magicshoppe

Sold (Part 4 of 8)

Eddie sat alone in the restaurant. Nora had told him she would be alone Friday night and had invited him over to have some fun if he would first teach her his doll spell. He was saddened to tell her he wasn’t available that Friday night.

She asked when he would be free and they agreed to meet Sunday evening. She had insisted that they go to dinner first, her treat, and then do the spell lesson afterward.

Alone at the restaurant, he believed she had ghosted him. She didn’t respond when he texted her Sunday afternoon to verify they were meeting at the restaurant at seven. When he arrived, about twenty minutes early, the greeter had told him there was a reservation in Nora’s name for seven o’clock. At quarter after seven he had sent Nora another text wondering why she was late.

He convinced the staff to seat him. She couldn’t be too far away. He ordered dinner for himself close to eight o’clock and was now feeling stupid. After he ate, he paid the bill and left. Her phone rang eight times and dumped him voice mail. Again.

Was this some petty revenge over how their relationship, such as it was, had started? He couldn’t figure out why she’d started ignoring him.

Before he went to bed, he texted Dave and asked if Nora was mad at him.

In the morning, he’d still not gotten any replies. That Tuesday morning, he realized Madame Livanté was avoiding him as well. He stopped by Jean’s and Dave’s apartment and knocked. A simple spell told him they weren’t home. Another unlocked the door for him. He slipped inside and locked the door behind him.

No one had been here since Saturday morning, according to his third spell. He went to Nora’s bedroom and found some of the clothes he remembered seeing her wearing. A sympathetic location divination couldn’t find the last person who had worn the clothing. The same spell failed on Jean’s and Dave’s clothing.

Since he had nowhere else to be, Eddie sat down on the living room sofa and watched some shows he’d fallen behind on watching. It was still day time. Maybe there were all working or something. He was eating delivered Chinese food around six at night when he accepted the fact that something had happened to them all.

At first, he’d wondered if Nora had figured out how to turn into a doll and thus the spell wouldn’t consider her a person who had worn the clothing. But Jean and Dave couldn’t be dolls too, could they? He laughed at the idea that Nora had gone doll happy and turned all three of them into dolls. But if that was what happened, where had it happened if not here?

He cleaned up dinner, straightened up the couch cushions and left the apartment, locking it behind him. He went home to consider his next move.

*****

“Ah, the one that got away. I missed you so much,” the man said to the doll. “I once told you if I found out what your name was I’d dump you in a landfill. Given the circumstances, that rule is exempted for you, Nora.”

Nora still had no idea what his name was and he didn’t tell her his name this time either. But, she knew her former owner like an infant knows its mother. Not that she had a loving relationship with her former and current owner. It wasn’t even a love-hate relationship.

She was shocked at how quickly the depressive malaise she’d existed in all those months ago returned. It weighed so much heavier in her mind this time.

He hadn’t gloated at all. In fact, other than his claim that he’d missed her, he’d not said anything else to her. This was how he worked, she guessed. The last time he’d acquired her, he’d not spoken to her at all the first few weeks she was there. He was waiting to see if someone would come looking for her. Unlike the last time, he didn’t use her at all.

She feared this time there wasn’t anyone to come looking for her. Jean and Dave she were laying in a bed in a cabin somewhere on the other side of the state also turned into dolls. When she’d started puppeteering them Friday night, they were still able to move on their own. Slowly her grip on them had tightened to the point that they couldn’t move on their own. And that tightening had turned them into dolls. By the time she’d fallen asleep that night they had been fully dollified. Her only hope was they’d escape the spells on their own.

The next night, she was surprised when he entered the room and, instead of taking one of the other dolls out, he stood in front of her. He didn’t say anything she could understand. She had no idea what spell he was casting. As he finished he placed a small, round crystal about the size of a ping pong ball against her forehead. When he pulled it away, it glowed slightly.

Without a word, he left.

*****

Dave could move. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been a doll. He’d never really liked being a doll. And being an ignored doll was the worst hell he’d ever experienced. He believed it was Monday or maybe Tuesday.

“Nora!!” He shouted into the silence.

Jean lay inert on the bed. She was still a doll. He guessed it would be a while before she could move. He’d left her dollifying necklace on her for five days straight once. Except for being far more horny than usual afterward, she hadn’t complained at all.

He called Nora’s phone. She didn’t answer. He left a message and sent a few texts. He was glad no one had shown up to the rented cabin and found him and Jean on the bed. He quickly gathered up their luggage and put it in the car. He sat Jean in the car’s back seat and fastened a seat belt around her. He’d driven only a short distance from the cabin when a car passed him on the service road leading to it. Was that the next set of renters or was that the owner of the cabin headed to the cabin to check it after their rental? Either way, he’d gotten them out there in the nick of time.

He stewed the entire way back home. He didn’t check his messages before his three hour journey commenced. He wouldn’t be home until late Tuesday evening.

*****

Nora was surprised to hear talking coming from a room nearby. Her owner rarely spoke aloud in all her experience with him. If he had any social life, she assumed it was entirely online. He was having an argument with a woman. They were too far away for Nora to hear the words being said. The conversation ended abruptly. About a half hour later, her owner was carrying a doll into the room. He set it up on a doll stand directly in front of her.

She couldn’t get a good look at the doll while owner was in front of the doll. He repeated the ritual with the small crystal on Nora before he left. If she wasn’t perched on a doll stand, Nora would have fallen over she was laughing so hard, though only she could hear it.

Madame Rachel Livanté, wizardry practitioner and instructor stood on the doll stand before her. Rachel’s doll face was frozen in surprise. He had set her down so she was looking right at Nora.

He must have placed Rachel there on purpose, Nora thought. Was he doing it to amuse me? To intimidate me? Or was he doing it to embarrass the wizard? Probably for both reasons. Did he discover he had no more use for you once you’d delivered me to him, Rachel? Or had this been his plan all along? Either way, it served her right.

*****

Nora wasn’t home when Dave got there. He’d been practicing how he’d admonish her for what she’d done and now the steam he’d built up to do that had dispersed.

He’d only brought the luggage up before finding out he wouldn’t be able to confront Nora. With that on hold, he had to deal with getting Jean into the apartment. He felt weird carrying Jean across the parking lot and up three flights of stairs. What could he possibly tell someone if they wondered why he was carrying a sex doll out in the open through the hallways? And what if they recognized that the doll looked a lot like his wife? He hoped it was late enough that he wouldn’t run into anyone.

He looked around for large box or something. He settled on a bed sheet. As he wrapped the doll in the sheet he jokingly thought he should have found a carpet to wrap a body in. It was traditional in movies, wasn’t it?

He made it back to the apartment without being seen, or at least without noticing if he’d been seen. He stood her up on the doll stand she’d purchased a few weeks earlier. The stand conveniently put her in Nora’s room in case he wasn’t home when Nora returned. He wanted to be sure Nora saw her. He went to his home office and wrote on a sticky note: Fix this.

“See what happens when you act like a doll, Jean. You end up getting a sticky note on your forehead.” He placed it so it partially covered both of her eyes. He hoped it would be an annoyance and Jean would try harder to resist the spell.

He was tired. But hunger was starting to gnaw at him. He made dinner. While it cooked, he checked his voicemail. There were three messages from his boss waiting to be heard. He called him immediately before checking his texts.

“Dave? How sick were you? You didn’t call out sick. I was concerned. Do you realize it’s nearly eleven now?”

“No, is it? My system is all out of whack. I’m mostly okay now. It feels like I didn’t move the last three days. I couldn’t get out of bed. I didn’t eat. It was awful.”

“Why didn’t Jean call?”

“She has it too. Whatever it is. She can’t even stand without assistance right now. It’s late. Do you mind if I work from home tomorrow?”

“I’d say yes but we’ve had an emergency pop up. That’s why I called three times. I’m hoping you might look at it as soon as possible. Travis and Willa are completely useless for doing your stuff. If you can get a handle of this tonight, you can no only take tomorrow off but the rest of the week, too. I sent you an email a couple days ago. But while we’re on the phone, let me explain it…”

As Dave heard what was going on, he knew he’d be busy for a few hours. Getting the rest of the week off was worth working while exhausted. “Okay I’ll go open my laptop and read the email?”

“I’ve already send it again so it’s your most recent email,” his boss said. “Hope you and Jean feel better soon.”

“Thanks.”

*****

Nora was surprised when her owner came in and carried Livanté out of the room. He’d mounted the wizard Sunday night, less than a day after receiving Nora. It was now Wednesday. Must have been a really short punishment, she guessed. It was the dead of night when the wizard doll returned to its perch. Nora had wanted to fall over laughing the first time she’d seen Livanté on the doll stand. This time was infinitely funnier. The prim and proper wizard’s hair was matted in place here and there. There were stray bodily fluids streaking her skin. I guess he’s still doing the doll rentals. I’m sure Rachel loves being a sex toy. Serves her right.

Like all schadenfreude, her amusement at Rachel’s plight didn’t really help with her own feelings of depression. She was sure her turn to be a sex toy was coming. The only difference being she would enjoy it a lot more than Rachel.

Weeks passed. Each evening, he performed the ritual with the crystal. After the first week, Nora noticed the glow from the crystal was brighter each time.

Rachel was popular based on her daily rentals. Nora felt funny and was annoyed with herself when she realized she was jealous of the wizard. Nora liked being a sex toy. Why wasn’t he sending me on rent…? That fucking bastard, she wanted to scream. He hadn’t placed Rachel in front of her to amuse, to intimidate, or to gloat. He’d done it to punish Nora, possible to break her already fragile will. He knew she enjoyed being rented. He had her back, his most popular doll rental. And he just left her on a doll stand unused. He didn’t even use her himself. She wasn’t even a sex toy. She was less than that.

*****

Meanwhile, Eddie and Dave finally connected. It was the Saturday a week after Nora’s kidnapping. Eddie was examining Jean who still stood on the doll stand in Nora’s bedroom.

“Wow. This is frightening,” Eddie said. He had hoped to elicit a “What?” from Dave but Dave didn’t enjoy theatrics so he waited patiently for Eddie to continue. “Hmmpf. Nora somehow cast a permanent transformation to someone half a state away from her.”

“What?”

Eddie smiled at that. “What I don’t understand is why it wasn’t permanent for you? Unfortunately, there’s no trace of her spell on you so I can’t see how you being turned into a doll, at the same ridiculous distance, was different from how Jean was turned into a doll.”

“Why doesn’t the necklace restore Jean temporarily?”

“Oh, it does. The spell on Jean reacts immediately to the necklace being placed around her neck. It immediately steals the spell energy stored in the necklace. It’s like Nora knew what she was doing and knew Jean wouldn’t mind.”

“I mind.”

“Yeah. I see that. I think I can restore Jean. But it’ll still take the permanent spell breaking reagents that Livanté was trying to buy a couple months ago.”

“Can we call her up?”

“I’d love too. She went missing the same time Nora did.”

“Do you think they both were kidnapped?”

“Maybe,” Eddie said. He paused, a serious look crossed his face. “I don’t really want to do this. But I’m considering breaking into Livanté’s lair.”

“Lair?”

“Yeah, using magic to open a locked door is easy. Doing it at a wizard’s lair is foolhardy. Who knows what kind of magic traps she’s setup.”

“You said you broke into here and tried to find us. Again, thank you for your candor about that.”

“Sure.”

“Maybe instead of her laboratory, you try to get into her apartment and do the clothing trick?”

“It’s probably just as protected. Although, the consequences of tripping the magic traps there are probably less severe in the more public location of an apartment building. Do you mind being my canary in a coal mine?”

“You want me to stumble around and set off any magic traps she left in her apartment despite you saying it was foolhardy less than a minute ago?”

“It is definitely foolhardy. But that is what I’m asking.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

*****

Dave had seen Eddie cast spells. They were usually very subtle. As he stepped into the apartment, Eddie was flailing his arms, speaking a language Dave couldn’t hazard a guess to identify, and fire was shooting from his eyes. “Did I trip off a protection spell?”

“Six. Yes. I hope I caught them all. You didn’t turn into a house cat, which was a possibility just now, so I think we’re good.”

There were three more traps that Eddie countered as they went off.

“Other than the fire and lightning, the place looks normal,” Dave said.

“Wizards are just people. People who play with fire and lightning. Head that way to the bedroom.”

In the bedroom, Dave said, “No more traps? I’m surprised.”

“Oh, there are more. But they’re on the windows and outer edges of the apartment. We’ve penetrated into the interior it seems. Hopefully she hasn’t trapped her underwear drawer.”

“That feels like a high level of paranoia would be required.”

“You never know. Nothing obviously on the dresser. Check the drawer for clothing I can cast my divinations on.”

A few minutes later, Eddie declared, “Nothing. Does that confirm Livanté was kidnapped or am I just seeing a connection where one doesn’t exist?”

“Maybe it matters when you cast that spell. What if she were somehow, um, shielded – is shielded a good word – shielded only part of the time?”

“I don’t put a lot of stock in the idea. But we really don’t have much else. So, find a bag and put more of her clothes in it. Try not to touch the clothing if possible.”

“I don’t intend to wear her underwear.”

“Suit yourself.”

A few days later, Dave received a call from Eddie. “It worked!”

“You found them.”

“You cut me off. It worked and it didn’t. I was able to connect with Livanté briefly before the connection was cut off. She’s somewhere within ten to fifteen miles away to the east. I got a decent glimpse of a house. That area is heavily wooded. I’ve narrowed her location down to only a few streets after pouring over map web pages with street level images.””

“You still have no car?”

“Correct. That’s why I called you, Dave.”

“I’ll be there faster than the speed limit allows.”

Hours later, Eddie was sure they’d found the right building. Dave got out of the car. Eddie said, “Is it a good idea for you to go knock?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“Whoever has Nora probably knows who you are.”

“And they know who you are. So either neither of us should knock or it won’t make a difference.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Eddie said. He got out of the car. At the door to the house, Dave knocked.

A man neither of them knew opened the door. “Yes?”

“Oh, I thought Rachel would be here. Are you her boyfriend?”

“Rachel? I don’t know any Rachel.”

“She was probably here last night,” Dave continued.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t know anyone named Rachel.”

As the man was closing the door, Eddie said, “The sex doll you rented wasn’t named Rachel?”

The door swung open. “The guy already picked the doll up this morning. What do you two want?”

“The rental company is like a franchise. We’re just conducting a spot check on the local distributor. Would you mind taking a survey about your experience with the man who facilitated your rental last night?”

“Will it take long?”

“No. Just a few questions. Had you rented this model previously?”

“No, it’s pretty new on the site. There was a waiting list.”

“Would you rent it again?”

“Absolutely. Felt like a real pu… sex organs. Don’t know how you make your dolls. But they are so real it’s unreal.”

“Thanks. R&D loves that kind of comment. Have you done other rentals with this distributor?” Eddie asked.

“I used to use him often. He used to have this other doll I rented several times but it’s no longer listed on his website. That was the only doll I ever felt was enjoying the sex. Weird as that sounds.”

“We don’t judge,” Dave said.

“Not at all,” Eddie said. “The distributor stopped using our dolls for a while and he dropped his old website. How did you find him again?”

“Oh, you don’t know? He has a mailing list. I don’t want to get him in trouble. But he said we shouldn’t reveal the list address to anyone.”

“We wouldn’t want you to feel awkward,” Dave said. “But if he’s bending the rules there how can we be sure he isn’t bending other rules?”

“What other rules?”

“Our concern would be that he’s doing under the table rentals. That’s obviously not your problem,” Dave said.

“Right. Not your problem,” Eddie said. “But, what if he isn’t following the cleansing safety protocols?”

“We make out money selling the cleaning products. And we know how frequently it’s reordered,” Dave said. “We can compare that to the number of reported rentals. If he knows how this works, what if he isn’t using the cleaner on these potentially unreported rentals.”

“He probably isn’t doing this,” Eddie said.

“No, of course not, it would endanger his customers,” Dave said.

“A dishonest person wouldn’t endanger his customers, would he?” Eddie said.

“I’ll get you the address.”

“We’re sure it’s nothing,” Eddie said.

“Sure,” Dave said, “We’re only following him around because we like to travel. Not because there have been any complaints about him.”

In the car once they’d said good bye to a not so satisfied customer, Dave said, “We did that together rather well.”

“Yeah, we did the old ‘good cop’, ‘all criminals are conscientious cop’ routine very well.”

“We can be pretty sure Livanté was rented out as a doll last night,” Eddie said.

“Could she have ended up like that because Nora’s old boss found her?” Dave said.

“Maybe. Problem is the old boss has been eluding us for a while now.”

“We haven’t really been relentless in pursuing him. I can round up the guys again.”

“The guys?” Eddie asked.

“You weren’t involved when we rescued Nora. We had a whole team of guys ready to pound whoever had been renting her out. They’ll be glad we’re back on the trail.”

*****

Dave made several hands free calls on the drive back home. Several of the guys wanted to meet immediately. Eddie agreed to it and they returned to Dave’s apartment.

Dave went into Nora’s room immediately. “Enough fooling around, Jean. That bastard doll renter has Nora and…” She was already turning human at that point.

“He isn’t getting away this time,” she said.

Rendering Old Manips

It's been 11 months (and a week) since I got serious about doing 3D renders in Daz Studio. As of July 29, I have released about 272 renders in over 85 "pages". (Not counting 40 more pages completed and scheduled made from another 300 renders.)

I've released 107 photo manipulations and captions according to my spreadsheet. 81 of which are one-shots with no links to other stories or narratives. (Jessica and Dora have 8 episodes, Who Knew? has 5, Buying Gift for Wife has 6, etc.)

I made my first Daz Shop purchase on August 24, 2024. (According to their records, I downloaded the free Daz software way back in Feb 2013 as well. Could have been doing this over a decade if I really tried working with it then. I think my computer at the time wasn't aimed at high video performance and it was just too frustrating. The Daz Tutorial library on YouTube was probably also non-existent at that time.)

But I digress. Attached to this are a couple old photomanipulations reinterpreted as 3D renders. They're never going to be exact. Hopefully the old caption text still works with the reinterpretation. These four are some of the original manipulations I did way back in 2015. By and large, I took two approaches to this: Match the original as well as I can. Or, just reinterpret it. The Chocolate one is a complete rewrite, as you may have noticed.

Below is a list of my ten oldest manipulations and why they are or aren't here. :)

• Arms On Sofa, the first manipulation I posted. It turns 10 on August 7. Now it faces a 3D rival. :)

• Mannequin in the Doorway (Deferred) - Last October we saw the sequel to this one. I'm not posting a rendering today. I need more time. And it's already gotten a bit of loving recently. Maybe the next batch of reinterpretations.

• Rundown Gynoid - Don't like the clothing on the original.

• Swimwear At The Beach - Again, clothing matching is damn near impossible. Although, I kind of like the new one better. Minor text changes for the clothing.

• Who Knew? (Deferred) - I'll likely reinterpret the entire Who Knew? She Knew series in a future posting.

• Help Yourself To Some Chocolate - With so many people in the original, any attempt to recreate the look of all those people would have taken weeks and still end unsatisfactorily. This version is a complete rewrite with the same basic premise.

• Zip It! (Deferred) - One of my all time favs. And I can't get the zipper to look as good as just manipping the zipper in. Maybe some other time.

• Waiting By The Window (Next Time)

• Golden (Next Time)

• Mermaid (Next Time)

Sold (Part 3 of 8)

Nora, Eddie, and Madame Livanté all exchanged phone numbers with one another.

“You could have asked me to teach you,” Livanté said after Eddie left.

“I’m sure I will ask that of you, as well. But, you seem more likely to charge me money for the lessons. And I don’t have a job.”

“You can get a job.”

“Can I take this necklace off?”

“Let me teach you a few exercises, first. You will probably be stuck the first few times you remove the necklace. But, once you learn how to feel your magic, and how to control it, you should be able to stop channeling it into Eddie’s spell.”

“How do I explain this to Jean and Dave?”

“I can’t help you there,” Livanté said. “Unless you meant what words you should use. You can try explaining what you understand to me and I’ll point out how you can make it more clear while maintaining proper accuracy.”

*****

“That’s disappointing,” Jean said.

“Why didn’t Madame Livanté notice you were a powerful wizard?” Dave asked.

“That’s what’s disappointing,” Jean said. “If I’d known Nora would eventually learn how to cast a doll spell, I wouldn’t have needed to buy the necklace I bought.”

“Certainly. That there is the most important part,” Dave said.

“Regardless of how powerful I’m supposed to be,” Nora said. “I probably won’t be making magic necklaces any time soon.”

“Are you going to go to Magic Night School to get your magic high school diploma?”

“No,” she said. The words that followed were mostly mumbled.

“What?” Jean said.

“I heard the word Eddie,” Dave said.

“Eddie is going to teach me his doll spell.”

“You really like irony, don’t you?” Dave said. “Back to my question? Why didn’t Livanté notice you were a wizard?”

“I did ask. She saw the magic energy. There was a lot of it. At first, she figured if I were a wizard, I wouldn’t be stuck,” Nora said. “Then she wasn’t sure how to tell me I had done it all to myself. I think that’s why she let me kidnap Eddie in the first place.”

“The real villain here is the guy who used you for basically a year. I bet he could tell you had succubus energy and counted on that to keep you at heel,” Jean said.

“I wonder if you’re affected by like protection circles and that was also how he kept you.”

“Oh, my,” Nora said. “I’m sending Rachel a text right now.”

“Rachel?”

“Madame Livanté. She finally told me her first name.”

“When are you going to practice? Will you need our help?”

“Tonight. And I’m sure I’ll need you to put the necklace back on me when I fail.”

“At least freedom is only a few days away once you master the control of your spell energy.”

“Yeah. About that. She also told me I’ll probably have trouble with it because I like being a doll. And Eddie immediately agreed with her.”

“At least you can admit that now.”

“Out loud. I’ve always known no matter how much I tried to lie to myself.”

“We’ve helped you get this far. We aren’t going to stop.

“The worst part of this is I’ll have to refrain from sex to help lower my magic reserves.”

“I don’t have to keep up with two horny women any more?” Dave rejoiced. “Hallelujah.”

*****

Jean and Dave held an informal party that weekend to celebrate Nora being alive again. Many of her rescuers attended. She tried to introduce herself to all of them.

“Hi, you know who I am. I believe your name is Kurt.”

“It is indeed, Nora. It’s so good to see you able to move.”

“It feels good to move. But, I could freeze up at any time. Tell Dave or Jean if I do. They can help.”

“You’re serious? That fucking bastard.”

“Yeah, I think he was more of an asshole, myself.”

“To-may-to, to-mah-to.”

She laughed. “Which one of the guys is Jacob?”

The man next Kurt turned around. “That’s me. Good to talk to you again, Nora.”

“I need to thank you the most. I can’t believe you remembered meeting me at one party, like, two years ago.”

“It was about two years ago, wasn’t it? Wow, time flies.”

“Yeah,” she said sadly.

“Sorry.”

“No, no. It’s not your fault. I was just reminded that while the time I was gone is like a blur now. While I was there, time crawled.”

“Hey, hey, do you need a hug?”

“I would like a hug.”

“Are you okay?” Jean said.

“She needed a hug.”

“Oh, well, Jacob, I see you have that well in hand.”

“She probably needs two hugs,” Jacob said. “Or three.”

Jean joined the hug. Soon five people were giving Nora a hug.

“Jean?” Jacob said. “She’s turned into a doll.”

“I feared that would happen. Okay, let’s break this up. Carry her to her room for me Jacob?”

“No problem.”

Jean was holding a necklace when Jacob entered. “Can I?” He said.

“Sure.”

He placed the necklace on Nora’s neck.

“My hero.” Nora said. She kissed him on the lips.

“Oh!” Jacob said, he looked down. “Shucks, ‘twas nothin’, ma’am.”

Nora laughed. “Exactly the vibe I was going for.”

“I’m only missing a cowboy hat. I’d be looking downward, holding it near my body.”

*****

Several weeks passed as Nora failed frequently to dismiss the doll spell and Jean or Dave had to put the necklace back on her. Even when she managed to dismiss it, she’d snap back into doll form a few minutes later. Minutes turned into hours and eventually she went two days without turning into a doll.

When Jean kissed her to congratulate her, that’s when she turned back into a doll.

Over a month passed before she met with Madame Livanté and Eddie for her first real wizard lessons.

“I thought you would call sooner,” Eddie said.

“I’m a slow learner, I guess.”

“I can’t believe it took you so long to finally break Eddie’s spell,” Rachel said. “Are you sure learning how to cast it yourself is a good idea?”

“I actually ‘borrowed’ Jean’s necklace after being free of the doll spell for a few days.”

“Necklace?”

After Rachel explained what it was, Eddie laughed. “Wow.”

“Don’t say it,” Nora said. “Yes, I love being a doll. Happy?”

“I wish we’d met under different circumstances. We could have had a real relationship.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Oh, I’m well aware of that. I meant long before I met Linda, very different circumstances. In any case, let’s see how long it takes to teach you a couple of other non-doll spells. I’m worried you’ll pick up the doll spell in a second and then struggle to learn anything else.”

“That’s good advice, Eddie,” Madame Livanté said.

“You know as well as I do that she needs real training. She doesn’t need to waste a lot of time as a doll during that training.”

The two wizards took turns trying to teach Nora what they considered simple spells: a small, glowing ball of light in her palm, a spooky “ghost” noise, minor fireworks displays, causing small objects to float in the air, etc. None of them worked. She got the palest glow to appear in her hand: one not bright enough to read by.

All three of them were feeling defeated. At the end of a session two weeks later, Madam Livanté said she wasn’t available the following afternoon.

As they were leaving, Eddie and Nora were outside together. “I’d still like to meet tomorrow, if you’d like,” Eddie said.

“What’s the point? I’m no wizard.”

“I didn’t want to bring it up in front of the proper wizard but I suspect we aren’t approaching your magic correctly.”

“I’m sure she’d be open to any approach you thought might be better.”

“Nah, the light in your hand and minor fireworks stuff is Wizarding 101. That why she started there. There’s hardly any wizards who can’t do that kind of thing.”

“I can’t.”

“And I said hardly,” Eddie said. “Your place or mine?”

“Mine. No one will be around for a little while tomorrow afternoon.”

“Perfect. Continue to practice your drain and retain exercises. See you then.”

*****

When Eddie arrived the next day, Nora had setup several items for the common spells she had been failing to perform with Eddie and Madame Livanté. When he saw them he said, “Oh, well, we can try those later. But, I want to try some very different spells. We probably won’t need these objects.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Nice place,” Eddie said when he got inside. “This is Jean’s and Dave’s apartment, right?”

“Yeah. So, what do we need?”

“Just you and I are what we need. Let’s sit on the floor.” They sat cross-legged, facing one another about five feet apart. He held his right hand up, palm toward her, with his first two fingers raised. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

She only regarded him for a few seconds like this was a silly question. She figured there was a point to the question. “Two.”

“Yes. Now, close your eyes,” he said. Once she did, he said again, “Now how many fingers am I now holding up?”

“How would I know? Is there a spell I’m supposed to cast?”

“People can find stuff out without magic. Second, I only told you to close your eyes, not to seal them shut. You could have opened them. But, forget that for now. Let’s see if you can figure out how many fingers I’m holding up without opening your eyes.”

Awkwardly, she reached out with her hands. When she found his extended arm, she followed it to his hand and touched his fingers. “Three fingers.”

“Very good. You can open your eyes.”

“Now what?”

“Now we add magic. Using the normal spell template that has failed you so far, do what you just did. Except this time,” he said. He put his hand behind his back. “This time you can’t see my hand and you can’t reach out and touch my hand physically. You have to reach out magically. This will probably take you a few tries so don’t be discouraged if doesn’t work immediately. You been using your hands and eyes for decades. Magic is still new to you.”

“Except according to you and Rachel, I’ve been using magic for a year and a half.”

“I wouldn’t call what you’ve been doing with magic ‘using.’ We have yet to see you use magic aside from that less than a candle glow you managed.” He let that sink in. “Now, imagine you have an extra hand. Do it now while the spell template is in your mind.”

“Should I be able to see this hand?”

“Trying to create an invisible floating hand may make this easier or it may make it harder. It depends on the kind of magic you ultimately are better at. Start with an invisible hand for now. It’s less complicated, harder to control. Just hold in your mind where you want it to be and then move it from there to where you want it to go, in this case, behind my back.”

“How will I know it worked?”

“The hand I asked you to make should be just like the two you were born with, albeit invisible and not physically attached.”

“Right, childsplay.”

“Not with that attitude. When, not if, when it works, you’ll be able to feel my hand or probably you’ll feel my back first or maybe the floor behind me.”

Several minutes passed. “I’m… I’m touching something,” she said. She looked at his leg. “I think it’s the material of your slacks.”

“Press against the material.” He smiled. “Yes, you’re touching my leg.”

“I did magic!??”

“Seems that way. Feel your way to my-- Whoa. Wait until after the lesson to feel me there.”

“Oh, god, I’m sorry. Did I…?”

“It figures a succubus would reach out and touch a man there.”

“I am not a demon.”

“No, not a demon. Oh, you’ve found my hand.”

“Yes. You are holding out your pinky.”

“Congratulations. You’ve used magic successfully.”

She let out a cheer of triumph and hugged him.

“When you’re ready to let me go, let’s try floating the paper clip again.”

She struggled for ten minutes. The paper clip wobbled on the floor but she never lifted it.

“Okay, stop that. I’m curious now. Pick me up with the magic hands. Imagine reaching under my arms and grabbing my waist and… Whoa.” He was already floating in the air.

“What?” She said. “Oh, god!”

He dropped to the floor.

“Are you okay? How could I lift you but not a paper clip?”

“I’m fine. You were startled. It’s okay.” He sat up. “Your magic appears to be fixated on people and not things. You can distinguish fabric from skin, press against a person, can feel the shape of someone’s hand, and lift people. We should do some exercises to see the current limits of your magic or we can, once again, jump into the deep end.”

“The deep end seems to work best for me.”

“Yes, it does… What? What are you...? Fuckin’…” The words turned into moans of heightened pleasure culminating in his face contorting, his body straining within a few minutes. As quickly as he seemed to seize up, he went limp, laying on the floor panting.

“The deep end,” she said with a look of pure wonder and a bit of lasciviousness. “That looked like it felt real good.”

“How? Couldn’t…? Couldn’t you let me… remove my pants… before causing me to… to cum?”

“Sorry. I didn’t think it would happen so fast,” she said. “I thought you’d ramp up and we’d fondle each other for bit and then… Heh. What am I talking about? Not sorry.”

“We were going… going to fondle each other?”

“I’m feeling very horny,” she said. “Even sex with you feels appealing.”

“It feels as if you just want to use me for sex,” he said without judgment. “I’m good with it as long as I know where I stand.”

They fucked. As they did, she employed her magic hands to heighten his and her own pleasure. Some of the ‘hands’ were definitely mouths as the sex progressed. Neither Nora nor Eddie heard the door to the apartment open and close. Neither of them heard the door to the spare bedroom, Nora’s bedroom, open.

Jean stood there in fascination as she’d never seen such raw pleasure on two people’s faces as they fucked. She took a tentative step forward. Nora caught her eye and raised an eyebrow. Somehow Jean understood and started removing her top.

She was sucked into the couple’s orbit bodily before the top hit the floor. The three of them pleasured one another with unrestrained abandon: four, if you count Nora’s magic body parts separately.

The sun was low in the sky as they lay in a sweaty – and other fluids-y – heap. “We’re stopping, right?” Jean said.

“Yes,” Eddie said. “I did introduce myself, didn’t I?”

“I think your dick was in my ass at the time. But, yeah.”

“I can keep going,” Nora said.

“NO!” The other two said in unison.

Nora’s laugh was a bit chilling, dark even.

“Hand me my phone,” Jean said, pointing at it.

It was dripping wet as Nora handed it to her. It managed to light up to their surprise.

“I’m texting Dave to pick up food for us and our guest. And then, I’m throwing this phone away.”

“It should clean up easily if it’s still working,” Eddie said. “You might never get the smell out of the screen protector. Just replace that.”

She gave him a withering look.

Nora got up fresh as a daisy and left the room.

Eddie and Jean stared after her wondering how she didn’t feel as they did: as if they’d just run a marathon. And then another one to get back to where they started.

They were far too grateful when Nora returned with several bottles of cold water to complain.

“Since I can move, I’ll go shower first,” Nora said. The other two were in the middle of downing their second bottle of water and unable to reply. She had stopped in the bathroom to remove the top layer of orgy evidence before delivering the bottles. Still, she held her bathrobe at arm’s length as she went back to the bathroom.

Eddie was sitting up when she returned. Jean was still on her back, her eyes closed. Nora set cleaning supplies down on her dresser.

“Help me up,” he said.

“I left some of Dave’s clothes and a towel in the bathroom for you. I’ll make sure she’s still alive as you go shower.”

“Even if I wanted to argue, I couldn’t. I’ll be far too long, I’m guessing.”

“Never long enough.”

“None of that.”

“Swat my ass. I’m a bad girl.”

“I said, ‘None of that.’” He laughed and left.

Nora worked around Jean’s inert body as she stripped the sheets off the bed and put carpet stain remover on several potential future stained areas of the rug.

Out of nowhere, Jean said, “I might have preferred when you were a doll if this is what you’ve become.”

“I wasn’t sure you were alive.”

“Not sure myself, even now.”

*****

Nora gave Dave the short version of why Jean was indisposed. She was in the shower when he arrived. He set dinner on the table and met Eddie for the first time. The two of them and later Jean filled Dave in on how they’d spent the last three or four hours.

“I am thankful, appalled, and rueful that I missed this orgy,” Dave said.

“There will be others,” Nora said.

“God, I hope so,” Jean said. “And I don’t. You need to learn moderation.”

