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

Chapter 28 - Epilogue

Ruth Burnside did not return to her classes in the fall. Being one of the first voices 
against the abuses being committed in the stock market, several Illinois state 
legislators decided to nominate her to lead a commission studying the effects of 
the recent corporate scandals on state pension and school funds. Burnside, in her 
new role, was vicious to anyone who tried to avoid telling her the truth. CEO's 
were afraid of the former professor and her ability to remember their words and 
twist confessions out of them. Burnside was noticed in Washington, and before 
long started testifying before Congress. The Illinois congressional delegation 
asked her to lead several national-level investigations. Finally, her position 
became permanent and she answered directly to Congress. In London, Amy felt 
real pride when she read the following article:

Illinois securities investigator to head SEC probes.

Controversial Illinois securities investigator, Dr. Ruth Burnside, will lead a series 
of probes into alleged insider trading at the national level. The former Chicago 
economics professor was appointed to her current position over the objections of 
several major corporations. Dr. Burnside, nicknamed 'Ruthless' Burnside, is 
credited with the recovery of $ 65 million for Illinois pension funds from several 
current and former CEO's. She has been widely praised for her meticulous 
investigations and knowledge of the Internet. However, she also has drawn 
criticism for her confrontational tactics. 'Yes, I confront' said the former professor 
in a recent interview. 'I go for the throat. I don't have time to deal with people's 
bull**** and lies. I want the truth, and I want it now. And if they can't remember, 
well, I make them remember. That's the point of investigating first and doing your 
homework.' Several Illinois representatives expressed their hope that the Dr. 
Burnside can accomplish the same results at the national level that she 
accomplished in Illinois...

Burnside's enemies researched her past, which turned out to be quite scandalous. 
They allowed rumors about her to circulate on the Hill, hoping to turn her into an 
embarrassment for the congressmen who had nominated her and voted for her. 
Finally a couple of House members, on behalf of their corporate backers, raised 
the issue of Burnside's moral character in committee. There were dark stories of 
parties in Chicago and multiple lovers, men and women. Burnside, in front of 30 
House members and several reporters, momentarily shocked Washington by 
doing something unheard of, telling the truth. Glaring at her critics with her 
typical cold stare she said...

"You are asking me about my morality, and you mean my sexual morality to be 
specific. If you believe my sex life is relevant to the investigations I am 
conducting, Mr. Representative, then I will be happy to answer. Let's get the issue 
on the table, consider it, and move on." 

Burnside then surprised the committee by pulling out her stack of underground 
magazines. She passed them to a congressional staff member who turned them 
over to the committee.

“I’m giving you some of my writings on my sexual preferences. There’s a couple 
of stories, and the other pieces are opinion columns. I tabbed the articles for you. 
It doesn’t seem to me that your quote, investigation, unquote, turned these up, 
even though they’re publications. I believe that some of your questions will be 
answered in these articles. It’ll save me from having to talk so much.”

The committee clearly was caught off-guard. They had expected to slowly pick 
Burnside apart, to listen to her denials and then refute them with overwhelming 
evidence. Instead, Burnside had taken the offensive. She smiled internally as she 
contemplated the stacks of folders her critics had in front of them, all evidence 
against her, so it seemed. Burnside’s next statement rendered most of that material 
useless.

"If I may continue, I have three issues in my life which have been the source of 
the rumors about me. First, I love sex. I have had many lovers, including women. 
I don't deny that. Second, I am into fetish. I wear leather outfits at costume parties 
and beat people's asses. I don't deny that. Third, I bore an illegitimate child, and 
gave her up for adoption. It is because of my love of sex and a moment of 
personal irresponsibility that I became pregnant, while on active duty in the Navy. 
I do not know who my child's father was, because I had three lovers at the time. I 
paid for my mistake by having a daughter I could not keep. I don't deny that. I 
accepted responsibility for my actions, and did what I felt was best for myself and 
the child at the time.”

"Now, Mr. Representative, if you wish to explore my sexual life further, I would 
ask you to first explain how what I do with my sexual partners influences 
economic policy. If I understand how my personal life relates to the corporate 
abuses I am investigating, I will be glad to answer any questions you chose to 
ask."

With that Burnside's eyes bore into her critic. The cameras flashed at both her and 
the panel.

"Ms. Burnside! I am asking the questions here, not you!"

"Excuse me, Mr. Representative. I have a doctorate. I would appreciate it if you’d 
refer to me by my proper title. Again I ask you to explain to me, and to the public 
please, why you need this information on my personal life, and then I will 
answer..." she concluded with a cold, sarcastic smile "...in all the detail you want."

The Representative suddenly began to sweat. "Uh...well, Dr. Burnside, I am 
trying to determine whether you have the moral character to question others. I 
think that is as good a reason as any..."

"I have the moral character to have tried to tell people the truth about what was 
happening with the IPO's. I was right, and had anyone listened, a lot of investors 
would still have their money. I had the moral character not to care about my 
popularity when I saw what was going to happen to telecommunications. People 
did not like me because I told the truth as I saw it, but subsequent events proved 
me right. That is how I got here in the first place. As for my personal life, I have 
the moral character to not be ashamed of anything I have done. Most of it’s there 
in those magazines. Read it, and then tell me if I’ve done anything other than 
exercise my freedom as an American citizen."

