect you back at five."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

Wendy was elated. Burnside looked at her, and continued.

"Two more things. You now will start going out whenever I feel like giving you an afternoon off. This will be a privilege that I expect you will not abuse. The 5:00 return time is non-negotiable. I will make one exception to that rule, about 5:00, that is. If you ever decide to do a photo shoot with that photographer, I'll let you stay out as long as you need to complete it. Of course you'll have to clear it with me first."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

"Second thing. Your duties in this house will continue as always. You have given me top performance so far, and I expect that not to change. Abuse your time out, or neglect your duties here, and I will punish you and not let you go out anymore. Make sure Amy understands that."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

"And another thing. You are not to touch any money. I expect Amy to pay your expenses. If need be, I'll reimburse her."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

"Good. Now bring me your correspondence work. I'm ready to have a look at it."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside.

Wendy went to her room and returned with about three days' worth of assignments for her correspondence classes. She handed the papers and a red pen to the professor and knelt in front of her. The whipping in January had made Wendy far more careful in her course-work. Burnside only found two things she wanted corrected before the assignments could be sent to Wendy's professors.

As she thumbed through the course-work Burnside noted that the assignments in two of the classes were among the last needed to complete the credits. This was another indication that Wendy's servitude needed to begin to draw to a close. Burnside reflected that Wendy's time with Amy and posing for that photographer would begin to replace the time she was spending on her correspondence classes. She handed the papers back.

"Dr. Burnside, I request permission to speak."

"What is it?"

"May I call Amy now?"

"Hmm. That eager to get out, huh?"

Wendy blushed. "Yes, Dr. Burnside."

Wendy returned to her room. She pulled out a stack of her latest artwork to look over. Taking care of her artwork was priority. Wendy figured that five hours would be enough for Amy to take her downtown, talk to Suzanne at her office, and get back. They could talk in the car on the way down and on the way back. Wendy was elated the Burnside was actually encouraging her to model, something she wanted to do very badly. With that on her mind, Wendy plugged her cell phone to its re-charger and dialed Amy.

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The next day Amy showed up at 12:00 on Burnside's front porch. At first she was disappointed that Wendy was still nude and still had her collar on. Wendy opened the door in her usual way, standing behind it to avoid being visible to the street. As usual, she said nothing as Amy came in. However, Amy noticed a cheerful expression on Wendy's face.

Burnside greeted Amy dressed in a teaching outfit. The professor pulled out a key and Wendy knelt in front of her. She took the collar off Wendy's neck. She then went to the garage, got in her car, and drove off. Wendy and Amy were now alone, for the first time in nearly three months. Wendy hugged Amy hard, and then spoke, her voice soft from not having been used much since December.

"My clothes are on Dr. Burnside's bed. As soon as I get dressed I'd appreciate it if you take me to see Suzanne."

With that Wendy got dressed, in her usual designer jeans and a Casmir sweater. The clothes, especially her underwear, felt scratchy to Wendy. She scratched under her sweater, then decided to take her bra back off and just wear the sweater. She would not have dreamt of going bra-less three months ago.

Amy was disappointed with Wendy's plans. Sitting in traffic all afternoon was not what she had in mind for her first afternoon out with Wendy. Wendy went to her room to retrieve her artwork. Amy understood a bit more once she saw a thick folder of drawings in her friend's hand.

Amy finally was able to barrage Wendy with questions as they worked their way towards Suzanne's publishing office downtown. Wendy, her quiet voice still not used to speaking freely, answered Amy's questions as best she could. She told Amy about Burnside's daily life and her lovers, and about Halsey and why he was the person who got to spank Burnside every spring.

The topic moved to Amy's curiosity about the surreal experience a couple of days before, Amy seated at Burnside's table with Wendy silently standing only a few feet away.

"Amy, I do what Dr. Burnside tells me to do. It's that simple. I don't think about it, I just do what she says."

"But it didn't bother you to be like that when I was there?"

"I was upset I couldn't talk to you. But it didn't bother me that I had to serve you. You were Dr. Burnside's guest, and I am her servant. My responsibility to you was the same as it would be to anyone else."

Amy was a bit surprised by the matter-of-fact way that Wendy described her situation and her subservience to Burnside.

"Wendy, are you...happy...I mean, being a servant like that?"

Wendy thought for a second.

"I'm not exactly happy. I miss my freedom. I miss you and Suzanne. I'm scared when Dr. Burnside gets mad at me, because she punishes me and her punishments hurt. But at the same time I know she cares about me...I guess I feel safe. Protected or something."