“I can’t believe your magic reserves are still overflowing,” Eddie said. “Livanté will be confused. Her book learning would tell her you are impossible.”

“Or a demon,” Nora said with a sly smile.

“That does make sense. But as much as I joke about it, you don’t read as a demon,” Eddie said. “Maybe Livanté could get the truth from your parents. Me, I don’t really care. Just promise me you’ll invite me to a future orgy. Um… Maybe not the next one… or the one after that. My di... sorry. My body couldn’t take it again any time soon.”

Over the course of the next week, Nora was less aggressive with her magic. Jean and Dave enjoyed a heightened level of sexual experience as Nora’s control improved. And she didn’t always need to extract a dozen orgasms from her bed partners.

That Friday evening, she was alone. Jean and Dave had rented a cabin in the woods for a weekend get away. The idea had been for them to get away from Nora for some alone time. Nora was happy for them and encouraged them to do so.

When she faced the evening by herself, she made sure to have a smiling face when they left. She changed into her pajamas early and was watching a television series she’d meaning to watch. It was a bit erotic and she was soon playing with herself. She tried to keep it magic free and managed for the first time in ages to orgasm without the aid of magic. She was proud of herself and also felt a bit silly for that pride as well.

She wondered what Jean and Dave were up to and got a sense that they were engaged in some pre-sex making out. Without thinking about it, she lent a phantom hand to squeeze Dave’s ass or Jean’s breast or to caress an arm or an inner thigh. Soon her phantom mouth was licking and sucking. More and more phantom body parts joined in.

Far away, Dave said, “Do you feel extra hands?”

“I wasn’t sure until a moment ago,” Jean said. “Aren’t we like 300 miles from home?”

“Yeah. Where is she licking you?” Dave said.

“Right boob, some toes, and she’s matching you lick for lick on my clit.”

“I’m surprised that it surprises me she can reach half way across the state to do this with us.”

“Next time, we go to another continent.”

“It’s nice that she’s thinking of us.”

“Is it?”

“By the time we can… Whoa,” Dave yelped. “She’s picking me up.”

“She’s turning me around.”

“I guess we’re just enjoying the ride from here out.”

Nora hadn’t intended to take so much control. But once she started, it progressed quickly. She puppeteered the remote couple through a series of positions. She moved their limb, their mouths, their tongues, and other bits. The phantom limbs didn’t stop either. The couple found themselves in an induced haze of continuous orgasms and their bodies pleasured one another over and over.

After an hour of full control, Nora's own orgasmic haze peaked, causing her to fall asleep.

*****

Nora awoke the next morning feeling refreshed. It was Saturday. A week had passed since Eddie had awakened her magic. Madame Livanté had been surprised. She had also said she couldn’t do any lessons until today. Nora ate breakfast and went to Rachel’s magic laboratory.

Rachel spent over an hour interrogating Nora’s progress and capabilities. She was shocked to find out what had happened the previous evening with Jean and Dave being so far away.

Eventually, the questions ended. “I guess you don’t really need our help any more.”

“Our?”

“Eddie and I. Although, I’m not sure why he wasn’t able to come here this morning.”

“There is one thing.”

“What?”

“The doll spell. I still don’t know Eddie’s spell.”

“He never taught it to you?”

“No. The last time I saw him, he was still recovering from my overstimulating him. He said he couldn’t teach me the spell when he was that out of it.”

“I suppose that’s a good reason. I can teach you the doll spell. Shall we begin?”

She agreed and it took a few tries before Nora found herself unable to move. To verify the spell worked, Livanté moved Nora’s arms and legs into various doll-like poses.

Nora had missed being puppeteered in this manner. When Livanté was satisfied, Nora found herself standing in a sort of A-pose. It was like a T-pose seen in computer graphics stuff, but her arms weren’t straight out to the side. Nora hadn’t noticed when it happened, but she was held slightly aloft by a life-size doll stand.

“You haven’t dismissed the spell?” Madame Livanté said. “That’s because you shouldn’t be able to cast spells with the doll spell I taught you. I’m sure you find being completely helpless rather erotic.”

Nora did. Though, not being able to cancel the doll spell didn’t really make sense. She had been enjoying Rachel’s posing and reposing her so much she hadn’t even tried. Sure enough, she was stuck like this when she tried to cancel the spell.

Livanté walked away toward the door to the room. “Master will be pleased to have you back.” She switched out the light as she closed the door behind her.

Statue Rentals #7: Reggie and Leona Go On A Date

I'm imagining a linked in-like website for inanimate artwork workers. Lots of posts looking for work and posts like "Hey, here's me as a mannequin. I spent six months in the window at Beth's Boutique, 5 stars."

Reggie certainly looks dapper. Try to ignore the fact that all three men are wearing the same clothing asset. It took a while to put all those extras outside the entrance and in all the seats inside. Can't really see them.

Hey, what's Leona's doing with her foot?

Transcript

Row One

Panel 1 – Reggie and Leona at the restaurant

Leona: Look at that ceiling. I’ve always wanted to eat at this restaurant. It is supposed to be incredible.

Reggie: It seems Stacy is moving in higher class circles now that he's in the art world.

Leona: Moving? He’s supposed to be a statue. He ain’t moving.

Reggie: Ha ha. Hmm. The only statue here seems to be that one. Although, from here, it doesn’t really look like him.

Panel 2 – Standing by the statue

Reggie: Doesn’t look like him.

Leona: The plaque says her name is Stacy.

Reggie: I've never seen him with his hair down like that.

Leona: Ha Ha

Reggie: Are there any other living statues on display here?

MaitreD: Most people aren't aware the statue is a living person. Do you know this lady?

Reggie: Yes, we were roommates a few months ago.

Panel 3 – Seated

MaitreD: I was going to seat you away from the entrance. But, you could sit here to have a better view of the art piece. The owner loves it. He’s hoping the artist will allow us to keep it all year. There's the owner now.

Leona: It is certainly a striking piece. You didn’t get to see it before it was delivered. Did you, Reggie?

Reggie: No, Meredith didn’t send me a text about Stacy until after the delivery.

MaitreD: Enjoy your meals. Maurice will be your server.

Row Two

Panel 4 – Owner is by the statue, leering at it. MaitreD talks to the owner

Panel 5 – Owner at the table

Mr. Tellani: François says you know the charming lady inside the statue. What can you tell me about her?

Leona (thinking): Charming?

Reggie: Stacy was my roommate before signing up for their current artwork tposition here.

Leona: If you don't mind, I’d rather not listen to him talking about his former girlfriend.

Panel 6 – Owner at table

Mr. Tellani: Oh, I’m so sorry. Where are my manners?

Leona: No big deal.

Mr. Tellani: No, no. I’m entirely at fault. François, comp this table to my account.

François: As you wish, Sir.

Mr. Tellani: Have a good evening.

Panel 7 – The couple is alone at their table, Reggie with a big grin, Leona with a lustful look

Reggie: I hope that’s actually him… her.

Leona: Who cares? Order the good wine. I’m feeling lucky tonight.

Sold (Part 2 of 8)

“Are you sure you can’t sell her?” Jean said.

“I’ve told you twice now that IT is not for sale.”

Jean saw Dave with a pained expression. His eyes rolled at her.

“Now, get out of my way. I’m leaving,” Nora’s owner said. He rushed out of their place. He tossed her into the car and sped away. She usually ended up in the trunk. He’d dumped her bag in the passenger sheet.

“They know you, don’t they? Don’t they!!” He shouted, she assumed at her. “Fuck!”

She could tell he was speeding. And she knew that if she could tell that with her nonexistent sense of motion, he was probably driving extremely recklessly.

He left her in the car and ran into his apartment. She heard him put some things in the trunk of his car. And in under an hour he was driving again.

“Fuck. I liked that place,” he said. “No matter. They won’t find me there any more.”

He dumped her out of her bag onto the floor of an unfamiliar space. Something small bounced away from her as he did.

“What was that?” He said.

He found the little thing and started stomping on it. “Fuck. This place isn’t safe. They put a fucking tracker on you. You aren’t worth it any more. Congratulations.”

He left. She lay in heap on the floor where he’d left her. It was quiet. Occasionally, the sound of a car passing by could be heard. She saw the sun rise the next morning. He hadn’t returned. Later that day, there was a knock on the door. It repeated more insistently. The door crashed in.

“There she is.”

“Thank God!” Jean said.

The sound of multiple people moving about the space reached Nora’s ears.

“Nothing. No one’s here.”

“Nothing’s here.”

As the other men spoke, Dave picked up the doll.

“No stuff either in any of the rooms. No food in the kitchen.”

“Look at this.”

“Damn, he found the tracker.”

“He’s probably long gone.”

“Yeah,” Dave said. “We’ve got what we came for.”

“No, we didn’t,” someone said. “I came for justice.”

“This isn’t over,” someone else said.

They left. Nora spent the next few weeks on Dave and Jean’s spare room bed. She was almost happy. Though, she was shocked to realize, she missed being rented. All those men had helped rescue her. Surely they needed a reward. That was kind of slutty, she thought. Was it because she was a sex toy? Or was her mind forever conditioned to think like that? Did it matter?

Jean would rush into the spare room every fifth or sixth day and apologize profusely for not spending more time with her. Nora was glad she couldn’t point out Jean meant she’d forgotten about her. Jean would read some country or world news articles to her, though, eventually she would fall silent and read the articles to herself. Something would distract her and she’d leave without remembering why she’d came in.

Nora could only laugh at this. At least she was trying, she thought.

About a month after her rescue, Jean visited her with actually useful news: a wizard was going to be visiting to evaluate her condition. Nora was so excited by this news.

A few days later, the wizard arrived. She was not the same person who told Jean she sensed Nora inside the doll months ago. Jean introduced her. “Nora. This is Madame Livanté. She’s a wizard specializing in…”

“Transformations, possessions, and spiritual displacements. Hello, Nora. Let’s see how you’re doing.” From Nora’s point of view, the wizard waved some rocks in her face for about five minutes. “She’s alive and as well as she can be. Her spirit is a little weak. Probably because she’s horny.”

“Horny?” Dave said with a smirk.

“Just because she’s a doll doesn’t mean she can exist without fulfillment. Being a sex doll means she gets fulfillment by having sex.”

“What do you recommend?” Jean said.

“She needs sex, to orgasm, at least three times a week once she’s healthy. Every day would be best for at least the next two weeks.”

“And restoring her?” Dave said. He noticed Jean was looking at the doll oddly.

“Complex spell. When she is restored I hope she can give me some insight as to how the spell was cast. Though I’m guessing she wasn’t paying attention to those details since she’s in the predicament she’s in.”

“She must have been frightened when it happened.”

“No. No, she wasn’t,” the wizard said.

“No? She was only surprised?” Jean said.

“No, she was a willing participant in the spell and probably was completely aware of what it would do to her.”

“What?”

“Oh, she didn’t want it to last as long as it has. I’m also sure of that. But, part of the reason she’s so horny is not just that she is a sex doll, it’s because she wanted to become a sex doll. The wizard who did this to her either tricked her or became incapacitated or was separated from her in some manner. Or some combination all those possibilities.

“I’ll need some time to come up with a permanent solution to her current state. In the meantime, I have been asking around about temporary solutions as well. I’ll let you know in a week or two what an expected time line to solve her problem might look like.”

“Will having both a temporary and permanent solution cost more?”

“Nominally. Putting your eggs in one magic basket isn’t wise though. Magic is fickle. Now, unless there’s something else, I have a pressing matter I must not be late to.”

*****

Dave entered Nora’s bedroom the evening after the wizard’s visit. He was just wearing underpants. “I hope you really want this.” He said nothing else and began what little foreplay he needed to get himself semi-erect.

Jean spoke from the doorway as he was about to enter the doll. “No need to rush, Big Boy.” She was wearing sexy lingerie in a bright red color.

“I thought…”

“Don’t think,” she said. She slid into bed and knelt next to the doll. “Keep doing what you were doing. Just look at me and not the doll.”

He kissed Jean and their passion mounted. While he was fucking the doll, he and his wife were making love.

Nora didn’t care. She exploded, releasing a dam of pent up erotic energy as soon as he entered her. The couple were still early in their love making when Nora recovered from her orgasm. She felt like she in one of those weird point of view sex tapes as they made out above her: Jean, Dave, and What the Fuck Toy Saw. Now on 8mm film. She laughed in her mind at her joke.

“Do you want to finish in our room?” Dave said as Jean was getting fully revved up.

“No, do me right here.” She lay on top of Nora and Nora felt Dave smash in and out of Jean over and over. Jean’s orgasm was full of passion and lust. The two living participants collapsed on the bed. After a moment, Jean kissed the doll on the lips. “I hope you enjoyed that at least half as much as I did, Nora.”

This scenario repeated every night over the next few weeks. Each night Nora’s participation became less and less perfunctory. Both of them would hold and caress the doll. Jean would grind herself on Nora’s face. Jean would lick Dave’s cock as he was penetrating the doll. Dave would hug and kiss the doll on the lips, while Jean sucked him off.

Jean entered the bedroom early one evening and said, “Nora, good news. I visited Madame Livanté’s laboratory. She said she’ll have the temporary solution ready by early next week. Now, I hope you aren’t offended by this. But, you might have wondered why I visited the wizard. In addition to hiring her to solve your problem, I’ve come to realize recently I needed something of my own and she had exactly what I wanted readily available.”

She held up a necklace. “I hope you aren’t offended.” She put the necklace on and Nora was surprised as Jean was turning into a sex doll.

Nora laughed. Sex with Dave and a sex doll wasn’t enough for Jean. She had to be a sex doll, too?

The two dolls lay inert on the bed for over an hour when Dave appeared in the doorway. “There you are,” he said. “You’ve been talking to Nora for over… Jean?”

He laughed. “I can’t believe you did this. When you asked Livanté about becoming a doll yourself, I thought you were joking.”

He moved Jean to a corner of the bed before disrobing. “Unfortunately, as I warned you during dinner, I have an early meeting tomorrow and I’m rather tired. I don’t think I can pleasure you both. And Nora needs it more than you do. Jeannie, you can to watch me have sex with Nora. And don’t you tell me later this isn’t precisely what you hoped would happen.”

He had sex with Nora and when he was done he got up to leave. “Oh, forgot.” He reach toward Jean his hand hovering above the necklace. He pulled her by the neck to his face and kissed her. “Good night, Jean.”

He set her back down and left, a few chuckles from him were audible to both dolls.

Dave left Jean as a doll for three days. She wasn’t mad when he finally removed the necklace. In fact, she pounced him and they screwed for over an hour atop Nora before Jean was sated.

“That wasn’t nice,” Jean said.

“I thought it was amazing,” he joked.

“I meant the necklace.”

“Taking it off? You can keep wearing it.”

“You meanie,” she said. “Have you heard from the wizard?”

“Yes, she’ll be here tomorrow.” He looked a little down. “She said the permanent solution has hit a snag. But, a temporary one is ready. It will be similar to the necklace. But, because it has to fight the existing spell, the duration will be a bit more limited.”

“How much more?”

“She didn’t say. She’ll explain when she can tell Nora.”

“Should we have left the room?” Jean said.

“I don’t see why we would shield her from what’s going on. She’s the one living with this. Or, not living with it.”

As much as it pleased her to hear what Dave said, Nora thought, “Thanks, Dave. That joke never gets old.”

*****

Madame Livanté placed the necklace around Nora’s neck. Light shined dimly from the heart-shaped pendant hanging between her breasts. It grew brighter and brighter. Suddenly, it fell to a dim glow. At the same time, Nora inhaled deeply.

“Oh, my!” She lunged at the wizard and hugged her. “Oh, God. Oh, God. Thank you. Thank you.” She hugged them hard, all while giving thanks.

They let her get as much of it out as she could before saying anything.

The wizard took hold of the pendant. “Nora, I need to explain a few things.”

Through tears of joy, Nora calmed down, “Okay.”

“I was hoping this pendant would be glowing brighter. The spell affecting you is more powerful than I expected.”

“What does that mean?”

“This glow will fade. When it’s gone, Nora, you will turn back into a doll. As you restore your energy, the pendant will grow brighter and once it is at full brightness, you will transform again. But this will dim the pendant, and unfortunately, it seems like the transformation takes a lot of energy.”

“When you say restore my energy, do you still mean sex?”

“Yes. The more the better.”

“How long will it last like this?”

“Only a few hours. Five. Maybe Six. I would advise you not to go out alone.” She said. “It’s not all doom and gloom. As time goes by, the necklace should gain strength and the doll spell should lose it. If we never find a permanent solution, this necklace should break the original spell… well… in a few years. I wish I had better news.”

“I’m alive,” Nora said. “I can deal with any setbacks after what I’ve been through.”

“That’s the spirit. I’ll leave so you and the Lukowski’s can have a normal conversation.”

“I want to talk about the weather. I haven’t done that is so long.”

“Really?” Jean said.

“No,” Nora said with a sly smile. “That can wait until tomorrow.”

*****

“We have to have more sex?” Dave said once the wizard was gone. “We’ve been doing it daily for a month.”

“Mornings and evenings?” Nora said.

“I’m down for it,” Jean said. “Aw, honey, why do you look worried?”

“I’ll give it my best,” Dave said.

“Of course you will.” Jean kissed him.

“May I interrupt,” Nora said. “I haven’t eaten in…”

“Oh, god. Let me make you something.” Jean rushed off to the kitchen.

Dave and Nora followed after her without rushing. “We spoke about this,” he said. “You can stay here as long as you need to. We don’t have any chores for you or obligations until you aren’t at the whim of some magic thing keeping you human.”

“I’ll help.”

“Only if you want. We just don’t expect you to. You should spend time getting back in touch with friends and family.” He reached into his pocket. “I got you a phone. It’s pre-paid for a few months. I couldn’t do anything about your old phone number.”

“Oh, god! I have to call Mom.”

“Please do,” He said.

Jean said, “We never called your family as we didn’t know if you could be restored. Once we knew, we figured you could tell them yourself.”

“I can’t be upset either way. Thanks.”

“And stop giving us thanks.” He said with a grin.

Nora spent most of the day on the phone with friends and family catching up on her lost sixteen months. After dinner, when she hung up after her call to her sister, Jean said, “I’m going to turn in. Good night.”

“Good night.”

She called a few more friends until it got a bit late. Dave said to her, “We should go…”

“Go?”

“Your bedroom.”

“Seriously. I… You.. We can’t. Jean…”

“This was Jean’s idea. That’s why she turned in early.”

“What if we wake her?”

“She won’t mind. She had a doll transformation necklace made so she could make you feel more comfortable when you and I were together. I find it awkward too. You’ve reached your lifetime quota of time spent involuntarily as a doll.”

She laughed. “This is going to be more awkward than the first time I ever had sex.”

“Tell me about it.”

They laughed.

“No, actually tell me about it. And I’ll tell you my awkward story. And by the time we’re done, we should be in the middle of sex and not notice the awkwardness any more.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

As they predicted, they were both worse than awkward trying to touch one another. After a few furtive attempts to hold one another naturally, it became comical. Laughter broke the ice. They kissed, a long indulgent kiss. Soon, the awkward start was forgotten. They were sweaty and tired afterward.

“I haven’t made myself sweat like that in too long.” She said. After a short silence she said, “I can’t believe we didn’t wake Jean.”

“I’m sure she heard you.”

“Me? You weren’t quiet either.”

“I’m sure she can tune out my sex noises,” Dave joked. “You were loud. We’ll ask her in the morning.”

“She won’t just tell you when you get in bed with her.”

“I’m staying here if you’ll have me.”

“No, go to your wife.”

“I can’t.”

“What?”

“She isn’t in our bedroom.”

“Did she leave?”

“No, she said she turned in.”

“Yes.”

“Turned into what, you should ask?” He pointed at the closet in her bedroom. The sliding door was ajar. In the darkness beyond, she could just make out a figure standing in the closet.

“She watched us?!”

“She told me she would,” he said giving the doll in the closet a little wave.

“I can’t believe she wanted to see you having sex with another woman.”

“Not just any other woman. You,” he said. “We both love you, Nora. She’s told me she’ll miss you when you finally move out.”

“But…”

“No buts unless you mean this butt.” He gave her ass a playful swat. “Shall I bring her into your bed? This bed lately has been host to one or two living people and a doll or two for the last six weeks or so. We don’t want to break that streak, do we?”

“No, I suppose not. I’ll get her.” She got out of bed and pulled the doll out of the closet. “You are very naughty,” she admonished the doll. “It works for you.”

*****

Her magic necklace held a charge for over a day. And as long as they recharged it with sex each day, it would keep her alive indefinitely. A few weeks after getting the necklace, she said she was meeting friends for drinks. Jean wanted to treat her like a fragile porcelain doll but Dave didn’t allow her to do so. He offered to give her a ride.

She sat in the bar by herself, watching the people come and go. A few men tried to buy her drinks but she politely declined. She was looking for a specific someone. It took a couple different attempts on different days before she saw a face she would never forget: one of a handful. It was her lucky night because he approached her.

“What’s a lovely lady doing sitting here along? Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure. I’m just waiting for someone. Are you someone?”

“I believe I am. Eddie.” He said, offering his hand.

“Nora.” She said, shaking his hand. Her face did not betray her confirmation that he wouldn’t and didn’t recognize her.

They chatted amicably for a bit before she said she had to leave. At his suggestion that they continue talking privately, she said sure and hired a gig taxi. They waited on the street corner for it to arrive. “How adventurous are you?” She asked.

“I like a good adventure.”

“Put this on,” she said. She handed him a blindfold.

“Kinky. But, that’s probably not a good idea.”

“Probably not. Nothing risked…”

“I like you.” He took the mask and put it on.

The gig driver was amused as she helped Eddie into the vehicle. Once the driver was sure Eddie wasn’t drunk or in trouble he no longer cared. When they got out of the vehicle, she led him toward the front stairs of a row house. They laughed and joked as she tried to prevent him from stumbling too much. She rang the bell.

“Why are you ringing the bell?”

She draped Jean’s magic necklace on Eddie’s neck in lieu of responding. He transformed into a doll before he knew what was happening.

Madame Livanté appeared at that moment. “Kidnapping is a terrible risk,” she said.

“You seemed okay with this when I texted you a couple days ago.”

“I kind of hoped you wouldn’t find him. I assume this is Eddie.”

“In the plastic.”

Together, they carried Eddie into the attached house without dropping him. Being plastic helped reduce his weight.

“I have a spot ready for him.”

The spot was a cage in her basement. When Nora saw it, she said, “You tell me kidnapping is a terrible risk but you have a cage in your basement.”

“Hmmpf. Take the necklace off him and get out of the cage quickly.” By the time he could move, the cage door was locked.

“Where am I?” He pulled the blindfold off. The two women were looking at him through the bars of a cage. “This is not what I was expecting.”

Nora laughed. “How’s Linda these days, Eddie? Ever get her to turn into a doll?”

“What? Oh, no. It’s you. I’m glad you’re alive. I…”

“Shut up. I spent sixteen months in hell because of you.”

“Settle down, both of you.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Eddie said.

“It was entirely your fault you were cheating on your girlfriend.”

“Fair.”

“I said settle down,” Livanté said. “I only agreed to this so Edward here could tell me about the spell still affecting you, Nora.”

Eddie laughed. “This is a joke, right? Still affecting her? Are you a quack wizard? That spell could never have lasted over a year.”

“What does he mean?”

“What’s the normal duration?”

“A day?” He said thoughtfully. “Maybe three if the subject really resists the spell ending. How much did you like being a doll?”

“I didn’t.”

“You did. He isn’t lying about that,” Livanté said. “Could this Linda person have extended the spell?”

“Linda? I doubt it. She prefers glamours to transformations.” He saw Nora didn’t understand. “Glamours are illusions. She likes to look pretty. I offered to actually make her face look made up but she insisted she preferred the illusion to magic that actually modified her.”

“Smart,” the wizard said. “But irrelevant. Could she have extended the doll spell on Nora?”

“I doubt it. What happened? She wouldn’t talk to me for a month.”

“You two made up?”

“Oh, no. She’d had enough. But, once she broke up with me, she seemed less inclined to be angry with me. She never would tell me what she did with you. I thought she was just making me squirm since I knew she wouldn’t do any permanent harm to you with magic.”

“Does she know other wizards?” Nora said.

“Not really. They can immediately see through her glamours. She prefers hanging out with norms. Why are you still mad with me? That was over a year ago.”

“I was stuck as a doll for 16 months.”

He laughed. “Did Linda put you guys up to this? She likes to prank me.”

“It isn’t funny,” Nora said.

“Yes, it is. If you were a doll for 16 months, it’s because you wanted to be a doll for 16 months.” He looked at Livanté. “Tell her.”

“What is he talking about?”

“I’m sorry, Nora. I’ve been holding out hope that his spell was different than most transformations. But he says it isn’t and I’m inclined to believe him. Transformations are either one-offs, meaning they change something and the spell is gone.”

“Like a permanent spell?”

“No, a permanent spell would be reversable. After those transformations do their work, the spell energy is expended and fades into the aether.”

“You said you could sense the spell on me.”

“Exactly, temporary transformation spells have to remain in place. They are of limited duration because the target of the spell will naturally resist the spell. The energy of the spell holds the change in place. When the spell runs out of energy it dissipates.”

“Could he have fed sixteen months of energy into the spell that affected me?”

“Do you think you could have captured me if I were that powerful?” He said. “Your wizard friend here is being too nice with you, Nora. You! You were feeding magic energy into the spell that made you a doll. You wanted it.”

She looked at Livanté who was simply nodding in agreement.

“But…”

“I don’t remember your name,” Eddie said. “If you managed to hold my spell together for sixteen months…”

“And could have for longer since I did have to break the spell,” Livanté added.

“… You should ask yourself how powerful a wizard are you?”

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to explain that to you,” the wizard said. “Somehow, you managed to gather magic energy sufficiently strong enough to hold his, I’ll say, amateurish—”

“Fair.”

“Hold his amateurish spell in place while you weren’t even human.”

“She’s probably part succubus,” Eddie said.

“What?”

“That isn’t as far fetched as it may sound,” Livanté said. “If you had succubus blood, channeling sexual energy into the doll spell would be effortless.”

“Can I go now?” Eddie said.

Madame Livanté waved her hand and the energy skittering across the cell bars faded. He pushed the door open.

Eddie looked at Nora earnestly. “I’m going to say I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t. Learning this about yourself is probably hard. I hope you find a way to make it work for you. Good day, Ladies.”

“Eddie?” She said as he walked past her.

“Yes?”

“We aren’t square.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Teach me to be a wizard? Or at least how to cast the doll spell on myself.”

“I knew you liked it.”

Little Witch #10: Restoration

I love the scale reminder of panel 3. Of course, the camera shot had to move to make room for the Little Witch Captions logo. I so enjoyed this format, there's a later comic that has this tight shot of three dolls on doll stands on the little white shelf.

Transcript

Panel 1 – Mommy, Aunt Sally, and Jenny are dolls on doll stands, in a line three in a row.

Mommy: If we’re close enough to one another, we can communicate.

Jenny: Cool. Yeah, she gets me out of gym pretending she forgot to wash her actual shorts.

Sally: It’s nice to meet you, Jenny. But, Katheryn and I were having a serious discussion.

Panel 2 – Same as Panel 1

Jenny: Sorry. What about?

Sally: Why Kate has been resisting when Angela tries to restore her.

Jenny: I’m curious about that too.

Mommy: She talks about me in school?

Panel 3 – wide shot of the room

Jenny: Only with me and Tish. Not that anyone would be surprised Angela has her mother and aunt sitting on a shelf in her bedroom.

Sally: I don’t mind being a doll as much as I would have thought before it happened.

Mommy: I’m glad we get to share the experience, Sis.

Panel 4 – Same as Panel 1

Sally: Sure. But you can’t stay here. You need Darren. He needs you.

Jenny: Yeah, this is fun. But, there are lots of ways to have fun.

Sally: We have commitments and obligations, Katie.

Mommy: I… I know. And I enjoy this for the relaxing part. It’s easy to go with the flow when you can’t move.

Panel 5 – Same as Panel 1

Jenny: That’s the fun. But, it isn’t the only fun.

Sally: Very wise, young lady.

Mommy: I’ve been ready to change back for a while now.

Panel 6 – Same as Panel 1

Sally: Still, you resisted the other day. And that daughter of yours didn’t try restoring me. She knows it’ll work.

Sally: And that would blow your cover with Darren.

Mommy: Next time she casts the…

Panel 7 – Daddy and Angela enter the room

Daddy: Cast it now.

Angela: It won’t work if she doesn’t want it.

Daddy: Is that the full extent of how the spell works or are you leaving some of it out?

Mommy, thinking: Oh, dear. He’s upset.

Panel 8 – Angela reassures Daddy

Angela: I could push past her resistance if I wanted to.

Daddy: Please, want to.

Angela: Okay, Daddy.

Sally, thinking: What did you think I’ve been saying?

Panel 9 – Angela picks up Mommy doll to restore her

Daddy: Who’s the third doll? Why are there three dolls?

Jenny, thinking: It’s me. Jenny.

Sally, thinking: He can’t hear you.

Jenny, thinking: Oh, yeah.

Sold (Part 1 of 8)

This story started out as a simple two parter: part one detailing time as a doll; part two her escape and revenge. At 32k words, split over eight parts, it's among the longest things I've written. Enjoy the next eight weeks of releases. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

The bedroom door slammed shut. The man turned in shock to see Linda standing in front of it.

“What the fuck, Eddie?” She screeched, pointing at what was on the bed in front of him.

“I can explain,” Eddie said. “It’s just a doll, see?”

“Do I look like a fucking moron?” Linda said. “That’s some fucking bimbo you convinced to be a doll.”

“No, Lionel got me a real sex doll.”

“Then why is there a dress and a pair of shoes sitting over there?”

He rushed over to her side. “I’m sorry, Baby. You know I love dolls. You won’t let me turn you into one. This isn’t cheating though. You’re the only woman in this room.”

“Get the fuck out.”

“But…” He pointed at the doll.

“Out!”

“Linda, the doll…”

“Sucks to be her. Get out of my apartment, you fucking asshole!”

He grabbed his pants and left.

For the doll’s part, Nora was afraid. As much as she had wanted to try being a sex doll for the thrill of being out of control, she hadn’t expected this complication. Linda was staring at her in contempt. She left the bedroom, slamming the door behind her again.

Later that evening, Linda came into the bedroom. “Fuck, I forgot that thing was here.” She said when she saw the doll. She picked it up and tossed it unceremoniously into her closet and slammed that door.

When the door opened again, it was daylight. Linda spent a few minutes deciding what to wear. She didn’t look at the doll laying in a heap on the floor. This repeated for at least a week before Linda opened the closet door and put the doll on the bed. She straightened it so it lay neatly. She dressed it in the dress and shoes Nora had worn over a week ago.

She left Nora alone in the bedroom. Time passed until Nora heard a doorbell chime. Linda returned with a man Nora didn’t know. He was speaking, “… Depending on the model.”

“I think it’s a custom doll,” Linda said. “I have no paperwork. It belonged to my ex.”

“You realize a used sex doll won’t fetch the thousands of dollar a new doll would.”

“Yeah, I don’t care. I’m just sick of it taking up space. $600.”

“Let me look at it.” The man’s face hover right over Nora’s. He twisted and bent all the doll’s joints, checked under the clothing for breaks in the skin. “It’s in good shape. Do you mind if I check…?”

Linda rolled her eyes. “Be quick about it.”

Nora enjoyed being fingered: part of being a sex doll. This despite her freaking out about being sold.

“I can go $250.”

“$400.”

“$300 cash.”

Linda considered the offer a moment before saying, “Sold. I don’t have a box for it.”

“Not a problem,” the man said. After he doled out the cash, he hefted the doll over his shoulder. Linda was happy to hold the doors open for him if it got the doll out of her life sooner. Carefully, he carried it out to his car. He lay it down in the trunk of the car and slammed the hood down.

In the middle of freaking out, Nora had a moment of zen where she wondered if doors were generally slammed a lot more than she ever really noticed before. As the car pulled away, her clarity faded and she wondered if she’d ever be human again.

The car parked and sat for over half an hour before driving somewhere else. This happened several times. She guessed her new owner was running errands. Buying her had just been early on his ‘to do’ list today, she assumed.

Eventually, the trunk was opened and the man wrapped her in a blanket before carrying her into a house. He put the doll in the tub and covered it in cleaner and disinfectant. He cleaned it for almost an hour. When he was done, he carried it into the bedroom and propped it up in a life-sized doll stand to finish drying out.

The cleaning had calmed her a bit because he had been rubbing her. But, the doll stand freaked her out again. Why would he own such a thing as a human-sized doll stand?

That night he used the doll and that helped calm her even more. She even slept on the bed most of the night.

She woke lying face down on the floor. He stepped over her to use the bathroom when he woke. Afterward, he gave her a quick cleaning and put her in what would become her stand. For the next two weeks, he used her once each night and cleaned her in the morning. Resignation was Nora’s only feeling now, aside from the all too brief elation from sex.

The next evening, he stood in front of the doll stand for several minutes. She couldn’t figure why he hadn’t taken her to the bedroom as he had the prior night she was here. “It’s been two weeks,” he said, speaking to her for the first time. “I suppose anyone who knows you’re missing hasn’t located you.”

He knew she was alive? He hadn’t given her the slightest reason to believe this until now. The slight joy of knowing he knew was destroyed by his comment that no one was looking for her. He was right. At best, she knew of two friends who might file missing persons reports. She knew the police wouldn’t find her. They wouldn’t even get so far as to find out she’d left a bar with that guy Eddie.