Burnside's answers made headlines for a day. There was no further point in 
dredging up the sorted details of her life. She exposed them herself and was 
somewhat "in your face" about her presumed moral shortcomings. She was 
perfectly willing to answer any question posed to her, as long as the questioner 
could explain why her sex life was relevant. The problem for Burnside's critics 
was that her sexual life was not relevant to anything, and the public knew it. Had 
she attempted to hide anything, her critics could have taken her down in a 
heartbeat. However, there was no point investigating facts that Burnside herself 
was quite open about. She could not be intimidated or blackmailed.

Burnside kept her job in Washington, although from that point forward cartoonists 
usually portrayed her in black, wielding a whip. She became a rogue hero for 
thousands of investors who had lost their money in the recent stock crashes. She 
also became a convenient political lighting rod and lurched from fight to fight and 
controversy to controversy, loving every minute of it.

----------

A year went by. Amy and Paul had rough lives for different reasons.

Paul 's time in the Army started with nine very unpleasant weeks in the late 
summer heat of central Missouri, being shouted at by drill sergeants who had 
barely finished high school. In Basic Training Paul had a rude shock. He had to 
accept the fact that no matter how smart he was in college and in his outside 
world, in the Army he was no better than anyone else. He had to learn to march, 
to shoot, to crawl, and to polish floors from scratch. His college education was of 
no use to him, other than getting him a higher rank and thus more visibility with 
the drill sergeants, something he did not want at that point in his life.

After Basic Training Paul studied communications and then went to Monterey, 
California, to study Spanish. He enjoyed Monterey. Paul had expected that his 
entire year would be difficult, but once Basic Training was out of the way, his 
day-to-day existence became quite pleasant. On his free weekends he occasionally 
rented a car and drove along the California Coast, enjoying the spectacular 
scenery and rocky beaches.

Amy studied continuously in London. She had to give up exercising and put on 15 
pounds during her year there. She continuously had to prove herself to her 
European classmates and professors. Because they looked down upon her for 
being an American, Amy was forced to be the best and the most diligent in her 
classes to earn the respect of the others. In the end she managed to impress 
everyone she came across. She acquired a long list of contacts and references, as 
well as a comprehensive understanding of the European economic situation. Her 
knowledge gave her the topics and much of the research she later used to write 
both her Master's thesis and dissertation in the years to come. She saw very little 
of Europe, other than the places she went to attend seminars. Burnside had been 
right in telling her this would not be a fun trip.

It would have been nice to say that Amy and Paul were loyal to their relationship 
during their time apart, but that was not true for either of them. They were two 
young, lonely people with healthy bodies that rebelled against their isolation.

In London Amy had two brief relationships. In the end, however, she was not 
attracted to British men because they all smoked. When in high school Amy 
herself had smoked, but was forced to quit when she and Courtney ran out of 
money in Detroit. Like many ex-smokers, she was sensitive to cigarette smoke 
and it made her sick. Kissing someone with cigarette smoke on his breath 
disgusted Amy. She could not handle the smell of tobacco on her lovers, and was 
alone when her time in London ended.

Paul's infidelity was more serious. He did not expect to be tempted while in the 
Army. However, in Monterey there was a short, attractive Hispanic private with 
the last name Padilla, from the nearby town of Salinas. Padilla was just out of 
high school and had enlisted in the Regular Army. She had her pick of the guys in 
Monterey, but she liked Paul because he was different from the others. Paul was 
attracted to her immediately. They went out into Monterey and to Padilla's home 
in Salinas, where Paul met her family and ate Mexican food. Padilla's long black 
hair and dark body fascinated him. For a long time he forgot all about Amy, 
except to answer her letters. About three months before his time in Monterey 
ended, he came very close to writing Amy to tell her that their relationship had 
ended. He decided to wait, and ultimately was very glad he did.

Padilla finished her language studies and was attached to a unit in Germany. Now 
Paul had two long-distance relationships he was trying to maintain. However, 
with both Amy and Padilla at a distance, Paul could look at them clearly and 
realized that it was Amy who was in his future, not Padilla. Amy was just about to 
come back, whereas Padilla had just left. Paul's second thoughts about Padilla 
were confirmed only a month after she left for Germany, when she wrote him a 
"Dear John" letter. The letter did not upset Paul at all. It was a huge relief to him 
that the issue of Amy and Padilla was settled.

----------

Paul made it back to Pennsylvania only a day before Amy got back to Chicago. 
He drove overnight to be at O'Hare in time to see her get off the plane, not even 
having time to change out of his uniform. He met up with Robert and a very-
pregnant Suzanne at the airport.

When Amy got off the plane she was not looking her best. She was out of shape 
from not having worked out, pale from having spent most of the past year indoors, 
and tired from the flight. Paul on the other hand, looked great in his uniform and 
from having been on active duty for a year. They embraced, but Paul's surprise at 
Amy's appearance and Amy's disorientation at seeing Paul in a uniform indicated 
that there were difficult times ahead for them. They realized that they had become 
strangers.