Amy remembered that Wendy had mentioned sex with the professor. She was curious. A year ago Amy herself had felt an attraction to Wendy, which was strange, because she had never felt that way towards any other female, not before or since. She remembered how, eleven months ago, she wanted to caress and touch Wendy, and how Wendy had been totally turned off by her desires. What about now? Why was she different with Burnside?

"Wendy, how do you feel when Burnside makes you have sex with her?"

"At first it terrified me. Burnside told me at the very beginning that she expected me to have sex with her as part of my being her servant. That first night, when she started touching me, I was so scared I couldn't even think. But she made me feel things I never thought I could feel. I never thought that...it could feel so good. I never imagined anything like that was possible."

"Wendy...if I may ask...what are you going to do about sex once you leave Burnside's house?

"I don't know. Before I moved in with her I only had been with guys. But that was in high school. The thought of being with another woman grossed me out. Now, I don't know. I know that I'll never feel the things I feel with Dr. Burnside with anyone else."

Amy thought about her own sexual attraction to Wendy. She did not feel attracted to her now, and wondered if she felt attracted to Wendy last Spring simply because at the time she had been celibate for well over a year. But she was curious. There was something that she wanted to know.

"Last year, when I got you back from Atlantic City, I felt a desire for you. It was weird, because that's the only time that's ever happened to me. You remember when I touched you, when I..."

Wendy looked over to Amy.

"Of course I remember that. It made me really upset that you would do that to me. I didn't say anything because I felt so bad about your credit card."

Amy felt a sick, sinking sensation in her chest.

"Wendy, I'm really sorry about...what I did to you."

They drove several more blocks in silence. Wendy thought about her situation and about Amy for a few minutes, then spoke again.

"You want to know why it's different with Dr. Burnside. I don't know why it's different. It just is."

With that they arrived at Suzanne's publisher's office. Her company was a medium-sized publishing house that specialized in artistic books. The firm had just recently branched out into alternative comics and Internet graphics. Last year Suzanne rose quickly to become a member of the editorial board because of her book "Wendy". "Wendy" had brought in enough revenue and publicity that the firm was able to stave off a hostile take-over offer from one of the major publishing houses. The editorial staff owed Suzanne for saving their company with her work and began repaying her by giving her a decision-making role as an editor. Now she judged other people's work and arranged publications.

Suzanne was stunned when she saw Wendy's pictures. Wendy had never taken an art or literature class. No one had taught her how to do any of this. She had a talent that was completely the product of her soul.

Wendy had created the first chapters of a series that would become a classic in the world of underground comics in Europe, the US, and Asia. Suzanne recognized a plot as containing a few elements similar to The Story of O, but this was Wendy's own story. Wendy's drawings took the reader into a dark world of fantastic dream sequences, moving through an entire underworld of spirits between brief breaks of reality. There were elements of Chinese mythology woven into the story. Wendy's main character briefly surfaced in the cities of Europe, the US, and Asia, only to be pulled back into her fantastic spirit world.

Suzanne realized that she and Ruth Burnside, each in her own way, had been instrumental in bringing out Wendy's talent. Suzanne had opened the door for Wendy by letting her know that her art belonged outside of the folder she carried around with her a year ago, but it was Burnside who had given Wendy the experiences that made her art real. Wendy's art had an intensity about it that was 100% genuine. The pictures flowed freely out of Wendy's brain and her hands; she did not have to force herself to create them.

Wendy did not even consider herself an artist. Suzanne knew, from talking to her, that on the surface her friend still considered herself an accountant and future MBA. To Wendy art simply was something to relieve stress, and yet it was destined to make her legendary among the world of underground comics and Anime.

"I'm not sure what we're going to do with this series, but we'll publish it for sure. I want to talk to the chief editor about your pictures. I'd like you to meet him."

Wendy looked at Suzanne's clock. She shook her head.

"I can't. I have to get back. There's one thing I can do, though. If you need me to model, Dr. Burnside said that I can, if I clear it with her first."

Suzanne studied Wendy's face. There was an intensity in her expression now that had replaced her ever-present sadness. Suzanne thought about the possibilities.

"I'd like that. How about you and Amy do some shoots during Spring Break? I'll think about what we can do, and let you know. Try to get Burnside to give you as much time as possible for that week of Spring Break. I can e-mail her if you need me to."

Traffic was unusually light getting back to the university, which allowed Amy to have Wendy back by 4:00. They stopped for coffee at a shopping center near Burnside's house and talked a bit more. Amy was excited at the thought of doing another photo shoot. She had not expected that Burnside would allow Wendy to work until May.

