Another Small Magic
Mike had put away the card which Miss Mystery had given him; he was not sure what, if anything, he should do about it. But, when Judy referred to Miss Mystery the following weekend, to the effect of wondering where and how they might meet her again, he knew he had to do something. It took him whole week to form a plan, which was, in essence, to take Judy to a favourite restaurant for a birthday treat and meet Miss Mystery there for a trick or two. This plan had been prompted by Judy asking if she should keep her birthday free or go to her dancercise class, as usual, and the pub after with her friends from the class.
Mike responded that he was working on a birthday surprise and would be able to let her know in a couple of days if the elements were coming together.
That night he booked the restaurant table and tried ringing the number of the card, but it rang out.
The following night he tried again and got a response. "Hello, Magda speaking." The accent was not the accent that he remembered from the showground tent, but Mike was fairly sure it was the same voice.
"Are you Miss Mystery?" hazarded Mike.
"Yes," she said. "Can you hold on for a moment while I move to somewhere a little more private?" Mike heard steps and then a door slam and the background noise was gone. "That's better, we can talk more freely now, Mike."
Mike was taken aback to be addressed by name by a near stranger called out of the blue. "So you are called 'Magda Mystery'?"
"No, I, most definitely, am not." Her tone told Mike that he had missed the mark by a mile. "I am 'Magda', to my friends; to you, for the moment, I am 'Miss Mystery' and only 'Miss Mystery', My Dear. My other names are not for you to know, until I choose to tell you them, if ever."
"I'm sorry, I did not mean to offend," stammered Mike.
"No offense taken. I just feel we both need to know where we stand." By this time her accent had made a transition to the slightly eastern-European accent Mike remembered from their encounter at the showground some weeks before. "For the moment you are a magic client and as such you should call me 'Miss Mystery'. If, as I hope and expect, we become friends you may then call me 'Magda', except when it's about magic, then I shall always be 'Miss Mystery', My Dear. Magda does not do magic; only Miss Mystery does magic."
"I think I understand that. I would like to hire you, Miss Mystery."
"I not sure; I'm not sure Miss Mystery is for hire. The magic I was doing when we met was for a cause close to my heart; the charity paid for the pitch and I set up and did my thing and donated the takings to the charity which more than quadrupled their outlay. Before that I only ever did it for close friends. I certainly couldn't do it for a big audience."
"I wouldn't be asking you to do anything for more than me and Judy. You see, it's Judy's birthday in a couple of weeks so I've arranged a meal at her favourite restaurant and it would just be the icing on the cake if you could come along and do a few pieces of magic for us. Of course, I'd cover your costs and a bit extra for your time."
"When exactly and how soon do you need to know and what would you want me to do?"
"Well, ideally, I need to know by the day after tomorrow, because I told Judy I'd let her know if I had anything planned by then. Her birthday is on the sixth and the restaurant table is booked for 8. As to what you would do, that I would leave to you; I have a feeling that whatever you did, Judy would love it. She's been singing your praises and planning trips to shows in the hope of finding you again."
"Give me a moment, I have to check if I've got anything on then." There was a pause during which Mike thought he could detect fingers being swiped and prodded against a smart phone. "Ok. There's good news and bad news. The bad news I can't come to the restaurant at that time, but the good news is that Miss Mystery can see you before."
"That sounds good, but how would that work?"
"You two come and visit me and then go on to the restaurant. Would that suit?"
"Ok. That sounds brilliant, so where and when would I have to bring her?"
"I haven't decided yet, but if you give me your address I'll send you some instructions. By the way, what is your budget for this? While Judy is a pleasure to do magic with, all the stuff costs money."
"I was hoping I could get away with 50 to 100 quid and stand you a meal at the restaurant, does that sound about right? I haven't a clue what magician's charge."