Amy temporarily stayed with Robert and Suzanne, but ultimately had to find a 
place closer to the university, as did Paul. It would have seemed logical that Amy 
and Paul would live together, but they decided not to. They had to start their 
relationship from scratch and get to know each other all over again. Paul finally 
moved in with another Reservist from his unit and Amy rented her own apartment 
with some of her modeling money.

Paul and Amy did not realize how difficult getting back together would be. At the 
beginning they felt very awkward around each other. They had spent a year apart, 
experiencing totally different things in life. Their lives had changed. The old 
landmarks in their lives were gone and they had to establish new ones. They even 
decided to put off having sex, until they could re-establish the other parts of their 
relationship.

Over time Paul and Amy spent more and more time with each other and gradually 
the old feelings came back. It was a slow process, but they were determined to put 
the past year behind them and make their relationship work, if at all possible. 
They began by returning to the university gym. Amy was in horrible physical 
shape in comparison with how she had been a year ago. Like her relationship with 
Paul, she had to restore her workout routine from scratch. She felt intimidated by 
Paul's fitness and her own flabbiness. However, Paul was patient with her in the 
gym and gradually Amy began to tone her body again. They went out to different 
campus activities and foreign movies. Amy was able to get Paul caught up on 
events in Europe.

Amy's feelings towards Paul finally recovered when she went through reverse 
culture shock about two months after getting back. Paul's experience in France 
came in handy to help him understand what Amy was going through. When Amy 
wanted to talk about Britain, he was there to listen, and could make comparisons 
with his time in France. Paul was the only person who understood Amy at that 
point in her life, since neither Robert nor Suzanne had lived abroad.

----------

Amy and Paul spent Thanksgiving apart, mostly because Amy needed to spend 
time with Suzanne. Amy went to Robert and Suzanne's apartment for 
Thanksgiving dinner while Paul went back to Pennsylvania. When dinner was 
over Robert had to take off to his office and meet up with his two partners. The 
appeal for his huge liability case was looming, a case which had captured national 
attention and had turned into a major class-action litigation battle.

Robert's absence gave Amy and Suzanne the chance to spend some badly needed 
time together. It was the first chance that Amy had to talk at length to her since 
coming back. Suzanne took a couple of portraits of Amy and they talked about 
Amy modeling again once she finished getting back into shape. Suzanne then 
excused herself to dig out the collections of pictures she had taken with new 
models over the past year to show Amy. Momentarily alone, Amy looked out the 
dining room window.

Suddenly Suzanne's baby began to protest having been put down in his crib. Amy 
picked up the newest member of the Johnson family and walked back to the 
window. As she looked into the child's face she thought about her life's strange 
journey, and how different she was from whom she had been the first day she 
stood at this window, now almost four years ago.

Suzanne came back out with a couple of portfolios. She saw Amy holding her 
son, and joined her friend at the window. For a long time they stood together in 
silence, neither wanting to be the first to speak. They looked at the baby asleep in 
Amy's arms, content to share this quiet moment with each other.

----------

By Christmas vacation Amy and Paul finally had re-established the love and 
passion they had felt for each other before Amy went to London and Paul went in 
the Army. The final step was for each of them to come clean about the 
relationships they had the year they were apart. Somehow each was comforted 
that the other had been unfaithful, since they both had been struggling with guilt 
over their outside relationships. Amy and Paul each had faults and weaknesses, 
but now they could admit that about themselves and concentrate on what was 
really important. What mattered was that they could put their pasts behind them 
and look forward to the future with each other.

The fall semester ended. Only one more to go, and then they would graduate, both 
of them in May.

Amy went to Paul's house for Christmas. She had not seen his family for a year 
and a half. There were changes in the household, all of which she was glad to see. 
The most important change Amy noticed was in Paul's sister Julie. She now was 
over half-way through the degree she needed to get a teaching certificate. Besides 
her studies, Julie had a part-time job at a day-care center. Amy had changed 
Julie's life, first by motivating her to study, then by forcing Paul to help her that 
one critical semester with the money from the clothing shoot. At her young age 
Amy had the satisfaction of having influenced at least one person's life in a very 
positive way.

After Christmas dinner Julie wanted Amy to pose for a picture with Paul's 
nephew, who now was almost six. Then Paul took a picture of Amy and Julie 
together. Amy realized that she no longer was alone in the world. She had lost her 
family, but eventually would become part of another. She had a future with Paul 
and would enjoy the companionship of likable in-laws. Amy knew that eventually 
she and Paul would have children of their own, although that would not be for a 
while. Graduate school lay ahead for both of them, as did the beginnings of their 
careers and spending a lot of time doing fun things together.

Later in the afternoon Paul and Amy walked through his desolate town, holding 
hands. It was a bleak overcast day in a bleak empty town, yet her surroundings 
did not depress Amy in the least. She was immensely happy. She knew that a 
pleasant, fulfilling life lay ahead of her. Amy felt a deep satisfaction that her 
wanderings were far from over, and that she alone would determine where those 
wanderings would take her.

