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

Chapter 17 - Career Paths

Suzanne started the first Fall semester of her life without having any classes to 
prepare for. This point was driven home when Amy arrived at the apartment 
loaded down with new textbooks, and Suzanne realized that this semester she had 
no reason to visit the university bookstore. As Amy laid out her textbooks on the 
coffee table for the Fall, Suzanne suddenly felt a longing for the security and 
structure that had been part of her life ever since she was six years old. She 
already missed her classmates and her art department dean. She had graduated, 
and the open-ended nature of her life intimidated her a bit.

Suzanne stayed very busy, however. She worked on editing her new collection of 
landscape pictures and the images of Paul and Amy in the forest. Suzanne 
particularly enjoyed preparing this newest book. The pictures were pleasant and 
mundane, and reminded Suzanne of the beauty that still existed in the world. 
There was the usual underlying sense of sadness in Suzanne's newest collection of 
images, but also there was a peacefulness that was lacking in her other recent 
projects. This book was a quiet non-controversial work, but its peaceful theme 
allowed Suzanne to establish herself as a mainstream photographer as well as an 
artistic one.

There was a backlog of other projects Suzanne needed to work on and edit. She 
had spent the summer taking as many pictures of Amy as possible, suspecting that 
Amy would be too tied up in the fall to model for her. Now that she had the 
photos, Suzanne needed to figure out what to do with them.

During September, Suzanne made appearances on several local morning news-
hour talk shows to discuss her book on Wendy. Suddenly the Chicago press 
seemed interested in what Suzanne had to say about a broad range of issues, 
ranging from her opinions of gambling to censorship and artistic freedom. On 
three different September mornings Amy and Robert watched Suzanne in 
television studios being interviewed by local news anchors.

Suzanne was likeable on television. She was not flamboyant and did not fit the 
stereotype of an artist who would have created the controversial images of her last 
two books. Her quiet, conservative appearance and calm, respectful manner of 
talking contrasted with her daring work. She always had her trademark Victorian-
style hair and long, loose skirts. The only make-up she wore was what the news 
stations asked her to put on to avoid camera glare on her face. She looked totally 
wholesome. The contrast between the artist and her work disarmed many of 
Suzanne's critics.

A local church group found out the hard way that Suzanne was not a good target. 
On one morning news show a preacher showed up to confront Suzanne over her 
work. Suzanne came off calm and respectful while the preacher came off shrill 
and abrasive. Suzanne quietly made her case for artistic freedom while the 
preacher tore into her personally and then ranted against the media in general. 
Suzanne's calm seemed to feed the preacher's anger. At the end of the show 
segment it was clear who came off looking better in the interview.

Suzanne sought as much as possible to shelter Wendy from the fallout from the 
book about her gambling problems. Several reporters expressed interest in the 
model and artist of "Wendy" throughout the fall. Suzanne quietly convinced them 
to not contact her. Suzanne explained that Wendy would not have much else to 
say than what already was in the book. More importantly, Suzanne, off-the-
record, explained that Wendy had not recovered from her addiction. There was a 
huge risk in pushing her too hard and the potential for bad publicity if anything 
happened to her. Since Suzanne made herself available to the press and gave 
thoughtful, honest answers, reporters interested in Suzanne's work respected her 
desire to leave her model alone. Suzanne was learning how to deal with the press, 
which made her an important asset for her publisher.

Suzanne became a rising star by raising the visibility of her Chicago-based 
publisher. As the fallout from "Wendy" reached its height, Suzanne was included 
more and more in editorial decisions for her company. She was an attractive 
spokesperson and projected the image that her publisher wanted. As a result she 
started to represent her publisher more and more in public.