"That sounds about right for a starting out magician, but as Miss Mystery will be hosting the magic things will be a little different, but I'll take that into account when I decide what to do. And don't worry I shan't kill your budget; part of the reason I gave you my card (the first and only, so far) is because I want to perform on Judy again and I thought you'd find a way to bring her back to me."
"Thank you, I look forward to seeing you again."
"Me too." She said and then hung up.
Mike suddenly realised he had not given Miss Mystery his address and quickly hit the last number redial button, only to receive a 'number unobtainable' message.
Not sure what else to do. He rang Judy to let her know he had arranged for them to have a meal for her birthday.
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On the second of the month a parcel arrived at Mike's place. He opened it with no idea what it was or why he was receiving it.
Inside the brown paper wrapped box was another box, this one wrapped in fancy gift-wrap, and an envelope, addressed 'To Mike'.
The letter inside read:-
Hello Mike,
Sorry, I did not wait for your address, but that does not matter now.
Give Judy the enclosed present and make sure she wears it with nothing underneath. You will also need to bring a fresh unopened roll of cling-wrap that you have bought yourself.
I'll see you at 11 Cookham Road at 7 o'clock on the day. Don't worry you will get to the restaurant for your 8 o'clock reservation.
I look forward to seeing you and Judy.
Yours
Miss Mystery.
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Mike met Judy at the works canteen for lunch the following day.
"Hi Judy. About the sixth. I've arranged to go and visit someone on the way to the restaurant, so we'll need to leave earlier. Would it be alright if I came straight over after work and changed at your place? Otherwise, the timing is going to be a bit tight to get home, change and come over to pick you up, because I've said we'll be there at seven."
"Of course, that'll be alright, in fact if I can get Debbie to give me a lift, you can take me home, ok?"
Mike nodded, because his mouth was full of the first forkful of his lunch.
"So, who will we be visiting?" asked Judy.
Mike swallowed and said, "It's a surprise, so I'm not going to tell you, so as not to spoil it."
Judy took this as a challenge to find out what Mike's surprise was, but Mike was smart enough not to let the cat out of the bag and all Judy discovered was that Mike thought she would enjoy the visit.
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When they arrived a Judy's place, Mike took his suit and the gift-wrapped parcel into the bathroom and changed there, while Judy began her preparations in her bedroom.
Mike tapped on the bedroom door. "Are you decent? 'Cause I've got a present that I would like you to wear."
"It's ok. You can come in. I'm just trying to decide which dress to wear. Maybe you can help."
Mike opened the door and was greeted by the sight of Judy in a bra and waist-slip seemingly dithering over two dresses laid out on the bed.
"Why don't you open the present and see which dress would go with it better?" Mike suggested.
Judy turned to accept the proffered present and was soon attacking the wrapping paper. "This is very well wrapped," she commented.
"Not my doing. I can't wrap stuff at all well. It was like that when it arrived."
"So how do you know it will fit properly, if you ordered it online?" Judy was trying to think if she had ever told Mike her sizes and concluding that she had not.
"I'm pretty confident that it will fit," said Mike, thinking that if Miss Mystery could find his address, Judy's sizes would be just as easy.
The gift-wrap was now on the floor and Judy was pulling out the tongue the held in the flap of the lid of the cubic brown cardboard box. That hurdle surmounted, she opened the lid and drew in a gasp, before levering the clear box made of thin plastic from inside it. The cardboard follow the gift-wrap and Judy held up that transparent box to admire its contents.
"It's a collar," she breathed. She turned the box and saw that the front had 'Judy' studded on it in crystals that caught the light. "Wow!" She paused. "You want me to wear this to a dinner date?"
Mike, who not known the contents of the gift until moments after Judy, was a little flummoxed. He was having difficulty telling if Judy was offended or excited by the idea of wearing the collar to dinner. He decided that he needed to partially dissociate himself from the present. "Actually, it's more to do with the person we are going to visit."
