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.

"Wendy, 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 before.

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 her friend. Wendy went to her room to retrieve her artwork. Amy understood a bit more once she saw a thick folder of drawings in her 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, Amy. 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.

Amy blew out the candles to her cake, poured some champagne for everyone, and split up the cake.

After Amy's modest celebration, Suzanne took Wendy back to Burnside's house, and then drove over to Robert's place to spend the night. Amy and Paul went for a walk in the warm spring evening, partly to walk off the effect of the champagne, and partly to simply enjoy the evening. By the time they got back it was quite late. Amy was passionate and felt very naughty.

Giggling, she tore off her clothes, leaving just her shoes on. Then she ran past Paul and out the door of her apartment. She peeked her face back through the door at Paul.

"Catch me." With that she took off.

She ran down the empty streets and into a park, enjoying the feel of the cool Spring air on her body. Her breasts and bottom jiggled in the darkness. Paul, both astonished and aroused, ran after her. Both were in excellent physical shape, but Paul was a better runner and eventually caught up to Amy. He caught her when she tried to run across a street at the other end of the park, but suddenly had to jump back to avoid the headlights of an on-coming car. It turned out that Amy was very lucky. The car belonged to the Cook County Sheriff's Department, but the cop had not seen her. Her heart pounding, Amy crouched behind a tree as Paul caught up to her. Amy threw himself into his arms and kissed him passionately. She unzipped his pants and pushed them to his ankles, then took off again, this time back towards her apartment. She had a huge lead on Paul as he struggled to get his pants back up. She ran to her apartment door way ahead of him.

She had been naughty, and she was in her birthday suit on her birthday. That could only mean one thing. She ran to the spare room and dug out Suzanne's paddle from her studio supplies. She dropped the paddle on the coffee table and ran back out the door. Paul was coming back at a quick walk, just about to cross the street in front of the apartment. Amy ran to him and kissed him. Paul swept Amy up in his arms and carried her back in, as she giggled loudly. When he saw that paddle on the coffee table, he knew that Amy was due a nice hard birthday spanking.

He deposited her on the sofa, as she squealed and giggled loudly. As he reached for the paddle, she giggled and flipped on her back. He tickled her to get her back on her stomach.

She squealed again and flipped onto her stomach. Paul placed his hand in the middle of her back and rested the paddle on her bottom.

"Amy, what happens to naughty birthday girls, who run around in their birthday suits?"

"They get nice hard birthday spankings. So, Paul, am I a naughty birthday girl?"

"We'll find out. Happy 21, Amy."

Paul brought the paddle down sharply across both Amy's bottom cheeks. Instantly her bottom began to sting viciously. Uh-oh, thought Amy. I forgot how much this paddle stings.

POP!...POP!...POP!...POP!...POP!... Paul swatted Amy hard, quickly turning her bottom a deep pink. Sometime he swatted on the left side, sometimes on the right, sometimes across both bottom cheeks. The sharp sting and tingling heightened Amy's emotions. She was not exactly aroused, but her intense emotional state would quickly turn into arousal as soon as Paul stopped spanking her and started kissing her.

Amy's tanned bottom was a deep reddish color when Paul laid the 21st paddle swat across both bottom cheeks. He kissed her swollen hot bottom. Her bottom was stinging and slightly numb at the same time, and yet Amy could feel Paul's lips on her skin. She rolled on her back. He kissed her stomach and slowly worked his way up her chest. He spent his time kissing both her breasts until she was aroused. He moved to her throat and shoulders. She threw her head up, wanting to feel his mouth on her neck. Paul finally worked his way to her mouth, and slipped a hand between her legs. For several minutes he teased her.

Suddenly he stopped, struggling to get out of his own clothes. Then he started up on her again, working his way back down her chest and stomach with his kisses. He kissed the insides of her thighs.

They climaxed together as he entered her. The living room filled with Amy's high pitched squeaks, as they sweated and shared their orgasm on Suzanne's expensive upholstery.

