Fetish Magician: First gig: Tom - part 2

"I think it is time for a short rest from the magic. So gentlemen, there is a table full of food and a chiller of beers. Have a good time and I'll be back with some more feats later." I patted Annie's left buttock and said to her, "Go and get a snack. I'll see you later."

"Don't I get some clothes?" she protested.

"Have you got any?" I asked.  She considered; the skirt and top she had arrived in were with her 'Master' and the ruined dress and her underwear were in my jacket pockets. She shrugged and went to join the group at the food table, where her presence pleased and distracted in equal measure.

Once I had also got myself a small plate of food, I set myself up at a table and performed tricks with cards and coins.

Annie's Master approached me saying how much he had enjoyed the show so far. I asked, "Would you or she mind if I put my dick in her mouth, because I've had an idea that would make the show just that little bit more interesting."

"I certainly don't object and I know she won't, but be warned, her gag reflex is terrible; so unless you're planning on choking her, I wouldn't try for any deepthroat."

I thanked him and asked him to send Annie to me in about ten minutes so I could prepare her for the second half.

After ten more minutes of small tabletop tricks, I went behind the curtain and Annie followed. I confirmed with her that my dick in her mouth would be ok. She told me that the circumstances were sufficiently interesting that it would be no problem, but also warned me that deepthroating was not one of her talents. I sat her on a chair and began the process of hypnotising her. Once she was entranced, I gave the instruction, "For tonight and only for tonight, if I or your Master say your name three times in succession, you will be obedient; you will be totally and literally obedient, until you are woken from your trance or the night ends." I woke her and checked that the hypnosis had worked, by saying her name three times, then I returned her to awareness and tried the old 'saying touch your chin, while demonstrating touch your cheek' gag. She performed perfectly, so I woke her and told her to bring out a pair of trestles and some towels when I called her.

I went out and called the men back to being my audience. I started with a find the lady routine using huge cards propped up on chairs. The climax was the reveal that all the cards were the king of spades. "So, where's the lady?" I asked.

I soon learned who was paying attention, because I got variations on the answer, "Behind the curtain."

I called, "Annie, please come out." And Annie appeared from behind the curtain with a trestle in each hand. I must have looked dumbstruck for a moment, because, while most of the audience had expected her to be dressed or still nude, nobody anticipated how she was carrying the towels; not even me.

One of the towels had been knotted sarong-like around her waist and the other two had been folded and draped over her shoulders so that most of her breasts were covered. At that moment I blessed her creativity.

I told her to place the trestles a little less than arm length apart behind me and then come and stand beside me. Then I began my intro to the next section of the show. "As you have witnessed I am something of a magician, but my talents don't end there; I have some talent for hypnotism. But don't be alarmed, I shall not be demonstrating on you good gentlemen and making you do silly things. I shall be doing some pretty serious things to Annie, here." The men looked relieved that their abilities in the chicken impressions and remembering their own names departments was not going to be tested.

"First is an experiment in pain control," I said, picking a large pin from my lapel. I took up Annie's hand and touching the tip of the pin to the back it, I asked, "Can you feel that?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "Will what happens next hurt?"

"Oh, Annie, Annie, Annie." I said and almost before she began to slump into the trance, I added, "You will remain alert and upright and reacting as normal, but still in a trance and obedient to me. You will also not feel any pain in your hands." And then I immediately jabbed the pin through the web of skin between the thumb and fore-finger. She saw it, but didn't even flinch.

"Go and show the men what's happened! And if it gets uncomfortable change the position of the pin to the other hand; by the way, it'll get uncomfortable every minute or so."

As Annie walked forward I reached up and drew the towels from her shoulders; the audience seemed happy at the reappearance of Annie's chest. While Annie was showing the men the pin and occasionally pulling out and inserting into her other hand, I refolded the towels and laid them on the trestles, which I adjusted.