"Ok, I'll try it on and if it fits, I'll wear it until after the mysterious visit." She removed it from the display box and undid the buckles. "I think, you ought to put it on me; after all it is your present and it'll be difficult to do up myself."
Mike took the collar of thick, but supple, black leather and offered it up to Judy's neck. It seemed that it was as tall as her neck was long with a dip in the top of the front so as not to inhibit her jaw movement and a parallel protrusion on the bottom edge that located between the ends of Judy's collar bones, which meant that the collar was unlikely to slip round and hide the crystals that presented her name. Judy turned her back allowing him access to buckle the collar with the two buckles, which he did, discovering that the leather butted up perfectly at the back of her neck. He also found that there was a flap hanging from one end of the collar, with a couple of press-studs on it. He quickly worked out that there were marching studs on the inside of the ends of the collar and had fitted the flap so that it covered the buckles and was snapped to the studs.
"What was that?" asked Judy.
"Oh, it just took a bit of fiddling the get the flap over the buckles. I guess it's there to stop your hair getting caught in the metal of the buckles."
Judy moved to admire herself in the full length mirror. "It's lovely. A bit bondage-y maybe, but still gorgeous. I've got just the dress to go with it." She dived for the wardrobe and was soon holding a dress against her body partly to see if it really went with the collar and also to assess if it would still fit, as it had been quite a while since she had last worn it. "I think I'll need a little help getting into this, but if I can it'll be perfect."
After some struggle, Mike was finishing pulling up the zip at the back, which had been a bit of a tussle to get passed Judy hips and waist. "Before you ask, all I can say is 'Wow!'. You look fantastic. How come I haven't seen you in it before?"
"I haven't worn since the work's Halloween party three years ago, when I went as a witch; I needed help to get into it then too. I've kept it as my aspirational 'dress I want to get back into', because, despite being a bitch to get into, it is surprisingly comfortable to wear."
"You look great in it. And it seems to suit with the collar too." Mike glanced at his watch. "I think we should be going very soon, if we are going to be on time."
"Ok. You go and get the car started, while I find the shoes I need to go with this outfit."
Mike went and waited in the car for nearly five minutes before Judy came out. As he watched her walk to the car, he tried to work out why she looked even more stunning that she had when he had left the bedroom; he concluded that it was the fact she was wearing four-inch heels, instead of the flats she wore at work or the lower heels she had previously worn on dates.
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The journey across town was uneventful, except that Judy kept digging for clues about where they were going. When they arrived in Cookham Road Mike spotted a single gap in the cars parked down both sides of the residential street. He parked there and then went round to open the door for Judy. She had a slightly off-balance moment that betrayed that she was not particularly used to wearing the higher heels.
Mike looked round to locate number 11 and found that they were just outside it. The porch light was lit and there was light visible through the front door, but the rest of the house seemed dark.
"I don't think we know anyone who lives here," commented Judy.
Mike led Judy up the path to the door and was about to press the door bell, when he spotted a note taped to the glass of the door.
"Mike and Judy: Come in and take a seat, I'll call you when I'm ready - - - All Others: Go away, I'm busy"
Judy felt that the font used for this note was familiar, but could not quite place it. Mike, of course, recognised it as the same font Miss Mystery had used for the signs outside her tent and on the card in his pocket.
Mike opened the door and they entered. Inside was a hallway with a closed door leading into the front room of the house, a door to the rear of the house, stairs leading to the first floor and two chairs.
They closed the front door and sat on the chairs.
Judy was about to question who they knew that might live here, when a voice from behind the door they sat opposite called, "Mike, Judy, Come in, my dears."
Judy recognised the voice as being Miss Mystery and looked at Mike with a look that if expressed as words would say, 'You found her, My Hero', 'How could you not tell me?', 'Is this my main birthday present?' and 'I'm so excited' all at once.
Mike stood and took Judy's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, which meant, 'I'll tell you about once we get to the restaurant'.
