The Wanderings of Amy
Copyright 2002, 2004 by EC
http://www.ecgraphicarts.com
(Warnings: Adult sex, erotic discipline, public nudity)

Chapter 27 - The Final Summer

At the end of May Burnside was in a rare upbeat mood when she returned from 
Europe with Wendy. She had met with the directors of several economics 
institutes and obtained what she wanted, scholarship slots for several of her 
students to study in different locations in France, Belgium, and Great Britain. 
Burnside already had picked the students. Now they were on their way to Europe, 
for stints ranging from six months to a year.

Burnside's way of operating was to make the scholarship arrangements first, then 
tell the student in question. There was always a backup student in her mind in 
case her first pick could not, or did not want to, go. Burnside hated making 
promises and raising people's hopes unless she was absolutely sure that she could 
deliver. The only thing that Burnside hated more than a person who made 
undelivered promises was one who cheated. Burnside was a good judge of 
character as far as picking promising students for the overseas scholarships 
program. Only once in her career did her first pick turn down one of Burnside's 
scholarship arrangements.

Two weeks after Burnside returned from Europe she sent an e-mail to Amy. The 
wording was typical.

"See me in my office at 9:00 am tomorrow. Confirm receipt of this message. - 
Burnside -"

Amy showed up at Burnside's office the next day. Typically, she did not know 
what to expect. Typically, Burnside got right to the point. She asked Amy to sit 
down, a good sign.

"Amy, you know that this department has student exchange programs with the 
EU. I was in Europe making arrangements for students from here to represent our 
economics department at institutes in Brussels, Paris, London, and Edinburgh. 
You are the pick for London. You're going to London for the next academic 
year."

Amy stared at Burnside in shock. She had known Burnside for almost two years, 
and yet the professor never seemed to run out of ways to confound her student. 
London. A year in London.

Burnside continued. "Sorry about not giving you prior warning, but I don't like 
promising things to students and then have them fall through. Anyhow here is 
your packet." Burnside handed several thick envelopes to Amy. "Do you have a 
passport?"

Amy shook her head.

"Well, you'll need to get one. Here's a passport application"

Amy still did not know how to respond. She never would have guessed that she 
was a candidate in the department's Europe exchange program. Burnside, looking 
at her stunned student, prodded her to speak.

"Well, Amy, do you have any thoughts about this?"

"I...I...don't know what to say. I'm...honored. I never guessed that...you wanted 
me."

"Well, I have my reasons. You'll make a good representative of this university and 
of the US in Europe. I can guarantee you will have a tough time over there. Over 
there they hate Americans and they think we are a bunch of idiots. The bad thing 
about it is that the Europeans are right. We are a bunch of idiots. We're a nation of 
fluff. You'll need to convince the people you come across otherwise."

"But why me?"

"Real simple. You can handle Europe. People there won't like you because of 
where you're from, and you will be able to overcome it. You'll acquire knowledge 
over there that you can bring back with you. Your work is excellent and you will 
be able to make a contribution here when you get home."

Burnside's sharp eyes scanned her student. She continued.

"Amy, you're smart. You have character. You proved to me that you can learn 
under any circumstances. You're tough. What I like about you is that you don't 
look tough, which makes people underestimate you. But you are. You survived 
the streets. You screwed up twice under me and got past it. You can make 
mistakes and recover from them. I'd rather have that than a student who never 
made a mistake and then falls flat on her face when hit with a real crisis for the 
first time. I've seen that and I can tell you it isn't pretty to watch."

"Get that passport application turned in ASAP. Read over your papers and write 
down your questions. Some of this stuff is complicated so it will fill up some 
time. Be back here tomorrow with everything filled out. You can e-mail me if you 
need any help with the paperwork."

With that Amy was dismissed.

At first Amy was elated. London! She was going to London!

----------

It was not until Amy saw Paul later that morning that she began to realize the 
huge sacrifices that she would have to make to go to Europe. They previously had 
agreed to meet for late morning breakfast and then spend the rest of the day 
together. Amy's mood suddenly went from elation to an overwhelming feeling of 
impending loss. She realized that she would go a year without seeing Paul. She 
would not see Suzanne, or Wendy, or Robert. She would be on her own, in a 
somewhat hostile environment. Suddenly she no longer wanted to go. The 
personal sacrifices would simply be too much.