Amy dropped her friend off at Burnside's house just before 5:00. She decided not to go with Wendy to the door. The door opened and Wendy disappeared into the house. This time, however, Amy knew that it would be only a week or two before she would see her again, not an entire semester.

As soon as she entered the house Wendy took her clothes off, folded them, and put them back in the suitcase. She then knelt in the middle of the living room as Burnside moved behind her. She felt the collar close around her neck and the lock click shut.

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Amy's birthday came up just before Spring Break. She now was 21, legal drinking age. Amy reflected that it was ironic that now she could legally drink, she drank only sparingly. She passed up the opportunity to go through the drinking rite of passage, hitting a bunch of bars on her birthday. The truth was that she had no one to go with. Paul was just about to turn 20, Wendy was locked up in Burnside's house, and Suzanne did not drink. There was only one person with whom she could drink socially, and that was Robert. Suddenly Amy felt a desire to see him and spend some time with him.

She borrowed Suzanne's minivan and drove downtown to his office. They went to his favorite restaurant for happy hour, and ordered a light dinner with some wine. It was the first time Amy ordered alcohol in a restaurant legally, and somehow it seemed appropriate that she would celebrate this moment with Robert.

Amy wanted to talk, about her thoughts on Wendy and herself, as well as Tricia and Courtney. The thought of a self-destructive flaw in their personalities fascinated Amy, and she wanted to bounce the idea off Robert.

"I don't know," he responded, "I always saw Tricia as a masochist, not as someone who wanted to self-destruct. She wanted to live, but she wanted to suffer. I don't think she ever thought about killing herself. I think that Courtney simply didn't know when to call it quits. I think that was her problem. As for you, you had no sense of direction. You hooked up with Courtney, just like you could have hooked up with anyone else and have had a totally different experience in high school. I do think you might be right about Wendy."

"Robert, when I was in high school, how did you see me?"

"I didn't like you. I thought you were a trouble-maker, and that you and Courtney were just part of a bad crowd. I didn't like what you were doing to your father."

Amy swallowed hard. Robert was never one to mince words. She had asked him for his opinion. But Robert sipped his wine and continued.

"I always saw things from John's point of view. I never got the chance to hear your point of view, nor would I have wanted to hear it. I would have simply dismissed anything you had to say as coming from a spoiled, drunken teenager. But after you went to college I had a chance to reflect that you did have a side of the story to tell. I don't know how your mother's death affected you. I do know that John was too busy to really spend the time he needed to with you. And that was my fault."

"Your fault? Your fault for what?"

"I was worried that John wouldn't handle the death of your mother well. So I did everything I could to keep him busy. I brought him into several cases that he didn't need to work on, and I introduced him to a couple of women I knew, hoping he might hook up with one of them. I wanted him to forget about your mother. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I never gave your father a chance to grieve. I didn't give him a chance to be there for you. And I didn't think about your needs until it was too late."

"Robert, please. You can't blame yourself for what happened to me and Dad."

"I'm not blaming myself. But I need to understand what happened and how I affected your life and John's. I hope that...whatever I did that went wrong...that I was able to make it up to you. You know that your father would be very proud of you now. You've accomplished a lot in a very short time."

Robert had said a lot those few sentences. As her father's friend cut into his steak, Amy pondered the memories of her relationship with her father. Suddenly Robert set his fork down and looked at Amy.

"Amy, two and a half years ago I blamed you for your father's death. I was wrong about that. Don't ever think that it was your fault, because it wasn't."

The conversation then turned to Suzanne. As they talked about Amy's roommate and Robert's fiancée, Amy remembered that Suzanne had once complained to her that Robert always thought he was right about everything. Obviously, tonight at least, that was not true. Maybe Suzanne had just mis-read Robert, or maybe she had changed him.

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After returning from her dinner with Robert, Amy returned home and turned Suzanne's minivan back over to her. Suzanne promptly took off to pick up Wendy, who had permission to go out tonight. Tonight, Amy's birthday, would be the first night Wendy was allowed out. She would go straight to Amy's apartment and then be taken straight back to Burnside's house. She was dressed, knowing that Suzanne would be the one to pick her up.

Amy's conversation with Robert still resonated in her mind when Paul came with her cake and gift. He had her usual favorite cherry cake and a necklace that, although not expensive, was in good taste. Amy was grateful for the present, because even this modest gift stretched Paul's meager resources.

Once Suzanne came back with Wendy, they had their quiet birthday party. Wendy gave Amy the only thing she could give to Amy, a color drawing. She had put much more concentration into creating it than she did in most of her drawings. The drawing was truly special to her, as was the gift from Paul. Amy knew that the gifts from Paul and Wendy were from their hearts.