When I was ready and sure that the men had seen enough of the pin, even if not enough of the rest of her, I called her back. "Annie, I would like my pin back."

Annie returned and pulled the pin out and handed it to me; I stuck it back in my lapel. "Now Annie, you stay here and think about what it feels like to be stiff and rigid, while I find a volunteer from the audience to help out with the next bit." Annie's posture changed from being casual and sensuous to something more upright and 'at attention'.

There were plenty of offers to help with whatever came next, but I selected Mike, the party's organiser, mainly because he was paying for the show and I felt I owed him something a bit more hands-on, than just watching.

"Mike, you met Annie during the interval, right?" I asked rhetorically. He nodded. "So, would you check that this is the Annie you met during the interval, with nothing added or taken away?"

He nodded again and immediately began to make a detailed examination of Annie's body with much encouragement from the rest of the audience. He started off by just looking Annie over, but emboldened by the audience and Annie's lack of reaction soon began to make a finger-tip search for any gimmicks.

Before things got out of hand, I tapped Mike on the shoulder and asked, "Are you satisfied that Annie is just what she seems to be? Just a naked young woman."

Mike agreed whole-heartedly that Annie was a fine example of a naked young lady. This caused Annie to smile.

"Now Annie, please lean back while remaining stiff and rigid. I will catch you."

Immediately she began to tilt backwards, but I let her get to the tipping point, where unless she bent she would continue backwards, before I arrested her fall by catching her by the shoulders.

"Very good, Annie. Now you will remainder totally stiff and rigid until I tell you otherwise. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" she said in a tone that might usually be accompanied by a snappy salute.

"Now, Mike, I want you to take hold of Annie's ankles and together we will lift her onto the trestles. Ok?"

"Ok," he said as he bent down to grasp Annie's lower legs. Soon we had her positioned with her shoulders resting on the towel-padded trestle nearest me and her calves on the other one.

"You can let go now," I reminded Mike once Annie was in position. Mike released Annie's ankles a little reluctantly.

"I note that the towel is still round her waist, did you check there was no tricky business under there?" He shook his head; I assume partly because he did not suspect there to be anything under the towel and partly sadness at not having thought to at least take look. "Shall we take a look, just to be sure?" I asked.

He stepped forward to untie the towelling knot at her waist, but I stepped forward to restrain him. "Uh-Uh! My towel, my assistant, my prerogative. You get your turn, when I invite you." I did this mainly to retain control of the situation, but it had the added benefit of drawing some laughter from the audience at Mike's mild discomfiture. I untied and removed the towel being careful not to apply any lateral force; another reason to do it myself.

I looked at the towel in my hand and made a bit of business out of folding it carefully and appearing to be on the point of throwing it away, then changing my mind and placing the folded towel on Annie's flat stomach.

"Mike, you've been standing up here a while now, would you like a seat?" He was about half a step back to his place in the audience before he noticed that I was indicating the towel on Annie's belly.

The incredulity in his voice was a delight to hear. "Really?" he asked.

"Of course," I replied, offering my hand to guide him to the seat I had pointed out. "You're alright with that aren't you, Annie?"

Another snappy 'yes sir!' also held a hint that she had no idea what she was agreeing to. Soon Mike was sat on Annie's midriff; Annie did not seem to bend in the slightest; I was impressed, even knowing what to expect.

"Mike, you sit there and check that Annie is still the same Annie you inspected earlier, while I prepare myself and Annie for my next feat." Mike took the invitation as I thought he would and no sooner had he nodded, his hands were fondling Annie's breasts.

I took the opportunity to drop my trousers and underpants, exposing my erection which was the result of anticipating what would come next. While I did this I whispered, "Annie, throughout the next section you will continue to be stiff and rigid, and also you will open your throat as wide as possible and breathe as best you can; you will not choke. If you feel that you are likely to pass out, raise your arms and I'll make sure it doesn't happen."