After a few moments, he spoke again, “I’m sure you just fell into a tailspin of a deeper depression. Snap out of it if you can. My question is how much should I charge you to restore you? I don’t even know if you have any money. The woman who sold you made no attempt to give me any information about you. I’m sure there’s a terrible story there. Not that I care. I’m not your rescuer. I’m an opportunist.

“No sex tonight. I want you to think about the following:

“I could just sell you. I can easily make back double or more than the $300 I paid. It’s quick and easy. And I doubt whoever bought you could ever help you.

“I could restore you and hope you have some money to pay me. This is high risk for me. You could have nothing or you could escape paying somehow. Low likelihood of this being what I pick.

“I could rent you out. I’m leaning toward this. Renting a high quality doll such as yourself could be profitable. I might even be nice about it and when your quality degraded, I would just let you go. I’m not completely heartless.

“Renting you with your blessing. To avoid degradation, I could restore you and turn you back into a doll between rentals. This is worth more money in the long run, but only if I have you on board. Probably have to cut you in and give you a buyout clause to be invoked in the future. Think hard about this one.

“The downside to both rental ideas is they involve me finding renters. So I won’t enter into those arrangements lightly.

“Those are my options. I’m sure you are wondering why I’m telling you this. I have a spell that I can use sparingly where only your head is restored. I plan to cast this spell tomorrow to hear your thoughts on my options. Whether you’ll be able to sway me is entirely up to you. The spell only lasts five minutes. Thus, I’m giving you a 24-hour heads up so you can prepare. You have nothing better to do. And won’t be distracted by sex tonight.

“I hope you were paying attention. We won’t speak again until you can talk tomorrow. One final thing. Do not tell me your name or anything personal about you. I will just dump you in a landfill if you do. Good night.”

*****

“That was three days ago,” she said, with only a slight annoyance in her voice. She had stewed trying to figure what to say for the past three days. She was worried he had just been messing with her head when the first day passed. “I feel weird only able to move my face.”

“I told you the spell only lasts five minutes,” the man said. “What do you think?”

Before casting the spell, he’d told her he was going to be renting her out. He had several gigs already lined up. He thought it might even be lucrative enough for him to cut her in on the profits.

“I can’t figure out why you care about my feelings enough to ask my opinion, but not enough to just restore me. So do whatever. Rent me. It’s not like I can stop you.”

“That’s an excellent attitude.”

“I figured you’d enjoy it. I always aim to please. I am just a pleasure doll, I guess.”

“If you thought this beaten down attitude would sway me to release you, it won’t.”

“I told you. I’m on board with rental. That was the question you specifically asked me. My motivations aren’t really hard to guess. I want to be human again. And if I need to be your doll ho, fine. Sign me up. Just promise me, some day, I’ll have covered your three hundred dollar stake and you’ll let me go with some way to get my life back together. I’ll cooperate in your scheme.”

He looked genuinely surprised. “Okay. I already have three rentals planned. After they’re done, we’ll talk like this again.”

“Woo hoo!” She said with a complete lack of excitement.

“We only have a minute or so left. I’m rather surprised by your attitude.”

“Sorry. Was I supposed to curse at you?”

“That was what I expected.”

“Well, you waited three days to talk to me. If you’d stuck to the original one day plan, I’d have verbally ripped your head off. Today, I’m over the anger.”

“Okay. Anything else? Oh, too late. Sorry. After a few rentals, we’ll speak again.”

*****

The next evening, the man dressed the doll in an inexpensive pullover dress. She wanted to laugh as he painted makeup onto her face. He grew frustrated that it was taking too much effort to get the makeup to look right and not too caked on or clownish.

If I could do that myself, you wouldn’t have this problem, she wanted to say. She wondered if the makeup would stain the doll’s skin since it was meant for flesh not whatever plastic she was made of.

He pulled a sack-like bag up her legs and tied it above her head. The doll was light enough to toss over his shoulder and carry to his car.

She had no idea how long it took to get to her date’s house. She figured since she got tarted up, she was going on a date. It would be no different than if that fucking Eddie were taking her out, aside from the bag.

Out of nowhere, she heard her owner – it galled her to think of him as her owner – say, “I have your rental.”

“Thanks,” said a man.

“Sign this.”

“What’s this?”

“A contract. It says you’ll owe me five grand if the doll is damaged, ten if lost. And it says you won’t sue me if the doll causes any damage to your health or property. If you aren’t here when I return at the agreed upon pick up time, you’ll be charged twenty-five dollars a day that it is late. After a week, that jumps to one hundred dollars a day.”

“You never said anything about a contract.”

“How do I know you won’t disappear with the doll? Or damage it? If you’re here tomorrow when I come to pick it up and it isn’t damaged, you won’t have any problems.”

“Fine. Let me just read it.” After a moment, he said, “Fine. There.”

“Here’s your copy. I’ve already signed it.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Enjoy the doll.”

“Hang on, come in. I need to examine the doll to make sure you aren’t giving me a bag with junk in it after signing that.”

“I suppose that’s fair.”

The doll was removed from the bag and the renter took pictures of it. “I want to have proof of its starting condition before you leave. Get in the shot so I can prove you saw it in the same condition.”

“You’re very thorough. I approve.”

After a couple pics were taken, her owner left. She was rather impressed by the owner’s attention to detail to protect her. Even if he were only protecting his investment. The living room was decorated for a bachelor party. She could only imagine why she was there. The renter left her on the sofa for at least an hour before moving her to a bedroom.

He removed the dress and splayed her on the bed with her legs out to the side. Other sex dolls were in the room, though she had no way of telling if they were just dolls or former people like her.

She never would have had that thought before becoming stuck as a doll. She’d never really believed Eddie, that fucker, would be able to turn her into a doll. She thought she was going to role-play being a sex toy. Now, she gets to live it, she thought.

Her renter left without saying a word. She had gotten used to not being greeted from the way Linda had treated her. A party started and was loud enough for her to learn the groom’s full name, not someone she knew.

The groom was led into the room. The men joked that she kind of looked the like the bride. Pictures were taken. She wasn’t sure how to feel about being photographed since her doll face was basically the same as her normal – formerly normal, she corrected herself – face. The party goers watched as the incoherently drunk groom used her. After he left a few of the other men used her as well. Her mind became overloaded by the stimulation. She didn’t notice when her segment of the party ended.

It was the next morning when the renter cleaned her. He didn’t bother dressing her. He put her back on the sofa with the dress draped over her. When her owner arrived to pick her up, he gave her a quick examination and then put her back into the large sack and left.

She was in the bathtub again for a cleaning by the owner. He didn’t speak to her. She was surprised when he did her makeup again, put another cheap dress on her and back into the sack she went.

For a while she wasn’t sure if he was just going to leave her in the sack or if there was another rental. There was. It was also a bachelor party.

After a month, and about ten rentals – she just didn’t want to keep track – the man cast the spell that allowed her to speak once again.

“Sorry, I was too busy if you were expecting we’d talk sooner,” he said.

“Not too busy that you couldn’t fuck me when I wasn’t rented.”

“That doesn’t take spell energy.”

“Of course not. What do you want?”

“You have been rather profitable.”

“Let me know when the IPO is. I want to get in on the ground floor of myself. Oh… I’m guessing not so profitable that you want to let me go.”

“No. You show no signs of degradation.”

“Thanks for the heads up. What’s my schedule look like?”

“You care?”

“Not really. Just nothing else we need to talk about. You’re never letting me go and even if you say you might, I have no reason to believe anything you say when you got too busy to talk to me for a month.”

“You don’t want me to check in with you like this?”

“Will you ever say something I want to hear?” After a pause she said, “I didn’t think so.”

“Well, whether you believe it or not, I am putting a small cut for you away in an account for use if I ever let you go.”

“At least you were decent enough not to make up some date when you would let me go.”

*****

A few months passed. Her owner had moved her doll stand into a spare room. Over the course of those months, he had purchased normal dolls – they were obviously constructed dolls – which he would leave laying next to one another on a bed. Nora was surprised one day when a second doll stand appeared in the room she had come to think of as her room. The following day she watched as a doll was placed on that doll stand. She hadn’t gotten a good look at it. But she thought it was probably of the same quality she was.

He must be making a lot of money for all the dolls he bought. And now he had a second formerly living victim. Sometimes she wished there were some way to talk to her. Other times she knew that would probably be its own form of Hell.

A few months after that, a third formerly living woman was one of his dolls. Nora laughed to herself when she thought about swearing on her life that she would never breathe again.

After nearly a year with her owner, the various rentals had become a blur. It wasn’t her horrible existence that made her unhappy. It was that her existence was completely meaningless. She had no friends. She had no interests. She was following no life path. She couldn’t even talk to the dolls she jokingly referred to as her coworkers. The orgasms continued to be beyond the norm. But, even their impact was fading since there weren’t any normal orgasms to compare them to.

She was on a bed somewhere when her current renter, she’d heard the name but couldn’t recall it, said, “Your face is familiar. That’s why I picked you from the website.”

Website? She had speculated that her boss had setup a website. She’d never been able to confirm it. He had three premium doll options and over a dozen mundane dolls. She’d been on a few recent rentals where she’d only been one of the dolls.

After sex, the renter said, “I met a woman who looked exactly like you at a party I was at a year ago with Dave.”

At the mention of Dave’s name, she did remember the face of the renter. Jacob something. She hadn’t really spent any time with him. He was friends with her friend Jean’s husband, Dave. Jacob took a picture of the doll and sent it to his friend in a text. “Looks a lot like a friend of yours, right? What are the odds?”

Jacob didn’t say much else to her and another five or six weeks passed before she had the shock of her doll existence. When she was taken out of the bag, it was Dave pulling her out.

“Jean, look. The resemblance is uncanny,” Dave said.

“No one has seen Nora in about a year. Her mother filed a missing person report.”

“But, how? Why?”

“I have a friend of a friend who supposedly knows some magic,” Jean said.

“Really? Maybe magic could tell us if this is actually Nora or just an expensive doll.”

“That’s an idea. But, I can’t get in touch her and get an answer before we have to return the doll.”

“We can rent her again once we know we have a way to learn the truth.”

“Okay.”

Nora was surprised not to be excited seeing Dave and Jean had recognized her. Had she lost all hope? She was hanging on her doll stand in the doll storage room soon after their rental. Days passed. Weeks. She rarely noticed her owner moving about the room. Had they forgotten? Had they decided it wasn’t possible for a doll to be their lost friend?

She noticed recently she wouldn’t be aware for some periods of time. She’d wake up in the middle of a rental that she had no memory of being brought to. She was resigned that she would forget her own existence eventually. She fought against that thought when she wasn't trapped in a well of despair.

She woke up during a rental staring at the face of an older woman. She spoke to someone else in the room. “There’s definitely a human intelligence within this doll.” The woman set the doll down.

Nora could see Dave and Jean. If she’d had a heart it would have exploded with… with… Joy? Yes, joy! She thought. She’d forgotten what joy was.

“What can we do to help her?” Jean asked.

“I know someone who can probably help,” the older woman said. “I’ll call them now.” The consultation lasted over an hour. When she hung up, she said, “Can you afford it?”

“We’ll get the money. Is it really going to take another couple months?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any magic that can work readily available. The consultant gave me a few ideas after my spell failed.”

“I’ll call Nora’s sister. Maybe her family has some money left that they didn’t waste on private detectives.”

Jean looked right at the doll. “Nora, I hope you’re listening. We will rescue you. I promise to God, we will.”

“I know you will,” Nora thought. She wished she could cry.

When her owner came to pick her up, Jean asked him, “Any chance we can buy the doll from you? We really like it.”

Nora noticed immediately the change in his demeanor.

“Sorry, I’m not interested in selling at this time.”

“Are you sure?”

Overlapping terrible thoughts rapidly swam about in Nora’s mind. She wanted Jean to shut up. Stop! He’s going to figure out you know who I am.

RENDER - The Clock Tower

I mentioned somewhere I might do occasional releases on Thursday. Lo, and Behold, it's Thursday. This is just a one-off of a silly idea I had that I couldn't figure out how to turn into a prose story with any there there. So, it's a render.

Now, I wonder if this is a Big Ben style clock tower and there are six other women looking out at three different city views day after day after day after...

Transcript

Layout - A central large image of an analog clock face placed on a brick wall. The hour and minute hands are brass statues of two women, the hour hand has her hands by her side while the minute hand has her hands over her head. The time reads 10:09. Along the left and right edge are eight small images of a plaza.

For each of the labeled time, the orientation of the plaza image is rotated to coincide with the orientation of the hour hand’s eyes. The details of the plaza images coincides with the time of day.

Captions for the plaza images: Daily View of the City Center as seen by the "Hour Hand" twin. 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM, 9 PM, 12 AM, 3 AM.

Caption on clock face: When the twins joined the clock tower restoration project, they thought they were joining the repairs team. Instead they had been assigned to the parts team. Given their perpetual rotations, both were glad they weren't moving as fast as a second hand would.

Statue Rentals #6: On Display

Scheduling Note: I'm switching Little Witch and Statue Rentals to twice a month. Little Witch will appear the first and third Tuesday of the month. Statue Rentals on the second and fourth Tuesday. The next month with a fifth Tuesday is July. I've also created a Statue Rentals collection.

No, I don't know why someone rents a living statue and puts it in a restaurant.

Transcript

Four long shots of a restaurant with a statue in it. In the center of the image is an inset image of just the statue.

Dumpster Dolly

Doll stand. On stand. Doll on stand.

Doll on bed. Not stand.

Doll on floor. Not stand.

Doll remember box. Doll not remember before box. Doll not care. Doll... empty. Doll remember box open. Doll see…

Doll see Owner. Owner take Doll. Owner wash Doll. Owner take Doll bed. Doll on bed. Doll wait. Owner fuck Doll. Doll...

Doll happy. Owner take Doll. Doll stand. On stand. Dark-light. Owner leave. Doll on stand. Owner return. Owner take Doll. Doll on bed. Owner fuck Doll. Doll happy. Owner wash Doll. Doll on stand.

Dark-light.

Again. Dark-light.

Again. Dark-light.

Many again. Many dark-light.

Many again. Many dark-light.

Not again. Dark-light.

Doll empty. Owner leave. Owner return. Owner leave. Not fuck Doll.

Owner fuck Doll.

Again. Dark-light.

Again. Dark-light.

Not again. Dark-light.

Again. Dark-light.

Not again. Dark-light.

Doll empty.

Not again again. Dark-light.

Doll empty empty.

Dark-light. Not fuck Doll. Dark-light. Dark-light. Dark-light. Dark-light. Dark-light. Doll not remember. Owner not remember?

Doll on stand. Doll see…

Doll see other doll. Other fuck doll. Other fuck doll… move. Doll not move.

Other fuck doll… talk. Doll not talk.

Owner fuck other doll.

Doll stand. On stand. Doll on stand dark. Doll on stand Light. Doll remember Doll on bed. Other doll on bed. Other doll stand. Other doll…

Other doll walk. Doll not walk.

Owner talk. Other doll talk. Owner… kiss other doll. Not kiss Doll. Doll…

Doll empty.

Doll not empty. Doll… mad. Empty. Empty.

Dark-light. Many Dark-light.

Other doll take box. Doll remember box. Other doll take Doll on… in box.

Doll in box. Box close. Dark. Not dark-light dark. Empty dark.

Dark.

*****

Light.

Box open. Doll see man. Doll not remember man. Empty.

Man take Doll. Man wash Doll. Doll on bed. Man leave.

Dark.

Man on bed. Man fuck Doll. Doll…

Doll happy. Man Owner.

Doll not remember other Owner.

Doll happy. Owner fuck Doll.

Light.

Owner wash Doll. Doll on bed. Owner leave.

Owner many fuck Doll. Many Dark-Light. Doll happy.

Owner not fuck Doll. Doll mad.

Dark-Light. Owner fuck Doll. Doll…

Doll happy. Doll not happy. Doll empty. Doll not empty. Doll…

Doll worry.

Owner many fuck Doll. Owner not fuck Doll.

Owner many fuck Doll. Owner not fuck Doll.

Doll worry.

Owner many not fuck Doll. Owner fuck Doll.

Doll mad. Doll worry. Doll remember other Owner…

Same.

Owner Other Owner Same. Owner Other Owner not remember Doll.

Owner Other Owner many not remember Doll.

Other Owner box Doll.

Owner box Doll?

Doll worry.

*****

New Owner. Doll happy. Doll not happy. Doll worry.

Again. Doll think not again. But again.

Doll empty.

Doll… Doll want… Doll want Owner.

Not.

Doll… Doll want… Doll want one Owner.

Doll want one Owner.

Doll happy. Doll think.

Doll happy. Doll want.

Doll want. Doll not one Owner. Doll empty.

Doll empty.

Doll want move.

Doll want talk.

Doll empty.

*****

Many Dark-light

Not Dark-light... Day.

Not day. Days.

Days… walk.

Not.

Days… pass.

Yes. Days pass.

More Days.

Not days… Not weeks…

Month?

Doll not remember… not remember words.

Doll not count. Doll count.

One.

Again.

Again.

Not. Not. Not.

One.

One one.

Not.

Doll remember talk. Doll remember other doll move. Other doll talk. Other doll not doll.

Other doll… woman.

Woman talk. Woman talk one. One count. Four. What four? Count take four.

One.

Four.

Not.

Empty.

One.

Day pass.

Two!

Yes.

One.

Two.

Four.

Not.

Many days pass.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Sex.

Doll happy.

Doll sad.

Doll think. Doll not talk. Doll not move. Doll count!

*****

Days pass. Doll not see owner. Doll sad.

Doll want fuck.

Doll want leave.

Doll… find. Doll find one owner. One owner all days.

Doll see man. Doll not remember man.

Man take bed.

Man take clothes.

Man take other… other things.

Man take Doll.

Man take Doll out.

Man take… Man put Doll in big box.

Metal box. Other things in box. Doll in box.

Doll hear talk.

Doll not remember… voice.

“New stuff just got put in the dumpster, Charlie.”

“Anything good?”

Doll see Man.

“Naw, not unless you need a new lamp.”

“Does it have a blue lampshade? I’ve decorated by cardboard box in blue.”

“No, it’s white, Omar.”

Doll see Man Two.

“Shame. Hey, you didn’t mention the doll.”

“Looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in a while.”

“Like we have.”

Two man happy talk.

Doll not… Doll not understand. Doll out. Doll in box. Where Owner?

Doll mad. Doll empty. Doll worry.

Dark.

Owner leave?

Not.

Owner gone.

Doll not Owner.

Doll empty. Doll worry.

Doll…

Doll…

Doll remember other other woman. Woman not woman. Owner not owner. Woman fake need help. Owner help woman. Woman happy. Make owner happy. Owner… Woman fake help. Owner fuck woman.

Doll fake help?

Doll fake woman.

How?

Woman need clothes.

Clothes in box.

Doll in box.

Doll take clothes… Doll fake woman.

How?

Doll fake take clothes. Doll fake woman.

Doll happy.

Doll see… Doll move.

Doll move!

Doll not fake take clothes. Doll take clothes.

Doll move again. Doll happy.

Doll leave box.

Doll stand. Not on stand.

“Fuck, Charlie. Did that doll climb out of the dumpster?”

“Was it a doll?

“I’m drunk. How do I know?”

“It’s just standing there.”

“Why did you take it out?”

“I didn’t. It did.”

“Yeah, you’re drunk.”

Doll stand. Doll see two man. Doll move. Doll not see two man. Doll move. Doll see two man again. Doll move. Doll happy. Doll move.

Doll walk.

Doll find one owner. Doll happy. Doll find.

Doll see other man.

Doll walk.

Man see Doll.

“You okay, lady?”

“O- kay.” Doll talk.

“You sure?”

“Suurre.” Doll talk.

“Maybe you had too much to drink?”

“Not… Not drink.” Doll talk.

“Oh, sure, if you say so. Where do you live?” Man talk.

“Not live.” Doll talk.

“Hey, you found her. I’ve been looking all over for her.” Man two talk.

“Find?” Doll talk.

“Yeah. You had me worried.”

“Doll worry.” Doll talk.

“Yeah. Thanks for finding Dolly. I’ll take her home.”

“Lady, do you know this man?”

“Not remember man.”

“You know me, Dolly. Ignore this Bozo and let’s go home.”

“She said she doesn’t know you.” Man one talk.

“She doesn’t know you either.”

“Not remember you.” Doll talk.

“See? Now let me talk her home.”

“Just leave. She isn’t going with you or me.”

“Who do you….?”

Man one hand face man two.

Man two red. “You can’t...”

Hand face again.

“Fuck you, buddy.” Man two leave.

“Fuck you.” Doll talk.

“Let’s go back in the bar,” Man one talk.

“Fuck you.”

“No, no. You’re drunk or high.” Man one take Doll in… bar. “Maddy, got someone for you.”

“I don’t take in strays.” Woman talk.

“She needs you.”

“Need man.” Doll talk.

“Woah, what did she say?”

“See what I mean?”

“Yeah, what’s your name, hun?”

Not name.

“Dolleee.”

“For real? Okay, Dolly. You need to lie down.”

“Bed?”

“Yes, bed.”

“Dolly happy bed.”

“Okay. We’ll get you to the happy bed.”

“Thanks, Greg.”

“Good night, Maddy.”

“Happy night, Greg.” Doll talk.

“You’re not from around here, are you?”

“Not remember.”

Bed.

“Where’s your phone?”

“Not phone.”

“No? Wallet? Driver’s license?”

“Not remember.”

“Okay, you sleep in this bed. We’ll talk in the morning.”

“Dolly talk.”

“Not tonight. Dolly sleep.” Maddy talk.

“Dolly happy.”

Dolly on bed.

Dolly want owner.

Dolly find Maddy.

Maddy not owner.

Dolly find Greg.

Greg not owner.

Dolly sad.

Dolly… tired.

Dolly sleep.

*****

Dolly wake.

Dolly empty. Not empty. Other empty. Dolly want. Not remember.

Dolly in bed.

Dolly leave bed.

Dolly stand. Not on stand.

Dolly move.

Dolly remember talk.

Dolly want. Other empty.

Dolly leave room.

Dolly not remember here.

“Hey, you slept a long time.”

“Days?” Dolly talk.

“No, no. It’s mid-morning.”

“Morning.”

“Good morning to you. Hungry?”

YES. Other empty.

“Yes.”

“Go sit at a table in the bar. I’ll bring you something.”

“O-kay.”

Maddy point. Dolly turn. Dolly find table. Dolly stand. Maddy talk sit. Dolly sit table.

Maddy take… things. Maddy not walk. Maddy stand. “I meant sit on the bench, Dolly. Not on the table.”

“O-kay.”

Dolly move. Dolly on bench. Maddy on other bench.

Things on table.

Things… things smell.

“You don’t like toast.”

“Not remember.”

“Well, most people like toast. Give it a try.”

Maddy stand.

Dolly take… toast. Smell happy.

“I’ll get you some coffee.” Maddy talk. Maddy leave.

Dolly put toast mouth. Happy.

Dolly suck toast.

Again.

Again.

Dolly swallow.

Dolly put toast mouth.

“I guess you were waiting for the coffee.”

“Happy coffee smell.”

“Yeah, I feel that way most of the time,” Maddy talk.

Dolly suck.

Maddy sit. Maddy take other coffee. Maddy… drink.

Dolly drink. Dolly pain. Dolly pain. Dolly pain. Dolly pain.

Dolly pain. Dolly pain. Dolly pain. Dolly pain. Dolly pain.

“Oh, god, are you okay? I’m so sorry.”

Dolly on floor. Dolly pain. Coffee pain Dolly.

“I didn’t think it was that hot.”

Maddy help Dolly.

Hot.

Dolly wet. Dolly pain.

Maddy put not hot. Not hot happy.

“I don’t think it’s a serious burn. The ice should help.”

Ice.

Maddy help. Ice happy Dolly.

Maddy take Dolly bed. Dolly rest.

Maddy talk. “I need to get some stuff done. You can stay as long as you like, I guess. I get the feeling you don’t have anywhere to go.”

“O-kay…”

Maddy look Dolly. “Did you want to say something else?”

“Y-yes.”

Maddy wait.

“Happy Maddy… Dolly… Friend.”

“I’m happy to be your friend, too, Dolly.”

“Th-thanks.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

Dolly rest.

Dolly leave. Dolly see Maddy move many.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes.”

Dolly see Maddy move at table.

Dolly see Maddy move at bar.

Maddy leave cloth at table.

Dolly take cloth. Dolly rub table with cloth.

Dolly see table. Dolly smile.

Dolly move other table. Dolly rub table with cloth.

“I didn’t expect you to help out,” Maddy talk.

“Dolly help.”

“I appreciate it. But you need a cleaner rag. Let me set you up to help better.”

“O-kay.”

Dolly wash many table.

“Very good. Can you do the benches too?”

“Dolly… can.”

Dolly wash many bench.

Dolly wet head. Wet arms. Dolly worry.

“Dolly wet.”

“You are a bit sweaty. Go take a shower. You can put on some of my clothes afterward. I think they’ll fit you.”

“Shaow- er.”

Maddy point.

Dolly leave.

Dolly remember old owner wash Dolly in white room. Dolly find room.

Dolly wash Dolly.

Dolly see Dolly.

Dolly happy.

Dolly find clothes.

Many clothes.

Many many clothes.

Dolly take clothes.

Clothes move. Clothes messy.

Dolly not fix clothes.

Dolly take clothes.

Clothes stuck on Dolly.

Dolly wet. Owner wash Doll before. Owner dry Doll before

Dolly leave clothes.

Dolly find towel.

Dolly dry.

Dolly take clothes.

Clothes fit Dolly.

Dolly happy.

Dolly leave bedroom.

People in bar.

Many people.

Bar… loud.

Dolly not see Maddy.

“Hey, little lady,” Man talk. “How about I buy you a drink?”

“Drink?”

“Yeah, come with me.”

Dolly see Maddy.

“Leave her alone,” Maddy talk.

“She said I could buy her a drink.”

“She did? I’ve never heard her put that many words together.”

“Drink?” Dolly talk.

“No, I don’t think you want this kind of drink. Come around this side of the bar, Dolly.”

“What kind of bartender are you?” Man talk.

“One who looks out for people who need looking out for. Now run along unless you’re buying.”

Man leave.

“Bad man?” Dolly talk.

“Not necessarily. But, there are better men.” Maddy talk.

“Good.”

“Hey, Maddy. How’s she doing?”

“Good.” Dolly talk.

“I guess she’s good, Greg.”

“Good man?”

“He’s pretty good.”

Dolly… laugh. Maddy laugh. Greg eyes… not happy. Not sad.

“Did I miss something?”

“Bad man.”

“Did someone else try to bring you somewhere?”

“He was an opportunist at worst. Unaware that Dolly is special at best.” Maddy talk.

Dolly eyes like Greg eyes.

“She looks confused.” Greg talk.

“I don’t think she understands subtle differences.”

“You ever figure out where she came from?”

“Not at all. It’s like she dropped from the sky. I don’t think she’s from somewhere else. And the same time, she isn’t from here.”

“Dolly leave?”

“No, no. It’s not your fault. I’m just not sure if I can really help you.”

“Maddy help Dolly. Dolly happy. Dolly worry.”

“Worry? You’re worried”

“Maddy talk Dolly leave. Dolly worry.”

“I told you. You can stay as long as you need to.”

“S-stay?”

“Yes.”

“Dolly happy.” Dolly arms on Maddy.

Maddy arms on Dolly. “I’m happy too.”

“So am I.” Greg talk. “Dolly? Do you know how old you are?”

Dolly think.

“Months.”

“Months?” Maddy talk.

“Not know count.” Dolly talk.

“What’s the last thing you remember before you met Greg?” Maddy talk.

“Leave.”

“Leave where?”

“Leave… box. See Char-lie.”

“Charlie?”

“Char-lie talk Char-lie drunk.”

“The homeless guy in the alley?”

“Alley?”

“Outside the bar. The alley through that way.”

“Yes. Alley.”

“I’ll be right back,” Greg talk.

“Be careful, Greg.”

“It’s just Charlie and Omar.” Greg talk. “Can I take your picture, Dolly?”

“Take? Dolly not picture.”

“What did she mean?”

“I’m not sure.” Maddy talk. “You don’t have a picture?”

“Yes. Not picture.”

“No, Greg wants to... um… make a picture of you.”

“Dolly not happy not sad not remember.”

“Confused?” Greg talk.

“Con-fused? Dolly con-fused? Not know.”

“Just do it.” Maddy talk.

Greg phone bright. Greg see phone. Dolly see phone. Dolly see Dolly.

“That’s a picture of you, Dolly.”

“Pretty.”

“Yes, Dolly is pretty. I’ll be right back.” Greg talk.

Greg leave.

“Greg leave?”

“He’ll be back.”

“O-kay.”

“Do you like Greg?” Maddy talk.

“Yes.”

“Maddy, hey, you going to tend bar or just shoot the shit with your friend?”

“I’ve got to get back to work. You can wait here for Greg.”

“O-kay.”

Dolly wait.

Dolly see table wet. Table messy.

Dolly move in bar.

Dolly find cloth.

Dolly wash table.

“Thanks, Babe.” Man talk. Man sit. “Can you get me a whiskey, neat?”

“Not know.”

“Oh, sorry. Are you a waitress?”

“Talk Maddy.”

“Yeah, I know Maddy. I guess you’re just bussing tables.”

“Wash table.”

“Yeah. Very good.”

“You okay, Dolly.” Greg talk.

“O-kay. Dolly wash table.”

“And she did a great job.” Man talk. Man voice small. “She alright?”

“We think so. Be nice to her.”

“I’m always nice. Here, Dolly. Let me give you a tip.”

“Tip?”

Man put… paper out.

“Just take it from him, Dolly.”

“O-kay…. Thanks.” Dolly take paper.

“You’re welcome, Darling.”

“Come with me, Dolly.” Greg talk. Greg walk bar. Dolly walk bar.

“Where’d that come from?”

“Guy over there gave her a tip for cleaning the table.” Greg talk.

“Whis-key-neat.”

“Did you say whiskey? Hey, Buddy,” Maddy talk loud. “You want a whiskey?”

“Neat, yeah.”

“Coming right up.”

“Dolly confused. Loud.”

“Do you need to lie down?”

“Not know.”

“Bring this to the man you just met over there. Then go lie down in the bedroom.”

“O-kay.”

Dolly walk. Dolly carry.

“Hey, you are a waitress.” Man talk.

“O-kay. Dolly leave.”

“You okay?”

“Lie down.”

“Oh, feel better, Darling. And thanks for the drink.”

“O-kay.”

*****

Dolly on bed. Dolly tired. Dolly need sleep.

Dolly tired.

Dolly not sleep.

Dolly see ceiling.

Many Dolly not sleep.

Door noise.

Dolly sit.

“Come in.” Dolly talk.

“It’s Greg.” Greg enter. “I’m going home. I wanted to make sure you were feeling okay.”

“Good.”

“I spoke to Charlie. He said you climbed out of a dumpster.”

“Dump-ster?”

“He said it had clothes and furniture and other stuff in it.”

“Big box metal.”

“Yes, a dumpster.”

“Yes.”

“Yes? You climbed out?”

“Yes.”

“Why were you in dumpster?”

Dolly confused. “Man take Dolly. Dolly in box.”

“A man put you there? Why did you let him do that?”

“Dolly not move.”

“Were you tied up?”

“Tied?”

“Bound? Ropes? Handcuffs?”

Dolly confused. “Not.”

“Why couldn’t you move?”

“Not know. Dolly not move. Many many many days not move.”

“Were you sick?”

“Not… sick. Doll.”

“Doll?”

“Doll not move. Doll not talk. Doll stand. Man take bed. Man take clothes. Man take things. Man take Doll. Clothes in box. Things in box. Doll in box. Man leave.”

“Who was this man?”

“Not know. Not see Man… um…”

“Again?”

“Not. Not see Man before. Not see Owner. Owner leave. Doll stand many days. Man enter.”

“Owner?”

“Owner bed. Owner clothes. Owner things. Owner Doll.”

“You were a doll that didn’t move. Someone owned a bed and stuff and a doll.”

“Yes.”

“But, you move.”

“Yes. Dolly find new owner. One owner. Not Owner. Not Other Owner. Not Other Other Owner. Not many other Owner. Doll see other doll. Other doll move. Other doll talk. Owner more like other doll. Owner not like Dolly Doll. Dolly need move. Dolly need talk.”

Greg confused.

“Other doll woman. Dolly not woman. Dolly sad. Dolly mad. Dolly need move. Dolly move. Dolly talk. Dolly happy. Dolly meet Greg.”

“You were a doll and then you just became a woman.”

“Yes.”

“Because you wanted to.”

“Need.”

“That’s not possible.” Greg talk.

“Not… not… poss?”

“Not possible. Something is wrong with your story?”

“Wrong?”

“You have something wrong. You couldn’t have been a doll.”

“Not Doll?”

“No, you were never a doll.”

“Dolly Doll before.”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

Dolly loud. “Dolly Doll before. Greg...”

Dolly confused. Dolly sad. Dolly mad. Dolly see Greg. Dolly not want see Greg.

“Whoa. Are you angry?”

“Mad. Greg make Dolly sad. Dolly mad Greg make Dolly sad. Leave!” Dolly point. Dolly stand.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave if you insist. I didn’t mean to call you a liar. It’s just…”

“Leave! Leave! Many Leave!” Dolly talk loud. Dolly move at Greg.

“Okay. Okay. Goodbye, Dolly. I’m sorry.”

Door close. Dolly hand door. Again. “Leave!” Many again. “Before.” Dolly on floor. Dolly many sad. Dolly face wet. Dolly cry. Dolly many cry.

Dolly tired.

Dolly sleep.

*****

Dolly on bed.

Not remember Dolly on bed.

Dolly hand pain.

Dolly see hand. Cloth on hand. Cloth white. Red spots.