Mike opened the door and stepped through. The lighting seemed very dim, even compared with the single shaded bulb that lit the hallway. It seemed a familiar dimness, as it seemed that most of the light that illuminated the room was reflected from the crimson tablecloth that covered the round table that stood centrally in the room.
Judy followed Mike in and closed the door. They stood to allow their eyes to acclimatise to the red gloom. Besides the table, other features of room became apparent; around the table were three chairs, the one on the far side occupied by Miss Mystery in her full gypsy/fortune teller outfit complete with veil. In the darkness at the edge of the room sat the normal items of living room furniture; non-threatening in their familiarity, but out-of-place in the dimness.
"Welcome," said Miss Mystery. "Please come and sit with me. Judy, my child, sit here and Mike, my dear, you sit there." She indicated the other chairs at the table; so that Mike would be nearly opposite her and Judy would be sat between them. They sat.
"I gather you are on your way somewhere and also I have somewhere to be later, so I can only fit in one piece of magic, so shall we get on with it? Mike, did you bring the thing I asked you to bring?"
Even in the dim redness of the room, Mike's embarrassment was evident. "I'm sorry," he said, "Shall I fetch it from the car?"
Miss Mystery's green eyes sparkled as she said, "You do that, my dear. We will still be here when you return."
Mike rose and left.
Once Mike was out of the door, Miss Mystery placed her lace-gloved left hand on the table, which Judy took as an invitation to present her palm to have a reading. She placed her right hand palm-up on the hand and Miss Mystery drew it towards herself and began to trace the lines she found there with the forefinger of her other hand, while purring barely audible syllables. They heard the slam of the car door and Miss Mystery returned Judy's hand by releasing her grip and said, "He may not be perfect, but if you don't go too hard on him, he'll make your life as good as he can. You've got a good one there."
The sound of the house door opening coincided with a nod from Judy and when Mike returned to the room and closed the door to exclude the light from the hallway, they were sitting as they had when he left.
Mike resumed his seat and placed the unopened box of cling-wrap he had bought that lunchtime on the table, on the opposite side to Judy.
"What's that for?" she asked.
"I don't know, but She was very specific that I should bring it."
"Who's 'She'? The cat's mother?" asked Miss Mystery.
"You. Miss Mystery. I don't know. It's so difficult talking about someone you don't know at all well in their presence. I didn't mean to offend."
"No offence taken, but I want you to always refer to me as 'Miss Mystery'; I think it is important, whether I am here or not, if you are talking about me or to me; in fact, come to think about it, don't talk about me to anyone else, for the moment, because if tonight does not go well, Miss Mystery may disappear for good."
Mike and Judy looked at each other with puzzlement and concern. Had they found Miss Mystery, only to lose her forever?
The pause grew uncomfortably long, until Miss Mystery said, "Shall we get on with it? Or you run the risk of being late for your reservation."
Mike and Judy both agreed that getting on with whatever 'it' was, was better than running out of time for whatever 'it' was.
"First, you'll have to remove that collar."
Mike was about to object that he had been asked to make sure Judy was wearing it and now it was not wanted. He looked at Miss Mystery and saw a look in her green eyes that told him that to object instead of doing was going to shorten the available time for magic to nothing very quickly.
"It seems such a pity; it fits so nicely and is surprisingly comfortable," commented Judy
"Do not worry, my child! You will be wearing it when you leave."
Judy felt for the back of her neck and could not locate the studs that held the cover over the buckles. "Would you help me, Mike? I can't seem to find how it went together."
"Yes, my dear, help Judy off with the collar. It'll give you something to do, while I get out the bits and pieces for the magic."
The first two items were 'Y'-shaped wood pieces, except that the top of the 'Y' was a semi-circle. A brief inspection by Judy determined that the ends of the 'Y' were covered in metal caps and had some form of catch, while the stalk had a thin rectangular hole down its length.