Amy still had her oversized folders in her backpack. She sat down with Paul. He 
had no trouble figuring out that something was wrong with Amy; it was all over 
her face. He did not say anything until they had their breakfast ordered. The 
server left them with their coffee, giving them a few minutes before their meal 
would be ready.

"Amy, you might as well tell me what's up."

Amy sighed. She could not say anything. She simply pulled out the cover letter 
from her packet and handed it to Paul. At once she saw, in his face, his happiness 
at her upcoming opportunity, and then his concern that she would be gone over 
the next year.

"Well, congratulations. I'm jealous. Do you know how hard it is to get one of 
these scholarships?"

"They're competitive, I know that. I never guessed that I was a candidate. 
Burnside hit me with this when I went to her office this morning."

"So when do you leave?"

Amy thumbed through her papers. Finally she found one that described an 
orientation that started August 15.

"According to this I have to be there by the middle of August. I guess that has me 
leaving here sometime during the first or second week of August."

Paul studied Amy's face. She did not look happy at all.

Paul asked to see the folders. He thumbed through the ones that were open and 
was impressed by the range of material that Amy would be studying in just a year. 
There was no question this would be a rough year for her. She was not going to 
Europe for a vacation. As he reviewed the projects he suspected that she would be 
kept busy even between terms with reports, seminars, and extra coursework. 
There were seminars on the Continent she would be going to as well as ones 
around Great Britain.

Paul was excited for her. Upon getting back Amy would be able to get into any 
graduate program in the US, or even go back to Europe if she wanted. He looked 
up from the papers into her face. He did not like her expression.

"Amy, why the sad look? Don't you realize how lucky you are?"

"I don't know, Paul. I don't know if I want to go."

"What are you talking about? This is your big chance. Remember what I told you 
about Burnside last fall when she made you her student aide? That she had 
something in mind for you? This must have been it. She must have been thinking 
about sending you to Europe since last summer."

"I don't get it. Why me?"

"You'll never understand Burnside. She has her own logic. But I'm telling you that 
I had her figured out last fall. Now I'm sure she wanted to get you ready to send to 
Europe. Did she tell you why she picked you?"

"She said that she liked me because she thought I was tough. She said that I 
always got past my mistakes. She told me that I could handle Europe and the anti-
American feelings over there."

"Well, she's right about the anti-American bit. You don't live in France as an 
American for a year without dealing with it on a daily basis. I've heard the Brits 
are almost as bad. I also think she's right about you being able to handle it and to 
get something out of this program."

The breakfast came and the conversation was interrupted while they ate. Amy 
thought about her future. Suddenly she realized her future was not in Europe. Her 
future was in Chicago with the people she loved. She had spent too much time 
alone. She needed Paul. She needed Suzanne, Robert, and Wendy. She needed to 
start her family and her life.

"Paul, this is not my big chance. This is nothing but a chance to spend a miserable 
year, by myself, 4,000 miles from here. My big chance is you. I'm not going 
anywhere. I'll turn the papers back to Burnside tomorrow. She can send someone 
else."

Paul was not surprised by Amy's announcement, but he opposed her decision. He 
knew Amy well enough to know that if he argued with her, she only would be 
more determined to stay. As painful as it would be for him, he had to force her to 
go.

"Amy, promise me you will think about this some more before saying anything to 
Burnside."

"I made my decision, Paul. I'm not going. I'm staying with you."

"Amy, just don't say anything to Burnside till tomorrow. Promise?"

"Alright, I won't say anything to her till tomorrow. I'll give it some more thought, 
but my decision is made."

----------

Paul made an excuse to break away from Amy. He had to think quickly to force 
her to change her mind. Paul was forced into making the most painful decision he 
would ever have to make, but ultimately his most important one.

Amy had to go to Europe. Paul realized that if she did not go, they would enjoy 
each other's company over the fall and into the winter. Amy would finish her BA 
and they would enjoy Christmas together. She would enter graduate school, 
probably in Chicago. They would have a lovely year with each other.