Suzanne's local profile rose even more when she turned down an offer from a 
publisher out of New York. Although the new proposal offered her more money, 
Suzanne realized that her heart was in the Mid-West. She feared that her work 
would suffer if she left for some other part of the country. Suzanne's apparent 
loyalty to Chicago won her praise from the local art critics and media. The truth 
was, however, Suzanne's decision to stay was not out of loyalty to the city, but 
rather concern that a move to a different area might take away her artistic 
inspiration. Suzanne had spent her life in the Mid-West, and that was who she 
was. The Great Lakes, the pleasant countryside and hills to the south, the 
Mississippi River to the west, the thick forests to the north, the industrial 
wastelands of the Rustbelt; all of that was ingrained in Suzanne's artistic soul. As 
an artist she would not survive a move to New York, and she knew it.

----------

What the local art critics did not know was that Suzanne also was committed to 
staying in Chicago because she was committed to staying with Robert. There was 
no question that Robert's career was anchored in the Windy City. He had his 
partners and clients, he had his living arrangements, and he knew nothing else. He 
often joked that he was an old dog that couldn't learn new tricks. Every time he 
said that Suzanne elbowed him. He was only 43.

Robert's feelings about Suzanne only intensified as their relationship developed. 
He respected her deeply, in spite of the fact almost a generation separated their 
birth dates. He had been in high school when she was born. Still, she was mature 
in a way that Tricia never had been. As much as he loved Tricia, Robert was 
never able to respect her. Tricia was too screwed up in the head. Suzanne was 
different.

In her quiet way, it was actually Suzanne who became the dominant partner in 
many areas of the relationship. Robert had been through too much with Tricia and 
was not in the mood to push anyone around. It was Suzanne who planned their 
entertainment. It was Suzanne who determined the limits of their sex life. Suzanne 
was never bossy with Robert; there was no way he would have put up with overt 
bossiness from her. Instead he was just content to relax with her and let her 
quietly take command of their time together.

Suzanne's command of their time together had been a feature of their relationship 
from the very beginning. The relationship had begun because of Suzanne. By last 
October Suzanne was well aware that Robert was attracted to her. She had waited 
for him to make a move since the end of the summer. When it became obvious 
that he would not, Suzanne literally took matters into her own hands. On the spur 
of the moment, in a flash of pain and passion, she was the one who took Robert 
and signaled to him that she wanted him that morning after Amy's Halloween 
party.

Both Suzanne and Robert took it for granted that eventually they would get 
married. Suzanne and Robert were, in many ways, old fashioned. They foresaw 
marriage and children in their futures. In spite of their sexual relationship, there 
would be no living together until after Suzanne had put on the white dress and had 
a ring on her finger. Even now, rarely did Suzanne spend the entire night with 
Robert.

----------

Robert and Suzanne never tired of sex with each other. After nearly a year they 
were as passionate as they had been last November. Robert still was fascinated by 
Suzanne's bottom. Often she lay across his lap as he took his time slowly running 
his hand over her voluptuous bottom-cheeks. The flawless white color and soft 
feel of Suzanne's bottom held Robert's attention.

Suzanne spent endless hours lying across Robert's lap. Sometimes he spanked her. 
Usually he did not. It was Suzanne who always made that decision. Usually she 
simply wanted to enjoy the feel of Robert's caresses on her bottom. She loved it 
when he touched her bottom-hole and gently massaged the surrounding area. She 
loved the feel of his fingers between her thighs, gently tracing her labia and 
teasing her clitoris. Sometimes Robert would simply massage her bottom and she 
would come close to falling asleep, only to wake up again as his fingers teased 
between her legs. She loved the way that Robert took his time with her. He was 
never bored with her. He never took her body for granted.

About once a month Suzanne wanted Robert to spank her. Suzanne always let him 
know when she was in the mood for a spanking, but she never asked him with 
words. The way she signaled him was to bounce her bottom up and down a couple 
of times while over his lap. If he missed the signal the first time she waited a 
couple of minutes and bounced her bottom again.

Suzanne had to be in the right mood to enjoy a spanking. However when she was 
in the mood, there was nothing that she enjoyed more than Robert's sharp slaps on 
her bottom. She loved the sharp stings of his hand, the caresses on her swollen 
bottom cheeks, the teasing between her legs. Robert always used his hand. 
Suzanne did not want him to use anything else, nor was she excited by any 
position other than to be over his lap. She loved the intimacy of that position and 
of the feel of his hands on her bare skin.