I interrupted Mike as he changed his focus of attention from Annie's breasts to the other place of interest on his other side. "Mike would mind standing up again?" He looked a little disappointed, but stood up and I removed the towel from her belly. "In a moment, I am going to ask you to remove the trestles, please do it smoothly, dragging the trestle towards the curtain." He nodded his agreement.

While Mike repositioned himself to behind Annie from the audience's point of view, I placed my hands either side of her head and repositioned it so that she was no longer looking straight up, but at about forty-five degrees towards me. She caught sight of my penis and her eyes widened noticeably; it is a constant wonder to me what people react to while in a trance.

With Annie's head in place, I transferred my hands to under her shoulders again. I raised them slightly and said, "Ok, Mike, remove this trestle!" nodding to the shoulder trestle. He obliged, while the towel that acted as padding from Annie stayed where it was until the trestle was gone, when it fell to the floor.

I held her resting between my hands and her calves for a second or two, before I leant forward and put the tip of my cock in her mouth. The audience did not seem at all impressed until I moved my hands from under her collar bone and out to my sides; at which point they broke into chatter and some clapping. They were amazed, but a bit envious that it was my dick in her mouth, not theirs.

"Give me a moment to get properly set, then pull out the other trestle," I said to Mike.

I reached down and supported Annie's neck and then as I raised it half an inch I leant further forward so that the head of my penis passed into her throat. For a moment I felt it constrict around me and thought she was about to raise her arms, but I whispered, "Relax!" I felt the tightness fade and felt that if I could have seen her face I might have seen an expression of wonder combined with apprehension. I looked at Mike and said, "Go!"

As instructed, Mike pulled the trestle away, leaving Annie lying horizontally with her face crammed into my groin. I put on a face that seemed to show strain, but in reality she was floating in mid-air and my dick down her throat was stopping her from drifting about.

"Mike," I said between gritted teeth, "would you please lift her off me."

Due to the urgency of my request he complied immediately and was soon holding the rigid Annie in his arms. I took the chance to redress my lower half and while I leaned down I said to Annie, "You will gradually become less stiff and rigid, until you are your usual flexible self and when your feet touch the floor you will stand up and come out of your trance."

I helped Mike return Annie to her feet. For a moment she just stood there and then she smiled and said, "That was certainly interesting."

"Are you ready for the next illusion, Annie?" I asked.

She looked down at herself and noticed that she was once more naked; not even a towel sarong to protect her modesty, not that I was sure she had any. "Go behind the curtain and you'll find a bag labelled 'H', it contains a costume, put it on. And then bring out the items labelled 'G'."

She said, "Ok," then went, while I made some business of thanking Mike for his help, which included giving him back his watch, wallet and car keys several times each. This pickpocket routine served to fill the period while Annie was dressing.

Annie returned with a pair of hoops joined by some cloth over one arm and two lengths of rope over the other. But the audience were not paying attention to these items, because they were taking in her outfit. She was dressed as a harem girl in a top, harem pants and curly-toed slippers; the prime reason this outfit got the men's notice was the fact that the scarlet fabric was totally transparent.

I told her to place the rings on the floor and hand me the ropes. Ropes in hand I went to select my next volunteers and allow the audience to check the ropes.

I selected three men named Arthur, George and Andrew. I asked Andrew to collect the ropes which various other members of the throng had be tugging on.

First I called on Arthur to tie Annie's wrists behind her back, which he did in a fairly competent way, but to my surprise Annie handed the still knotted rope back to him saying that she was sure he could do better than that, with a wink. I guess Annie really likes to be tied tightly. His second attempt seemed to meet with Annie's approval, or, maybe, she just could not get out.

I then called Andrew forward with the long piece of rope and quickly found the middle and draped it round Annie's neck. I did a swift overhand knot and invited Andrew to do several more knots, warning him not to tighten so as to obstruct Annie's breathing. "She looks lovely as she is," this brought a chorus of agreement from the seated men, "and I don't think turning her face blue is likely to improve that."