The next day, with very red faces, Amy and Paul faced Suzanne with the explanation of why her sofa cushions had to be taken to the dry-cleaner's.

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Paul was occupied during Spring Break with Alex. He was dead serious about forcing Alex to spend Spring Break re-doing his term papers. Paul was there to help him though, as was Heather. Paul and Heather took turns pushing Alex. At the end of Spring Break Paul had a very strange story to tell Amy about Alex and Heather.

Paul's roommate was fascinated with Heather, and afraid of her at the same time. She kept a belt in her hand as she prodded Alex to finish his papers. Friday night, while Paul was in the kitchen working on one of his own papers, she used that belt on Alex, ordering him to pull down his pants and underwear and cracking him hard with it for a long time. Then Paul heard her comment:

"Alex, you're a bad boy. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

"I'm sorry, Heather."

"Not as sorry as you'll be a little later tonight, when I get my medical stuff."

They left a few minutes later, Heather leading Alex to her car by the arm. They came back the next morning, Alex very quiet and quick to do anything Heather told him to do.

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Burnside never approved of Spring Break, much less did she approve of the binge drinking and partying that went along with it. For her Spring Break was a time to study and get class projects ready, which was why the major projects always were due on the Monday after Spring Break. Amy, several times over, heard Burnside admonish her classes:

"Look, either you can kill your brain cells and empty your wallets doing stuff you won't even remember by this time next year, or you can take these nine days and do something truly worthwhile that will help your future. The choice is yours, but..." holding her red pen high in the air "...this is the consequence for a bad choice."

The Friday before Spring Break Burnside discussed the upcoming final projects with Amy. At that point the professor had a surprise for her.

"I want your photographer roommate to e-mail me tonight with a photo-shoot schedule. If Wendy is taking pictures I will let her out as long as she needs to be out over Spring Break. Understand that she is to be out only for working. When she's done working I expect her back. Same rule about money as before. Wendy does not touch it."

Suzanne, elated to have the chance to photograph Wendy, e-mailed Burnside with a schedule that would fill up all nine days of Spring Break. She wrote the professor in detail about what she wanted to accomplish with each shoot. Suzanne even wanted Wendy for a trip that would take her out of Chicago for a full four days for a shoot in northern Michigan near Lake Superior. To her surprise Burnside agreed to everything. Burnside even had a compliment for Suzanne.

"I have followed some of your work and you seem like a dedicated, serious professional in your field. I trust that you will do what is best for your model and ensure that she behaves responsibly. - Burnside -"

The following day, just before sunrise, Suzanne and Amy arrived at Burnside's house to pick up Wendy. Amy went to the front door, and, as usual, Wendy opened it while standing behind the door to avoid being visible to the street. She knelt in the center of the living room, Burnside removed her collar, and Wendy went to the bedroom to put on a wrap-around summer dress. Amy was wearing a similar dress, since Suzanne had in mind some quick figure shots in front of several Chicago monuments. Suzanne wanted her models to wear something they could take off and put on quickly.

For the next two hours they toured around downtown, rushing from monument to monument before too many people were about. Their hearts pounding, Amy and Wendy threw off their dresses, posed for a couple of shots, then quickly grabbed their dresses and put them on to go to the next spot. What they were doing was clearly illegal, but they moved quickly enough that they had no problems. The next stop was the studio at Suzanne's publishing company. For the next two days Amy and Wendy posed over and over, for figure studies, for fashion shots for a store that specialized in petite women's clothing, and for a couple of other ads.

There was a follow-up shoot for the coffee-house client from last year on Monday, with Amy and Wendy once again dressed in the company's uniform, posing with sacks of coffee, coffee roasting machines, and store locations around Chicago.

Tuesday Suzanne drove her models to northern Michigan for a series of different photo shoots. There was an ad for outdoor clothing and camping equipment that took up Tuesday afternoon and all of Wednesday. On Thursday Suzanne wanted more figure studies of her models along the lakeshore and on the rocks at the water's edge. Amy and Wendy spent the entire day in the nude, even though the weather still was rather chilly.