Suzanne was driven wild with passion during these sessions. The fact that they 
only happened once a month or so made them all that much more special for both 
Robert and Suzanne. They always started on the living room sofa and ended up on 
the floor with both of them covered in sweat. There was never any role play or 
games during Suzanne's spankings, just the physical sensation of Robert's slaps 
and caresses.

Apart from the sex spankings, Robert never punished Suzanne after that first self-
imposed punishment last November. The very thought of punishing her again 
never entered his mind. Suzanne's behavior that morning was a huge aberration in 
her life. Suzanne, who always had maintained her self-control, lost it with Amy. 
After Robert talked to her, Suzanne felt so bad about her behavior with Amy 
because it was the only time in her life she became abusive to a person she cared 
about.

In September, Robert did something very special for Suzanne; he modeled for her. 
They drove to her favorite forest location. Suzanne's ranger fan was there to hang 
the trail closed sign behind Suzanne's vehicle. Suzanne and Robert walked into 
the forest a bit, then Robert stripped and put his clothes in a bag. These pictures 
were for Suzanne. There was no way that they could be published until Robert 
retired because of his career. After she shot several rolls of film Suzanne ran back 
to her vehicle and tore off her own clothes. She grabbed a blanket and ran back to 
Robert. They held hands as they walked naked down the trail, holding the blanket 
and the bag of Robert's clothes. When they found a nice sunny spot they lay down 
to enjoy the sun on their bodies and to enjoy each other. The first leaves of fall 
fell around them as they made love on the blanket.

----------

Suzanne's father was a dark spot in the lives of Suzanne and Robert. Not only was 
he the subject of a criminal investigation, but of several lawsuits as well.

Robert's cooperation with the criminal investigation had an unanticipated result. 
The plaintiffs filing lawsuits against Ed had a hard time claiming that Robert and 
the other two law partners had anything to do with Ed's behavior. The results of 
the investigation and Robert's cooperation made that much clear.

Robert's law practice, now reduced to three attorneys, slowly recovered from the 
whole mess over Suzanne's father. Suzanne's publisher became an important new 
client for one of Robert's partners after she successfully argued the Nevada 
lawsuit filed against Suzanne's book. With that the other clients came back, 
including a couple of Ed's. Robert's career had weathered the storm.

Still, the ghost of Suzanne's father was not a pleasant presence in either of their 
lives. Robert had known Ed since law school and regretted not having picked up 
on his behavior earlier. Suzanne still was deeply hurt over the events that led to 
her breaking off her relationship with him. Ed was going to jail, he was wiped out 
financially, and everyone in his life had turned their backs on him. In a nine 
month period he had lost his career, his house, his wife, his daughter, and his 
friends. Soon enough he would lose his freedom. All of this was due to his own 
actions.

Suzanne began to have second thoughts about her treatment of her father last fall. 
Robert disagreed.

"Suzanne, you were right last November. Don't give him the chance to hurt you 
yet again. If he comes to you asking for forgiveness, then you can give it to him. 
But he needs to ask you."

Suzanne stared quietly at the floor. Robert, seeing the doubt in her face, 
continued.

"Suzanne, two things to remember. Your stepmother left him and I'm sure she had 
her reasons. And if you still have your doubts, I'll show you my copy of his case 
file. That should convince you."

----------

Wendy spent the entire fall semester living with Amy and Suzanne, not having 
anywhere else to go. During the first few days she slept on the sofa. However, 
once it became apparent that Wendy was going to stay longer than just a few 
days, Amy bought her an air mattress and Wendy started sleeping in Suzanne's 
workroom. She had to keep her clothes in Amy's room, but the new arrangement 
reduced the tension between Wendy and Amy, since it is never pleasant to get up 
in the morning and have to fix breakfast quietly to avoid waking the guest in the 
living room.