"Now, we wind the ends round her arms a couple of times," I said, demonstrating with the length nearest me, that I meant the rope was to be wrapped across her arm and round the back and through under her arm and then repeated. Once Andrew had done his I gave him my end of the rope and asked him to tie them on Annie's flat belly. He was happy to assist. The loose ends I took in either direction, crossing them over her buttocks and asked Andrew to make a final knot at mid-thigh level.

"You're not going to escape those ropes are you?" I asked Annie.

"It would be easy if I had my hands free, but Arthur's done a good job this time."

"So, you're trussed up like that until we let you free, right?"

"Either that or leave me alone for half an hour then I'll be out of this."

"Don't worry it won't that long."

"Now, George, your job will be to make sure that Annie doesn't sneak out the back when the curtain is raised; Andrew and Arthur, you will be raising the curtain." I poked the cloth-connected hoops with my toe. The men moved to positions beside the hoops.

I had chosen George for three reasons; he was a full three inches shorter than his fellow selectees, he had been paying a lot more attention to Annie than the magic I was performing and finally he was one of the few wearing a jacket and tie.

"Now George, Annie will be trying to escape from those ropes inside the curtain and you will be in there too." The grin he was already wearing grew. "But a magician wants to keep some of his secrets, so I'll want you to face forward and put your head through the curtain. And you, Annie, will press yourself against George's back and if he feels you move away he will say so and we will lower the curtain to find out what you are up to."

"Ok, let's go for a dry run first. George, you go here." I manoeuvred him so that he stood inside the hoops at the front facing forwards. "And Annie, you go here." I guided her to stand behind George and positioned her so that her breasts were touching his back through his jacket.

I stood back and instructed Arthur and Andrew to raise the curtain to waist height. After some initial confusion, where they picked up different hoops, this was achieved, at which point, between us, we adjusted the alignment of the hoops. "Great job guys. When I give the word, 'Up!' Art and Andy, you will raise the curtain as high as you can, but making sure the bottom hoop remains on the floor. Meanwhile, George, I'll open a gap in the curtain and you put your head through it. Got it?"

My helpers assured me that they understood what was expected of them, so I added a new command, 'Down!', for which George would pull his head back and the other two would lower the curtain. I told Annie that she should stay pressed against George's back.

"To make sure everyone knows their job, we'll have a dry run. So, ready, steady, up!"

The curtain raisers, did their job and I opened a gap at the top of the curtain, through which George pushed his head. I stood back allowing the audience to see the image on the front of the curtain. It was the outline of a woman dressed as Annie was dressed, made comical by George's head being at the top of the body. As the hilarity induced by a George-headed harem dancer subsided, a pair of missiles were launched from inside the curtain; these proved to be Annie's curly toed slippers.

"Right guys, down! Quick as you can, please." Once George's head was retracted it was not long before the hoops were once more on the floor, showing that Annie was now barefoot. I asked Arthur to inspect the Annie's ropes; he confirmed that they were still in place.

I looked at George and asked, "It wasn't you was it? Coz, Annie can't have done it; she's still tied up."

George, of course, denied it.

"But now I've given you ideas, haven't I?" George started to deny it, but I cut him off. "We can't have you interfering with Annie; either helping her escape or otherwise acting inappropriately." George blushed, which told me that was what he had in mind. "So, next time you will put your hands through some holes at waist height. You'll do that before you put your head out! Got it?" George nodded.

"Ok, we'll need a run through of that too. So is everyone in their places?" I received four yeses. "In that case, up!"

Andrew and Arthur bobbed down and picked up the top ring and raised it until the curtain was taut, then George's hands appeared through the holes that were positioned at the wrists of the harem girl picture. I opened the gap above the neck of the picture and George's face came through.