The next item to emerge from the dark space behind Miss Mystery's chair was a pair rope rings resembling quoits, but they seemed to be stacked on each other and attached together in some way. Judy picked the thing up and turned it over, wondering what it was for, before returning it to the place on the table where it had originally been placed; not quite in front of her, but towards the magician.
As Miss Mystery leant back to fetch what would be the final item, the collar came free from Judy's neck. "Put that within easy reach, I suspect you'll need it before you leave," she instructed. "You might as well sit down too, my dear."
"It's time to fit the infrastructure of the magic; things should line up properly, otherwise who knows what havoc could ensue." She picked up one of the 'Y'-shaped pieces and placed it against Judy's neck so that the two curved prongs of the 'Y' were in front and behind her neck and the stalk piece was over Judy's shoulder. "Mike, my dear, put the other one in place on the other side, please."
Mike seemed startled, but complied readily. Soon the metal caps at the tip of the 'Y's prongs came close together.
"Mike, dear, you'll need to turn it over, because you've got it the wrong way up."
Mike realised that he was feeling a slight repulsion between the ends of the 'Y's as if there were magnets repelling. He pulled the thing back and rotated it a half turn before re-advancing with it. This time the ends seemed to pull into contact and Miss Mystery leant forward to set the catches in place.
"Judy, my child, please hold the sticky-out bits and adjust them so that they go exactly side-to-side and the circle round your neck is level. Mike, my dear, you can be opening that box of wrap and finding the end of the roll; we will need it in a few minutes."
Mike turned his attention the getting into the long cuboid box and missed what Miss Mystery did next.
From the dark area behind her seat Miss Mystery withdrew a long narrow sword. With a casual move while she shifted sideways a little she waved it in front of Judy's face. Judy's eyes went wide and she re-firmed her hold on the item around her neck to be sure it was straight and level. The magician lined up the tip of the sword and located it in the hole at the end of the handle; soon the blade of the sword was fully lined up with the handles of the apparatus.
Mike also missed the thrust as Miss Mystery pushed the sword down the hole, until the tip emerged from the far end of the opposite handle. Judy felt the sword press against the side of her neck for just a moment, then it slid through her neck; she could feel the path it took and where it exited her neck. The sensation was neither painful nor noticeably pleasant, but Judy felt an excitement that she could only put down to the presence of a sword through her neck.
Mike looked up having prised open the box and removed the roll of plastic film from within. He was surprised to see the new addition to the gear around Judy's neck. "When did that happen?" he asked.
"While you were fighting your way into the box; didn't you notice the arrow at that corner showing where to pull and it comes open like magic?" commented Judy.
Miss Mystery made a shushing noise. "Now, my child, I want you to place your hands flat on the table; it will help with what happens next; don't worry that the sword guide will go out of line, because it is now being held in place by the sword. Mike, I want you to get ready to pull the sword out."
Judy gently released her grip on the handles and carefully placed her palms of the slightly rough red cloth of the table.
Mike was less sure what to do so looked at Miss Mystery, after his glance had lingered enough on Judy to be confident, even in the dim lighting, that he would have detected any trail of blood running down Judy's neck.
"To pull out the sword, my dear, you will need to have the handle end at your end. So, you will need to turn the sword and the sword-guide round. It would be best if you turn it so that the handle end comes round the front."
Mike leaned forward and, after exchanging a nervous smile with Judy, pushed the end of the sword-guide. For a moment the near end of the guide rotated, but the other end did not, until the front of the guide made contact with Judy's neck, when the rotation of both ends matched. It appeared that the guide was sliding round, supported by the sword threaded through it, which, in turn, was supported by the flesh of Judy's neck, which it penetrated. The sword remained level, as Mike pushed it by the end that had been nearest him and was now going behind Judy's head.
Judy was both perturbed and excited as the end of the sword guide and the sword's handle came into view at the bottom of her vision, but she had been able to feel the sword's changing position since the process started. She noticed that places where the sword had been did not feel the same as the other places where sword had not yet reached. She tried to think back to see if she had felt this before, there was some familiarity to the feeling, but she could not think where she had felt the feeling before.