Wendy's presence did not affect Suzanne's life very much, but it definitely 
affected Amy's relationship with Paul. No longer was Paul able to come over 
whenever he wanted for as long as he wanted for sex. There were only two times 
per week when Wendy had classes and Amy did not, which meant that sex 
between Paul and Amy could not be spontaneous any more. There certainly could 
be no thoughts of him staying the night. Their time together now had to be 
carefully planned.

The air mattress changed Wendy's status in the apartment from guest to a member 
of the household. Amy warned Wendy about Suzanne's fastidious habits and 
insistence on having everything cleaned and picked up. She announced to Wendy 
that she would start paying a fourth of the rent and that she would share buying 
food and cooking. Now Wendy accompanied Suzanne and Amy to the 
supermarket, she was required to cook, and she was required to clean up. The 
change did Wendy a lot of good and reduced the tension from her being a long-
term guest.

The moment she saw the air mattress, Suzanne's demeanor changed towards 
Wendy. She immediately treated Wendy like she did Amy.

"Wendy, you are now a member of this household and you will start acting like 
one! I want those dishes out of the kitchen sink, and for God's sake clean up that 
toothpaste in the bathroom and get that hair out of the bathtub drain...that's 
disgusting!" As Wendy rushed into the bathroom with a bottle of cleaner in her 
hand, Amy smiled to herself. She had warned Wendy what to expect from 
Suzanne.

Wendy filled up her time as much as she possibly could. She had anticipated a 
hard semester, and to make absolutely sure that she had no time to stew over her 
problems, took an extra class for her major. She would be up to her neck in her 
accounting requirements. It seemed that numbers offered her the one viable 
escape from her memories of what happened to her in the Spring.

Wendy was still adrift psychologically. She did fine with her classes, but that was 
because she could handle numbers in a mechanical manner that did not require 
her to think or to reflect.

Wendy often sought out Suzanne just to talk. There was too much emotional 
baggage between Wendy and Amy right now for either to feel comfortable around 
the other. Especially with Amy's control over her finances, it was hard for Wendy 
to open up to her. Suzanne became the person closest to Wendy during the fall. 
She was not directly connected to Wendy's Atlantic City disaster enough to 
intimidate Wendy. However, she knew enough to understand what Wendy was 
going through.

Wendy's break with her parents deeply troubled Suzanne. Wendy's father was not 
like Suzanne's father. She strongly felt that Wendy belonged at home, not with her 
and Amy.

Suzanne massaged Wendy at least three times a week. Wendy seemed to need the 
comfort and reassurance of Suzanne's hands on her body. Suzanne was thorough 
with Wendy, often massaging her for an hour and a half at a time. It gave Suzanne 
some satisfaction to feel Wendy's tight muscles loosen up as each session 
progressed. Wendy, who could not sleep at night, often fell asleep on Suzanne's 
massage table. Suzanne was content to cover her up and let her stay asleep on the 
table as long as she wanted.

Suzanne felt no regret over having published "Wendy". The book sent a powerful 
message about the risks of gambling. It solidified Suzanne's reputation as a 
serious photographer. It replenished Wendy's depleted bank account and gave her 
financial security, assuming that Amy could keep her out of Atlantic City. It gave 
Wendy an avenue through which she could express herself. Most importantly, it 
forced Wendy to face her problems head-on.

When she was not studying, Wendy drew. Her Anime work branched out from 
the pictures she drew over the summer. Following in the footsteps of Frida Kahlo, 
Wendy did a large number of self portraits. She started to experiment with figure 
studies of herself, converting her body to Anime. One afternoon, before giving 
Wendy her massage, Suzanne took a series of figure studies for Wendy, 
specifically to use as poses for her drawings.