They returned to Chicago on Friday for another of Suzanne's artistic ideas, posing in a park in Renaissance and Victorian clothing. On Saturday Suzanne decided to vary the theme. She had Amy dress in Victorian clothing and Wendy wear traditional Chinese clothing from the late 1800's.

Finally, on Sunday Suzanne returned to the studio for a long series of portraits of her two models. Suzanne was fascinated by the changes in the faces of Wendy and Amy from last year. Amy's face resonated with a serious and confident expression, while Wendy's expression had an erotic intensity that Suzanne had never seen before. She wanted to document that on film.

During their travels Suzanne never talked to Wendy about her life with Burnside. She did not approve of Wendy's submission to the professor. However, she had come to terms with Wendy's arrangements, accepting that it was Wendy who had chosen her current life. Suzanne's dislike of Burnside softened, as she realized that Wendy seemed more at peace with herself than she had been at any time over the past year.

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Burnside punished Wendy for the last time the day after Spring Break ended. She strapped Wendy for an offense that actually occurred the Thursday before Spring Break started. Wendy had gone through the drawers of the Master bedroom without permission and looked at some of Burnside's old pictures. Burnside would have shown Wendy the pictures had she asked, but was angry that Wendy had taken it upon herself to dig into her drawers. She deferred Wendy's punishment until after the photo-shoots were completed, to not have her body with marks on it when Suzanne wanted to photograph her. The punishment was not very severe; the welts healed quickly and were gone within a week. Burnside did not punish Wendy after that.

Wendy finished her correspondence classes by the end of April. She drew continuously. More and more she went out with Amy, now about once every two or three days. There was more time to have fun and relax, as the 5:00 p.m. deadline for returning was pushed back to 7:00. Burnside was adamant about Wendy not touching any money; that was the only condition apart from the deadline for returning home. There were days that Burnside cooked her own dinner and ate alone, other evenings that she ate out with Halsey. Wendy was making the transition to having her life back.

On May 10, after the last day of classes, Burnside had Wendy kneel in her living room for the last time. She took Wendy's collar off, and to Wendy's surprise, took it to her room to put away. When she came back she had another surprise for Wendy.

"Wendy, I want you to get dressed. I want to go for a walk with you and talk about my plans for the rest of the month."

"Yes, Dr. Burnside."

Once they were outside Burnside surprised Wendy yet again.

"Wendy, I want you to understand something. I put your collar away. Do you know what that means?"

"It means that you don't want me to be your servant anymore?"

"That's what it means. From this point on what you do in my house is up to you, as long as you respect my standards, my privacy, and my life. I want to take you to Europe next week. Amy told me that she has your passport. Once we get back, I expect you to move ahead with your own life and your studies."

"I'm going to Europe with you, Dr. Burnside?"

"For two weeks. We're hitting London, Paris, Brussels, and Berlin. For me it's a work trip. For you it'll be a chance to have some fun, see some interesting places, and make the transition back to your normal life."

"I...I don't know what to say, Dr. Burnside. Thank you."

"It's the least I can do for you. You've had a rough time over the last four months. You need a break, and you need to see something new."

Burnside returned to the topic of Wendy's position in her house.

"Wendy, you are no longer my servant. You are my guest. You can come and go as you want. I would appreciate it if you could still help me with the housework, but I won't be ordering you to. If you want to continue having sex with me, I would like that. If not, I'll understand. That choice is yours."

"Dr. Burnside, I...want to keep having sex with you."

"Well, how we do that will now be as much up to you as it is to me. That part is going to change. Now for our most important issue. Money and gambling. You're going to have to learn how to carry money with you and spend it properly. We can't put that off any longer. I have a favor to ask. I need some shopping done for our food and for our trip. I'll give you a list and some money. If Amy could take you shopping I would appreciate it. Since it's my money you have, I'd like the receipt along with the change."

Amy pulled up in Burnside's driveway a half an hour later. She was surprised to see her friend dressed and sitting on the professor's front porch. For the first time in over a year, Wendy carried cash with her and went shopping.

Chapter 26