Paul realized that if Amy's life followed that route, she would be happy, for a 
while. They would be happy together, for a while. Then, over time, Amy would 
start to wonder, "What if?" What if she had gone to London? What if she had 
come back after spending her year abroad? What lost opportunities would there 
have been for her? Then, very slowly, the question of "What if?" would begin to 
poison her relationship with Paul. Paul saw that happen with his parents. He saw 
it happen with his sister and her boyfriend.

There was no point in talking to Amy now. She had made up her mind and only 
later would she regret her decision, when it was too late. Paul realized that there 
was only one way he could force Amy to change her mind. He would have to 
change his own life, to make himself unavailable to Amy over the next year. He 
would be gone, and that would force Amy to leave as well. Paul knew what he 
had to do.

He drove to a military recruiting office. He talked to both an Air Force Reserve 
recruiter and an Army Reserve recruiter. Paul decided to go with the Army 
Reserves. He signed a contract for a military intelligence position and training as 
a linguist. He would be in training over the next 11 months, starting in August. He 
negotiated payment of his college expenses through the GI bill. That resolved one 
problem in Paul's life, his increasing debt. The recruiter asked Paul if he wanted 
any time to think over his contract. Paul said no. He took a series of tests, then 
went downtown with the recruiter to have the contract finalized, swore in, and 
worked with the recruiter past closing time to set up his training dates. The 
recruiter was surprised. Paul was a quality recruit, and there was no doubt in his 
mind that he wanted this, and wanted it fast. By 7:00 p.m. Paul was locked into a 
commitment with the US Army for the next 6 years as an active reservist, 2 years 
as an inactive reservist. With a copy of his contract in his hand Paul went to see 
Amy at her apartment.

Amy's folders were on the dining room table, with several unopened envelopes 
full of forms. She planned to turn them back over to Burnside first thing 
tomorrow morning. The only reason that she had not given them back to Burnside 
in the afternoon was because she had promised Paul to think about it until 
tomorrow. Some other lucky student could go to London, not her.

As soon as she saw Paul at her door, Amy could tell that he had made a difficult 
decision. It was all over his face. She saw a folder in his hand. Immediately she 
knew that whatever was in that folder was what he needed to talk to her about. 
They threw their arms around each other in the doorway.

"Amy, let's sit down."

They sat together on Suzanne's living room sofa. Amy increasingly worried about 
the papers in Paul's hand. Obviously they were significant.

"Amy, I'm...not going to be here next year. I'm going to be in Missouri in the fall 
for Basic Training, then I'll be in California over the winter and spring. I'll be 
back in July, about the time you get back."

Paul handed Amy the folder. Amy gasped when she opened it and saw his 
military contract. Paul sighed, and continued.

"I'd been thinking about this anyway, because I'm worried about my student loans. 
It makes sense that I'll be in California...while you're in London." Paul could not 
look at Amy for a few moments. His eyes were moist and his hands shook.

Amy had to absorb the shock. She had been trying to get a hold of Paul all 
afternoon. So this is where he had been, getting his Army contract set up. She 
started to cry. She grabbed hold of him and he put his arms around her.

"Paul, no! Please!"

"It's done. I'm going to California. You're going to London. My contract is signed. 
I swore in today. I insisted on getting it done today so you couldn't talk me out of 
it. Now you have to go as well. Even if you don't...I won't be here. I'll be gone."

Tears ran down Paul's cheeks. Amy cried into his shoulder. He put his hand on 
her head and pressed his face into her hair. Amy was devastated. How could she 
be separated from him for a year? For a long time they sat on the sofa, crying and 
not saying anything.

Finally Paul managed to speak again.

"Amy, if you don't go to London, later you'll always wish you had. I cannot have 
that hanging over my head. I can't be the reason you didn't reach your full 
potential. I'd rather you not see me again than for you to wreck your career 
because you love me. This is your big chance. You can't blow it because of me. 
And it's not like I'm making such a big sacrifice in my own career to get out of 
Chicago for a year. I need to get some money from somewhere or I'll have the 
collection agencies down my throat."