"Good job, guys! Just one minor thing that's not right. The picture has slippers on, but Annie doesn't. Give me a moment to correct that!"

I bend down and unstuck the slippers from the image, with the distinctive ripping sound of Velcro. As if on cue, a bundle of red fabric popped out of the top of the curtained area and drifted down to land on the floor in front of me. I looked up at George who was only just taking in what had happened. He made a gesture with his exposed hands that could only be interpreted as, 'it wasn't me; honest.'

"Guys, down!"

George pulled back his head and the others lowered the hoop; George did not withdraw his hands from the holes until the hoop reached that level, to forestall any accusations I might level at him. While they did this, I picked up the scrap of red fabric and displayed the harem pants to the audience. Annie stayed glued to George's back.

"Are you alright. Annie?" I asked.

She peeked out from behind George, giving some pretence at being shy, despite the fact that everyone here had seen everything there was to see. "I'm ok, but I'm still tied up." Andrew and Arthur both nodded confirming Annie's still bound state. "And I am loosing sensation in my hand a bit; whoever tied it, tied it really tight."

"Ok, guys. Let's get this done before anything else untoward happens! Up!"

Moments later the hoop was above George's head height and his hands and face were in view. I went to unVelcro the trousers on the picture on the front of the curtain, but another bundle of red material dropped over the front of the curtain, prompting a cheer from the assembled men.

"That's it!" I said in a voice that implied I was somewhere near the end of my tether. "Down! I'm giving up on this illusion."

I picked up and showed the crowd that the red stuff was indeed Annie's top, while the guys lowered the curtain.

It took the audience at least five seconds to notice that George was no longer wearing his jacket, at which point Annie stepped out from behind him wearing nothing but the missing jacket with all the ropes still in place over the jacket.

Annie looked apologetic and said to George, "Sorry, but when my top disappeared, I put on the nearest thing."

Everyone was amazed; most by the transfer of the jacket from George, while his head and hands were visible, to the tied up Annie, but I was amazed at Annie's fertile imagination, to come up with a superb line like that.

"I suppose you want your jacket back." Before he could respond the other men were making a row to the effect that of course George wanted his jacket back. I set my three helpers to untying Annie, to allow the jacket to be returned to its owner.

Meanwhile, I moved one of the tables into the middle of the performance area and a couple of chairs near the front. Finally I returned behind the backdrop to gather up a large yellow cloth, which I dumped on the table on my return.

"Ok, Gents, it's time for another bit of close-up magic." Annie looked as relieved as men seemed disappointed that they were being asked to pay attention to something other than my naked assistant.

I sat on one of the chairs and patted the other one. "Annie you can sit here, because you're involved in this one." While Annie cautiously sat beside me, I invited the rest of the audience to gather round so that they all could see; I even included 'Master' with his video camera. This was soon achieved with much scraping of chairs across the floor.

"Alright has anyone got any money on them?" There was much fidgeting with hands in pockets. "I need a coin." Mike was the first to produce a coin; it was a fifty pence piece. I handed a marker to Derek and asked him to write on it near the edge as it was passed round to me, so that it could be identified, in case there was any doubt that I was using Mike's coin throughout what was to follow.

It was not long before I had Mike's coin with Derek's name written round it passed to me and I put it on my thigh where they all could see it.

"You may find this interesting, especially you Annie." I turned her and said, "But first I'm going to have test to see if I'm going to have to put you back into a trance." I gently reached over and ran the tip of a finger round her areola and felt the flesh stiffen. "Good, no hypnotism necessary for this," I said while I continued running my finger round her nipple until it had noticeably hardened from its already erect condition.  

"As you can see Annie's nipple has become very hard." I took up the coin and placed it between the middle and ring fingers of my left hand, which I held in a horizontal version of the Vulcan gesture from Star Trek and held it in front of the nipple. I pressed the coin against her nipple and rubbed with a tiny circular motion. After about ten seconds I placed my right forefinger across the coin and continued rubbing, but a little harder. I then withdrew the finger to show a pink nub in the middle of the coin. I further withdrew the left hand, leaving the coin flush with the areola with the nipple seemingly impaling the coin.