Suzanne encouraged Wendy to keep herself as busy as possible. Suzanne had 
mixed feelings about Wendy's art. Some of it was becoming less morbid. Now, 
not everything Wendy drew had gambling paraphernalia in it. Wendy was not 
always the subject of torture in her pictures. Her pictures were still very sad, but 
the artwork was getting even better and more varied. Some of the better pictures 
deeply moved Suzanne. However, as much as she saw potential in Wendy's 
Anime work, Suzanne did not want that to be the focus of her friend's life. Wendy 
was not Frida Kahlo. She had her family, her studies, and her responsibilities. She 
had to go back to her parents eventually. There was an entire family business 
waiting for her to take over, if she could come to terms with herself and her 
vulnerabilities. Suzanne also knew that no matter how good she was at drawing, 
Wendy was extremely unlikely to make a living off her art. In spite of her doubts, 
Suzanne gave Wendy several sets of drawing materials and explained how to use 
them. Wendy began experimenting with more than just pen and ink.

----------

The upcoming semester promised to be a brutal one for Amy. For the fall she was 
enrolled in another of Burnside's classes as an undergraduate. However, Amy 
suddenly found herself with a much bigger burden thrust upon her by her 
professor, two days before classes were due to start. Her new responsibility 
started simply enough, with an e-mail from the professor that read:

Amy: I need to see you in my office ASAP - Burnside -

The next day Amy was in Burnside's office at 9:00 am. Burnside got right to the 
point:

"Lisa just got a scholarship. To take it she has to cancel her current contract with 
the department and change assignments.  What that means is she’ll have to drop 
her position working as my assistant. I need you to take over."

Amy stared at her professor stupefied. Finally she forced herself to answer.

"Dr. Burnside, I'm not a graduate student. How can I be your aide? Don't aides 
have to be graduate students?"

"No, they don't. Usually they are because graduate students are better qualified 
than undergraduates. That's why most of the aides are graduates, not because of 
any requirement. You're different, so you get the job. Here's a contract and a job 
description. Familiarize yourself with your responsibilities and bring the contract 
back signed tomorrow."

Amy still had to absorb the shock. She was just a junior. How on earth could she 
be Burnside's assistant? However, she knew better than to try to question her 
professor. She simply asked for which classes she would be responsible. The 
response was simple; Amy would be assisting with the same two classes she took 
in the Spring semester. Her responsibilities would include keeping office hours 
for students' questions and grading tests and term papers. Burnside looked sharply 
at Amy. There was no question in the professor's mind that Amy would accept 
this assignment.

Amy accepted, all right. It was an offer she couldn't refuse. Her classmates would 
have jumped at this opportunity. Hell, many of the graduate students would have 
jumped at this opportunity.

Still, Amy felt overwhelmed. She was just a junior. She had not taken many of the 
requirements for the economics major yet. She was scared and wanted answers.

First, she tried talking to her roommate. Suzanne listened carefully to Amy, but 
had never taken classes from a professor anything like Burnside. She had no point 
of reference from which to give Amy any observations. Suzanne was well-liked 
by the dean of the art department, but he was very laid back. The image she 
always had in her mind of her dean was his round glasses and pot-belly, leaning 
back in his chair and smoking a pipe through his scraggly-gray beard. Most of 
Suzanne's other professors fit that same stereotype. 

Suzanne had almost no experience in her studies to allow her to size up Amy's 
economics professor. Meeting Burnside the Monday after Spring Break had been 
a totally new experience for her. She could feel Burnside's fierce eyes bore into 
her the day she had to deliver Amy's term paper. She was not intimidated by 
Burnside, but at the same time was glad not to be her student. 

"Amy, I don't know what to tell you. That woman is just plain weird as far as I'm 
concerned."

Amy next talked to Paul. He seemed to have an answer that made sense, having 
been Burnside's student himself.

"I think she’s testing you. There is something that she wants from you, or 
something that she expects you to do. It's bull there's no graduate student who 
could be her aide. She wants you to do it, even though you're not the most 
qualified person for the job."

"Well, I'm going to ask her what's going on."

"Don't. You won't get an answer. All I can tell you is that Burnside is more 
interested in you than she is in filling that student aide job. You'll find out why 
when she wants you to."

Amy paused to think. She looked nervously at Paul.

"Paul, can you help me? I can't do this alone."

Paul took Amy's hand. "I'll do what I can. I think I can help you with the term 
papers."