Dolly remember Greg. Dolly cry.

Door open. Maddy talk. “How do you feel?”

“Dolly hand pain.”

“You were pounding that door for at least an hour. I tried to get you to calm down. But you wouldn’t listen. And you were right against the door, holding the door closed. I couldn’t come in.”

“Not remember. Dolly not mad. Dolly sad. Dolly empty.”

“Greg told me what you said.”

“Not Greg.”

“No, he isn’t here. Just me.”

“Dolly empty…. Why?”

“Why are you empty?” Maddy talk. “Oh, honey, are you mad at Greg?”

“Not mad. Mad before.”

“You were mad at Greg and never wanted to see Greg again. And now your mad and worried you won’t see Greg again.”

Dolly quiet. “Yes.”

“You like Greg. And you’re mad that you were mad. You’re sad that you were mad. You’re confused that you were mad. Right?”

“Yes.” Dolly cry.

Maddy sit. Maddy arm on Dolly. Dolly many cry. Maddy talk. Dolly not hear.

“Owner leave. Other owner leave. Many owner leave. Greg leave.”

“I don’t know about those others. But Greg will come back.”

“Greg… will?”

“He better. He’s got a running tab to pay off.”

“Dolly confused.”

“Never mind. It was a joke.”

*****

Dolly cleaned tables. Dolly cleaned benches. Dolly mopped floor. Dolly take drinks tables.

Day pass. Dolly sad.

Dolly clean again.

Maddy talk loud. “If anyone else tells Dolly to smile they’re getting my boot up their ass.”

Day pass. Dolly sad. Dolly clean again.

Again.

Dolly clean bench. Greg talk. “Are you still mad at me?”

“Greg!” Dolly talk loud. Dolly arms on Greg. “Where Greg before?”

“I…”

Dolly hand Greg ass. “Greg bad!” Dolly arms on Greg. Dolly cry.

“Take her upstairs and talk.” Maddy talk Greg.

Greg Dolly leave.

“I missed you.” Greg talk.

“Miss Greg. Bad Greg. Where before!?”

“I didn’t think you wanted to see me.”

“Not want see Greg before. Want see Greg. Not Greg. Greg bad.”

“I’m bad for staying away?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I…”

Dolly kiss Greg. Greg kiss Dolly. Dolly eyes wet.

“Hold Dolly.”

“Your words are getting better.”

“Shut up. Hold Dolly.”

“I’m holding you. You can hold me.”

“O-kay.”

Dolly hold Greg. Greg hold Dolly.

Dolly not cry.

“Maddy Dolly talk.”

“About me?”

“Things.” Dolly talk. “Maddy not know how Dolly alive. Maddy talk… say not… matter. Before not matter. Dolly woman now.”

“That makes sense. I agree.”

“Dolly agree.” Dolly ta-- say. “Dolly want Owner before. One Owner all days. Not want Owner now.”

“That’s good. Why do you want?”

“Dolly want love. Dolly want Lover. Dolly want one Lover. One Lover all days.” Dolly say low. “Dolly want Greg.”

“You love me?”

“Yes. Greg want love? Greg want Dolly? All days?”

“Yes, Dolly. I’m sorry I was gone so long.”

Dolly eyes wet. Dolly Greg hold. “Greg bad before.”

“And now?”

“Greg less bad.” Dolly smile.

“Was… Did you just make a joke?”

“Yes.”

Dolly laugh. Greg laugh.

Dolly Greg kiss. Dolly Greg touch. Dolly happy Greg. Greg happy Dolly.

Greg inside Dolly. Dolly Greg fuck.

Dolly many happy. Greg many happy.

Dolly Greg sweat. Greg out Dolly. Greg wet Dolly belly.

Dolly hold Greg. Greg hold Dolly.

Dolly Greg kiss. Dolly Greg hold. Dolly Greg sleep.

Dolly see. Dolly see Greg. Greg big. “Hello, beautiful.” Greg talk. Dolly wake.

“Hello, bad man.”

“Are you going to keep calling me that?”

“Dolly not know.” Dolly stand.

“Are you going back to work?”

“No. Clean Dolly. Greg help clean Dolly.”

“That wasn’t a question?”

Dolly point. “No. Stand. Clean.”

“I can do that.”

Dolly make Greg many happy.

Greg make Dolly many happy.

Many, many days. Many, many nights.

Many, many months.

Many, many years.

All days.

---------------

Author's Note: This story is essentially told by Dolly from her point of view using her language skills as they exist at that point in the story. Aside from dialogue spoken by other characters, and proper nouns such as Dolly, Charlie, Greg, and Maddy, Dolly uses her one hundredth unique word “smile” just before the midpoint of the story. Her vocabulary is sixty-two before she encounters Charlie and Omar, which is the first time there’s dialogue that she isn’t “thinking”.

The only real difficulty I had with this story was the scene transitions. Dolly isn’t one to describe stuff she isn’t interacting with. The section breaks, *****, do a lot of heavy lifting for that. It also took several passes to make sure everything was in present tense. Dolls are very of-the-moment creatures.

Not Reader confused?

I hope not.

Little Witch #9: A Father's Dilemma

Scheduling Note: I'm switching Little Witch and Statue Rentals to twice a month. Little Witch will appear the first and third Tuesday of the month. Statue Rentals on the second and fourth Tuesday. The next month with a fifth Tuesday is July. There will be a one-off comic on July 29. I've also removed "RENDER -" from both series. "Little Witch" and "Statue Rentals" should be enough of a heads up. And now, back to the LW09...

What I like about this sequence of comics is it shows Angela in the role of a traditional witch: solving problems with wisdom beyond her years. Still, her methods need some refinement.

Yet another no transformation episode. I do tend to write more about the aftermath of transformations than anything else. I guess Daddy and Angela will have something to talk. Though it mostly happens off screen as you'll find out next time.

Transcript

Panel 1 – Wide shot of Mr. Wilson and Angela sitting in opposite chairs as Daddy stands behind Angela’s chair. A family portrait photo sits on the table between the chairs.

Narrator: At The Wilson Family Home

Gary: I’m glad you could make it tonight. I wanted to talk to Angela about the issue I’m having with Bethany.

Angela: Bethany’s been really good in school lately, Mr. Wilson.

Panel 2– tight shot of Wilson Family portrait

Angela (thinking): Bethany no longer looks so unhappy...

Panel 3 – Wide Shot

Gary: I know. I used to get far too frequent calls from the main office about her acting out. Now, I get emails from her teachers telling how wonderful she is.

Daddy: Wonderful? No offense, Gary, but Bethany frequently gets Angela and her other friends into trouble.

Gary: I'm not blind, Darren. I know Claudia was the reason Britney used to act out.

Panel 4 – Shot of Gary over Angela’s shoulder

Gary: My wife is a lot of things, but being stuck as a doll, wherever Bethany's hidden her, isn’t a fate she deserves. And yet, in her absence, Bethany has become the wonderful, loving child we’ve always wanted her to be. What am I to do? Nothing I do will benefit both my wife and my daughter.

Angela: If I don’t change Mrs. Wilson back, you won’t have to decide.

Panel 5 – Daddy and Angela looking at each other

Daddy: If? Angela, how long have you been able to change Mommy back? You can. Can't you?

Angela: Mommy likes being a doll. I just want her to be happy. Just like Mr. Wilson wants Bethany to be happy. We'll talk about Mommy later.

Panel 6 – Closeup on Gary

Gary: But, Claudia doesn’t want to be a doll. She’s not happy.

Panel 7 – Closeup on Angela

Angela, oversized word bubble: Mrs. Wilson is never happy.

Show And Tell - Author's Note and Index (And Full Renders - NSFW)

Aside: July is tomorrow. I noticed a few new members. I like to give the new folks a welcome like this: Welcome new folks. Thanks for joining.

I didn't realize the Renders that I made for these five parts at 4k HD had been butchered by Patreon reducing them in size by a lot. Hopefully, they'll be full size in this post since it is an "images" post. My favorite image is the reenactment of "get on the disk" from Show and Tell #3...

Show And Tell is finally finished. You did read it, right? I'll wait. Spoilers ahead. Maybe. Probably not. At a minimum, go look at that first part of the story. Stop at the point where another student asks if Britney is finished with her presentation so she can talk about her grandmother's scarf. From the beginning to the scarf was the entirety of Show And Tell for like nine months. I had no intention of adding anything. And then I did. Even the renders came later.

Around the time I started writing Show And Tell. I started another story called Estate Sale. The big index file has been saying Estate Sale will release soon for a long time now, sigh. Be that as it may be, they share a few themes and while I'm annoyed at myself for not finishing Estate Sale sooner -- it's still not finished -- I'm kind of glad I'm not releasing a pair of stories with a similar theme one on top of the other.

Links

• Part 1

• Part 2

• Part 3

• Part 4

• Part 5

Coming Soon

Next week is one of my weird stories. On a site where people turn into figurines and couch cushions, that's saying something, isn't it? It's called Dumpster Dolly. And it is a POV story told in 1st Doll.

The week after is 8 weeks of Sold. Where do folks who rent out dolls get their inventory? It's 32k words and I could probably increase that if I really wanted to. I started having trouble keeping the time line straight toward the end. I probably wrote something more about that in front of one or more of the parts.

With a year's worth of comics in the can, I've been making one of comics. The problem there is scheduling. Thursday might become an occasional release date. Time will tell.

Season 5 of Ted's Dolls has taken a back seat to nearly a dozen stories competing for my attention, four of which were conceived in the last week or so. At the moment I have the issue I thought I'd escaped with Season 4 ending at Spring Break. TD#53 takes place three weeks before Spring Break.

I've contemplated getting rid of the POV chapters convention in Ted's Dolls and just making Season 5 a long form narrative that can jump around more granularly. Given that the existing seasons average around 45K, as a long form narrative, it would be a novel. And writing a novel always takes longer than a short story.

Show And Tell (5 of 5)

Britney returned earlier Saturday morning than she usually did. Beth’s family had early morning plans. She was surprised to see Dad’s car in the driveway. He didn’t usually get back from Selena’s until mid-morning.

Surprises continued to present themselves to Britney that morning when she didn’t find her father in the family parts of the house or his office. She saw that the door to her parent’s bedroom was open and glanced inside. When she got a glimpse of her mother and father asleep in the bed and probably not wearing pajamas her automatic reaction to pull her head back tried to kick in. It failed. It was derailed because she had spotted a figure standing at the end of the bed. It wasn’t her mother. It was Selena and she was looking at her parents. She wasn’t wearing any clothes. She also wasn’t moving.

Curiosity got the better of her and using her hand to shield her eyes from the tableau of her parents in bed, she crept up behind the mannequin to look at the Disk beneath her. Tapping the controls, she found out Selena had been transformed around one o’clock and was scheduled to be restored an hour from now.

Britney stood up behind the mannequin and whispered in its ear, “I won’t want any real details, of course. But, you will tell me how you ended up here instead of Mom.” She retraced her steps and closed the door to the bedroom.

An hour later, Britney heard movement in the hallway. Someone had gone into the guest bedroom. She waited a moment and knocked on the guest bedroom door. “Come in, Brit,” Selena called from inside. She was finished getting dressed, buttoning up a blouse she had taken from her stash of clothes she had been keeping at the house for years now.

“Good morning. Can we talk now?”

“Sure. So that I don’t give you too many details, ask me some simple questions.”

“Did you and Dad go out last night?”

“No, we managed to snuggle on the sofa and watch TV last night. It’s been too long since we did that on that couch.”

“Did you eat?”

“Ashley made the three of us dinner.”

“Did she watch TV with you?”

“No, she went upstairs and onto the Disk right after she ate. Daniel cleaned up after dinner.”

“Then when it was later, you and Dad went upstairs? That’s when you traded places with Mom?”

“Certain bedroom activities took place before that happened.” In response to Britney’s surprised face, Selena said, “And I observed more activities afterward.”

Britney held up her hands, waving them in a warning motion. “We’re done. I’m good,” Britney said, her face was beet red as she tried to fend off the images trying to form in her mind. “Congratulations. And stop smiling like that at me.”

“You’re cute when you’re embarrassed. I hope your congratulations aren’t premature. I thought it was a perfect evening. I hope your parents feel the same way. And thank you.”

“What?”

“For not stealing my head.”

“I hear that one more time I’m going on a headhunting spree.”

*****

Selena stayed with them all day. In the evening the four of them watched a movie together. The three women sat on the sofa while Daniel sat on the stuffed chair.

Britney stood up first when it ended. “I have homework to do. Good night, Selena.” She hugged her as she said good night.

“Good night. Just so you know, I’m staying tonight.”

“Oh? That’s cool. Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad,” she said, hugging them as well.

Daniel watched as his daughter left the room and listened to hear the sound of her footsteps on the stairs before saying, “You’re staying?”

“If you’ll both have me. I figured we’d do what we did last night.”

“I’m game,” Ashley said.

Daniel laughed. “Sure. Although, my ability to get off twice two nights in a row is probably pushing our luck.”

“And I’m glad I went second last night,” Ashley said. “I wouldn’t want have to get up and swap without falling asleep cuddling.”

“We could just alternate by night. I’ll be the mannequin all night tonight. You can do it all night tomorrow night.”

“You’re inviting yourself to stay here every night,” Ashley said.

“I’m finally accepting Daniel’s invitation that I move in after saying ‘No’ for the last six years. If you’ll have me.”

Daniel looked at Ashley who laughed. “I wouldn’t have minded. Well, I probably would have minded six years ago. But two or three years ago it wouldn’t have bothered me at all.”

“What about your apartment?” Daniel said.

“We’ll worry about that later. I’ll probably still go there to grade papers. Finals are coming up. We’ll discuss it when I’m on summer break.”

“I guess we’ll see you when we go upstairs,” Ashley said.

“I’m first?”

“Your idea. You’re first.”

Selena gave Ashley a hug. “Works for me, good night.” She kissed Daniel and said good night before going upstairs.

“You’re okay with this?” Daniel said after waiting to hear Selena on the stairs as he done with Britney earlier.

She kissed him. “I’m ecstatic about it. I get to spend half my nights as a mannequin if she’s in bed with you. And I get to see you happier than you’ve been since I returned.”

“Am I happier?”

“You are. You sly dog you,” she affected the voice of certain cartoon character as she called him a sly dog. “The harem begins.”

“Please. Do not seek out a third member. I couldn’t handle three women.”

Ashley laughed. “Now I’m curious in what way a third woman would break you.”

“Maybe that was reverse psychology.”

“Genius. Let’s go to bed. She should be ready to watch us by now.”

When they got to the bedroom, Ashley took Daniel’s hand a led him over to the mannequin looking toward the bed. “You aren’t feeling any weirdness, right?”

“No, should I?”

“Give her a kiss good night.”

“Now, maybe a little,” he protested. He kissed the mannequin. “You know how that makes you feel. Think it’ll hit her the same way.”

“I think watching you do that hit me that same way. C’mere you.” She pulled him backward and they tumbled into bed.

“Easy, young lady. I’m not as resilient as you are.”

“Hush. Let’s put on a show.”

*****

After a few weeks of taking turns as the mannequin, it felt normal to all of them. Britney expressed her happiness that Selena was around most evenings and mornings.

On Fridays, they took turns having date night. Whichever woman’s turn to be the overnight mannequin it was would spend the entire evening as a mannequin so the other woman and Daniel could have a quiet date on their own.

One Friday, Ashley asked Selena to meet her in the bedroom. It was supposed to be Selena’s night on the Disk. “What’s up?” Selena asked.

“I love you,” Ashley said.

“I love you, too, Ash.”

Ashley stepped right up to Selena. “I mean…” She kissed Selena. Their lips pressed softly yet firmly against one another. When they separated they could each tell both of them had had their eyes closed. “I mean I love you.”

Selena answered the unasked question by kissing Ashley. This time their lips parted and their tongues danced together. Their hands moved up and down the other’s body, conducting the music of their tongues’ dances. They found themselves in bed. Selena’s tongue licked at Ashley’s nipples. Ashley’s soft kisses on Selena’s neck caused Selena to make a noise she’d only heard Selena make when Ashley was a mannequin observing Daniel’s foreplay with Selena.

“That wasn’t fair,” Selena said between squeals. “I can’t… I can’t believe you… You used Daniel’s move on me.”

“It obviously works.”

“We should stop.”

“Yes, we should for now. I have a better idea.”

When Daniel got home Britney was heading out. “Be prepared,” she said.

“For what?”

“Not telling.” She called back to him from the walk path on the lawn.

At that moment, Ashley descended the stairs. She was wearing a beautiful gown. Her hair was done up with too many bobby pins. Her make up was flawless.

“Oh, my,” Daniel said. “Did you make special reservations for date night?”

“Yes. Come upstairs.”

He followed her upstairs. “What’s up here?” It took him a moment to realize the Mannequin Disk was unoccupied.

Selena stepped out of the en suite bathroom dressed to the gills much like Ashley was.

“You’re going with us?”

“No,” Selena said.

“It’s your turn,” Ashley said.

He followed the gaze of both woman and they landed squarely on the Disk. “I’m the mannequin tonight?” He laughed, only slightly nervously.

“It won’t kill you. And it will follow form. The two of us never get to go out on date night.”

“And if we go out together, we should get the bed.”

“I can’t fight your both. Is the Disk all setup?”

“You’ll be you again around nine tomorrow morning.”

“Be sure to face the bed,” Selena said.

“Look at the pillows, not the middle of the bed.”

“Yeah, I made that rookie mistake the first time.”

“Have a wonderful evening ladies.” He kicked the activating switch with his foot and turned into a mannequin.

“We’d kiss you goodbye, but it would smudge our lip gloss,” Ashley said.

“Don’t be mean. We have time to reapply it.” Selena said. She kissed the mannequin on the lips. Rose lip gloss was left behind on the mannequin.

“Fine.” Ashley kissed it as well. She also slid her tongue along the mannequin’s lips in a manner she knew was most stimulating in that form.

“Good night, Daniel,” they both said.

As the house grew quiet, Daniel had little to think about besides how that last kiss had made him feel all gooey inside.

Several hour passed before he heard distantly the front door open. Drunken laughter pealed from the two ladies returning home. Their laughter proceeded their arrival in the bedroom.

“There he is,” Ashley said. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him. “Miss us?”

Selena swatted Ashley ass. “My turn.” She kissed the mannequin a little longer and said, “Miss us?”

It had been a long time since Daniel had seen either of the two women drunk.

“Help me with this,” Selena said. She turned her back to Ashley.

Ashley grabbed her from behind, cupping her breasts. “This?”

“The dress, silly.”

“Oh, good idea.” She unzipped Selena’s dress and turned around. “Me, too.”

“Like this?” Selena said with her hands full of Ashley’s breasts.

“I don’t mind.”

“What?” Daniel thought.

The two women were kissing. Ashley’s dress had only come partially off. She finished removing it as they heavily petted one another and moved onto the bed.

“They weren’t wearing panties,” Daniel thought.

He was treated to an animalistic display of love making. He felt it lasted far longer than any love making session he’d ever been involved with with either woman. For hours they explored each other’s bodies like new lovers do. They satisfied each other several times before they fell asleep cuddling together.

“I should have taken notes,” was Daniel’s last thought before he zoned out.

*****

Daniel was shocked awake by the Mannequin Disk restoring him to flesh. Before him, the two women who were his lovers were still entangled in each other’s arms as they slept.

He considered slipping into bed with them but decided food was more important. He hadn’t eaten dinner. He went down to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Dad,” Britney said.

“Good morning, Dear.” They hugged. “How’s Beth?”

“How’s Beth? No, no. How are you? How’s Mom and Selena?”

“I can say with certainty they are feeling great and probably very hung over. In fact, I’ll be right back. Can you make me some eggs?”

“Sure. Do you think they’ll be down soon?”

“No.” He grabbed two water bottles from the fridge and left them on the nightstand next to the bed. He took a quick shower before heading back to the kitchen. A plate of eggs was waiting for him.

“Shower?”

“Yeah. Have these been sitting long?”

“No. A minute or two at most,” Britney said. She waited until he had a forkful of food in his mouth say, “So how was your first time?”

“What?” He said, managing not to choke himself.

“Being a mannequin. How was your first time?”

“Oh. Yeah. About what I expected. Boring.”

“Just boring.”

“Do you want me to delve further into what I observed last night?”

“Probably not,” she laughed. “Were you surprised about Mom and Selena?”

“Did you know?”

“I caught them canoodling once after school.”

“What did they say?”

“They didn’t see me, I think. Neither of them mentioned it to me.”

“I was surprised. But, they demonstrated that their date was a real date in front me before they left. I got to think about it and not much else for several hours before the main event.”

“Ick.”

“You asked.”

“How long until no one spends the night as a mannequin?”

“What images are conjured by my saying ‘A week at most’,” he said.

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No. Now, can I ask ‘How’s Beth?’”

They had been talking about other subjects, such as Beth, for a while when Ashley breezed into the kitchen. “Good morning, Brit,” she said giving her daughter a hug. She tossed an empty water bottle in the recycle bin. “Good morning, Dear.” She gave Daniel a lengthy kiss and a less than chaste hug.

“Get a room.”

“It’s occupied.” He said.

“She won’t mind,” Britney retorted.

“She wouldn’t. But she’s still asleep,” Ashley said. “Can you…?”

“Eggs? Will Selena be here for eggs soon?”

“No, she’ll be hung over. These old folk can’t handle their booze like someone my age.”

“More quotes for the testimonial page for spending a decade as a mannequin,” Daniel said.

Britney served the eggs and then excused herself to go do some homework.

Daniel waited till she was gone before saying, “You are much friskier than I remember.”

“I’m young and alive, Daniel.”

“You were that before.”

“Yes, but I was also the mother of a five-year-old. Britney today doesn’t require all day supervision.” She said between mouthfuls.

“Who kissed whom first?”

“I don’t really remember. We both wanted it and were unsure how to approach the other, I think.”

Selena was less chipper when she joined them in the kitchen later. She kissed them both before getting a cup of coffee brewing. “Well?”

“Brit tells me you’ve been canoodling for a little while now.”

“Of course, she knows,” Selena said.”

“She saw us?” Ashley said.

“She’s rather observant for someone who can lose something for a decade.”

“That’s mean.”

“It’s true,” Daniel said. “I think she’s been studying online videos to improve her observation skills and her memory. I think she started as soon as I allowed her to access the Internet.”

“Better than spending time following pop culture stuff,” Selena said.

“Maybe that’s how she finally found your foot.”

“That’s not important any more,” Ashley said. “Are we all good?”

“Better than good, I think,” Selena said.

“If this works, I’m fine with it. But, I feel like I’ll always either be the one in the middle when you two disagree or the helpless target when you do agree.”

The ladies laughed.

“Of course,” Selena said.

“That’s the burden you bear when you love two women. Are you man enough for the both of us?”

“I will enjoy finding out the answer,” Daniel said. “No one is using the Disk tonight?”

“Not me.”

“Not me. And not you.”

“Good,” Daniel agreed. “Once was plenty.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad was it?” Ashley said.

“As I told Britney, it was as boring as I expected. At least until two drunkards came into the bedroom rather late last night.”

“You told her that, too?”

“Don’t remind me how drunk we were,” Selena said. Ashley scooted her chair closer to Selena and kissed her. Selena broke it off after a long moment. “No more. My head is still pounding.”

“Oh, my poor baby.” Ashley hugged her. Selena relaxed into her embrace.

She was still holding her when Britney came into the kitchen. “I’m guessing things are good?”

“You can take the Disk back to your room. We won’t be needing it on a daily basis any more,” Ashley said.

“Oh? Is Selena going home today?”

“I am,” she said to the confusion of the married couple. “I have to pick up some things. I’ll be back this evening. And most evenings to come.”

“Yay!” Britney shouted.

“Not so loud,” she said with a wince.

Ashley made cooing noises to the woman draped in her arms.

“Stop that. I’d prefer that we keep the Disk,” Selena said. “I’m betting we’ll still have someone spend the night on the Disk just for Daniel’s health.”

Ashley laughed.

Britney said, “I don’t need to be thinking about stuff like that.”

“There’s a simple solution,” Daniel said. “Your birthday is in a few weeks. I hear there’s a new model Mannequin Disk that you might like to own.”

“Really?” Britney said. When her father nodded, she let out a loud squeal and gave him a huge hug.

“Not again,” Selena said. “More coos please, Ash.”

“Coo coo coo,” Ashley said.

“Sorry, again. I’ve wanted my own Disk since Mom returned.”

“We know.”

“I’m so glad for all of us now that you’ve settling this situation,” Britney said.

“We’re happy as well,” Ashley said.

“Oh, what’ll be different for you?” Daniel asked.

“My biggest mistake has become my greatest accomplishment,” Britney said. There was obvious pride and triumph in her voice. “Mom now loves Selena. Selena loves Mom. They both love Dad. Dad loves them both. You all love me. Right?”

“I think we all knew that.”

“I’m off the hook. If not for my mistake, there would be less love in the world.”

Statue Rentals #5: Carving

The relationship blooming between Meredith and Noriko all happened by accident. I love when a story surprises me. Finding 3D assets of carving tools took forever. It almost derailed this story. I love how the dress in the first panel is "non-work clothes" unlike the outfits in the next two panels.

Looking at it now, I didn't leave enough debris on the floor. When did all the excess marble go? I hope the missing marble wasn't anything Stacy was fond of. Because it looks like Meredith just discarded it.

NOTE: I've updated Statue Rentals #4 to include a bonus image. It shows the panorama of the art studio without various stuff overlayed on top.

Transcript

Top Row – Stone block being carved into a statue of a woman

Panel 1 – carving begins

Meredith, thinking: I really should have changed into my work clothes but I’ve been dying to release the statue inside this stone block for months now. I hope Stacy isn’t upset when they find out what they’ve become.

Panel 2 – carving middles

Panel 3 – bulk carving ends

Bottom Row

Panel 4 – precision carving

Noriko: Are you doing that to drive her crazy?

Meredith: There was a rough spot.

Noriko: On her lips? You know that drives a statue crazy.

Meredith: You know far more about that than I do. When are you going to be my canvas again?

Noriko: My statue days are done. Why are you dressed like that?

Panel 5 – stepping back

Meredith: I've been wearing boring clothes all week. Once they pick the statue up, I'm putting on my heels and we're hitting the club.

Noriko: I had no idea Stacy was such a beautiful woman.

Meredith: Yeah. About that. I meant to tell you. Stacy was a man until I carved her.

Noriko: Why didn't you hire a new model for this contract?

Panel 6 – leaving

Meredith: That block has been in my studio for three months. A woman has been waiting inside it this entire time. I could felt it every day.

Noriko: Don’t get metaphysical with me. What if he sues you?

Meredith: She won’t.

Show And Tell (4 of 5)

Ashley stood at the window. She had finally stopped being annoyed at Britney for moving her over to the window and pointing her head toward the driveway outside.

Britney had given her a little wave as she walked out to the sidewalk and down the street to Darla’s house. When Daniel left, he didn’t seem to notice her watching him go out to the car and drive away. On his date. With another woman.

The calm serenity of being still took hold in her mind and the evening passed. Dawn light lit her face. She loved the feeling of warmth on her hard plastic body. It slowly crept down her face as the sun climbed over the horizon.

The car pulled into the driveway. Daniel stepped out with a spring in his step. He moved out of her range of vision without looking up at his daughter’s bedroom window. She heard the front door open and close. Footsteps in the upstairs hallway approached the bedroom.

“Good morning, My Love,” Daniel said as he crossed the room to her side. He planted a lingering kiss on her frozen lips. “Looks like you have another hour and a half. I’ll let you be.”

Though she heard him walk away, she remained focused on the kiss. She and Daniel had kissed an uncountable number of times since her restoration. She loved his kissed. But, he hadn’t kissed her mannequin lips since a few days before Britney had taken her apart nearly ten years ago.

Feeling his warm lips on her cold ones sent chills up the spine she didn’t possess. She was so wrapped up in the memory, she was surprised when the Disk restored her. She took a small step to the side to stop herself from swaying.

She found Daniel in their bedroom. He had fallen asleep reading on his phone. He lay on the bed wrapped in a towel from a recent shower. She crawled into bed behind him and kissed his cheek. She inhaled his fresh manly scent. She kissed his neck and his broad shoulders.

“I forgot how you feel after an overnight on the Disk.”

“And you revved me up even more with a plastic kiss.”

“A kiss does this?”

“You haven’t kiss mannequin me in so long.”

He turned to face her. “Oh, I’d forgotten. I’ve unwittingly unleashed a tiger. Someone save me!”

She pulled her top up over her head and tossed it away.

“Mm-Hmm. Tame this kitty, if you can.”

*****

From the edge of the property, she watched the window. The mannequin was looking toward the driveway. The teen was standing on the other side of the property checking her socials and looking up at the window frequently.

A light flashed and she watched the mannequin turn into a woman. The woman inhaled deeply and stood still for a moment. A grin slowly spread on her face and she rushed out of the view of the window.

“Go, Mom.” Reluctantly, she got closer to the side of the house where the master bedroom was located. She waited under the second story window. As soon as she heard the first confirmation noise she shoved her in-ear headphones into her ears, her phone was already playing music loudly. She rushed back to the side walk.

A car pulled up where she was standing several minutes later. “What are you up to?”

“Right on time,” Britney said. She leaned again the door with the open window so she could see the driver better.

“You said to meet you here now. I thought you meant in the house.”

“No, no. Neither of us want to be in the house right now. How about you buy me breakfast?”

Selena glanced at the car in the driveway and laughed. “Sure, Brit. Hop in.” When Britney had buckled up, Selena drove away. “I take it there’s one less mannequin in the world.”

“Sadly yes. Happily yes, too. And right about now she’s probably very happy.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve done overnight sessions as a mannequin. When they end, there’s a burst of certain hormones.”

“Oh.” She looked over at her passenger who was grinning from ear to ear. “OH! That lucky dog.”

“Dog?”

“Your father.”

“Whu… Oh.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Selena said.

“No, no. I get it. My Dad is a playa. I don’t know if I should be proud or reviled.”

“Just be glad for him. Or don’t think about it at all.”

“I think that ship has sailed. So? Up until the parts I really don’t want to know about, how was your date?”

“Amusing. He was so nervous.”

“And you weren’t?”

“If you asked him, I was cool as a cucumber. But, yeah. I was as nervous as him. I’m glad you think things went well this morning.”

“Don’t ask how I know.”

She made a ‘lips are locked and key is lost’ motion. “Dinner was delicious. He reserved the same table at the same restaurant where we went on our first date. We ended up reminiscing about our first date. It was very nostalgic and romantic.”

“Damn, he does have game. When they dropped me off at school the morning after her reawakening, he took Mom to the diner where they had their first date in high school.”

“Hmm, does he have game? Or just a well-worn playbook?”

“I hope I never find out,” Britney said.

They laughed.

She continued, “If he manages to get Mom and you to accept him seeing a second girlfriend, then we’ll know he has game.”

“I would bet money against that happening,” the ‘first’ girlfriend said.

“Me, too,” his daughter said. She sighed. “Too bad your date went well. The three of you have to figure out what to do next.”

“That isn’t your problem.”

“I know. But, I would miss you. And before you say we could stay in touch, you know that probably wouldn’t last. I wouldn’t want you to miss my graduation from high school. Or college. Getting married. Embarrassing you by naming our first born after you.”

“You wouldn’t?”

“I feel sorry for poor Selena if he’s a boy.”

“Britney!”

They laughed.

“You want children?”

“Probably. I understand being responsible for a life.”

“Oh, Britney.”

“But, I can still fantasize like a teenage girl.”

“You are a teenage girl. Hold on to that.”

“I guess.”

*****

Her fingers tussled the small hairs on his chest. He lay with his eyes closed, enjoying her expression of love. “You’re problem is you’re doing this all wrong.”

“Doing what wrong?” he asked.

“Usually the mistress is younger than the wife.”

“Usually the mistress only exists because the wife isn’t interested in sex.”

“Perish the thought.”

“But, if you insist, maybe I can find a woman younger than you both and keep her in storage once you and Selena lose interest in sex.”

A crestfallen glance played on her face and he sat up instantly. He took her cheeks in his hands preventing her from looking away. “I was joking.” He kissed his wife on the tip of the nose.

She laughed weakly. “It’s not the idea you’ll find another woman, stud.”

“Noted.”

“Beast.” She batted his arm playfully. “It’s just the idea of being in storage, only human to satisfy a lover’s sexual hunger and then returning to storage, was once a fantasy of mine.”

“The reality is too cold?”

“I can’t imagine being a mannequin for a week any time soon.”

“I was surprised you did it overnight, last night.”

“That was your daughter’s doing. She must have known how I’d feel after an overnight.”

“TMI.”

“Yes. But, you should thank her. I’m sure you haven’t had two woman in less than a day before.”

“Not that I recall.”

“Beast!” She playfully batted her hands at his chest until he grabbed her by the wrists, as she’d hoped. He pulled her helplessly, by design, into a passionate kiss.

They lay in the embrace for a while in silence.

“Unfortunately, nature calls,” he said, letting her go.

She sighed ruefully. “I need to shower before Britney returns.”

He was headed to the bathroom. “Selena said Brit asked her to pick her up this morning.”

“To go where?” She got up and followed him.

“Probably anywhere but here so she wouldn’t hear us.”

“You think?”

“She’s not a little girl, Ash.”

“Is it weird that she asked your girlfriend, who you just spent the night with, to distract herself from us being together?”

“When you say it like that it is.”

*****

When they returned from breakfast, Selena parked the car and got out along with Britney.

“This’ll be fun,” Britney said.

“You convinced me at breakfast that we need to normalize whatever this is,” Selena said.

“Calling it ‘whatever this is’ doesn’t seem like the ideal way to normalize anything.”