Slowly Amy began to realize that Paul was right. He was looking out for himself 
as well as for her. She had been somewhat aware of his financial problems. By 
now she easily had the money necessary to pay his college expenses, but she also 
knew that there was no way he would accept an offer from her to help him 
financially. Now he had found his own way to solve his financial situation. Amy 
respected him for that. Whatever else might happen in their futures, Amy had the 
assurance that Paul would never try to live off her.

For a long time Paul and Amy sat quietly, holding on to each other. Finally they 
calmed down enough to deal with their immediate problem, filling out Amy's 
scholarship packet. Paul got a butter knife out of the kitchen, held it to the flap of 
one of Amy's envelopes with paperwork, and cut it open. He passed the open 
envelope to Amy and cut open the others. With the envelopes opened Amy now 
was committed. She was going to London, no matter what. Paul felt a huge sense 
of relief, mixed with huge sadness, as he watched Amy pull the papers out of the 
first envelope he had cut open for her. He passed her a pen.

----------

The next day Amy was in Burnside's office. For some reason she felt the urge to 
confide her doubts with her professor, even though the paperwork was filled out 
and back in Burnside's file cabinet. Amy told Burnside about her doubts, the fact 
she initially decided not to go, and the fact that Paul had forced her to change her 
mind by joining the Army Reserves. Burnside looked at Amy intently and listened 
with interest, but not with her usual fierce expression. She had suspected that 
Amy would have a hard time accepting the offer because of Paul.

Burnside thought about Amy's boyfriend. He loved Amy enough to worry about 
what was good for her. He loved her enough to sacrifice a year from his own life 
to assure that Amy could reach her full potential. Burnside already had a 
favorable opinion of Paul prior to this morning. For a political science student he 
was respectable, even if he was committed to majoring in a field of fluff. Now 
Burnside saw Paul's true inner strength. He really would do anything for Amy, 
including let her go. Burnside hoped that the relationship between Paul and Amy 
could weather this year of separation. If Paul and Amy could get back together 
after a year of separate experiences, their relationship would something special 
indeed.

Burnside was relieved that it was Paul, not Amy, who settled the situation. Amy 
would be forced to complete her year in Britain, because until next July, she 
would not have Paul to go back to. More importantly, Amy had faced and 
overcome her doubts here, instead of confronting them in London. Amy truly was 
ready to go.

----------

Wendy spent June and July repairing the relationship with her parents. At first her 
father seemed more willing to treat her normally than her mother. Wendy's 
mother still was convinced that the best thing for Wendy would be for her to 
return to Taipei and find a husband through her uncle. To the surprise of both 
Wendy and her mother, Wendy's father disagreed. Her father insisted that Wendy 
needed to begin training to take over the family business immediately. Wendy 
was shocked when, within a week of her return from Europe, her father asked her 
to accompany him to work. He opened his books to her, tried to figure out what 
Wendy already had picked up in her classes, and began to explain the day-to-day 
operations of his business transactions.

Wendy spent 14-hour days with her father throughout the first half of the summer. 
They worked together seven days per week as Wendy's knowledge of business 
quickly surpassed anything she could have picked up in her classes. There was 
urgency in her father's behavior as her pushed her to learn what she would need to 
know to take over. There was no hint of his reluctance to have a woman run his 
business, no comments about women's incompetence about money. There was no 
mention of Wendy's foray into gambling the previous year.

What Wendy did not know was that her father had visited her great grandmother's 
fortune teller while she was in Europe. The fortune teller told Wendy's father that 
an unnamed disaster was about to strike down the family.

Wendy finally broke away from her father on the last day of June to spend an 
afternoon with Amy. Wendy's first task was to turn in the final set of her comic 
strip drawings to Suzanne for publication. After having lunch with Suzanne and 
Robert they went to Robert's office to get Wendy's jewelry back. With her 
pendent around her neck and her ring and earrings back on, Wendy knew that her 
crisis had passed. Amy was happy to sign the paperwork ending her power of 
attorney arrangement over Wendy's finances. Wendy looked with surprise at her 
balance when Amy handed her checkbook back. Amy had done an excellent job 
in managing the paychecks from Wendy's book and her art. "I need to talk to my 
father to see what he thinks I should do with this." There was no indication that 
Wendy would squander her latest income. She truly had recovered from her 
gambling addiction enough that she could now control her urges.