Quiet noises of wonder came from the men as they leaned forward to check this was Mike's original coin. I looked at it and Derek's name was written up the side of the coin so I placed my thumb and forefinger on the edge and turned it until the letters were upright; this caused Annie to wince and take a sharp breath.

"Ok, Mike, would you like your coin back?"

Of course he said, "Yes."

"Stand up and take it, gently," I instructed.

He stood and leaned forward so that his friends could see too. He took the edge of the coin and tugged tentatively. The coin did not move from Annie's nipple, but instead pulled her breast. He quickly gave up, not wanting to hurt Annie.

"I guess I'll have to retrieve that later," I said as I reached into my pocket and produced fifty pence in change and handed it to Mike.

"And for my final illusion for this evening, I shall levitate the lovely Annie from that table." I indicated the table I had set up several minutes ago. "So Annie would you sit on the table, please. And gents please move your chairs back to their previous positions."

It took less than a minute from the men to put their seats back in which time I had moved the cloth on the table to the side so that Annie could sit on the edge of the table.

With the men settled, I asked Annie to sit cross-legged on the table. She did this with some aplomb, hiding her shaven mound behind her crossed ankles. Then she sat up straight, rested her wrists on her knees with her hands out flat, except her thumb and forefinger making a ring on each hand, then she smiled in a relaxed way; she would not have looked out of place in a yoga class, except for being naked.

"Good, Annie. Have you ever been levitated?"

"I don't think so."

"In that case you are in for a pleasant experience," I said while I flapped the yellow sheet to make sure that it was not tangled. With a smooth movement, I draped the cloth over Annie; forming a pyramidal shape on the table.

"You are still there, aren't you Annie?" I asked.

She replied, "Yes," while she nodded her head and twisted her wrists to make the cloth move.

"If you could stay still from now on, that would be good; we don't want the cloth slipping off." For a moment or two, I walked round the table making mystical passes and upward gestures. Then once I was back at an end, I took a grip on the table and with a well-timed pull and a kick, I folded the legs at that end up into the table top.

I was about to lower my end of the table, when Annie asked, "What was that I heard?"

"Nothing important, Annie. I just kicked something." This caused some suppressed giggles from the assembled men. "You are just fine and perfectly safe; just keep still and everything will go as planned." While I said this, I lowered the end of the table that I was supporting to the floor. The cloth on my side of Annie settled a little so it hung to the canted tabletop, thus a few inches from the floor.

I went to the other end and repeated the process more quietly. As Annie's yellow cover settled again only the corners reached the surface of the table. I went behind Annie and pulled the table backwards so that now the lowest part of the cloth was about half an inch off the floor. The men burst into a round of applause.

"Hey! What's happened?" called Annie seeming to try to look around.

"I produced a unicorn," I lied. The audience laughed.

"That's a damned lie! Can I see what's happened?"

"Ok. Here goes." I gathered the cloth behind her and dropped into her lap. The men were obviously pleased to see her face and breasts again.

Annie looked around. "I knew there was no unicorn," she commented as she continued to analyse the scene to discover what had happened to the cause the clapping she had heard. It finally dawned on her, about the time I arrived standing in front of her. "Where's the table?" she asked. I nodded to behind her and half turning she looked to see the table lying on the floor several feet behind and below her.

"So, what's supporting me?" she asked as she took her hands from under the cloth piled in her lap and experimentally shifted the two ends that hung down to discover the lack of anything rigid in them.

"I am," I said moving my hands so that it was clear I was in no way holding her up. "I am levitating you."

"Oh," she said. It seemed she just accepted that if I said I was levitating her and she appeared to be levitating, that was exactly what was happening. I guess there is such a thing as wonder-fatigue.