“You aren’t funny.”

They entered the kitchen as Daniel was setting two plates of pancakes down on the table. Selena gave him a kiss as Britney said, “Where’s Mom?”

“Oh, good morning to you, too,” he said to Selena. “Mom is in the shower. She should be down shortly. Did you two to go to breakfast?”

“Yes, I’ll just make some coffee,” Selena said. “How’s Darla?”

“You spent over an hour with Brit and didn’t ask her that already?” He said.

“There were other more pressing topics.”

“Darla mostly wanted to talk about our more pressing topic.”

Selena laughed.

Ashley entered the kitchen in a bathrobe. Her hair was still wet and wrapped in a towel. “What did I miss?” She kissed Daniel before sitting down.

“Good morning. All of us are talking around how we go forward? It seems.” Daniel said.

“I have a question for Mom,” Britney said. “The night we restored you, Dad found out I was using the Mannequin Disk and to my surprise he wasn’t angry or upset.”

“You weren’t?” Selena said.

“No.”

“I can see where this is going,” Ashley said, eating some of the pancakes Daniel had ready for her.

“I’m sure you do,” Britney said. “Dad told me I was about the same age as Mom was when she started using her first Disk. How did you find out about Mom’s time spent as a mannequin?”

“You tell her,” Mom said awkwardly with her mouth full.

He pushed the half-finished plate in front of him away. “I was fifteen. Ashley was sixteen already. She’s four months older than me according to birth records, not so sure now. In any case, we had been exchanging puppy dog looks with one another. But, she hung out with the popular girls in school. While I wasn’t at the bottom of the high school totem pole, I wasn’t at the top either…”

*****

I never could get the nerve to talk to her. She would look at me looking at her and blush but said nothing. I worked in the mall after school and I would see her there, too, with her friends. From where I worked, I’d see them pass by and every time they did, she would linger in front this one store where the most human looking mannequin stood in the window.

I started noticing that the mannequin would change poses almost daily and take on poses that were unusual for a mannequin. Curious, I visited the store.

“Are you lost?” A woman behind the register said.

I was staring at the mannequin from within the store. “What? Oh, no. Can I ask you something?”

“She’s a living person. Yes. That cover it?”

“How?”

“Magic.”

“Seriously?”

“No. Alien technology.”

“That feels even more far-fetched.”

“It is. But, technology is the answer. We have a machine that can turn folks into plastic dummies and back to flesh.”

“Does she get paid?”

“Not as much as I do, and I don’t make much. But, yeah, she is technically an employee.”

I came up with an idea and discussed it with the woman. She thought it wouldn’t get her in trouble so she agreed.

A week passed and Ashley was in the mall without her friends. This time when she passed the store she lingered in front of the mannequin for a while. I rushed out to where she stood and said, “I know a secret about the mannequin.”

“What secret?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.”

“That’s rude. Dangling a secret in front of me like that and then snatching it back.”

“I suppose it was. She is alive.”

“I knew it.”

“And you can take her place for an hour if you’re game.”

“Wh-why would I w-want to be a…?”

I held my hand out and she took it. I brought her into the store. I introduced her to the sales clerk, Monica, if I remember correctly. We went into the back and Ashley saw a Mannequin Disk for the first time.

After that first hour, she started working part time at the store. And she rewarded me by dating me. And the rest can wait for another time.

*****

Friday night dates turned into a regular thing, the fourth Friday Britney was sleeping at Beth’s house. Beth’s mother interrupted the girls before they could disappear into Beth’s bedroom.

“Britney, it’s good to see you again. Would you mind if I asked you a couple questions?”

“No problem, Mrs. Gerand.”

“I understand from Beth that your mother is back in your life.”

“You can call her if you like. She has her old phone number back.”

“I don’t know if I have her number. I only met her a few times before the incident.” She paused before adding. “Can I ask you about Selena?”

“They’re still working that out.”

“I’m surprised.”

“This really isn’t any of your business. But I understand your curiosity,” Britney said. “Dad and I stopped visiting Mom after a while. It was too painful. She was right there. And yet she wasn’t.”

“Sounds like what happened to me when my father’s Alzheimer’s became advanced.”

“Then you might understand. We had Selena. Selena would go to the attic. She would tell Mom everything that I was up to: how I did on tests, who my friends were, what happened when we would go to fun places, and more I’ll probably never know about. Mom adores Selena. I love Selena as a second mother. Dad, of course, loves her. She’s part of our family and we are better because of it.”

“You said they were still working on that.”

“Well, I think she’s family. They just haven’t caught up to me,” she gave Mrs. Gerand a smug smile. “I know I’m oversimplifying it. But they’ll get where I am eventually. They have to.”

*****

“It’ll be fine,” Selena said. She and Ashley were sipping coffee on a Friday afternoon. Selena sometimes stopped by after school, beating Britney home sometimes.

“It would be an intrusion.”

“No, it would be a relief for me. I feel like we’re doing something clandestine when Daniel and I sneak out to date on Fridays,” Selena said. “I spend so much time here. I always feel weird having Daniel in my apartment.”

“But, wouldn’t it be awkward?”

“Everything about our love triangle is awkward. Maybe this will help.”

“Well, I’m game if you are.”

“That’s all I ask.”

When Daniel got home, he was surprised to find Selena there.

“We aren’t going out tonight?”

“Would that be so bad?”

“No, of course not. Does Ashley or Britney have plans I’ve forgotten?”

“No. Britney is already at Beth’s house. The only difference is we’re here.”

“That feels like a big difference.”

Ashley walked out of the kitchen. “Well, it shouldn’t. I made dinner. It should be ready in a few minutes. Go get changed and we’ll eat.”

The three of them ate dinner. Small talk was free and easy. This was the first time only the three of them were eating dinner together. When dinner ended, Daniel got up to clear the table.

“I’m going to retire for the evening,” Ashley said. “This is still your date night. Enjoy your evening.” She gave Selena a hug and kissed Daniel good night.

“Sure, nothing weird at all,” Daniel said.

They curled up on the sofa.

“I have to say. I missed this,” he said.

“So did I.”

“Assuming she’s a mannequin now, the only difference between now and a year ago is she’s probably not in the attic.”

“Well, let’s not worry about that. We have some shows to catch up on.”

A few hours later, they were making out. Selena got up and walked toward the stairs, giving Daniel a come hither look.

He was going to protest but she left him alone in the living room. He followed her to his bedroom.

She was waiting for him on the bed. The lights were out. He removed his pajama top and joined her in bed.

As the throes of passion subsided, she whispered in his ear, “Can you go again?”

“Probably. Give me a... What are you looking at?” She pointed and he saw a figure standing in the darkest corner of the room. “Is that Ashley? Did she watch?”

“Yes, this was my idea.”

“Why?” he moved to cover them up with the sheets.

Selena pushed them aside. “We all know what is happening. We should embrace our love for each other. Celebrate it.” She got out of bed. “And what better way than to make love in front of one another.”

She stepped over to the mannequin disk and stepped on the release button. The Disk cycled.

Selena hugged Ashley.

“What are you doing?” Ashley said. She was confused as to why Selena had released her.

“My turn.” Selena said. She led Ashley off the Disk, stood in her place, and touched the cycle button again. “And also your turn.”

The Disk cycled. Selena was a mannequin now.

“What just happened?” Daniel said.

Ashley shrugged. “Enjoy the show, Selena,” she said. She slinked over to the bed and gave Daniel a wet kiss. “You did tell her you could go again.”

“I… Why am I considering fighting this?” He pulled his wife onto the bed and ran his hands across her body.

She laughed. “I have no clue.”

RENDER - What Heather Did This Summer

That's a lot of ivy.

Little Witch #8: Doll Collecting

Jenny's time as a human didn't last very long, did it?

Transcript

Panel 1 – Sally and Mommy are on doll stands on a shelf.

Sally: Did Angie just drop her shorts on the floor?

Mommy: Really? She never forgets to use the hamper.

Sally: She's casting a spell now.

Panel 2 – MAGIC shorts turn into Jenny

Jenny: Hey, this isn’t the gym locker room!

Angela: I know. Sorry. I forget to change you back after gym.

Panel 3

Jenny: I missed afternoon English?

Jenny: That doll? Is that your mother?

Panel 4 – Jenny is holding Sally

Angela: No, that’s my Aunt Sally. The other doll is Mommy. Hi, Mommy, Hi, Aunt Sally. Meet Jenny.

Jenny: They even have doll stands. Can I be a doll? Just for a little while.

Angela: I can’t. I shouldn’t.

Jenny: Why not?
Panel 5

Angela: Daddy doesn’t know I can change them back.

Jenny: He’s at work. He’ll never know. Just 15 minutes?

Angela: Fine.

Panel 6 – Bottom of staircase

Daddy (Calling up the stairs): Angela? Are you ready to go visit Mr. Wilson?

Angela (off panel): Yes.

Daddy: I want to leave right now. Come downstairs.

Panel 7 – Angie’s room

Angela: Ha Ha. Oh, no. Sorry, Jenny. Looks like you get to be a doll for more than 15 minutes.

Panel 8 – Shot of the three dolls. No dialog

Panel 9

Mommy: Does Angela transform you into clothing often?

Jenny: We can talk to each other? This just got 100 times better.

POLL: Scheduling and Stuff June 2025

This didn't start out as a poll. Question: Are the release dates I'm currently using good for you? Would a different pair of days make it easier for you to read and engage with my releases? The poll is at the bottom. Yes, I ask for engagement too much. Okay, now on to the original purpose of this post:

I just spent a lot of time fixing, refixing, transcripting, and ultimately scheduling about 40 comics. In the attached image, you can see the upcoming schedule. Statue Rentals and Little Witch comics are going to twice each month each. Little Witch will occupy the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Statue Rentals will be on second and fourth Tuesdays. This year, July, September, and December have five Tuesdays. A one off comic will appear on July 29. And December might have a short story on the 23rd and the Statue Rental that should be there would be moved to the 30th. No idea what will happen September 30 at the moment.

The other interesting bit in the schedule is the lack of prose stories after October. I'm working on it. I expect to have Ted's Dolls Season 5 ready by then, hopefully soon. I have a bunch of stories that need finishing as well. The image shows you what stories are definitely ready, such as the rest of Show And Tell and the eight-parter called Sold. There's even word counts in the image so I don't have to bore you with working them into coherent sentences. Let's see that image here:

Well, one bit of boring word counts. There's 55k words stuck waiting for me to finish 10 different stories. Two of those stories are currently under 2k words. The rest are averaging 5k words and they aren't finished yet. Since they are currently in 17 parts, if I could get these done, that'd be another 4 months of stories ready on top of the 15 expected Ted's Dolls stories.

Of course, I know I'll end up being distracted by the new shiny stories that pop into my head as well. I didn't include a few stories that I think are sitting on my story index page with the note: coming soon. Sigh. And this doesn't include stuff I want to get back to: Another I'm with the band part, a bizarre day story (languishing unloved for over 2 years now), The Truth, etc.

Show And Tell (3 of 5)

A week after her restoration, Daniel was at work, Britney was at school. Amanda woke to find her sister in Daniel’s office. She was rewatching the slideshow of everything she had missed.

Amanda sat down beside her and held her.

“Do you know what’s funny?” Ashley said. “I feel like I’ve been attending my own funeral these past few days.”

“What?”

“In reverse. Everyone is sitting around telling stories about the missing Mom. I’m the ghost in the stories. ‘Remember when Britney lost her first tooth and Mom wasn’t there?’ ‘Remember when Britney graduated from elementary school and Mom wasn’t there?’ ‘Remember when…’”

“Ashley, no one is faulting you for not being there.”

“I know that. It has nothing to do with fault. But, there are thousands of anecdotes about Britney did this and Britney did that. And none of them include me being there by her side. It hurts. I don’t want it to hurt. I certainly don’t want Britney to know I feel this way.”

“Of course it hurts. No one will be upset with you because you feel bad about missing stuff.”

“The weird part is I didn’t really miss her growing up. I saw her when she was six and seven and ten and so on. I’ve seen her and Daniel get older. If anything, seeing you is the only part where I feel like I truly missed the passage of time. I missed the last nine years and I was here for it. Like a ghost.”

“Any thoughts about seeing a therapist.”

Ashley laughed. “Yes. But then I think ‘Hi, does the therapist have any openings I’m hoping find one who’s experienced with being stuck as a mannequin for nine years.’”

“’Sorry, the therapist only takes patients who have been lost for twenty or more years.’”

They laughed together.

“How do I get to be her mother again? She’s nearly an adult.”

“Britney loves you. She loves you as her mother. You don’t need to be her mother again. You’ve always been her mother to her. I’m shocked to hear myself saying it, but you probably have Selena to thank for that. She kept you involved in Britney’s life far better than Daniel did.”

“Selena. What do I do about her? I can’t imagine life without her. She was my lifeline to the world. She’s the only friend I’m close to. And yet, she and Daniel are lovers. How does that work?”

“I have no idea. It was simpler when I hated her.”

“You’ve discovered like I did years ago that it’s hard to be mad at Selena.”

*****

A week later, Amanda entered the kitchen to see about lunch. She found her sister Ashley sitting at the table, just staring into space.

“Relapse?”

“What?”

“You were stock still and staring vacantly.”

“Oh. I’m just trying to relax.”

“More nightmares?”

“Not last night. They’re finally going away. I guess I’m just nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“My appointment later.”

“The driving test? You’re nervous?”

“I didn’t pass the first time.”

“I’d forgotten that,” Amanda said. “I remember you made sure I practiced so I wouldn’t fail mine. I can’t believe that was almost twenty years ago.”

“I don’t even have that any more. You’re the older sister now.”

“You take that back.”

She stuck her tongue out at Amanda.

“Really?”

“I get to be the less mature one, now.”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

“Go?”

“For a drive. I have to give you a driving lesson so you don’t fail the first time.”

With a wide grin, Ashley said, “Thanks, Big Sis.”

*****

When Britney got home that afternoon, her mother was in her room. Ashley was on the Mannequin Disk. The timer was counting down another ten minutes until it would restore her.

Britney was shocked. Mom hadn’t used the Disk since she’d been restored. She hesitated only a moment before going about her business as if her mother wasn’t there. She took off her shoes and put her book bag in the corner. She grabbed her tablet and opened the reading app. She tried to read the book assigned for her English class but was too distracted to get very far. She gave up on reading when she heard the Mannequin Disk turn on and start its pre-restoration checks.

In a moment, her mother was standing in her room. “I missed that,” she said softly.

“You did?”

“Oh, you’re home,” Ashley said placidly. She was feeling mellow enough that she wasn’t startled to see Britney was there. “How was your day?”

“No, no. Back up. You missed that?”

“I did. I admit I was nervous these past two weeks. I’ve been doing this for very short durations the past few days while you were at school.”

“How have you done this and Amanda didn’t kill you?”

“She wouldn’t kill me. I just do it when I know she’ll be occupied with something. She doesn’t know.”

“Then why did you make sure I found out?”

“Oh, right! Guess who’s taking you to school tomorrow?”

“You passed?”

“I did!” Ashley did a little dance and Britney joined in.

After a moment, Ashley stopped because Britney had stopped. Her daughter’s eyes were welling with tears.

“What, honey?”

“I forgot we used to happy dance,” Britney said pulling her mother into a hug.

“Yeah. You used to get excited by stuff easily.”

“I know. I still do. I just haven’t… haven’t danced like that in so long. I’d forgotten.”

“Well, we can dance now.”

“What’s wrong?” Amanda said as she entered. “I heard stomping.”

“Nothing,” Ashley said. “We were dancing.”

“That must have been some sad dance.”

“No, no, these are happy tears,” Britney said. “I haven’t danced with Mom in too long.”

“Oh. Why were you dancing?”

“You already know.”

“Because you passed?”

“I passed.”

The three of them danced. After a while Amanda had to sit down and just watch. “It isn’t fair you can keep up with Brit so easily.”

“I really don’t recommend my anti-aging process.”

“Nothing is good in excess,” Britney said. She gave her aunt a withering gaze. “Am I just finding out that dancing for fun wasn’t just between me and Mom?”

“We’ve danced for the joy of the smallest things forever, dear,” Amanda said. “I didn’t know you knew about it.”

“I didn’t. This is fantastic. I can not only dance with Mom, I can dance with you, too.”

“Any time.” The next time they stopped, they all sat down. After a moment, Amanda said to her sister, “Relaxed after using that thing?”

“What?”

“She knew!” Britney laughed.

“Of course, I knew. Why do you think I would disappear after lunch for an hour to run an errand or go jogging or something?”

“You knew? You wanted us to destroy it when you arrived.”

“It’s unnatural. But, Britney convinced me.”

“Britney? How?”

Amanda sighed and said, “You went out to dinner with Daniel a week or so ago and I found her on the machine with only a few minutes left. So I waited…”

*****

Lights flashed across Britney’s skin as her plastic form was replaced by her living body. She inhaled deeply.

“Why do you use that cursed thing?” Amanda said.

“Get on.”

“What?”

“Get. On,” Britney insisted.

“I am not becoming a mannequin.”

“Get on and find out what you keep complaining about. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“No.”

“Then never say another word about me using the machine.”

“Fine.”

“Or Mom.”

“No. She isn’t allowed…”

“You aren’t Grandma and even if she were here, I’d explain to her Mom isn’t a child. Now, get on or never talk about it again.”

“Fine.” Amanda got up. To Britney’s surprise, her aunt didn’t leave the room. She crossed it and stood on the Disk. “Now what?”

“Let me set the duration.”

“Just five minutes.”

“That’s too short. Just relax. I promise not to take you apart.”

“That isn’t comforting.”

“Ready?”

“I guess.”

Britney looked at her aunt and shook her head. “Don’t stand like that.”

“I’m just standing like I always stand.”

“Ever seen a mannequin standing like that?”

“I’m not a mannequin.”

“You will be. Now, stand like a mannequin does.”

Her aunt humored her, putting her weight on one foot so she could bend her other knee a bit. She held her arms away from her body in a dramatic manner.

“Relax your fingers more. Okay. That’s good.” Britney tapped the start button with her foot. “Just relax. It’s going take hold of you by surprise even though you’re expecting it. Don’t be afraid.”

After a second, Amanda said, “Don’t you have to start it.”

“Already did.”

Lights flashed. Amanda felt as if she were wrapped in a thousand layers of cling wrap. She found herself unable to move before the lights faded. It was weird not being able to move her eyes.

Britney’s face appeared in front of her and wagged her index finger at her aunt. “I’ve put you in time out for speaking badly about the Mannequin Disk, young lady.” Her face disappeared.

The light in the room turned off. The sound of Britney’s receding footsteps faded, Only the soft hiss of air being pushed out of the air conditioning vents reached Amanda’s plastic ears. Her outrage didn’t last long once she resigned herself to being here however long Britney had set the machine.

She didn’t have a heartbeat to break the silence. Or to provide her a sense of time. Her mind drifted. She memorized all the knick-knacks on the shelves in front of her, noting which ones weren’t quite lined up with the others. Her mind drifted. She noted the bits of laundry that always seemed to fail to find their way to Britney’s laundry basket. Her mind drifted.

She was suddenly very aware as it felt like thousands of layers of wrappings were being pulled away from her body. The feeling disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared. She could move. She inhaled deeply.

“Well?” Britney said.

Amanda hadn’t noticed the lights in the room had been turned on. But, she was too mellow to react with surprise at the sound of Britney’s voice. “I get it,” she said slowly.

“You do?”

“I’m never doing it again.”

“Awwww.”

“But, I get it. I can see how some might find that relaxing. It’s not for me.”

“That’s fine. As long as you’ll stay off our backs about it.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I promise.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m going to go lie down and think about what just happened.”

“Lie down? You already look like you’re asleep.”

“Yeah. It’s not for me.” She left Britney’s room. “Not for me,” she muttered. “I’d become addicted,” she thought.

*****

She didn’t mention that last bit as she finished telling her sister about the one and only time she had used the Mannequin Disk.

That evening, long after laughing at Britney’s schooling of Amanda about Mannequing Disks, Ashley lay in bed next to Daniel. A pair of their arms were intertwined. They were both a bit sweaty and winded.

“What’s that look?” Daniel said.

“It’s nothing. You really got me tonight.”

“Oh?”

“One of our best times together. Five stars, would recommend.”

“I’m glad to hear it. You were wonderful, too.”

They lay in silence for a while. His hand held hers.

“Did… Did she teach you how to…?”

“I don’t want to talk about…”

“You’ve never done that to me before. It was too messy, you’d say.”

“I’m older and more mature, young lady.”

“More attentive to your partner’s needs.”

“I’m not apologizing for giving you a good time.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m glad. Happy even. I was just curious.”

“I’d rather not talk about Selena,” he said. He got up. “I’ll be right back.” He went to the bathroom.

She was right where he’d left her when he returned to the bed.

“You should go out on a real date with her without me.”

“Yeah, sure. You can help me get dressed up for it.”

“If you want.”

“Are you serious?”

“I was thinking. You never dated Selena while I was a living being.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“So, if I weren’t alive, and you went on a date, it would be the same thing.”

“Weren’t alive? What are you…? Have you been using the Disk?”

“I have. I needed it.”

“Ashley, I could never survive if I lost you again.”

“There’s very little chance that Britney would take my head to school these days.”

“But…”

She cuddled up close to him so her face filled his vision. “No, no. Let me finish. I see it in your face. You never used to close your eyes when we made love. You do now. Don’t tell me the answer. Just allow me to speculate. You probably developed that habit with her as well. Not looking at her during sex when you started dating her allowed you to pretend she was me. Now, you have your eyes closed with me and I’m sure sometimes, you’re thinking of her.”

“I…”

“No, no. I don’t care. It’s fine. It’s even natural. None of this fair to you or to her or to me. I owe her a lot. We all do. And if I were a mannequin, it wouldn’t be any different than it was a year ago.”

“But, it would be different. You’re here.”

“I’ve always been here. If taking her to dinner would be morally wrong a week from Friday night, it was wrong a year ago.”

“That is very mature… for someone of your apparent age.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“I was hoping that was funny.”

“Not enough.

“Next Friday night?”

“When she said she was busy tomorrow night, I asked if she was busy next Friday and said I’d love if we all went to dinner together. I didn’t tell her only you were showing up. Now. She’s your mistress. So, if you want to tell her it’s a real date, that’s up to you. I intend to spend that Friday night through to Saturday morning on the Disk. I haven’t been a mannequin that long since my reawakening.”

He kissed her and after a few aborted protests she kissed back. They lay in one another’s arm for quite a while exchanging kisses and gentle touches.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay with this?”

“No,” she laughed. “Only one way to find out.”

“What about Britney?”

“Oh,” she said. “Do you think we should tell her?”

“I think I should tell her,” he said. “I think she’ll understand.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think about telling her.”

“And Amanda?”

“Amanda has to go back home next Wednesday and won’t be back until the following week. She won’t be here either, conveniently.”

“I’m sure she would have more issue with you using the Disk.”

“She already knows I’ve been using it. She even kind of approves thanks to Britney.”

“Why didn’t I know?”

“Yeah. Why didn’t you?” She said. “I’m just busting you. I think Amanda would be torn about whether it was or wasn’t a good idea.”

“I’m still feeling the same way.”

“It’ll be fine. Selena deserves happiness. And you need to figure out how to deal with having two women who love you.”

“Please, don’t say it like that. It makes me feel like a low life.”

“No, you’re just a victim of your godly tongue powers.”

“I said I wouldn’t apologize for that.”

Her hand wrapped around his engorged member.

“Are you planning to do something with that?” He asked, leering at her.

She nodded. Lust twinkled in her eyes. “My tongue can be more godly.”

“I can get behind a greatest tongue competition that’ll take us decades to settle.”

*****

“Hey, there’s my idol,” Gerry said. He slapped Daniel on the back in a friendly gesture. They were meeting for lunch downtown.

“You heard?”

“Heard? Daniel, your socials are blowing up about Ashley’s return. And most of us have met Selena. Ash didn’t make you dump her as I understand it.”

“Is this true?” Rashad said. “Who is Ashley?

“Okay, that’s a long story,” Gerry said. “Ashley is Daniel’s wife. She had an accident with a Mannequin Disk thing and was trapped as a mannequin for several years. From what I understand, she’s no longer trapped.”

“You were dating Selena while your wife was alive?”

“As she pointed out to me the other night, while she was stuck, as Gerry put it, she wasn’t a living being.”

“How did you convince her of that?”

“I didn’t. She explained it to me. She likes Selena. Why is also a long story. I did not deal with being in a state of having lost my wife and she was still there standing in the house very well.”

“She ended up in his attic,” Gerry said.

“She did. And apparently, when Selena would come over, she would visit Ashley and tell her about what Britney and I were up to.”

“You didn’t visit your sick wife constantly. I hope ‘sick wife’ works.”

“Not like I should have. Even Britney had trouble going up to see her the last couple years. Selena kept Ashley in the loop.”

“They’re friends now?” Rashad asked.

“They get along well.”

“Oh, really? How well?” Gerry said. He made a rude gesture.

“Don’t be disgusting,” Rashad said. He was more upset by Gerry’s attitude than Daniel was.

“Rashad, Marta and I have sex once a month. He has two women who apparent love him and don’t hate each other. That must mean sex at least twice a month.”

“You only have sex once a month because Marta knows you’re a dog,” Rashad said.

Daniel and Gerry laughed.

“We warned her,” Daniel said. “She didn’t seem to mind when they were in college.”

“Yeah, children change a woman.”

“When you have more time, I’d love to hear more of this story,” Rashad said. “I’ve only met Selena once and my impression of her matches this selflessness you say she has.”

*****

“Britney?” her mother called out when she didn’t find her daughter in her bedroom.

“Attic.”

Britney noticed twenty or thirty minutes passed before she saw her mother climbing the stairs. From the landing, her mother said, “What is that smell?”

“You should climb back on this horse. Or these last six steps. The attic isn’t really all that scary.”

Ashley took a settling breath and straightened her back as she stepped into the attic. “You swept?”

“We really let the attic go while you were here. I’m so sorry you were abandoned in our never used attic.”

“Selena made sure it was never abandoned. Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Britney held up a rag. “The doll stand you were on was made of copper. Look at this green patina. I thought I’d polish it. It’s a beautiful doll stand.”

“Mark made it. Mark was Daniel’s friend in high school. Did you ever meet him?”

“I was here when he brought it up here. But, I don’t remember what he looked like.”

“He was great with making things. He propped me up in the stand. Daniel just stood there trying not to lose it.”

“I remember the old wooden thing Dad had you leaning against. This was a huge upgrade. It’s a shame it’s all corroded like this.”

“What are you going to do with it when you’re done?”

“Well, after it airs out for a few days, I want to put it in my room next to the Disk. It’s a cool looking thing.”

“You’re just going to end up hanging your clothes on it.”

“It isn’t exclusively useful for dolls,” Britney said seriously. “You doing okay. You don’t have to hang around here if you don’t want to.”

“I’m good. You were right. It’s just an attic. I might come up here more often.”

“Why?”

“To enjoy the novelty of being able to turn my head and see it from more than one angle.”

“Was that a joke?”

“Maybe. Changing the subject… When was the last time you spent the night with, um, Beth or that new girl, Darla?” Ashley asked Britney.

“I haven’t had a sleep over with anyone in a year, maybe two, I think. Why?”

“I was just hoping you might be out on a Friday night so I could use the Disk overnight.”

“We could move it into your bedroom.”

“No, it’s really yours now. You use it more than I do.”

“Not if you’re planning to use it overnight. Isn’t that a big jump compared to the fifteen to thirty minute times you admitted you’ve been doing?”

“Well, I figure I need to get back on that horse.”

“I know about Selena and Daddy’s date night.”

“You do?”

“Selena asked me if I was okay with it.”

Ashley laughed. “Of course, she did.”

“So did Dad. You weren’t going to tell me?”

“Not immediately. It’s really just between me and him and Selena.”

“True. But, I’m not a child.”

“I’m sorry, honey. Blame me for keeping it from you. I just figured you wouldn’t want to be here whenever your father gets home.”

“Now that’s a convincing argument. I’ll text Darla. And I’m glad to have you use the Disk while I’m out. Since it’s mine now.”

“Thank you, dear.”

*****

Britney bounded down the stairs. Daniel was checking his collar in the mirror by the front door. “Looking good, Dad. Have fun.”

“I will. I’m nervous.”

“I’m not helping you get psyched up for a date with Selena.

“I wouldn’t ask you to. Go have fun.”

She kissed her father’s cheek. “Nice cologne. I’ll be at Darla’s till tomorrow.”

“Okay. Is…?”

“The mannequin in my room isn’t going anywhere until morning.”

“Okay. Have a good night, Britney.”

She left.

With a last look in the mirror, he put his formal jacket over his arm for the restaurant later and left. He drove to Selena’s apartment.

When she opened the door, she greeted him with a brief, familiar kiss. “I’ll be ready in two shakes.” It was their first kiss since Ashley’s return. He marveled at how she was so nonchalant about it.

“Take your time. I’m early.”

“I know. You always are. You look a bit nervous,” she said as she put on a pair of wide hoop earrings.

“This is a little weird.”

“You’ve known me for years. You have no reason to be nervous with me. I find it rather romantic.”

“I know.”

“How do I look?”

“Stunning as always.” He helped drape the shawl she was holding over her shoulders. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.”

An awkward silence fell between them as he drove them to the restaurant.

“Do you remember our first date?”

“Yeah, though I try not to dwell on it,” he said.

“You were a total stiff. You were nervous about something. Worse than tonight even. At the time I thought it was because you were leaving Britney with a sitter for the first time since your wife and you had been estranged. That was how you put it in the early days. You told me it was a complicated situation. And too complicated for a first date.”

“I was there.”

“Actually, you were barely there. I didn’t know at the time. Your nerves had nothing to do with the sitter. It had everything to do with the mannequin in the attic.”

“Why are you thinking about this now?”

“You’re stiff and nervous, Daniel. If you can’t do this with me, just take me home now. I won’t be mad if you can’t…”

“No, no. You’re right I’m nervous. It’s the stupidest thing. It’s…”

He left it hanging so long, she said, “It’s what?”

“It’s stupid,” he said. “I’m worried about our date being too good.”

“Too good?”

“None of this is fair to you. I love Ashley. And I love you. You know how many times I suggested we do something official.”

“It’s a good thing we didn’t.”

“I suppose in hindsight it is. But where does that put me now? I expect we’ll have a wonderful time tonight.”

“Darn.”

“And then I’ll go home and Ashley will be there. Every time I think about that it gets more awkward.” He parked the car. “We’re here.”

“We haven’t been here in a while. Are we going in?”

He sighed. He opened his car door. “Of course. I’m just being anxious for no reason.”

“You spend an hour or so staring into my eyes and it’ll fade away.”

“A whole hour?”

“You’re right. For you, these eyes will only need ten minutes. Fifteen tops.”

“They are hypnotic.” They approached the hostess table. When he mentioned his reservation, the hostess led them to their table.

“You do remember our first date. Did you arrange this?”

“This is our table.” He held her chair for her and pushed it in behind her.

“Are you already relaxing?”

“A bit.”

His nerves didn’t bother him again until they got back to his car and he was driving her home.

“You’ve gotten quiet,” she said.

“Sorry. Were you saying something?”

“Not really. I suppose we should talk about this now. When we get home, I’d love for you to come in and stay the night.”

“So would I. And I’m not sure I can.”

“I’m sure you can.” She put her hand on his thigh. “She trusts you. She loves you. And she knew this was exactly how this date would end.”

“I know. I know. I can’t shake the feeling this should be a bigger deal than it is. We operate under unusual circumstances. All the feelings I have are normal. But, there’s nothing normal about this.”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” she said.

“How else should I look at it?”

“Remember our first time?”

“Of course. It was magical,” he said, the memory twinkled in his eye.

He parked the car.

“No, not the first successful time. The first time.”

“Oh, Lord,” He laughed. “No, I’d forgotten that. I said something about not dwelling earlier if you recall.”

She ignored that. “Why didn’t we have sex that first time?”

“You weren’t sure it was right. Not me. You,” he said.

“And what did you explain to me?”

“I said, ‘I don’t know if this is right or wrong. The whole situation is crazy. Let’s just focus on us the next time we try this.’ Or words to that effect.”

“That was close to exact, I think,” she said thoughtfully. “The point is that question is on both of our minds. I love Ashley, too. I don’t want to hurt her. Even though us having a date was her idea, I don’t know if inviting you to my bed is right or wrong. But, right now, we have the opportunity to focus on us with no other distractions. Let’s not waste it.”

He turned the car off. They kissed. The world patiently waited for them to finish that first kiss of many to come that evening. “Okay,” he said.

Statue Rentals #4: Waiting

Finally, Stacy will no longer be a blockhead. (Blockbody? Blockperson?) Observant folk will have noticed the first panel here shows one of the statues Heather visits during her journey. More evidence of a shared universe? Or maybe Meredith just imagined Heather's journey.

Bonus - The studio panorama

See above.

Transcript

PAGE 4 – Waiting

Panels 1-7 are a ‘single panoramic view’ divided into 4 day panels and 3 night panels. Meredith (and Noriko) appear(s) only in the day panels. The night panels show the studio is empty at night. The middle of the shot is the marble block, still untouched.

Panel 1 – Meredith is drawing at an easel.

Narration: Monday...

Panel 3 – Meredith is at a different table.

Narration: Next Monday...

Panel 5 – Meredith is sitting on a yoga mat in a difficult yoga pose.

Narration: A Month Later...

Panel 7 – Evening, Meredith and Noriko dressed for a night on the town

Meredith: Are you taller now?

Noriko: Platforms. We can't all be leggy, former models.

Meredith: Don't hate me because I can still pull off this dress.