After lunch, Amy and Wendy went for a walk along the lakeshore downtown . 
Amy noticed how much Wendy had changed from last year as they walked next 
to the shore, enjoying the breeze from the water. Wendy seemed happy, but also 
driven and determined. She had changed, and with Amy headed to Europe, they 
would be going their separate ways. Both Wendy and Amy felt a sense of regret 
that the paths of their lives would soon separate them, but each held a special 
place in her heart and her memories for the other. They stopped on the sidewalk in 
a spot where they had a rail to lean on, and for a long time looked out over the 
lake and the boats clustered along the shore. Wendy finally spoke, her voice full 
of emotion.

"I want to thank you for everything you've done for me. I suppose I've been a 
difficult friend to you. I haven't done anything to make your life easier, I'm 
afraid."

"You're forgetting about all the help you gave me with my math. I couldn't have 
gotten as far as I did without you helping me. You were there for me more than 
you realize." Amy paused, searching for the right words to express her feelings 
towards Wendy. Finally she added, "Maybe you didn't make my life any easier, 
but you've made my life much fuller, and that's what matters."

----------

Two weeks later Wendy took another break from her father and his business 
tutoring to spend a day with Amy and Suzanne for their final photo shoot 
together. Suzanne had three cameras with her. Suzanne knew of a small isolated 
beach in southern Wisconsin to do a photo shoot next to Lake Michigan. Amy and 
Wendy undressed and ran though the shallow water together. They laughed and 
splashed at each other like small children. They hugged each other while standing 
on a rock. A short distance away there was an abandoned dock, and the two 
models spent a long time walking up and down the dock and sitting together, 
dipping their toes in the water. After nearly three hours of shooting in the warm 
sunlight, they went back to the isolated cove for lunch. Suzanne had brought a 
blanket and a picnic basket. Neither Amy nor Wendy had a desire to get dressed; 
they were enjoying the feel of the warm sun on their bodies too much. However, 
Wendy was not ready to eat. She had a surprise for Suzanne.

"Suzanne, I want you to take off your clothes."

"What?"

"I want your clothes off and I want you to put film in your cameras for me. It's 
your turn to pose."

Suzanne got undressed. She was not modest about her body, but she never spent 
time undressed outside. Her skin was white, contrasting with Amy's deep tan and 
Wendy's natural brown color. Suzanne loaded film in her cameras, handed them 
to Wendy, and stepped towards the water. She stood at the water-line, quietly 
contemplating the lake and the boats way off in the distance. Wendy handed two 
of the cameras to Amy, and started photographing Suzanne with the camera she 
still had in her hands. Amy realized that Wendy had a clear idea of what she 
wanted from the photos.

"Suzanne, kneel."

Surprised at the commanding tone in Wendy's voice, Suzanne sank to her knees 
on the sand. Wendy got on one knee to bring the camera even with Suzanne's 
face. Suddenly Amy put one of the cameras in her hand to her own face and 
started taking pictures of Wendy photographing Suzanne. The contrast between 
Wendy's dark skin and Suzanne's white skin would make the picture special, Amy 
thought. Wendy spoke again.

"OK, Suzanne, lie flat on your stomach. I want you to look out at the water, then 
back to me."

Suzanne complied, still a bit disoriented at the sudden role-reversal between 
herself and Wendy. Wendy captured the uncertainty in Suzanne's eyes. Suzanne 
then walked into the water to rinse off the sand, and Wendy photographed her as 
she came out. Wendy passed the camera back to Amy to reload while Suzanne 
dried off. Wendy then asked Suzanne to walk out to the dock. Suzanne complied 
as Wendy took several pictures standing on the end looking over the water.

They ate a quiet, peaceful lunch. None of them had any desire to get dressed. 
Suzanne stood up and took a picture of Amy and Wendy on the blanket, then 
Amy asked for the camera and took one of Suzanne and Wendy. It was with huge 
sadness that the three women folded up the blanket, for they realized this was it, 
the final photo shoot.