"It's time to finish the show," I told everyone as I redraped Annie in the yellow cloth. "I'll need absolute quiet for this, please." The audience settled to watch in silence. "Three. Two. One. Now." I grabbed the cloth and pulled it aside and tossed it empty into a rear corner of the performance area; there was no Annie to be seen.

In the stunned silence that followed the previous attentive silence, we heard a small metallic thud and a tiny rumble as a fifty pence piece dropped to the floor and rolled towards the assembled men and collapsed about half way back to Mike.

I stepped forward scooped up the coin and flipped it to Mike, who caught in his lap, because he was so surprised that he had not got the coordination of hands sorted in time.

"You have been a wonderful audience, better than the usual rabble I get anyway. I have been Tom the Magician and thank you for having me. If you'd like a copy of the video my colleague has been taking, see him in the next few minutes. And I hope to see some of you another time. Good bye." I left the room.

----------

I was soon out at my van. When I opened the back door, there was Annie, still in her naked Buddha pose.

"You can relax, Annie. The show's over."

She unfolded her legs and massaged her calves. "That's good, but I kept the pose, in case you wanted me for an encore or something."

"No, your bit's done; Thank you, you were great; you made the show. When your 'master' has finished taking orders for the video he took, the party will go, probably to a nightclub or a strip place, then I'll pack up my kit and go too."

"Do you want to fuck me while we're waiting?" she asked.

For a moment I was taken by surprise, then I remembered the slight disappointment in her tone when I had promised, in that first telephone call, that no-one would have sex with her during the performance. As my pause grew longer, realise I'd have to say something.

"That would be great, but I doubt we'd have enough time for us both to properly enjoy it."

Her face fell slightly. "In that case may I have some clothes?"

I realised I spent the last few minutes talking to a totally naked woman and not given her nudity a thought. I reached into my pockets and handed her her underwear and produced the two parts of the green dress. "It's a bit damaged but do you still want the dress, like you said when you first wore it? I suppose it'd make souvenir, because it isn't much use as a dress the way it is."

She said yes and took the two parts from me and slipped into the top half. At this point we heard the hubbub of the party leaving the hall to whatever venue. "I see what you mean about not enough time for a good fuck," she commented.

I heard someone approaching, so I whispered, "Keep your head down, I want to keep the illusion alive," to Annie then went to intercept whoever was approaching.

It was Mike, he raved about the performance, saying that it was ten times more exciting than he had hoped, let alone anticipated. He then launched into the arrangements for vacating the room.

When the last stragglers had departed I went in to pack up my things and ask 'Master' whether he had had any orders, although I guessed he had, or he would have come out. I found him transferring names and addresses written on scraps of paper into an address book.

"Many takers?" I asked.

He looked up, "Seven." He paused to finish an entry he had been making. "That was a wonderful show; I'm surprised they didn't all want a copy."

"Thank you and Annie, she made the show. She's in the back of the van waiting. You can take her home when you're ready. I just need to pack a few things away and then I can be going."

He returned to his writing, while I went to pack my props and tear down the curtain. Mike was busy too, dumping all the uneaten party food in a black plastic bag and staggering off with the half full cooler.

When I was ready to go, 'Master' offered to help by rolling one of my travelling cases out to the car park. I accepted the offer.

I opened the door to the van to let Annie out and get out the ramp. Annie leapt out of the van and wrapped herself round her 'Master.' "Thank you so much! That was the best and most interesting experience ever."

"Say, Thank you to Tom and then we'll go home." She came over and kissed me and said thank you. Judging by the glint in 'Master's' eye she would not be getting lot of sleep when she got home. His final words to me as they left was, "We'll certainly be recommending you to our friends."

I stowed the cases in the van and went home. I thought to myself in those drowsy moments before sleep finally takes you, 'That was my most interesting experience ever; I hope I get to do something like it again."