Noriko: It'll get pulled off you, I'm sure. Night club's tequila is calling my name. Let's go.

Panel 8 – Meredith’s Bedroom. Sunlight shines in her face. She’s sleeping.

Narration: The Next Morning, 8 am…

Phone (too far from bed): Dee-da-dee-da... Dee dah doo....

Phone (still too far from bed): Dee-da-dee-da... Dee dah doo....

Meredith (thinking): Who calls anyone at eight o'clock? On a weekend!

Male Voice Recording: Miss Fuller? This is Brian Tellani. A friend of a friend told me you lease living statues for up to six months. I am in desperate need of a statue. If you can provide a figure by this Thursday, we need to talk, ASAP...

Panel 9 – Meredith is hungover checking her phone

Narration: 11:34 am...

Meredith (thinking): This is great news. We can probably charge him a rush fee. I need to call Noriko. I'll call him back first... He didn't answer... Maybe I'll just head over to the address he left.

Male Voice: ... Please leave your message....

Meredith (leaving a message): I guess we're playing phone tag, Mr. Tellani. It sounds like we should meet today if you want a custom statue by Thursday. I'm available any time today. You left me your address so just text when you'd like me to arrive...

Panel 10 – Meredith talking to Noriko

Narration: Later, that afternoon, after securing the contract...

Meredith: I can’t believe how much they’re willing to pay. Stacy will be well-compensated for the extra time spent in stone.

Noriko: Are you sure they’ll be okay with it? The minimum time is six months on top of the nearly three months so far. What if they want the six month extension?

Meredith: We can’t ask. Hopefully, there’s forgiveness when it’s over.

Show And Tell (2 of 5)

Calm.

Still.

Serene.

After the couple put their five year old to bed, Daniel kissed his wife. “I’m going to…”

“You have fun with your gaming buddies. You know where I’ll be.” They kissed again. He went into his combination home office, gaming room. She watched him until the door to the room closed. Ashley went into the guest bedroom where her Mannequin Disk was. She couldn’t wait to relax.

She was just on the verge of zoning out when she was surprised by the door to guest bedroom slowly opening. A little face peered inside from just below the door handle.

“Mommy?” Little Britney was upset.

Ashley thought she’d locked the door. She usually did. How could she have forgotten?

“Mommy?” She approached the mannequin, dried tears in her eyes. She had seen her mother use the Disk before. It fascinated her. She didn’t understand why Daddy didn’t use it.

She stepped onto the Disk next to her mother and hugged her knee. “I had a bad dream.” She held her mother’s plastic leg for a moment or two in silence. “Thanks for the hug, Mommy,” she said as she let go.

Ashley would have choked up if she could. She was a mannequin. Her daughter let go of her leg and it wobbled. Ashley was off balance. She was tipping over. She landed flat on the floor with a thump. Her head rolled away from her mannequin body.

Britney hadn’t had time to react and was about to scream when she saw the head roll to a stop against the wall. She looked at the headless neck and for the first time noticed the seams on the mannequin at the shoulder. Hesitantly at first, she touched the mechanism that remained on the neck of the mannequin. She looked really close at the seam at the shoulder and realized the same mechanism was in there, too. She turned the arm on the seam. It loosened and came off. After a delighted squeal, she repeated this until her mother had been reduced to just body parts.

An idea came to her child’s mind. She crept over to the door and peaked out. There was no sign of Daddy. She picked up one of the mannequin parts and brought it to her room. One by one, she moved the parts into her closet. She went to bed with a smile on her face and her mother’s head in her arms.

*****

After visiting the cafe together, Daniel and Ashley went home again. A car with an out of state license plate was parked in front of their house. He parked in the driveway. Running toward his car was a woman who looked like a slightly older version of Ashley.

“Ashley! Oh my god, it is you,” she shouted, the joy in her voice unmistakable.

“Amanda?!” Ashley said as she ran toward her younger sister. They met in the middle of the lawn and embraced.

“I’m going to hold you and never let you go. For a second I thought Britney was trying to pull a prank on me. She texted me a pic of a disembodied foot.”

“Good morning, Amanda,” Daniel said.

“Why didn’t you call?”

“Britney said she’d texted you. Why would I need to call? Let’s go inside.”

“Fine. Fine.” She hugged Ashley again. “You better get rid of that Disk.”

“I don’t know if I can,” he said. “Britney’s been using it.”

“She’ll have to stop. Why would she do that?”

“She wanted to make sure it didn’t break from disuse,” Ashley said. “Why didn’t you bring Mom with you?”

Amanda looked at Daniel, who just shook his head at Amanda.

“Let’s get inside.”

“What happened?”

Daniel stepped between Ashley and Amanda and took both of Ashley’s hand in his. “You’re mother passed away six years ago, Ashley.”

Ashley collapsed against him crying. Amanda was tearing up as well.

Daniel handed Amanda his keys, specifically the house key. He picked up Ashley who was weeping into his shoulder. Amanda unlocked the front door and held the screen door open as Daniel carried his wife inside. He put her down on the living room sofa.

Amanda handed him his keys back. “Why didn’t you tell her?” she said as she sat next to Ashley. Ashley’s arms engulfed her sister, her body continued to shudder with grief.

“I didn’t want Britney to see this.” He handed Amanda a box of tissues.

A few moments later, Ashley blubbered, “Is anyone else dead?”

“Mom’s Aunt Susan. She turned ninety-two a few months before she passed. Dad’s mother died.” Amanda said, handing Ashley several clean tissues.

“Where is Dad?” She said as the tears stopped.

“Okinawa. He moved to Japan a couple years ago with his fourth wife, Meiko.”

“Fourth? I missed a whole wife.”

“Yes. Janice met, married, and divorced Dad in like two and a half years.”

Daniel handed Ashley a bottle of water.

“Thanks, Dear.”

“He met Meiko three or four years ago. I only met her a couple times. I guess she was nice. Kind of a dry wit. Last time I saw her she had said she wanted to be with her parents before they died. I texted Dad this morning. Because of the timezone difference, he probably won’t reply until after eight tonight. Daniel, can you get my bag from the car?”

“I was about to ask if you were staying the night.”

“Night? I’m staying as long as it takes to get Ashley’s life back together.”

“We have an appointment tomorrow with a lawyer.”

“Good. And I’m making sure you don’t get back on that stupid machine.”

*****

“You look amazingly happy,” Darla said to Britney as they sat down to eat lunch.

“I am.”

“Did you finally talk to Gerry?” Beth said.

“Who talked to Gerry?” Tabitha said, joining them at the table.

“No one. I found the foot.”

“What foot?” Tabitha asked.

“No way,” Beth said.

“You know about my Mom in the attic?”

“The mannequin story? Why would you bring that up?” Tabitha said

“Look at her. She’s been smiling all day,” Darla said

“People don’t believe my story about my Mom?”

“It’s a little far fetched, Ashley,” Tabitha said. “Even seeing you demonstrate the Disk and seeing the mannequin in the attic, it can feel like an elaborate prank.”

“You weren’t there for Show and Tell,” Beth said.

“No, I’ve only heard about it from you.”

“I believed it,” Darla said.

“Well, none of that matters any more. I found the missing piece of Mom. She’s a person again.”

“You’re missing mother is back?”

“She was never gone. She just wasn’t…”

“You haven’t had a mother for years and now you do?”

“Yes. I can’t stop smiling.”

Beth gave Ashley a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”

“You could have had my mother, any time,” Tabitha said.

“As much as I wanted to have a Mom, I wasn’t taking yours.”

Beth gave Ashley a hug. “Don’t rain on Ashley’s happiness.”

“I didn’t mean to. I’m so happy for you, Ash.”

“What about that other woman?” Tabitha said.

“Selena?” Darla said. “I like her.”

“Me, too,” Beth said.

“I don’t know. We’ll worry about that later. I’ve got my Mom back. Dad will have to stop seeing Selena, I guess,” Britney said. Her eyes dimmed. She physically deflated. “Now, I’m sad.”

*****

Ashley was standing in the attic. Stuck as a mannequin, she had been suspended on a makeshift doll stand since she couldn’t stand missing a foot. The light was on but no one was around. She was a mannequin. Time didn’t matter. There was a small creek from the staircase. Someone small was creeping up the stairs. She saw her daughter peak over the top of the stairs. She was the cutest five year old on the planet.

She hurried over to the mannequin. “You’re lopsided.” The little girl said.

Her voice sounded funny to Ashley but she wasn’t sure why.

The little girl twisted the right foot of the mannequin until the foot and calf above it came off. She set it down next to her and stepped back. “That was it. Can’t have just one foot. But, now you’re lopsided the other way.”

She twisted the left calf until it came off along with half her left thigh. She set the leg down in the exact same spot where the right foot had been but there was no sign of the right foot and calf. They had disappeared.

“Nope, still no good.” The seven years old Britney said, again in that same voice that wasn’t her five years old or seven years old voice.

The nine years old Britney removed too much right leg.

The ten years old Britney removed too much left leg and hip.

The eleven years old Britney removed too much right hip and abdomen.

Left chest, shoulder, and arm.

Right shoulder, arm, and neck.

Today’s Britney held her mother’s head. “I have no need for a mannequin head. I’m far too old to have show and tell in school.” This was the sound of the voice from before. She put the head down in the spot where all the other body parts had been placed and had disappeared.

She turned and left the attic. The light faded and the mannequin watched as the attic faded into oblivion. No, she realized. It was her who had disappeared. Lost. Gone. Forgotten.

“Aaahah,” Ashley awoke with a start. Her hands rushing up and down her body, taking inventory.

“Ashley, what’s wrong?”

“Hold me.”

“What? Nightmare?”

She just nodded.

He held her firmly.

As he did, she stared toward the end of the bed. She lifted her left leg out from under the blanket to make sure her foot was still there.

*****

On the way home from the lawyer’s office the next day, they stopped at the bank to get her a new debit card. They stopped at a mobile phone store. They bought her a phone and to her delight, she found out Daniel had been paying to hold on to her number all these years.

She was soon crying when she saw she had texts and a few voicemails that were six to nine years old. Several were from her mother. She decided to deal with them later. She looked at her contacts list. “How am I going to call half of these people to say, ‘Hey, I’m alive again.’?”

When Britney got home from school, Daniel called them all into his home office. “I have something for all of you to see. I hoped… I knew this would be necessary someday.” He opened a folder on the desktop and opened the first file within. It was an image of Britney’s first day of school as a first grader.

“I don’t have that photo,” Britney said.

Every milestone, every achievement, every vacation, the folder was all the pics he had taken of their daughter. He let Britney explain the context of them unless she didn’t know.

“Hospital room?” Ashley said.

“Appendicitis.” Daniel said.

“I was only in the hospital like ten hours.” Britney said.

Ashley hugged Britney tight. “I couldn’t take it if you had died.”

“I didn’t. It’s okay.”

“I didn’t even hear about it until she was back to school a few days later,” Amanda said. “Who took care of you?”

“Dad. And Selena.”

“Oh,” Amanda said, her mood darkened.

“I know about Selena, Mandy.”

“I don’t want to talk about her,” Amanda said.

“I invited her for dinner, Aunt Mandy.”

“Why?” Amanda said.

“If you would give her a chance you would like her,” Britney said. “And until she’s here with Mom and Dad, there’s an elephant in the room. I’m not a child.” She turned to look at her mother. “I understand you’re probably hurt by her very existence. She did things you were supposed to do. We can’t change the past. And she did it all while my aunt was rotten to her.”

“I’m...”

“Tell her,” Britney said defiantly. “This trip down memory lane reminds me of events that weren’t photographed, thank god. Dad was there for those events. He did his best. Selena lent a different perspective on those events.”

“Like what?” Ashley said.

“I was going to say my first period. But, Dad actually did okay with that. It was the part after it first happened where I needed to learn about hygiene products that he was useless.”

“I’m glad I was partially sufficient.”

“Oh, Dad.”

“Any other time I wasn’t up to the task?” he said.

“Brad Calloway.”

“The boy you kissed and decided not to date?”

“I may have lied to you about Brad. I was crushing on him hard and after I kissed him he said I was a terrible kisser and he didn’t want to see me any more. He was the first guy who dumped me. Selena was critical to my recovery from that devastation.”

“You’ve already been dumped? At your age?” Amanda said. “Why am I hearing about this only now?”

“You’re four hours away, Aunt Mandy. And I don’t ever think about calling people. I text them. Being dumped would have been impossible to talk to you about through texts.”

“That’s why you dial the phone and talk.”

“Selena was right here. Dad didn’t ask her to do this. I asked her. She held my hand. I cried on her shoulder.”

“I told her explicitly not to talk to you about dating,” Daniel said. “She called me an idiot.”

“You were,” Britney said.

“I find it amusing you’re more mad about Selena than I am, Amanda,” Ashley said.

“You aren’t mad.”

“I’m a little put out. And Daniel and I and Selena will have things to work out. But, Sis, Selena took care of me, too. I heard about that Brad fellow from her. I knew about the appendicitis. She went out of her way to tell me every time Britney came to her for advice.”

“How did that start?” Daniel said.

Britney began, “The first time I saw Selena here too early in the morning to make sense – Sory, Mom – I was seven...”

Her mother just nodded.

“Selena asked me about Mom. I’m guessing you were rather vague about her.”

“Yeah,” her father admitted.

“I just burst into tears. She held me close and said I didn’t have to tell her if I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to. I held out my hand and she took it. I led her up to the attic without a word. We stood in front of the mannequin for a moment. Selena said nothing, she is so patient. I said, ‘Selena, this is my mother. Mom, this is Selena.’ I left the attic. Selena didn’t come downstairs for a few minutes. She found me crying and held me. She didn’t ask me to explain what just happened until a week or two went by. I’m a little hazy on that.”

“I remember that,” Ashley said. “She stood there after Britney left for a moment. She said, ‘I think I need to have a conversation with Daniel where he doesn’t deflect my questions. Nice to meet you, Ashley.’”

“I am not telling you how that conversation went,” Daniel said.

“After that, whenever I asked her a question that should have been for Mom, we would go up to the attic and she’d have me ask again and only then would she give me an answer.”

“At first I was outraged,” Ashley said. “Then, I figured out what she was doing. I didn’t always agree with the answer she gave you. But, she tried to include me. Early on when she would give you advice, she would remind you that she wasn’t sure what I would say. She could only give her own advice. I’m rather fond of her now.”

“I had no idea,” Daniel said.

*****

Selena and Ashley greeted one another like they’d known one another all their lives. Both of them were in tear when they separated.

Britney gave Selena a hug.

When they separated, Ashley said, “You can give her a hug, Daniel.”

It was still awkward. Not as awkward as when Selena looked at Amanda.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda said. “I’ve learned I’ve been wrong about you. I’m supposed to give you a second chance. But, I think it’s you who would have to give me a second chance.”

Selena smiled and pulled Amanda into a hug. “I accept, even if it wasn’t necessary. You were worried more about your sister than your brother-in-law. It was natural.”

With everyone trying their best, dinner wasn’t too weird. After dinner, Daniel went to his office to finish his work for the day.

Selena, Ashley, Amanda, and Britney were in the living room talking. “When he would go into the office after dinner, Britney would usually lock herself away in her room,” Selena said. “This is when I would go to the attic and tell Ashley about whatever needed to be said.”

“You were a lifeline,” Ashley said.

“I’ll make sure I tell you stuff,” Britney said.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

As they spoke, Selena paused to say to Britney, “Are you all right?”

They all looked at her and she was holding back some tears. “I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.”

“Why?”

“I don’t… I don’t know you, Mom.”

“What do you mean?”

“You aren’t like I always imagined. I don’t know. You’re more outgoing than I fantasized.”

“Is that bad?”

“It’s different. We need to make up so much time.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to do that.”

“Will we? What if I go away to college in a few years? Is that enough time?”

“Britney, we don’t need to do it all tonight. You told me that yesterday morning.”

“I know. That’s part of what set me off. I’ve never lost it before. Now, I have.” She wiped her eyes. “I don’t like it.”

“It’s okay, Honey.” She sat closer to her daughter to hold her.

“No, it isn’t. I almost got up to get a hug from Selena.”

“You can still get hugs from Selena. I don’t have a lot of experience with it but she seems to give good hugs. Just hug me first.”

“What she said. Hug her first,” Selena said. She had moved to sit on the opposite side of Britney who had leaned against her and her mother.

There was a flash. Amanda said, “Poo. I didn’t know it would flash.” She started tapping on the phone she had just used to snap a pic of the three women.

Daniel entered a moment later. “What did I miss?”

“Just some tag-team mothering action.”

“I don’t think I tagged in,” Selena said.

“And I didn’t tag out,” Ashley said.

Selena left shortly after dinner. “I’ll see you in school tomorrow.”

“Good night, Selena.”

“She’s your teacher?” Amanda asked.

“She’s never been my teacher,” Britney said. “She teaches at the high school. Dad met her… I’m not sure where. But I was in elementary school at the time. And since I’ve been in high school, she’s never been assigned as my teacher.”

“She teaches history,” Daniel said. “You’d probably have to take a specific elective to end up with her as your teacher. As for where we met, it was the supermarket. I’m glad she already left. It was a few weeks after show and tell and I was clueless about shopping. She rescued me. We started meeting at the store regularly. I thought it was coincidence at first. But you’d have to ask her if she was stalking me. We didn’t go on a date until after I figured out there was a lost foot.”

“I didn’t know you knew her that long ago.”

“It wasn’t important until it was.”

Britney got up. “Mom, I don’t want to let you out of my sight. But, I have homework to do.” She gave her mother a long hug. “Stay out of the attic.”

“I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“I know, Mom.”

Amanda got up. “I’m going to my room for the evening. You two probably have a lot to talk about. You don’t need me butting in.” The two sisters hugged. Amanda gave Daniel a brief hug before she left.

“How are you doing?” Ashley said. She got up and sat close to Daniel.

“Me? I’m fine.” He pulled Ashley closer, his arm around her waist.

“I saw you looking at Selena. There’s some disappointment in you that she left when she did.”

“I’ll figure that out eventually. I’ve spent the last five or six years with her sitting here on the sofa with me. All I know is I had a wonder date at the cafe this morning with a lovely woman.”

“I’ve heard she’s a lot younger than you.”

“That’ll only be awkward for a little while. Everyone ages.” He looked at her. She was looking at his face. He leaned toward her. She closed her eyes and kissed him.

“That was nice,” she said when they stopped.

“That was nearly the same kiss we shared after our first official date in high school.”

“It was similar to that,” Ashley said. “I’d rather recreate the evening we spent the second night of our honeymoon.”

“I’ll never make it to work tomorrow if we fly to Cancun right now.”

“So silly. It doesn’t have to be a perfect recreation.”

“If I remember correctly, you went back to our suite while I settled the bill at the restaurant.”

“And you returned with a bottle of wine.”

“I will never forget finding you au naturel on the bed.”

“You’ll never forget? Do you remember the pose?” She got up, trailing her finger along his arm as she headed for the doorway.

He stood up with her. “Now I’m not so sure. If I get the wine, will you remind me? Just in case.”

“Just in case.”

Magic Shoppe - A Model Student

With an audible pop as the air nearby was suddenly displaced, a woman, au naturelle, appeared in the center of the shoppe. She looked around to find the proprietor and immediately complained, “I just found out it’s the twenty-first century!”

“Fiona, you’re three decades late,” said the tall, thin man standing behind the shoppe counter.

“You have some nerve. You turned me into a statue. I just found out that was fifty years ago,” Fiona said. For all her bluster, she joined the man on his side of the counter and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I did miss you,” he said.

“You should be ashamed.”

“Me? You made me promise you if you ever found the perfect idyllic place for a statue, I would turn you into a statue for twenty years right on the spot.”

“It was the perfect spot. Even my pose was perfect. It’s been fifty years?”

“Yes, it has been. You kept extending the spell, as I recall.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember that now.”

“Yeah. I saw no reason to interrupt it. Why did you stop extending it?”

“I remember now. Someone decided to put an office complex on the plot of land right in my line of sight. Totally ruined the view.”

“Why would someone build office space in these days of work from home?”

“Like I understand business ‘these days’,” she said. She finally noticed where she was. “What have you been up to?”

“Business. I opened The Magic Shoppe a little over thirteen years ago.”

“But, magic is forbidden in public.”

“That used to be true. The accords were revised. Still can’t do any overt advertising. But, magic can be discussed openly.”

She ran a finger along a shelf behind the counter. “Do you ever dust? Typical of you to ignore the fine details.”

“Yes, I’m not detail oriented.” He rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you do something about it?”

The door to the store opened and the little bell on it chimed. Clothing appeared on Fiona: a black short skirted dress with white lace trim and crinoline. A white apron cover the front. She noticed the feather duster in her hand and used it to dust the shelf she’d just complained about.

“Welcome to the Magic Shoppe,” he announced. “What can I do for you today?”

“Did you just turn that customer into a maid?” The man asked.

The tall, thin man chuckled. “This lovely woman is what you might refer to as my wife. The spell I just cast on her is of the type she most enjoys.”

“Being a maid?”

“Being transformed, especially where her perception of herself is part of the transformation.”

“Interesting. What does that really mean?”

“At the moment, she has no memory of a time when she wasn’t the housemaid for the Shoppe.”

“What happens when she finishes cleaning?”

“Well, should that happen, the spell will end and her memory of her true self will return. Knowing her, she’ll get indignant, ‘How could you turn me into a scullery maid?’, ‘I don’t see you in years and this is the first thing you do to me?’, or ‘A maid? You know I prefer to be turned into an animal or a statue. How dare you put me to work!’”

“But she wouldn’t mean any of that.”

“Not in the slightest. Well, maybe the slightest, but not for long.”

“And given that, you still did it to her.”

The proprietor only smiled in response.

“The Shoppe doesn’t really look dirty.”

A small portal opened a few feet in front of the man. Small bits of dust and dirt floated to the floor from the portal that closed as quickly as it opened. The portal vanished. The man reached out and caught some of the dust in his hand.

“She was complaining the shoppe was filthy. That’s why I chose to turned her into a maid.”

The man laughed. “And this will prevent the shoppe from being fully cleaned any time soon. I guess you want me to just let this fall to the floor.” When the proprietor nodded, the man turned his hand over and brushed the dust out of it with his other hand. “She didn’t even notice the dust just appeared from nowhere.”

“Looks that way.”

“Funny thing is I kind of want something similar for myself.”

“I already have a maid.”

“No, I want to be a model student so I can finish my degree.”

The proprietor pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you ever find a genie offering to grant you a wish, flee from them as fast as you can before you speak aloud like that.”

“What did I say wrong?”

“Here, I’ll show you.”

The man disappeared. A deferment note appeared in a university’s student database. “Note to self, restore him in six months.” He looked at Fiona, humming tunelessly as she swept. He added to the mental note: “Not fifty years.”

“I need to find a field for you lose yourself standing in, Fi. Here for less than an hour and I'm already a bit loose with the magic.”

*****

In a student book store, at the local university, a mannequin appeared in the window. If someone asked a member of the staff or student body when it was placed there, they’d say the mannequin had been there as long as they’d been around the university. It wore a school hoodie, school branded slacks, a book bag with the school logo on it, etc. A model student.

The mannequin was overjoyed. It was always overjoyed. It couldn’t remember not being overjoyed. It was dressed as it was always dressed. The way it preferred to be dressed: modeling clothes, student clothes. It was a model student.

A model student.

A model student.

RENDER - June 2025 Roundup

I really don't have much at all for this roundup. So I dug up some images from the abandoned Djinni Island AVN that were going to be low-fi animations done in Ren'py and not actual MOV or AVI or MPEG files. They are presented here as WEBP files. I hope they animate for you. If you can't see the animations let me know in a comment here and I'll see about fixing it. (Or I'll just post the individual files and you can see the animation in your mind. :) )

Gildi Yaps

First up, we have the disclaimer section of the game where another character is talking and good ole' Gildi is doing a yap yap yap yap animation. It's terrible. I did this 5 months ago. (I said I didn't have much for this roundup.) I think the head tilt to her right (our left) and lips attempting to say "yap" works. The other direction is head scratching.

Eagle eyed folks will recognize Meredith in the background just to Gildi's left in the picture on the wall. Her name is Julia in the AVN.

Sheryl Hugs

This one is an overly enthusiastic guest arriving at Djinni Island and giving a big hug to an unsuspecting greeter. Why didn't she hug either of the men? Presumably she did that before takeoff as they are the pilots of the plane. They did get a good laugh at it. I believe there was a "putting her down" render but I can't find it.

Sheryl has also been reused in the web comics. You'll meet her soon in Statue Rentals. Though, she's shorter in her new form.

I should probably retire this. Most renders recently have been for future comics.

Schedule

While I'm here, may as well talk about story scheduling.

• Show And Tell started yesterday. It's five parts. Each part has a render in it. Show and Tell was stated around the same time as another story that I haven't finished and now will be holding back for several months as both stories explore time lost while inanimate.

• Tuesday doesn't have a render, preview teasers weren't ready and Show and Tell already started. So it has one of my short short stories. Arbitrarily this means less than 1000 words. But, in this case, 965 words barely slips under that threshold. Story is called Magic Shoppe: Model Student and it actually introduces a new denizen of the Shoppe and someone who actually knows the Proprietor personally.

• After Show and Tell, there's a one off story Dumpster Dolly. It's an experiment. I hope it works.

• And then there's an eight part story: Sold. I'll talk more about that in July when it's due to release soon. The short version of that is "I thought Sold would be two short parts." It grew. Sold is a whopping 32k words. Only the three novels and the Ravenous Libido story are longer. More on this later.

• After that, it will be September where all four weeks are accounted for, including a Tom and Susan Trust Machines story. Hopefully, Season 5 of Ted's Dolls will be ready come October, but it isn't looking good yet. I'm barely more than 10% done with that writing.

• And in this same time period, there will be six Little Witch comics and six Statue Rental comics. (And if I'm feeling it, two comics of another property that I will be doing as single panel comics, or die trying.)

Bonus

I'm feeling generous, or guilty. You pick. Here's a bonus image from Statue Rentals #22. That comic is scheduled for June 6, 2026, only one year early. As I've said before. I might need to rethink how I'm releasing these things.

Enjoy. Comments welcome. And all that.

Show And Tell (1 of 5)

Britney looked small. Mostly because she was only five years old. She looked particularly small now because she was dragging a bag containing a sizable box between the row of desks to the front of the classroom.

“What do you have for Friday Show and Tell, Britney?” said Mrs. Maple, the kindergarten teacher.

“I have something in this box,” Britney beamed. She pulled the bag down around the unadorned cube shaped box. It was at least a foot long on each side. She unfolded the top and pulled from it a head: a blond-haired, feminine, adult-sized, mannequin head with rather realistic eyes.

Some of the children giggled.

“This is my Mommy’s head. I borrowed it a few days ago.”

“Does your mother know you borrowed it?”

“I’m sure she does. It’s her head.”

“Yes, but did you tell her you were taking it?”

“She was there when I took it.”

“Okay. Continue your report.”

“This is my Mommy’s head. She has this round thing in her room and sometimes she stands on it. When she was last standing on it, I took her head.”

“What does she use this head for?”

“Same as you, I guess. She looks at things. Eats things. Kisses Daddy. I don’t think you kiss my Daddy, right?”

The children laughed again.

“But, this is a mannequin head. She doesn’t kiss you father with that head.”

“Well, no, but he kisses her.”

“He kisses this head.”

“Sure, it’s Mommy’s head. Why wouldn’t he? Don’t you kiss your husband’s head?”

“What my husband and I do is private but I’ve never kissed a mannequin head. My husband doesn’t have one?”

“No? Mommy spends lots of time with a mannequin head.”

“She what?” Mrs. Maple was perplexed. “Are you saying your mother carries a mannequin head around with her?”

“Mrs. Maple, aren’t we supposed to ask the questions for Show and Tell?” one of the students said.

“Not all the time. Just when she’s a mannequin. See?” Britney showed Mrs. Maple the head again.

“How?”

“The round thing I said was in her room. It turns her into a mannequin.”

The children laughed. One child called out, “So, your mom’s a real dummy.” There was more laughter.

“That’s enough, Ethan,” Mrs. Maple said. “Britney, does your father know that you brought your mother’s head to school?”

She laughed. “No. He doesn’t know where Mommy is.”

“Why?”

“Because I hid her.”

This time the room’s laughter felt uplifting. Someone said, “I wish I could hide my mother.”

“How did you hide something a big as a person?”

She waved the bottom of the head at Mrs. Maple where she could see it had some kind of metal fastener. “I took her apart. Two arms, two legs, her body splits into two halves when she’s a mannequin. You taught us all about the parts of the body. Don’t you remember? And the hands and feet come off, too. I put her arm under the bed and her other arm… I think it’s in the hall closet. Her leg is under the bed in the room no one uses, I think.”

“How long ago did you hide her?”

“Monday.”

“Today’s Friday, Britney. Your father must be worried sick.”

“He does look kind of sad. I thought it would be funny.”

“You have to tell him what you did.”

“That’s why they call it show and tell,” a boy said.

Britney was about to start crying. “Will he be mad?”

“No, no, Britney, he’ll just be happy your mother is safe.”

“And then he’ll be mad,” said the same boy.

A little girl said, “Is Britney done? I have a cool scarf my Grammy and I made.”

*****

Years went by.

Selena poked her head into Britney’s room. The girl and her friend from her fourth grade class were sitting on the bed looking at their tablets and showing one another videos they found.

“Britney, you’re father’s home. I’m leaving. Does your friend need a ride home?”

Darla, her friend, said, “No, I live a few doors down. I’ll walk home.”

“Okay, take care.”

Britney jumped up and gave Selena a hug. “Good night, Selena.”

After she left, Darla said, “Is she your nanny?”

“Not exactly. She’s Dad’s girlfriend.”

Darla frowned. She seemed to be struggling to figure out if she should say something.

“You can ask,” Britney said. “I’m sure Christina and Beth told you never to ask me about my Mom.”

“How did you know?”

“You weren’t around at the time. They were,” she said. She sat on the bed next to Darla. “If I cry, just give me a hug. When I was five….”

A few moments later, Darla was trying not to cry as she was holding her crying friend.

“She’s in the attic?”

Britney nodded. “I go up there and talk to her sometimes. Sometimes it helps. Recently, it’s started to just make me cry more. Dad tells me all the time I shouldn’t blame myself for a mistake I made as a five year old.”

“He’s right.”

“That’s doesn’t solve the problem though.”

“And your Dad has a girlfriend?”

“Selena’s cool. She reminds us to take Mom into consideration whenever we might have put Mom too much out of our minds. Dad’s asked her to move in. But I know she won’t do that. She tells him she won’t, for my sake.”

“Where’s the mannequin machine?”

“Mannequin Disk. It’s under my bed. Dad hid it. When I found it, I moved it under my bed.”

“How did you find it?”

“I’m still looking for Mom’s foot. Dad doesn’t know.”

*****

Britney ran into the living room waving a foot shaped object covered with dust. “I found it. I finally found her left foot.”

“Britney, you’re fourteen. Aren’t you too old to be running in the house like that?” Her father, Daniel, said.

“But, I found Mom’s foot after all these years,” Britney said. “Oh, hi, Selena.”

Her father’s eyes widened in shock and a bit of fear. He looked at Selena sitting on the sofa with him, her head resting on his chest. “That’s wonderful. We’ll put her together later.”

Selena stood up. “I suppose I should leave.”

“No, you don’t have… No, I suppose you do.”

“I don’t think I should be here when you’re reunited with Ashley. And you aren’t using me as an excuse to delay doing so, Daniel.”

Britney looked at her father expectantly.

Selena kissed Daniel on the cheek. “Go put your daughter’s mother back together. Though, you might want to wash that foot before reattaching it, Brit.”

“Good idea,” Britney said.

“I’ll call you later,” he said to Selena.

“No rush, Daniel. I’ll call you later, Britney.”

“Okay, Selena.”

She left.

“She’s very mature,” Britney said. “I’m sure Mom will love to get to know her like I have. I’m going to go wash this foot.”

“Do that and then put your mother back together. Shake any dust out of her hair. I’ll make sure the Mannequin Disk is charged up.”

“It should be. I used it last week.”

“Oh… Okay. That’s convenient. Good, good.”

“Okay? I thought you’d explode if you found out I was using it.”

“You’re about the same age as your mother was when she started using her first Mannequin Disk.”

“Really?”

“We can discuss this later.”

“Okay.”

*****

Ashley lay on the eggplant-colored sheets covering the bed in the master bedroom. She stared at the ceiling. She would never have purchased sheets that color. Daniel wouldn’t either. “Why haven’t you said a word to me since Britney went to bed, Daniel?”

“What should I say, Ashley?” He lay beside her staring at the ceiling. “We just spent an hour holding Britney and each other and crying together.”

“How does it take nine years to find a foot?”

“Britney was very good at hiding things.”

“Is that your excuse? I first heard about Selena from Britney seven years ago.”

“Yes, I met her eight years ago. Should I have lived as a monk these past nine years?”

“I wasn’t dead.”

“And you weren’t alive. And I had to raise Britney by myself. You were there when Britney returned your head after you’d gone missing for a week. Was I not relieved? Did I seem annoyed?”

“No, I had never seen you cry before.”

“And you witnessed us turning the house upside down looking for you. We tried. I tried. Do you know what I discovered?”

“What?”

“Britney wasn’t upset that you were stuck. She was five. She was happy she was getting to play hide and seek with Daddy.”

“Well, you never did play with her once she could walk.”

“I figured that out at the time,” he said. “She was having so much fun playing with Daddy, she was moving your missing parts around. Whenever she would find one, she would hide it in places we’d already looked.”

“No, she didn’t.” She looked at Daniel’s sad face.