Before they got dressed and left, Suzanne asked her models to pose one last time 
on the beach. Their eyes were full of emotion and sadness. Amy and Wendy 
threw there arms around each other and Suzanne snapped the picture. Then Amy 
and Wendy, holding hands, separated a little and turned to face Suzanne. All of 
their emotion came out in their expressions. They were not crying, but the deep 
sadness of their impending separation was clearly visible in their faces. Suzanne 
snapped three more pictures and ran out of film. That was the end. Amy and 
Wendy had finished posing for Suzanne for the last time.

The week before Amy was due to leave for London, Wendy's family was hit with 
the crisis foreseen by her father's fortune teller, a crisis that took her to Taiwan 
and out of Amy's life for good. Wendy's oldest cousin had bought a new sports 
car and started racing it along the coast south of Taipei. While driving with 
Wendy's other cousin he miscalculated a curve and smashed straight into a truck. 
Wendy was now the only member of her family's younger generation still alive to 
take over both the Taiwan and US parts of the business. Her uncle and father 
discussed what to do with Wendy and their operations. Finally Wendy herself 
decided to go to Taiwan and take over from her uncle. After talking to him and 
her father, she realized that her uncle was so distraught over the loss of his sons 
he seemed not to be able to think straight. Wendy ended up going back to Taiwan 
as her mother wanted, but on her own terms. There was no arranged marriage 
waiting for her. She immediately took over from her uncle until he could recover 
from the loss of her cousins. She worked 16 hours per day, seven days per week, 
as she learned what she needed to do to handle the Asian portion of her family's 
operations. Her drawing came to an abrupt stop; she no longer had time to do 
anything other than work and sleep.

Wendy never finished her degree. It would be many years before she would be 
able to return to the US. She never saw Amy or Suzanne again.

----------

Amy's impending departure and the loss of Wendy as her model forced Suzanne 
to reconsider her own life. It no longer made any sense for her to keep an 
apartment near the university. She was having to commute to both her studio and 
her publishing house and was getting tired of dealing with Chicago traffic. The 
apartment had too many memories anyway and Suzanne had no desire to stay in it 
after Amy left. She would miss Amy tremendously and could not bear the thought 
of looking at her empty room.

Suzanne decided that it was time for Robert and her to get married. She wanted to 
do it so that Amy could be her maid-of-honor, which meant the wedding would 
have to take place sometime before the second week of August. Just after the final 
photo-shoot with Wendy and Amy, Suzanne, with her heart pounding, slipped 
Robert's old wedding ring out of his jewelry box to measure his ring size for a 
new one. She took it to a jeweler and had a new one made, a simple gold band, 
and a matching one for herself. That night she slipped the old wedding ring back 
in its box. She nerved herself for the next task in her life, proposing to Robert.

Two nights later, on a hot summer's evening, Suzanne and Robert walked along 
the shore close to his office. Suzanne was wearing a short skirt due to the heat. 
The change made her look strange to Robert, who was used to seeing his 
girlfriend in her loose ankle-length skirts. It was too hot, however, for Suzanne's 
usual attire. With this heat even Suzanne was forced to dress for the weather.

She was trying to figure out how to begin. Finally she said. "Robert, I have 
something to tell you. A couple of days ago I borrowed your old wedding ring to 
get your ring measurements for a new one. I put it back without you knowing. But 
I have a set of wedding rings in my pocket."

Robert paused. Wedding rings. In Suzanne's pocket. He looked at Suzanne. That 
was the strangest proposal he had ever heard, but he could tell that Suzanne was 
very nervous. He took her hands and looked into her eyes. He had wanted to 
propose to her for a while. She beat him to it.

"Suzanne, I would be very happy to put my ring on...and to see yours on your 
finger as well."

Suzanne looked at Robert happily but with a lot of anxiety. Her hands shook as 
she dug into her skirt pocket to get the rings out. She put Robert's ring on him, 
then he took hers and put it on her finger. They threw their arms around each 
other, on a busy sidewalk in plain view of one of the busiest city streets in the US.

----------

They were married only four days before Amy had to leave for London. Neither 
Robert nor Suzanne had the sort of personality to tolerate a large elaborate 
wedding, even though they had the money for it. In the end only the people 
closest to Robert and Suzanne were invited, a total of about 40. The staff from 
Robert's office were there, as were Suzanne's closest friends from the art 
department and a couple of physical therapists. Her editor was present. Suzanne's 
stepmother also was there. Paul took the pictures. The only important person from 
Suzanne's life missing from her wedding was Wendy; she already had left for 
Taiwan. Suzanne gladly gave up her maiden name. She did not even want it as 
part of her name at all after she married. She wanted nothing to associate her with 
her father. For the rest of her life she would be Suzanne Johnson.