“I watched her do it. She thought turning the house upside down with Daddy was the best way to get Daddy to play with her. And that was my fault for being distant from her when she was younger. I get that. I couldn’t get mad at her for extending our play time by months.”

He let out a deep sigh before continuing, “She was too young to understand why it was wrong. So, I played along. Those ten months were so much fun. So much fun until I realized I’d never seen her move the missing left foot. I’d seen her move the right foot, both hands, and a calf. But never the left foot. There would be no end to the game.

“I forced an end. Shortly before her seventh birthday, only the left foot was missing and she no longer wanted to play. She would cry for days because she realized she had lost your foot for real. That’s when I moved you to the attic. That’s also around the time when I met Selena.

“I introduced them to one another far sooner than I should have. Britney latched on to Selena. Everything seemed better except Britney still cried about you. She constantly blamed herself. She was relieved when she found out I knew she had been hiding your parts. It made her feel what she had done was okay. She was still mad at herself for the foot. I thought she had moved on. But, I guess she was still searching.”

“I can’t believe she got into that crawlspace when she was five.”

He was crying.

She held him and began to tear up. “Should I leave? What did my mother say? Or my sister?”

“Britney said she texted your sister. Amanda should be here tomorrow. They hate Selena. Selena did nothing to them. She was a rock for Britney. She never moved in. I asked her to multiple times. She refused to do it. I’m positive if I had been a widower she would have moved in. But, because you really weren’t gone, she wouldn’t do it. She thought it would be wrong for Britney’s sake.”

“She bought these sheets.”

“She did domestic things, yes. She did the thing I wasn’t going to do or just couldn’t do.”

“You had sex with her on these sheets.”

“We’ll buy new sheets. Do you want to strip them off the bed right now?”

She just shook her head. “It’s fine.”

“I don’t want you to leave. But, I don’t know what we’re going to do. You look nine years younger than you should. No one would believe Britney is your daughter. They’ll think I robbed you from the cradle. Not that any of that really matters.”

“We can worry about that tomorrow. Britney use to tell me everything that happened to her until about three years ago when her updates became less frequent.”

“Britney kept looking for your foot, apparently. Frankly, that’s around that same time she stopped talking to me. Selena might have more insight.”

The room was silent for a few moments.

He held her. “Ashley, I never stopped loving you.”

*****

The noise of a pan hitting the floor reverberated through the kitchen. “Why isn’t anything where it should be?”

“Mom?!” Britney rushed into the kitchen. Half the cabinet doors were hanging half open. A carton of eggs sat next to the stove top.

“I just wanted to scramble an egg. These aren’t my pans. Where’s the butter?”

“Mom, mom,” Britney said trying to grab her by the shoulders. “Just sit here. I’ll make an egg for you.”

“I never got the chance...” It started as a wail. When Ashley realized how it sounded she toned her voice back with effort. “I never got the chance to teach you how to cook.”

“Mom. It’s okay. I’m sure you can still teach me things about cooking. Just calm down. Do you want coffee?”

“You don’t even know I hate coffee?” Harsh resignation permeated her voice. “I drink tea, Darling. I couldn’t find that either.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dad buy tea.”

“Of course. Why would he?”

“We can go shopping later.”

“All my credit cards expired and probably haven’t been reissued. I can’t drive. My license has to be renewed first. Since it lapsed, I might have to take the stupid test again. I don’t have a working phone. My phone number I’ve had since high school has probably been reassigned.”

“All of that can be solved. Freaking out won’t solve anything.”

“I’m sorry, Honey. I shouldn’t unload on you. I shouldn’t need you to be my voice of reason.” She wiped her eyes and sat up straighter. “I would love it if you made a scrambled egg for me.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“For the next couple hours, I hope.”

“Good enough.”

The two of them were talking about Britney’s school classes when Daniel entered the kitchen.

“Did I hear yelling?”

“Probably, Dad. It’s fine now. Mom is having trouble only Rip Van Winkle could sympathize with. You should take the day off to help her resume her life.”

“Already told my boss I’d be unavailable for a few days. I made an appointment with my… our lawyer tomorrow morning at ten. That was the earliest we could get an appointment. We need paperwork to get Mom back on my company insurance plan. She needs a medical exam to update her vaccines. Her driver’s license will be expired. I sold her car several years ago. We’ll have to do something about that eventually.”

“I’m a bit stressed,” Ashley said. “Ironically, I used to use the Mannequin Disk to relax. I understand you’ve been using it, Britney. Why?”

“It is relaxing. I started using it to make sure it was still working when…”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. It was my fau…”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Dad said. At the same time, Mom said, “It wasn’t your fault.” They laughed.

“At least you two agree on something,” Britney said. She brought a couple plates with scrambled eggs to the table. “I know I was only five. That doesn’t take away my feelings of guilt.”

“Britney,” her father said. “The next time you feel even the slightest pang of guilt, ask yourself who was supposed to be watching that five year old and didn’t notice she took an entire mannequin a part and hid it in her room without that person noticing.”

“You?” Britney said.

“And apparently, as much as I’ve told you it wasn’t your fault, I wasn’t clear on why.”

There was an awkward pause.

“When I came down here I was thinking Mom could take me to school. But she can’t,” Britney said.

“I’ll go with you and your father. I don’t think I want to spend time alone if I don’t have to.”

“Oh, god, were you lonely in the attic?”

“Don’t think about it. I understand why I was in the attic. Wow, these eggs are so good, Britney.”

Tears welled in Britney’s eyes. “Thanks, Mom.”

*****

After dropping Britney off at school, Ashley said, “Now what?”

“How much is different?” He said, indicating the town around them with his hands.

“Oh, god. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Britney. But, I barely recognize anything, and I was born in this town. The downtown area, that you went out of your way to drive through was a completely different town from the one I knew. There were two extra traffic lights. The buildings are mostly untouched but the store fronts are all different.”

He put the car in drive and pulled away. “Not completely new.” He rattled off a list of places that had closed since she’d been gone. He explained what happened to the ones he’d heard anything special about. He parked near the train station and pointed to a small cafe. “That’s still there.”

“Oh, wow! You remembered?”

“Let’s go in. I’m sorry. I’m sure you were looking tea before I got to the kitchen.”

“They renovated,” she said as they entered the cafe.

“Twice. I think…”

“Ashley? Is that you?”

“Paulina?” Ashley was surprised to see her friend from when she was in high school. She was wearing a smock with the cafe’s logo emblazoned on the front.

“My god, Ashley, you don’t look a day over twenty-five. Where have you been hiding her, Daniel?”

“Cardboard box in the attic.”

Ashley stifled a laugh.

“Funny. You’re favorite seat is right over there.”

After Paulina stepped away, Ashley said, “Does Selena like it here?”

“I’ve never brought her here.”

“No?”

He pointed across the room. “That booth was where we sat when you accepted my invitation for coffee seventeen years ago.”

“Here’s your coffee, Daniel. And your Chamomile tea with a squirt of orange juice,” Paulina said. She also placed a couple croissants on the table without mentioning them.

“You remembered?”

“Why would I forget? Enjoy.”

“Thank you, Paulina,” Daniel said.

Ashley took a drink. “Oh, this is what I wanted earlier at home.”

“I’m still sorry you didn’t have any tea at home.”

“No, no. I understand. Did something change? You were so aloof last night.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t want to believe you were real. We haven’t spoken in nine years. I’m not the same person. I doubt you are either. I know I’ll never understand what you went through. But, it wasn’t fair of me to just assume we couldn’t stay together. So, I have to try. Not for Britney. For us. We made a promise to one another.”

“What about Selena?”

“She will be a part of whatever goes forward if you allow it. She’s been there for Britney. And I believe she’s been there for you. Far more than I have. I’ve seen her coming out of the attic after talking to you. At first, I thought that was weird. Was it?”

“It was, at first. But, she was my only connection to the world after you and Britney stopped visiting me.”

“I’m so sorry about that. It was just easier to pretend you were gone than to constantly face the reality of your… ordeal.”

“As Britney said to me earlier, all that can be solved.”

*****

Mr. Maple was confused. His wife had just told him she’d received a text from a former student. He had no idea why this text had made his wife so happy, especially when she read it out loud to him. It read: I found her foot!

Little Witch #7: A Visit From Aunt Sally

So, Daddy knows about Mommy. Good, good. Mommy is stuck. Not so good. Aunt Sally is Mommy's concerned sister. Good, good. Is she stuck?

We also discover here that dolls can presumably hear each other's thoughts.

Transcript

Panel 1 – Angela and Daddy are talking in her bedroom. The dollhouse is in the background where two dolls are sitting at the little table.

Daddy: Angela, have you seen Aunt Sally? Uncle Harry called and said she was supposed to get here a couple hours ago.

Angela: Yes. I answered the door and she gave me a big hug and a yucky kiss on the cheek. She asked where Mommy was and I said, in my room. When we got there she looked around, kind of confused and said, "I need to be where Katheryn is."

Daddy: Is that why you turned her into a doll?

Panel 2 – reverse shot from over the shoulders of the dolls showing Angela and Daddy talking on her bed.

Angela: She wouldn’t fit in the dollhouse at her normal size.

Sally (thinking): Are you telling me you haven’t answered my texts because you’ve been a doll for a month? Why hasn’t she turned you back?

Mommy (thinking): Based on what she told Darren, she hasn't learned the reverse version of the spell she used to turn me, and now you, into dolls. He called the school and her teacher said these kinds of transformations won't be covered in class until end of May.

Sally (thinking): I’m stuck line this until June?

Mommy (thinking): Well, no. She knows the spell. She's cast it several times. I've... I've been resisting it.

Sally (thinking): Why?

Forniphilia

Self-bondage is not my usual fare. The transformations in this story are strictly "mechanical", not magical. Fair warning.

As she stood there, she was reminded of the moment several months ago that had led to this one. The reminder took the form of a trickle of vaginal wetness meandering down her thigh. She lost track of it as it encountered the top of her thigh high vinyl boots.

That reminded her of how she had wound up standing where she was now. She was standing upright next to Donald’s overstuffed chair in the den. She could vaguely hear the voices of sports announcers drifting from the television. She wasn’t facing the television. Her lack of interest made the voices sound more like a rhythm track to a weird salsa. Not that she could dance to it.

*****

She took a pole out of the bedroom closet. The pole was about five feet long, round, just under two inches in diameter and affixed to the end was a metal collar. A satchel hung from the collar.

She brought it to the den. Setting aside the pole, she opened the satchel and laid the contents out on the chair. Starting with the gag, she silenced herself. It was her favorite way to begin a self-bondage session. There was a thrill to removing her own ability to call for aid. She had been turned on before she’d started. She took a small padlock from a pocket in the satchel and locked the gag in place. She returned the key to the pocket. This further increased her horniness.

She sat down so she could put on the black, thigh high, vinyl boots. The heel on each boot was chunky and not quite four inches tall. These boots were designed for long-term standing around. They were also unusual in that there were a pairs of metal loops on the back instep side of them. The loops openings horizontal to the floor when the boots were standing upright. They were located at the mid-thigh and the mid-calf on the back of the boots. She made sure they weren’t knotted or otherwise impeded before she stood up.

She removed a round wooden tray from the satchel. It was slightly wider than her waist and maybe ten inches deep. Two chains dangled from the front of the tray. At the ends of the chains were clamps. She rubbed her already firm nipples to full hardness before clamping the chains to her nipples.

On either side of the tray opposite the front were straps with the same hoops as the boots. She picked up the pole and pulled one of the straps behind her. Maneuvering the pole behind her, she managed to slip the hoop around the end of the pole. She grabbed the other strap’s hoop and pushed the pole through it. She was reminded she had to maintain a steady weight or the hoops would never both reach the pole.

She slid the pole downward and, with her legs firmly held together, pushed the pole down through the pairs of loops attached at mid-thigh of the boots. At this point, she adjusted the tray so that it was as level as she could make it. As she did so, the tray gently tugged at her nipples. The pain was nothing compared to the lingering pleasure radiating from her tits.

She lay the arm sleeve and a black band of cloth over the top of the chair as she would soon not be able to bend over. She was already unable walk or spread her legs.

She removed another lock from a side pouch of the satchel as well. She returned any unneeded items to the satchel and tossed it to the side. Focusing on the loops at the calves of the boots, she completed the pole’s journey downward until the collar was poking at her shoulder. With a twist, the collar landed against her neck and swung on hinge in front until the clasp attached to the pole lined up with the clasp at the end of the collar. She put the lock through the two clasps and snapped it shut.

She tested her mobility and could not find it. She was locked upright. She picked up the band and blindfolded herself.

She took the vinyl sleeve, hollow at both ends, and put her left arm through the opening until her hand poked out the other side. She found the tightening cord and attached to an opening in the pole. This required her to hold her left arm at a funny angle. She put her right arm through the sleeve. When her hand reached the other side, she pulled the sleeve down. Her arms were folded behind her loosely. The sleeve tightened around both of her forearms and removed any way she could pull her arms out. They were held in place level to the ground.

It wasn’t perfect immobility of her arms. But Donald would come in soon and tighten the sleeve. Until then, she had to wait. The thought occurred to her that afterward she would have to wait as well.

She had been amused at that thought. She had no idea how long she had stood there naked except for the arm sleeve, the boots, and a thin metal collar around her neck.

She heard footsteps as he re-entered the den. He didn’t say anything. He just walked up behind her and finished locking her arms in place. She heard him walk over to the bar. After a moment he returned. She could smell the cognac in what she imagined was a wide snifter being swirled in his palm. He made a sound of satisfaction. She felt the weight of the tray increase slightly. She guessed he had put the snifter on the tray.

She could feel more wetness within her vag. Her goal had been achieved. She had turned herself into a side table.

“Damn,” he said. She thought she’d heard a phone ringing in the distance. She heard him get up and walk to the bar area. “Hello?” He was definitely across the room from his side table.

She heard him start talking as he did when work called. His voice receded as he probably was leaving the den to go to his home office. The indistinct sounds of the sports announcers played for a while. She lost track of time. Based on the number of commercial breaks she’d heard, she guessed nearly an hour had gone by.

*****

His voice preceded his return. “… the den. Carol didn’t allow me to decorate it.”

Who was he talking to? She assumed he was still on the phone. What if he wasn’t? What if one of his colleagues was standing next to him looking at her standing there next to his chair? What if it was Walter, their neighbor? Or his wife Janice? What if it was his mother or hers?

It couldn’t be. They would have gasped in shock. Or they’d have said something by now. Right? Right? She heard him sit down in the stuffed chair. She had heard him do it many times before. It was definitely him in the chair. The weight of the snifter was removed from the tray. The volume on the television rose. Time passed. Sometimes she could feel the weight of the snifter pulling against her nipples. Sometimes she couldn’t. She loved Donald so much. He indulged her silliness. Right now, she wasn’t his wife, or a woman, or even human. She was a side table, a piece of furniture, an object.

With that feeling of elation, all the fatigue in her legs disappeared. She could stand there all night if she had to. She was once again reminded how this had started months ago.

*****

Months ago, they were in the bedroom getting into pajamas before he could pull the drawstring tight, she had yanked his pants down. She knelt in front of him. She took hold of his cock and was rubbing it on her face.

“Why do you do that?” He said.

“Complaining?” She said. She turned her head to the side and lean in closer. Her tongue licked the underside of his dick where it met his balls and pulled back to run her tongue up his shaft.

“Not at all. I’ve just never knew a woman who was so into cock.”

“Your cock,” she said, continuing to paint his dick with her saliva. “No one else’s cock.”

“That just makes it more rare.”

“Your friends’ wives don’t…” she stopped talking as her lips took in the head of his dick. Her tongue ran around the head before she pulled her head off his dick with a soft sounding pop. “… Don’t do this to your friends’ cocks?”

“Very few and with far less frequency if I understand correctly.”

She was bobbing her head on his shaft. The words “Aren’t you lucky?” escaped her lips between bobs.

“I said I wasn’t complaining. Just curious.”

She stopped. Her hands were behind her back. “You really don’t know? I thought it was obvious.” She continue to suck his dick.

His pleasure was reaching a tipping point. His hands took hold of the sides of her head. She released a soft moan as he took control. His hands pulled her down his shaft, his hips pushed his cock forward. He repeated these motions several times before pulling her head off his cock. She inhaled hastily and deeply before he pulled her back onto his shaft.

The cycle repeated although the number of times she traversed his shaft between being let up for air increased. When he released his seed, her face was firmly planted against his groin. He held her there as a few spurts filled her mouth and ran down her throat, pushed past her lips, and leaked out her nose.

By the time he released her and she could breathe, she was light-headed. Tears had run down her face. She felt tissues wiping under her nose. She looked up to see his loving face and she smiled.

“You know I know how much you love to be controlled, right?” He reached under her arms and helped her stand up.

“Yes. I was being naughty.” Her arms wrapped around his waist.

He held the side of her head again. This time to tilt it to the side as he pressed his lips against hers. They kissed for several minutes, tongues darting back and forth. He felt her hand wrapped around his cock. “I think this punishment fit the crime.”

“I think it needs to be repeated in my other holes.”

“Both of them. I don’t know if I have two more in me.”

“Let me go get some water while you figure that out.”

*****

In the morning, he wasn’t in bed with her when she awoke. She didn’t bother getting dressed before seeking him out in his home office. He was using his personal computer at the moment.

“Why are you naked?”

“You ran out of energy last night. My third hole is still waiting.”

“Well, I suppose it will have to wait until I get home tonight. I have a few things I need to get done before I go to work.”

“It will be sad all day.”

“I might need to punish you for burdening me with your ass’ sadness.”

She giggled. “What a thing to say.”

“Indeed. What do you think of this?”

He turned the laptop toward her. She stopped so she could press herself against him as she leaned forward to look at the screen.

On it was an image of a woman on all fours. Various restraints held her in place. The ankles of a man’s feet rested on her back. She was an ottoman.

“Are you trying to tease me wet before you leave?”

“Just a side effect. Look in the upper right.”

That’s when she noticed this was a shopping website. The shopping cart had the ottoman restraints in it.

“I thought, since you want to be out of control, you might find this interesting.”

She slid her finger on the touchpad and clicked checkout. “I have fantasized about making purchases from this particular website for years now. How did you find it?”

As he answered, he completed the checkout process with express shipping. “The firewall sends me alerts, rather frequently, about this ‘compromised’ website you visit. I wasn’t sure if I should buy anything until last night.”

She kissed him. He kissed back. “I love how once you make a decision you immediately act on it,” she said between kisses. “It’s why I can’t resist when you make demands of me.”

“As pleasing as this is, I must go to work. Did you read the page carefully?”

“Many times in the past. I’m thrilled that you’ve bought the self-bondage version.”

“I know what kinds of things you like. This isn’t the only website that causes firewall alerts.”

*****

The ottoman kit arrived two days later around noon. Carol opened it and read the instructions twice. She went to the website and watched the three usage videos, that she had seen many times on her prior visits to the website. That only took an hour. She couldn’t start putting herself into the kit until after dinner. She couldn’t be sure when he’d be home and she didn’t want to become fatigued prematurely.

She hid the box in the guest bedroom and busied herself with other things until she started dinner towards evening.

Donald arrived at home on time and ate dinner as soon as he did. She didn’t mention that the kit had arrived and he expressed no interest in it. When dinner was finished, she asked if he was going to take a shower. He called that a great idea and did so.

While he was in the shower, she brought the kit into the living room. She put on one of her gags. She pulled out the padded base and laid it on the floor in front of the sofa. The base had four auto-locking clamps. She knelt down adjacent to the left side of the base. She brought her left knee forward. When it passed the clamp, it snapped into place. She repeated this with right leg. Her calves and knees felt well-supported. The device was advertised as designed for long term comfort and the way she felt it definitely delivered on it.

She leaned forward and balanced on her elbows making sure her back was somewhat level. She unbent her left arm. When her forearm met the pressure plate, she pushed downward and the clamp snapped around her arm. She did the same with her right arm. She was locked in place.

In silence, she waited for Donald to see the new ottoman in the living room. He arrived a later than she expected. He made no reaction to seeing her there. He sat down and put his feet up on her, no, the ottoman. The television turned on and still he said nothing.

She was beside herself with glee. He was treating her like an ottoman. No one talks to an ottoman. Why would he do so?

After a few minutes, he took a pillow from the sofa and put it between his heels and her back. She was so glad as his heels had been digging into her back.

It was half an hour later when he unexpectedly said, “The website sent an alert that the ottoman kit had been delivered. I was actually surprised when I got home that I hadn’t found you locked in place then.”

A few minutes later, he said, “That was a rather long shower for me if you hadn’t noticed. I hadn’t figured out how I would give you time to surprise me like this. Great idea suggesting the shower!”

Another few minutes later, he said, “Remember three short grunts is your gagged safe word. When you start to feel a bit fatigued, let me know. I don’t want you completely wrecked when we have sex later.”

She was only slightly surprised when his fingers crept between her thighs and rubbed her vag. “As I suspected, you are soaked. I need another half hour if you can make it. Just don’t be a hero.”

When she did make the three grunts, he removed her gag immediately and pressed the releases on her arms and legs. “Are you okay?”

“I’m relatively good. I’m just fucking horny,” she said. She placed a hand on his crotched and found an erection. “And I’m not the only one.”

“No, you aren’t.”

*****

The weight of the tray lightened significantly. She knew what this meant and her arousal somehow rose again. The clamps digging into her mostly numb nipples opened sending a sudden shock of pain through her body. She shuttered. She wasn’t sure if it was moreso because of the sudden pain or the anticipation.

He took a moment to disconnect the tray from the rod behind her.

She was confused. He usually removed her blindfold first. She was surprised at being tipped backward. He picked her up and carried her helpless body out of the den. He loosened the sleeve on her arms and pulled them loose.

She made no sound. She didn’t want him mistaking any sound she made as a safe word. As cuffs were locked around her wrists, she couldn’t hide her excitement.

“That was anticipation, right? You aren’t too tired to go on?”

“-u-kh -e,” she said.

“Fuck you?”

She nodded as vigorously as she could with the clamp around her neck.

“I’m on it.”

He slid her onto the bed and attached chains, already attached to the bed, to the cuffs keeping her arm spread above her head.

Cuffs locked around the ankles of her boots and the chains were latched to them. He pulled the rod out from the loops on the boots and the weights hung beside the top of the bed hit the floor. A pulley system attached to the weights yanked her legs apart.

She turned her head side to side for the first time since locking the collar around her neck to the rod. She was fully exposed to Donald. She could only imagine the glistening on her soaking and engorged labia.

She felt the bed depress as he slowly – maddeningly slowly to her mind – moved toward his prize, and her prize.

“That is one wet pussy,” he said.

It sounded like he was further away than she would have thought from how the bed was moving. He touched that pussy. That wasn’t a finger, she realized. His tongue lapped at her flesh. Oh, god, she thought. She was always surprised when he pleasured her orally. She was usually the one to do so to him. She wanted to cry with joy except she had been on the edge of orgasm for too long. Her body bucked wildly as she orgasmed.

He didn’t stop. Her clitoris was extremely sensitive and this was torturing it. His tongue lashed it like a leathery, wet whip.

Moans escaped non-stop from her gag as if it wasn’t there. After she’d spent nearly four hours standing immobilized in the den, he demonstrated his own stamina by a non-stop assault on her pussy. She had no idea how many times she orgasmed.

When he eventually stopped, she was completely unaware of the short time it took for him to get up on his knees and go from licking her to dicking her. When he finally came, she was completely spent. She was nearly asleep when he removed the gag and blindfold.

Before he could ask her how she felt, she was already snuggled up against him. A satisfied mewing sound escaped her lips. She answered his unasked question by falling asleep.

Statue Rentals #3: Statue Time, Statue Delays

New character. What is Noriko's relationship to Meredith?

Transcript

Panel 1 – art studio

Narration: Friday…

Stacy: I’m all set. Do I have to get undressed?

Meredith: Stand behind that panel over there and let me know when you’re ready.

Stacy: What about all the windows?

Meredith: It won’t be a problem.

Panel 2 – behind partition

Stacy: Should I come out?

Meredith: No, I’m right here. Ready?

Stacy: How should I pose?

Meredith: That isn’t necessary. I’m carving you into the proper shape, of course.

FX: <snap>

Stacy: Oh, right. I suppose that means I'll just be a block of stone? Cool.

Panels 3 through 6 – Montage: man to block of stone

Meredith: I really thought I'd explained that. I need to work on my presentation of the process.

Panel 7 – rolling back the screens

Meredith is running her hand over the blocking.

Noriko (thinking): Oh, no. I guess I’m too late.

Noriko: Hi, Meredith!

Panel 8 – they embrace

Meredith: Noriko? You being here doesn't mean I forgot you were coming, I hope.

Noriko: No, I was in the neighborhood and was hoping to catch you before… Is that the block for the Wilson Contract?

Meredith: Yep. Spell completed five minutes ago. Should be a great piece. Stacy marbled nicely.

Noriko: Unfortunately, Wilson Research canceled the contract about an hour ago.

Meredith: Oh, no!

Panel 9 – standing by the block of marble

Meredith: You didn't happen to land a new contract I can use this on, did you?

Noriko: I'm working on a couple things. But, it takes time. Your works are as expensive as they are expressive.

Meredith: Thanks for the boost of confidence. I guess Stacy is stuck until I know what pose the next client wants.

Noriko: It's too bad this happened to a new model. Shauna or Kari probably wouldn't even notice the downtime.

Remember Who You Were

“Happy Anniversary.”

“Happy Anniversary, Adam”

They were standing next to their car. Adam had rushed around to the driver side he could hold the door for her. They exchanged a chaste kiss as she stepped out from behind the wheel. Reluctantly, she let go of his hand. “I can’t be late.”

“I’ll be in my usual spot.”

“Love you.”

“Love you. Always in all ways.”

Roana smiled every time he said that. She walked from the car into the restricted area of the stadium.

“That was sweet,” said a woman walking past Adam. “I hope Roana can keep her mind on the game.”

“You know she will, Edy,” he said. “She just won’t be hanging around for long when it ends.”

“I’m sure she won’t.”

“Go, Meteors!”

The other ball player smiled and entered the stadium.

Adam was going to walk away when he was waved over by Gus, a security guard for the stadium.

“I tell you everyday. You don’t need to buy a ticket, Adam. You’re married to our second baseman.”

“I don’t mind. If I sneak in here, I won’t get to see Janet at the ticket window.”

“I’ll tell her to stop by your seat once the ticket office closes.”

“You’re the best, Gus.”

Adam greeted several other stadium regulars as he made his way to his usual seat. Years ago, when he had introduced Roana to his friends, they laughed at him getting involved with a jock. She could talk them under the table when discussing sports in general. Adam still had trouble understanding the finer parts of pro-softball. But, he attended every game and cheered in all the right places now after going to all her games these past eight seasons.

Adam was a freelance computer programmer and this allowed him to travel with Roana when she was on the road half the summer. Today’s game was a home game and was the last game before a week off for an all-star game. She had a couple days off before she had to attend that. It was their five year wedding anniversary, today. And they were hoping it would be special.

Her team won the game. She’d made two stellar plays on defense while getting on base three of her four plate appearances. Adam waited by the exit with a few of the other players’ husbands and boyfriends. They were used to him not participating in the post game analysis and today was no exception.

When she walked out of the stadium her smile managed to become broader when she saw him. The other men catcalled as Adam and Roana kissed one another deeply. “You were amazing, Ro.”

“I’m sure the guys explained everything that happened on the field today.”

“He was paying much better attention today, Roana.”

“He was just staring at her ass, mostly.”

“It’s an ass worth staring at,” she said, displaying it to the men. “Let’s go. We have an anniversary to celebrate.”

“See you later, guys,” Adam said. He put his arm around her waist and they walked away arm in arm. His hand slipped down and he gave her ass a good squeeze to the other men’s delight.

As she drove them home, she said, “So, do I need to get all dolled up? Where are you taking me?”

“Patience. Yes, you have to get all dolled up. I knew you wouldn’t get out of the stadium until six. Our reservation is at eight. And before we leave, I have an additional surprise for you.”

“I love surprises. What is it?”

“Are you sure you know what a surprise is?”

“Very funny.” She down shifted the sports car and took the next turn at high speed.

“Shit!” Adam shouted. His hands were braced uselessly against the roof and dashboard.

She was laughing.

“You know I don’t like when you do that.”

“Yes. And you know I like it when you scream like a girl.”

“Sometimes you sound like your sister.”

“Aw, that’s not fair.” She pouted.

“I’m sorry. Your sister hates me. But, I know you love me.”

“I hope you know that.” Her eyes narrowed on a distant point ahead of them. “There’s another sharp turn coming. Tell me the surprise or else.”

“How about this? Tori approves of the surprise.”

“You told my sister? And she didn’t just hang up on you when you called.”

“Only the first time. The second time she picked up and said, ‘I guess it’s important. What, Jerkwad?’”

“Jerkwad? You caught her in a good mood.”

“I don’t know why she hates me.”

“She expected me to fall in love with a jock.”

“I’m glad you didn’t.”

“So am I. Jocks are usually self-centered asses. Now, tell me again about your love for me?”

“I love you. Always in all ways.”

At the house, she disappeared into the bathroom and got ready for an evening of wining, dining, and dancing or so she assumed. He had held onto the surprise despite her driving. Adam didn’t bother starting to get ready for another hour. Shortly after seven they were both ready.

“Are we leaving now? It seems early,” she said.

“It is early. We still have the surprise.”

“Oh, cool. Lay it on me.”

He pulled a box out from the top of his closet. Inside were two loose, black leather collars that would easily fit around someone’s neck. They were identical to the casual glance.

“When did you get kinky?”

“We only have to wear them for a moment. Here, put this one on.”

“Oh, wait. You told Tori. These aren’t…?”

“These are.”

“Fucking awesome.” She rushed to snap the collar around her neck. “Now what?”

“Hang on.” His collar snapped around his neck. “Now, we reach out and touch the other collar at the same time. Are you sure you want…?” Before he could finish, her fingers were laced around his collar. “Okay.”

He reached out and touched her collar. From their point of view nothing changed but their view of the room. She was standing where he had been. He was where she had been. Her fingers were wrapped around his collar but she was looking at his hand touching her collar.

“It worked?” He said. “I sound like you.”

“You are me.”

“And I’m you. Oh, god. You said you couldn’t find a swap device.”

“I found it. Am I wearing underwear?”

“No,” he laughed. He had meant it playfully. But from his mouth, it sounded a little dirty to him. “Be glad. If I’d known about the surprise, you’d be in a corset.”

“I should have checked before.”

“Well, we don’t have time. Where are we going?”

“I’ll tell you in the car.”

“Hey, Adam finally gets to drive the car.”

“Hooray for Adam,” said the new woman. As she walked out to the car on her high heels she seemed rather steady. “I always wondered how you could walk in these things. I feel so stable and balanced.”

“Yeah, and I feel like I need to get to a gym. I might have to say we aren’t doing this again until you get a little more lean muscle mass.”

“Why don’t you go to the gym for me?”

“And let you ruin my body? Fat chance.” He laughed at his own bon mots.

She entered their destination into the car’s GPS and they were told it was a twenty-two minute drive.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He said a few minutes into the drive.

“I was thinking. We’ve never done a blowjob in the car because you always drive.”

“And now the dick in the driver’s seat.”

“Yes.”

“Just remember I didn’t ask,” he said. “I’m not stopping you either.”

She unzipped his pants and leaned in between the wheel and her stomach. “You’ve never asked me to suck your cock. I’m surprised.”

“I never thought you would.”

“I wouldn’t for anyone but you. Now, Roana is a cocksucker. How does it taste?”

“Not bad. I could get use to it. Or, I guess you could.”

“Not tonight,” he said. His body shuttered. “Can’t be sure. I think I’m close. This is fantastic. Why haven’t you ever asked me to do this to you?”

“I don’t <slorp> know.”

His hand pressed down on the back of her head. “There. Don’t stop. Don’t stop! Don’t… Oh, fuck!”

He came in her mouth so hard it clogged her ears. Later, she would say she didn’t hear what happened next.

The world was shunted to the right.

At the time, the deafening sound of metal scraping metal tore through the car like the front end of the other vehicle tore into the sports car. It spun around twice until it slammed through the front of a clothing store.

People ran toward the cars from an outdoor cafe that was only feet away from having become the sports car’s resting place. People shouted. None of the car occupants were conscious.

*****

The smell hit her first. She believed it was the antiseptic air of the hospital that woke her. It was daytime. She lay in a hospital bed with tubes in both arms. One of her legs was in a cast. There was a bandage on her head and left arm. “Nurse?” she croaked out.

No one was there. With her arm that was only covered in bruises, she found the call button and pressed it once.

An older woman appeared almost immediately. “You’re awake? That’s great. Does anything hurt?”

“I don’t know where to start.”

“I need to hear them all. Start wherever you like.”

“My head has a dull ache. My leg hurts near my knee. My arms hurt. I’m thirsty. And I hope you’re twins because. Oh, wait. Okay. I can see straight now.”

“You’re doing well. Do you know why you’re here?”

“Car accident. Did we run a light?”

“No. You were hit by a drunk driver. I’m sure the police will eventually interview you.”

“Where’s Roa… um.. Adam?”

“Usually I’d let the doctor tell you. But, he’s in the ICU.”

“What? Is he okay?” She tried to sit up more but the nurse put a gentle, but firm hand on her good shoulder.

“Try to stay calm. I’m not allowed to tell his condition. Let me get the doctor.”

“And a drink!” She shouted and immediately started coughing.

“I heard her! She’s awake!” a man shouted from outside her room. “Can I see her? I’ll just be a minute.”

Lance Washington entered the room. Lance was the manager of the Meteors. “You missed a mandatory practice, Ro.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Front office assumes you probably won’t be back this season. I’m sorry about that.”

“I’ve just awoken and I’m more concerned with Adam.”