Amy was Suzanne's maid of honor. They married in the same church that Amy's 
parents were married in, many years ago when Robert, still in law school, had 
been best man for Amy's father. The ceremony was simple, to the point, and full 
of emotion. Robert's law partner, the one who had defended Amy in court over 
two years ago, caught the bouquet.

The wedding party was small enough that the entire group could fit in Robert's 
apartment for the reception. The only thing Robert did spend money on was top 
quality food and drinks for his guests. The mix of law firm employees and art 
students was a strange one, but made for an interesting evening. Amy saw one 
thing that evening that shocked her. A hippyish male art professor of Suzanne 
spent the entire evening talking to Robert's law partner, the sharp-witted female 
attorney. They seemed to be attracted to each other, something confirmed to Amy 
when they slipped out together without saying goodbye to anyone other than 
Robert. Amy shook her head. I guess opposites do attract, she thought to herself.

The wedding did earn a footnote in the Chicago celebrity pages. Suzanne was just 
famous enough that the art press was interested in the fact that she had married, to 
the point that she provided reporters with a couple of Paul's pictures of the 
wedding for publication. The art critics speculated about Suzanne's future, now 
that she was the wife of a lawyer. Suzanne's editor assured the press that her work 
continued and discussed a couple of her recently finished projects.

Robert would continue to have his law practice and be successful in his own field, 
but as his wife's career took off, over time he had to get used to being known as, 
and being referred to as, "Suzanne's husband".

----------

The day after the wedding the movers came to take Suzanne's furniture to Robert's 
apartment and Amy's things back into storage with her father's furniture. Their 
apartment was emptied in a few hours. Amy went back to Robert's apartment with 
Suzanne to oversee the delivery of her furniture. Robert had given Suzanne to go-
ahead to re-arrange the apartment as she saw fit, asking only that she not touch his 
books or anything in the room he used as an office. Suzanne moved her furniture 
in and banished some of Robert's pieces to the storage facility where Amy had her 
things and her father's furniture. Amy agreed that the apartment looked 
considerably nicer with Suzanne's furniture. She had good taste in both furniture 
and decorating. Robert had no taste at all, good or bad, so he simply deferred to 
what Suzanne wanted.

Suzanne did not touch Tricia's things, but Robert had packed up her clothes and 
most of her memorabilia before the wedding, leaving only a couple of pictures in 
his office. He finally was over her. Tricia's infamous strap and cuffs went into one 
of the boxes with her other belongings. There was no way that strap would ever 
be used on Suzanne's bottom while she was married to Robert.

Paul and Amy then went back to her empty apartment to clean up and collect the 
few things overlooked by the movers. Amy walked through the rooms one last 
time, closed the door to each one, and sadly walked out the front door. She was 
scared about not being able to live with Suzanne upon coming back from London.

----------

Paul and Amy stayed the next two nights with Robert and Suzanne. Amy and Paul 
slept in the guest bedroom, the same room Amy had slept when she first stayed 
with Robert nearly three years ago. Amy was glad that in this room at least, 
Suzanne had not objected to the furniture and had left everything in place. The 
memories were still there, the memories of the month she spent in this room 
pulling herself out of the abyss she had fallen into with Courtney. As they lay in 
her bed Amy tried to explain to Paul her time at Robert's apartment and what it 
meant to just live in peace for a few weeks after the turmoil she had just endured.

The day before her departure Amy asked Paul to take her back to her father's 
grave. Paul left her alone for a while as Amy contemplated what had happened 
between herself and her father. She could not undo what she had done. She could 
not bring him back. She could not cancel out the pain that she had caused him 
during the final months of his life. She could, however, live her life to the fullest, 
and be what every parent should want for their child, a happy, successful person. 
Amy finally was ready to forgive herself for her father's death. If she could make 
a success out of herself, he would live on through her.