“That makes sense. I just wanted to see you before the team got on a train tonight. Mend. I don’t want you missing too many practices. And I hope Adam get well, as well, my dear.”

“Thanks.” He left. In the hallway, he resumed the conversation he had before he entered. “See? I told you it would just be a minute.”

“Can you believe that guy?” Tori said walking past him at the door. “How are you?”

“No hug?”

“I know exactly who you are.”

“I look like this and you’re still like that.”

“You haven’t seen your body.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, dear sister, you might be a widow soon and I’ll be the only person who knows she’s gone.”

Roana cried. She hadn’t even considered trying to hold the tears back.

Tori dithered for a moment before exclaiming, “Fuck.” She was hugging her sister when the doctor entered.

“Mrs. Carmichael. I’m Dr. Anjit. Any pains we might not be aware of?”

“I don’t think so. Can I see Adam?”

“It’ll be a few days before you’re ambulatory, I’m sorry. Who is this?”

“Tori. She’s my sister-in… my sister.”

“Aside from any number of contusions and bruises. You have a cracked rib and a couple gashes on her head. The worst injury was to your left leg: a double compound fracture. The surgeons were able to save your leg. But some of the muscle had to be reattached. You’ll probably have some mobility issue permanently.”

“Will she recover to play softball again?” Tori asked.

“She should be able to walk without any noticeable limp after physical therapy. But, I’m afraid the outlook for her sports career isn’t great. You’ll get a more complete diagnosis when the orthopedist sees you.”

“How is Adam?”

“He is likely to survive. He’s been in a coma since the collision. There was some internal bleeding in his head and there are some negative readings on his EKG. We hope he’ll wake up soon. I’m sorry. We’re doing everything we can.”

“Can I go see him in the ICU?” Tori said.

“Usually no. Let me go with you so they don’t give you any grief.”

“I’ll be right back, Sis.”

“Okay.”

When Tori returned, she showed Roana a pic of Adam in the ICU.

“I don’t believe I can hate you more now.”

“Come close,” Roana said.

“What?”

“You worry you’ll be the only one who will know Ro is dead.” Tears flowed down her face. “Consider, I’m going to wake up every morning with my dead wife’s face staring back at me to remind me she’s dead. And everyone will pity me because, after the accident, my own sister abandoned me. Cry me a river. Now get the fuck out. I can’t stand hearing your microaggressions. And they can’t be good for my long term prognosis. Bet that really hurt considering the voice that said it. How does it feel when someone purposely tries to hurt you? Something ‘Adam’ has never done to you.”

Tori stood up and stared at Roana unsure how to respond. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

*****

A month later, Roana sat in a wheelchair next to Adam’s hospital bed. He had been removed from the ICU a few days earlier. She was telling him about her morning physical therapy session. Tori came in and gave her a perfunctory hug. Roana might say that Tori had become more affectionate since the night of the accident. But, it was only a slight change to anyone who was there a month ago.

“They work you hard, today?”

“They did. I know how much that pleases you.”

“Not as much as it used to. Any change?”

“No,” Ro said, deflated.

Tori hugged her again.

“What was that?”

“Just shut up and accept it.”

“Okay.”

She sat down in the other chair. “I heard the other driver died.”

“He did?”

“Yeah.”

There was only sorrow in their voices. They sat in silence. The soft beeping of the medical equipment ignored.

“Do you want me to take you to your room?”

“You just got here.”

“I’ve been here for an hour.”

“Oh. Okay. I don’t want to miss dinner.” She unlocked the wheels to her chair.

As Tori pushed her toward the elevator, she said, “What do you do when he wakes up?”

“Cry. Laugh. Kiss.”

“No, I mean after that. Adam is healthy except for the coma. They want to move him to a long term care facility.”

“I know. As long as I’m still here, they are keeping us together.”

“You’ll be discharged soon.”

“I know. I can’t wait for this cast to come off next month.”

*****

Tori was awakened by a nurse while it was still dark out. “What?”

“Come with me.”

“What? I can’t walk.”

“I know. Get in the chair.” The nurse wheeled a chair over and Roana managed to scoot herself into the chair.

The nurse pushed them through the hospital quickly to her husband’s room.

“Ro?” He said.

“Adam.”

He stood up and awkwardly walked toward her to hug her. They kissed. She could not stop crying.

“Thank god,” she said. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily. I guess we won’t be able to go out for our anniversary.”

“What?”

“Oh, they told me… they told me that was months ago. I forgot.”

“How is he?” She said to the doctor.

“We should talk about that. Mr. Carmichael, please sit down.”

“Okay. When do I leave?”

“Soon. You seem to have some amnesia. How long have you been married?”

“A year plus the time since the accident, I guess.”

“It’s been five years, Adam.”

“No. It was just a year ago.”

“Adam.”

“Oh. I’m wrong. Aren’t I? I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Over the next few days, parts of Adam’s memory returned. Parts of it didn’t. He was happy to see his sister-in-law. He showed no signs that he thought she didn’t like him. He couldn’t remember anything about his job or about being a programmer. He didn’t believe Roana when she said he was a programmer but he also couldn’t recall what he did for a living instead.

The next time Tori was alone with Roana they cried on one another’s shoulders. “She’s gone.”

“I know,” Roana said.

“He doesn’t remember two lifetimes.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“What?”

“You ended up losing your sister.”

“You lost your spouse and your body. I should cry for you.”

“We can cry for one another.”

*****

Roana was finally home. Her physical therapy continued. Her prospects of getting back into playing shape were slim. And she really didn’t want to be a softball player. Adam took it harder than she did. They were sitting on a sofa in each other’s arms enjoying a quite moment when he said, “Why was I driving?”

“Hmm?”

“The accident. I was driving?”

“You were.”

“Why?”

“It was our five year anniversary. I… I was giving you one of your gifts.”

“What?”

She opened her mouth and moved her fist back and forth in front of it.

“You did? Did I crash the car?”

“No, the other driver ran a red light. It wasn’t your fault.”

“You never did that for me before. I’m remembering that correctly, right?”

“Yes, of course, that you remember correctly.”

“Is that something we only do on anniversaries?”

“We never did it before that night.”

“I feel so bad. I don’t even know if I enjoyed it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” She kissed him. “You did. One of the nurses in the hospital told me she had to explain to the attending emergency physician what the unusual milky white substance in my sinuses was. I was so glad I hadn’t been awake when I was brought in. The nurses razzed that poor man for over a week.”

“I’m sure you always dreamed of being brought into an emergency room with a head full of that.”

“Achievement unlocked.”

“Did you make a gamer joke?”

“Yeah.”

“You never get my gamer jokes.”

She was shocked he remembered even if it had been him who had been the one not getting the gamer jokes. “You’ve rubbed off on me.”

“I’m remembering you not getting the jokes but I don’t remember telling the jokes. I don’t even remember the content of the jokes. It’s very frustrating. But then, I don’t remember much about computing either. I don’t understand. I spent years working on computers. It’s all gone. I tried thumbing through one of my books. It’s all gibberish to me.”

“It’ll be okay. You’ll relearn it. You had an aptitude for it before. Or maybe you find something else you want to do.”

“I know. And you’ve been so supportive.” After some silence he said, “You know. You can talk to me, too.”

“What do you mean?”

He pulled her head onto his chest as he continued, “Softball. You have inside you all the knowledge of batting and fielding and how to play your position under the different circumstances during a game. But your body, even if it remembers how to do all these things, it just can’t or won’t when you’re better. Whenever I feel frustrated at forgetting something, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I remember we’ve both loss. We don’t have to suffer alone. We can support each other. We’re in this together. But, you don’t talk to me about it. You can cry on my shoulder. I won’t melt. I can say, ‘It’ll be okay,’ or ‘It’s not your fault,’ to you.”

She lifted her head. Tears filled her eyes. She’d have to try. But, she knew she really couldn’t talk to him. She didn’t think it would ever be the right time to tell him he was the softball star and she was the programmer. She had thought she’d internalized that. She’d cried on Tori’s shoulders every day in the hospital. She blubbered as she said, “Okay.”

He pulled her close again. “Oh, I didn’t want to make you upset. Please. Talk to me. You’ve been holding it in. I should have said something sooner. Tori reminded me the other day that you were going through a lot. She was worried you were bottling it up.”

Roana laughed. It sounded like a gurgle.

Adam didn’t hear it as a laugh. “It’s alright. Let it out.”

She laughed again. She held him so he wouldn’t ask her about the laugh. She wondered if Tori was being genuine or if this was yet another jab at her. She decided Tori meant well. And when she was able to believe that, she felt better. “Thanks. I needed that.” She blew her nose on the tissues he handed her. “When my back is feeling better, we won’t wait for our next anniversary to do it again.”

“You mean…” He gestured lewdly near his mouth.

“Yes.” They kissed.

*****

“What’s this?” Tori asked as Roana handed her a box.

“It’s the collars. We won’t need them ever again.”

“I… Okay. I’ll take them,” she said.

Roana just stood there. Her arm still posed like she were handing something to Tori. She looked at it and put it down by her side.

Tori regarded Ro sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“Being horrible to you.”

“I…”

“No. Sometimes when I look at you, I see my sister. Sometimes when I look at him. I see a stranger. I need to accept reality. Mom was telling me she was upset that we seemed distant to her and it hurt.”

“Olivia is… Mom is very good at making you feel things.”

Tori looked like she was going to say something when Roana caller her mother Mom. A smile broke out on her face. “Keep doing that. Keep calling her Mom.”

“What else would I call her?”

“You’re just lucky she wasn’t able to come here and take care of you like I did.”

“You don’t have to tell me that. She’d know by now if she had.”

“Yeah, she would. I thought about telling her.”

“I was surprised you didn’t.”

“I won’t now. You are my sister.”

“That means a lot to me, Sis.”

“So, when are you going to give me a niece or nephew to spoil?”

“Soon.”

“What?”

“What?”

“Soon?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Fuck you. I thought I could get one last needle in.”

“Sorry. I’ve been thinking about it. Adam has been applying for jobs. He’s had a couple third interviews. He’s at one right now.”

“Neither of you have mentioned this.”

“He went to a job fair without telling me. Some research company was there giving free aptitude tests. He learned he would be right for a job as a phys. ed. teacher. He’s at an elementary school right now doing an interview.”

“Seriously. Old Ro did say she wanted to go into coaching or teaching when she retired from the game.”

“Well, that isn’t happening. But, he was talking about seeing all the children at another school. He remembered us discussing having kids when I couldn’t play any more. I can’t play any more.”

“So, I missed the freak out.”

“Actually, I didn’t freak out. But, I did spend a lot of time alone deep in thought. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll get to experience it in a way I never dreamed of before. And that’s exciting.”

“What about you?”

“I haven’t told him. But I’ve been doing gig projects on the computer. No one knows my real name and I don’t need verifiable credentials to do these small couple of weeks website designs and similar projects. I won’t be able to get a job as a programmer. I would never be able to explain it to Adam. But, if he’s working outside of the house, and it looks like he will be, I’ll be able to do bigger projects without him knowing.”

“Until the babies come.”

“Babies?”

“Like three of them. The first two a year apart and the third one five years later. That would be ideal.”

“Adam said something like that.”

“He did?!” Tori’s face lit up with joy.

“What’s that face?”

“You don’t think sisters would have lots of conversations about having a family.”

“Are you saying Adam remembered that?”

“He may not remember talking about it with me. But, that was his go to ideal family.” She stopped as if she wasn’t sure she should continue. Roana nodded and Tori continued, “They were named Artie, Rebecca, and…”

“… Baby Nina. I’ve heard the list.”

“He remembered.”

“With a little prompting. You don’t think a couple married for five years didn’t have lots of conversations about having a family.”

“Oh, poo. Why were you such an attentive man when you were one?”

“Is that why you hated me? You were jealous Ro found a man who listened when you never had a lasting relationship.”

“If you weren’t my sister, those would be fighting words.”

“It’s a good thing then that I am your sister. Tell you what,” she said as they were hugging one another. “You can pester me about having nieces and nephews only if I can try to set you up with a good man.”

“No problem. We were both probably going to do that any way.”

“The difference is we’re doing it now with each other’s blessing.”

“Fine. You’re alright.”

“You’re still a bit so-so.”

“Roana!”

She smiled. “I love it best when you call me that.”

“I feel like I’ve spent too much time trying to remember who you were instead of getting to know who you are.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you, Sis.”

*****

“You don’t have to go again,” Adam said. “I know it was hard for you.”

You have no idea, she thought. “I couldn’t avoid the playoffs,” she said. “It was nice to see the gals.”

“It’s too bad you didn’t get to the playoffs with them.”

“I said that to them and they all hushed me. They didn’t think they’d have made it without my playing in the first half of the season.”

“They’re all great woman. We should invite a few over for dinner after the season ends. Edy, Michele and her husband Dan, Rena, Juliette and Rubinia.”

He rattled off a few more names and all Roana could think about was how wonderful he remembered their names even if she barely knew any of them.

“What’s that look?” he said.

“I love you.”

“Love you. Always in all ways.”

She looked away immediately. “I have to go to the… um… bathroom.” She was utterly shocked hearing the words she would always say coming from her spouse. Did he remember hearing them? Roana had never said them to him. Did it mean something about his memory? She was washing her hands when she realized after the initial shock, it felt amazing having him express his love for her like that. Had she always felt this way when he said those words?

He was waiting for her when she left the bathroom. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said cheerfully. “Let’s go out to eat. I don’t feel like cooking. We never did celebrate you getting your teaching job just the two of us.”

Little Witch #6: Bethany's Teacher

Part 2 of the Bethany series within a series. That's Bethany's father in case that isn't obvious. This isn't the first time Angela hasn't appeared in the story. Her mom isn't here either. I should have named the teacher. Oh, well.

Transcript

Panel 1 – Bethany’s Father and Teacher are talking

Teacher: I’m surprised your wife isn’t here. She usually has a lot to say about Bethany's school time.

Gary Wilson: She’s staying with a sick aunt for an unknown length of time.

Panel 2 – wide shot of teacher behind desk, gather opposite side of desk

Teacher: I have to say, I don’t know what you’ve done. But, Bethany has been a model student these last few weeks.

Gary: She has? Frankly, I dread these Parent-Teacher conferences because no one ever has anything nice to say about Bethany’s behavior.

Teacher: A few weeks ago, I’d have given you a very similar report. Recently, Bethany has made friends. She’s been attentive in class. She helps other students.

Teacher: She steps in when someone is being bullied. She isn't afraid to ask for help. She’s a very caring and com-passionate student. Do you know what’s changed?

Gary: I have an inkling.

Panel 3 – repeat final panel of Bethany’s Mother

… sob...

Trust Machines - Dude Gals 3: Trish and Terry

If you haven’t read Trust Machines – Dude Gals, you probably should before continuing. This story begins three weeks after the original story. It focuses on the relationship between Terry and Trish/Patrick.

The apartment the four men shared had only three bedrooms. Terry and Patrick had been sharing one of the bedrooms, the largest one, for years. It had an en suite bathroom. Originally, they had two twin beds in their bedroom. A few weeks into the couple experiment, they had pushed the beds together to form a king size bed.

As Terry woke up, a smile graced his face. A tongue was licking his erection.

“Finally,” Trish said as she got up and mounted him. “Took you long enough to wake up.”

“I thought I was dreaming and didn’t want to wake up.”

She rode him, her up and down rhythm the pace of a leisurely stroll.

“Reverse, please,” Terry said.

“Okay.” Trish turned her back to him and eased herself back onto his large cock.

He sat up and reached around to cup her breasts in his large hands as she resumed riding him. As she got use to his girth in this position, she sped up.

He could feel her vag tightening. He left go of her right boob and switched to rubbing her clitoris against his cock inside her.

This drove her over the edge and caused her orgasm to last much longer than normal. She collapsed back against his chest as the orgasm subsided. “We should do this every morning,” he whispered into her ear.

“You’re just trying to convince me to remain the woman in our relationship.”

“Of course, you’re much better at it than me.”

“Sex isn’t enough,” she said. To emphasize it, she got up and headed toward the bathroom.

He followed her to the doorway. “We could do it more often.”

“As if. You want me to be your girl, treat me like you would any other woman you date.”

“You’ve made it clear you don’t enjoy dolling up and going out.”

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Oh? That’s music to my ears, Trish. I’ll get reservations for Le Père’s.”

“That’s a bit more dolling up than I expected.”

“I don’t do anything half-way and neither will you,” he said. “I’m sure Paula will help you get ready if you ask.” He pulled the bathroom door closed for her and walked away.

*****

“I would love to help you with your makeup, tomorrow,” Allan said.

“I thought you’d be Paula tomorrow.”

“No, I’m taking Hannah to a play. Lucky for you it’s at eight. I can still do your makeup as Allan.”

“I was hoping for a bit of girl time.”

“You?”

“I told Terry I wanted to doll up and suddenly we’re going to Le Père’s.”

“Jumping in the deep end. Do you have a dress appropriate for such a place?”

“I didn’t think of that. I need to go to the venn shop. I can’t afford to buy an appropriate dress.”

“Don’t bother. You’re the same size as Paula, right?”

“Yes, we’ve shared clothes before.”

“Henry’s taking me to the opera Tuesday and I have a gown you could wear.”

“Gown?”

“Yes, gown. Floor length, flowy draping, backless, side slit, rhinestone encrusted, burgundy with darker trim. I also have matching pumps and a clutch.”

“I hate pumps.”

“You’ll need them or you’ll trip on the hem. And as much fun as you might have tripping and falling into Terry’s arms, I don’t want the dress getting ripped.”

“Fine.”

*****

Terry put on his best suit. He was getting changed alone in Oscar’s room. Rita had said something about being halfway through The Box that no one in the apartment had paid attention to. When he was ready he went into the living room to wait. As the gig taxi was due to arrive soon, he knocked on the door to the room he shared with Trish.

“I just got an alert. The ride will be here in ten minutes.”

“She’s almost ready,” Allan said through the door.

A few moments later, it opened. Allan left first. “Step back. You’ll want to see her all at once as she steps through the door.”

Terry and Allen moved to the other side of the room.

Trish was stunning as she entered the room. Her makeup was impeccable. Her hair was a cascade of curls in a complicated updo. The metallic royal blue dress hugged her body in all the right places. She seemed a bit shy.

Allan elbowed Terry in the side.

“You have to be at least three Helens.”

“What?” She said, confused.

“Really Terry?” Allan said. “She’s only as beautiful as three Helens of Troy?”

“She could launch three thousand ships easily.”

“What the fuck are you two talking about?”

Allan laughed. “It’s a Homer reference.”

“The Simpsons?”

“It’s been fun. I need to go see Hannah,” Allan said. He left.

“We should head downstairs so we don’t have to rush when our ride gets here.”

“Help me with the shawl?”

“Of course.”

He held her from behind after placing the shawl on her shoulders. His mouth was inches from her ear. “You also smell divine.”

“You’re going to make me blush.”

“I’m going to do more than that. But, not until we get back.”

The restaurant lobby was busy, not packed, but Terry made a big deal about getting to the maître d’ table. “Name?”

“Washington. Party of two.” He slipped some folded money to the man.

“Right this way, Sir, Madam.”

After pushing Trish’s seat in, the maître d’ asked Terry, “Would you like to see the wine list?”

“We’ll have bottle of a Sonoma grown Pinot Noir if you have one.”

“Of course, Sir. Coming right up. Your waiter is David. He will bring the wine.”

“What was that?” she asked after the man departed.

“It’s the presumed best valley in California for Pinots. I asked a friend before coming here.”

“You did homework for our date?”

“Of course. I don’t take just any woman here.”

“Did you take Ginine here?”

“Ah, Ginine. I forgot you know all the women I’ve dated the last near decade. Yes. I took Ginine here twice, I think. I don’t know if she enjoyed the food as much as I believe you will.”

“Have you also forgotten I know you thought Ginine was the one?”

“No, Trish. Would you like me to show you the ring I never gave her? Tonight should be about us. Not you asking about women I’ve moved on from.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever said you moved on from her.”

“Well, I did. It was about four months ago when I found a woman I hope is much more compatible with me.”

“Me?”

“You. I’m not going to scare you by saying a certain phrase. But, I’ve been thinking it.”

“Me?”

“You. Here’s the waiter.”

“Would you like me to pour?” The waiter asked after showing the win label to Terry.

“Please do.”

“Fill it,” Trish said, pushing her glass toward the waiter.

He gave Terry a look. Terry shrugged. The waiter nearly filled Trish’s wine glass. She took a deep drink. “Hints of strawberry.”

“It’s very good. Thanks, David. Could you give us a few more moments with the menu?”

“Of course.”

“Are you okay?” Terry said.

“I didn’t realize you were this serious about… us.”

“I am. I know you need more time. I hope you will be eventually.”

She took a proper small drink from her glass. “It is good. Terry, we’ve been friends for almost nine years. I don’t want to ruin that.”

“Neither do I. But I think we could be more than fuck buddies, which is how this started. If I were interested in finding a fuck buddy, I’d have gone to meet Oscar’s new friends. I know it might be a lot to ask. That’s why we can take it slowly. I completely understand what you must be thinking. If our roles were reversed, I would have told you, ‘No,’ weeks ago. I hope you are still even slightly open to what we’re doing.”

“I suppose I am.”

*****

Trish went to the ladies’ room as Terry settled the bill. After using the stall, she checked her makeup at one of the sinks.

“Does he know you’re venned?” A woman who was also at the sinks said without preamble.

“Yes. He venned me. How can you tell?”

“You have the actions down. But, it still seems like you have to think about what to do before doing it. Like, your lip gloss. After eating, someone who pays attention to their makeup is going to start there. You checked your eyes first and it took you a moment to find the lip gloss in your purse.”

“That was a very Sherlock Holmesian explanation.”

The woman laughed. “I thank you for the compliment. I am considering a hobby in solving mysteries when I got to be Miss Marples’ age. Constance.” She offered hand for a shake.

“Trish.”

“Or?”

“It doesn’t seem like I’ll be spending much time as Patrick for some period of time.”

“You and the man outside are serious?”

“Terry is. While we’ve only recently started dating, we’ve known each other for years. And I know how he is when he dates. He would tell me he loves me as soon as possible if he didn’t think I’d freak out.”

“Would you?”

“I don’t think I would.”

“Except, the Patrick inside you thinks you should?”

“Yes. It shocks me that being Terry’s Trish feels okay to me.”

“Well, congratulations on figuring that out, Detective.”

Trish laughed. “I thought you were the detective.”

“I might be observant. But, I’m not even close to being that in touch with my emotional core. I hope you reach the point were it feels more than just okay to you. And sooner, rather than later.”

“I hope that happens too. Could I get your number? Maybe we could have lunch sometime. I’d love to hear about the mysteries you eventually solve.”

“Sure. And I’d love to observe as you get more comfortable being your new self.”

*****

“What took so long?” Terry asked as they walked out into the parking lot hand in hand.

“I met someone in the washroom who knew I was venned.”

“How could she tell?”

“Little things I don’t do like a native to the gender would.”

He laughed. “Is that how she put it?”

“Not in so many words. She was very helpful.”

“Oh?”

“Let’s stop by the venn machine before we go to the apartment.”

“Sure. What for?”

“I want to extend my venn to a year.”

He stopped walking forward and gently tugged her arm, spinning her toward him. He pressed his body against hers. Looking down on her, his face filled her field of vision. It was filled with surprise and joy. “Really?” He said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He kissed back.

Moments passed.

“Really.”

*****

Terry wasn’t in bed when Trish woke up. This wasn’t unusual. He liked to go for a run in early morning hours. Even on Sundays. She got up and showered before heading out to the kitchen. Oscar was there eating a bowl of cereal and looking at a video on his phone.

“Hey, there,” he said. “I heard you two had a fancy date last night.”

“We did.”

“Don’t ask me to be your maid-of-honor. I promised Terry to be his best man a long time ago.”

“We aren’t talking about marriage.”

“You aren’t talking about marriage. I’ve seen how Terry looks at you when you leave a room. He’s thinking about it.”

“I know.”

“And?”

“It’s far too soon.”

“Well, at least you didn’t freak out. There’s hope for Terry. And you. You aren’t freaking out, are you?”

“I am no less surprised than you are that I’m not,” she said. “I’m surprised you aren’t getting Rita double stuffed this morning.”

“You’re trying to change the subject. Fine. Bruno and Mac had to go to a class reunion last night back where they grew up. Their high school friends will easily accept them as a couple. But they didn’t want to advertise they were part of a throuple. And I was glad to hear that. I wouldn’t have known anyone there.”

“You’re a throuple? Congratulations.”

“Actual, I introduced them to Eileen. We might become a foursome.”

“Eileen will settle down? A four-couple is like settling down for her, right?”

“Who knows? Now, I let you distract me for a few minutes. Back to you. I’m surprised you know how Terry feels.”

“He may have asked you to be his best man someday. But, I’ve also known him for nine or so years. You want to talk about me. Fine. What rating did he give me at giving head?”

“Out of bounds, Trish.” He overemphasized her name as he said it. “I never told any of his girlfriends that and you never did either. I’m not going to start telling just because I’ve been your friend so long.”

“Fair. Just tell me I’m not a dud.”

“No. You’re not a dud and I’ll even say you aren’t a meh. Are you happy to know you are at least okay at giving head?”

“Yes. It’s not like Rita doesn’t do it.”

“True. Damnit. I have to explain the system to the guys and ask them how I do?”

“They’ll tell you?”

“In a heartbeat. They are firm believers in complete openness and honesty: male-to-male, female-to-male, male-to-female, female-to-female, other-to-whatzit. You made the mistake of hooking up with a romantic at heart.”

“He is, isn’t he?”

“That was so girly. You were made for Terry.”

“Literally. In a venn machine.”

“He did pick out your hair and other obvious qualities.”

“Wow. I never noticed.”

“What?”

“All of us went out one night a month for like four months before Terry and I decided to say, ‘Screw this,’ at the bar. Once Rita and Paula were gone, we just looked at each other and agreed to come back here for some girl-on-girl action.”

“I know the story.”

“I thought I knew the story too. That week we supposedly first had the idea to just hook with one another, that was the week he gave me the really big tits.”

“So, you think he fell for you before fucking you.”

“That’s the timeline that fits.” She said. “I’ll just ask Allan or Paula about the rating thing.”

“They might tell you. I’ll have to talk to them first.”

She laughed.

“You could just ask Terry.”

“You’re right. I could,” she said. “I should.”

There was a silence while Oscar just watched Trish eat her breakfast. “You will, won’t you?”

“Why not?”

“No reason at all. I’ll have to figure out what to get you two as a wedding present.”

“Stop with that.”

“I see no reason I should,” Oscar said.

*****

“Took you long enough,” Terry said as he and Trish settled into bed.

“That’s not an answer,” Trish said as she lay on the bed in anticipation of him spooning against her.

“You could have asked Allan. He would have told you.”

“I don’t want to hear it from my friend Allan. I want to hear from my friend Terry.”

“Boyfriend Terry.”

“You are both my friend and boyfriend, or so I thought.”

He held her from behind. “I’m not used to that.”

“And I am? I never expected to have a boyfriend. You know that. I don’t think you should be treating me as one of your other girlfriends. You were and are my friend first, whether I’m male or female. And as such, if I ask how you rate your girlfriend at giving head, like I’ve done many, many times before, it shouldn’t matter that I’m the girlfriend.”

“Shouldn’t it?”

“Maybe to you. But not to me.”

“Fine.”

She let the silence linger.

“Buster.”

“That’s it?”

“Do not ask me to explain my ranking.”

“Don’t you want me to improve?”

Terry laughed. “Do you want to put in the work to improve?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

“See?”

“Yes. I like giving you pleasure and if I can improve, I want to know how,” she said. “Besides, any improvement I make will make you work on your own game.”

“True,” Terry said. “I’m not going to explain now. Next time, I’ll give a few pointers as you’re doing it.”

“Fair.”

*****

“Your makeup is improving,” Constance said.

“Oh, sorry, not today. I had Paula help.”

“Paula is another one of your roommates who venns into a woman frequently?”

“She’s the one dating a woman who was venned into a man when they met a couple months ago.”

“Allen. Right. How did he get so good with makeup?”

“I have no idea. I’m trying to remember if it was his idea to start going to the bar venned.”

“If not him, who?”

“I’m wondering if it was Terry.”

“You said last time, you thought Terry had been planning to get you to become his girlfriend.”

“Yes, I did. And I haven’t asked him yet. I’m not sure it’s important for me to know or not to know that.”

“You should know if he manipulated you. Of your friends, it’s only Terry who doesn’t venn now.”

“Yes. He never embraced being a woman.”

“And thanks to you, he probably never will.”

“The world won’t notice.”

“And he knew he wouldn’t have to because he suspected you would.”

“It’s not like he ever had to it. If he’d wanted to stop going out with us each month, we’d all still be friends. It’s not important.”

“But seriously, why you and not him?”

“He tried.”

“Did he?”

“I’ve known him a long time. A couple weeks after Terry and I had sex, we switched places. She tried. She wanted to please me, wanted to pleasure me, wanted make it work.

“It was only in her head. It wasn’t in her heart. I could tell she was only doing what she was doing because she was trying hard. Tell me. Do you want to date someone who has to think about it to make you happy or someone for whom making you happy is second nature? She and I could kiss and it would start great. Our lips are dancing against one another. Or tongues are exploring and being explored in a passionate manner. But I could tell she didn’t enjoy being reminded she had the tits pressed against a firm, manly chest. Eventually, it was obvious my body didn’t turn her on. And that didn’t make me feel good.

“When we switched back, I realized I could get turned on by his body. I’ve never been attracted to men. And I’m not attracted to other men.”

“Not even that guy?” she said, indicating a man sitting at a table nearby.

“He’s attractive, objectively. But I’m not going to get hot and bothered by him like I do from Terry.”

“But, is Patrick attracted to Terry?”

“Not that I’ve noticed. But I haven’t spent much time as Patrick in the past few months. I’m not really curious to find out. Unlike you.”

“You fascinate me,” Constance said.

“I doubt Patrick is attractive to Terry, too. If I were to be Patrick he’d probably want to pull the beds apart. And I understand that.”

“Do you?”

She shrugged. “I don’t intend to find out.”

“That’s why you intrigue me. I should probably stop saying stuff like that. You have no doubts. Or, whatever doubts you have, you’re content not to follow.”

“I have doubts. I also recognize they don’t really change anything. I’m happy with Terry. Terry is happy with me. I rarely miss being Patrick. I don’t think digging deeper into my doubts will ultimately increase my happiness.”

“I don’t know if that is foolish or wise,” Constance said. “That seems to work for you. I couldn’t leave a doubt uninvestigated. You trust Terry.”

“I do.”

“How does your family feel about your change?”

“They just think it’s a phase. They’ll find out it isn’t or I’ll find out it is.”

“If you broke up with Terry would you stop being a woman.”

“Probably. It would remind me of what I lost. Although, it might be that more than I currently miss being Patrick.”

“You also have the most fun problems.”

“I’m glad I entertain you. I can tell when you say things just to see me react to them. You have a tell. You’re right eyebrow raises slightly.”

“I’ll have to work on that.” She was obviously trying not to let her eyebrow move as she said, “Have you considered whether you ever want to get pregnant?”

*****

“I still have to meet this Constance,” Paula said. “She sounds like a riot.”

“She isn’t exactly a cutup,” Trish said.

“I had a thought,” Rita said. “I miss our monthly bar nights. Remember when we used to do them as guys.”

“Whose idea was it to venn the first time?” Trish said.

“Allen,” said Terry, the only guy at the dinner table. It was the rarest of evening when all four roommates were home and expecting to eat dinner.

“We should do a girls night out where we’re just having fun instead of on the prowl.”

“Some of our prowling days are over,” Paula said.

“Some of our girls nights days are over,” Terry said.

“Really? You aren’t doing it any more,” Rita said.

“I don’t need to.”

“You also don’t want to,” Trish said.

“That’s true, too. I was an awful woman. Right?”

Trish laughed, “I was telling that to Constance the other day.”

“You talk about your relationship with her?” Rita said. “Wow, you are a chick.”

“You should try it.”

“How did the subject come up?” Paula asked.

“She’s extremely curious about how come I’m doing a year long and Terry isn’t venning at all. Sometimes I think she knows she’s causing ‘trouble’ and can’t help herself.”

“Trouble?”

“Some people, if you put a thought in their head that their boyfriend may have been manipulative, it eats away at their soul. And she kind of enjoys the schadenfreude.”

“Who was manipulated? How?” Terry said.

“No one. That’s the point. We hooked up. It was natural. But, as I told her, you’re not attracted to me in the slightest when I’m Patrick.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. It’s not like I’m suffering. Any woman would be lucky to have you. I’m a lucky woman.”

They smooched.

“I think I just got diabetes,” Rita said.

“Hush,” Trish admonished.

“How else has she tried to trip you up?” Paula said.

“You would ask that,” she joked. “As we’re running out of time on our lunch hour, she asked me whether I’ve considered getting pregnant.”

“Have you?” Paula said.

“Have you?” Terry said.

“Is that possible?” Rita said.

“Typical boyfriend. I told you I went on the pill two months ago.”

“She’s been a full time woman for three months, Terry,” Paula said. “How was your first trip to the gynecologist?”

“It was as pleasant as you hear women complaining about it make it out to be. I didn’t tell her until after the exam that I was a venned. She said she couldn’t tell. If Constance could tell and the doctor couldn’t does that mean I need to find a new gynecologist?”

“Notice, she hasn’t said if she’s thought about being pregnant beyond obvious means of prevention,” Rita said.

“Yes, I have thought about. I do want children. Hopefully not too soon. And if I have to give birth to them, so be it.”

“Really?” Terry choked out.

“Really.”