Once Mike had pushed the rearward travelling end of the sword guide to the point that the sword was transfixing Judy's neck front-to-back, he turned his attention to bringing the forward pointing handle to pointing in his direction; causing the point of rotation to move round as the sword continued round.
At the point where the sword was now pointing away from Mike, Miss Mystery asked, "How is your neck feeling, My Child?"
Judy's initial answer was, "A little different," but a glance at the magician's face, especially her striking green eyes which seemed all the more piercing in the red gloom, made her feel that she needed to elaborate. "Well, before I could feel just where the sword was, but now I can also feel where the sword has been, as well."
"That's good," commented Miss Mystery, "And is there anywhere the sword has not been?"
Judy considered the question, and wondered if it even made sense. She then concentrated on the feelings in her neck, to determine if there were any gaps in the 'sword has been here' feeling. She decided that the sword had cut through ever part of her neck and told Miss Mystery so.
"Ok, my dear, it is time to remove the sword; just pull it out smoothly, without twisting it!"
Mike gently grasped the sword handle and pulled as straight along the line of the blade as he could. Judy felt the sword move and could follow the path of the tip of the sword by the way the 'sword is here' feeling changed into a 'sword was here' sensation.
While Mike pulled on the sword, Miss Mystery rose and pushed the rope ring towards Mike. As the sword tip was pulled from the sword guide and Mike allowed the end to drop until it rested on the carpeted floor, Miss Mystery placed a hand either side of Judy's head and lifted it from the rest of her body and clear of the sword guide. Carefully he turned Judy's head over and placed it, so that it rested in the rope ring with the stump of her neck uppermost.
Mike just stared while as Judy's head was lifted her jaw dropped open, only to drop shut again when her head was inverted.
"Don't try to talk, My Child! I don't think you'll find it possible, but better to not try, in case doing so makes things not work quite as well as they might," Miss Mystery advised the disembodied and upside-down head. Turning towards Mike, who was as slack-jawed as his girlfriend, she said, "Now for, possibly, your most important task for the evening; I want you to cover the stumps in the cling-wrap; looking at the brand you bought, I think three layers, applied one at a time, will be enough."
Mike looked from the magician, to the stump of Judy's neck that rose an inch or so above her shoulders, the inverted head standing on the table, to the recently broached roll by his hand and back to the magician. "But ... won't that interfere with Judy's breathing?" he queried.
"I commend you on thinking this through that far (you are thoughtful) and your awareness of the potential dangers, but if breathing was a problem, do you think I would have removed Judy's head or asked you to apply the cling film?" While she said this, she returned to her seat.
Mike picked up the box of cling-wrap and initially failed to pull off and cut free a sheet. His next attempt produced a useable sheet which he held carefully to prevent it from sticking to itself while he stood up and lowered it over the stump between Judy's shoulders.
While he did this Miss Mystery removed the sword from the table and put it behind her chair.
"Is this right?" asked Mike. Having had the presence of potential danger implied to him, he wanted to be sure that he was getting it right.
"You will need to get rid of the air bubble, but other than that you're good. Then you'll need to apply the rest of the sheets with equal care. You'll be glad to hear that the air bubble is not dangerous, but would have been a little uncomfortable for Judy this evening, that's all."
Judy had felt the plastic film settle on the open surface of her neck and as Mike stroked the wrap to chase the bubble from between the cut surface and the plastic, it felt like a massage in a place that cannot be massaged. Soon the second and third sheets had been smoothed in place on her body's neck stump. Mike retook his seat and reached forward to position Judy's head so that applying the sheets of film the other side of her neck stump was easier.
When Mike and Judy returned their attention to Miss Mystery to find out what she was going to do next, or perhaps have them do. She sat behind a small bottle of olive oil and a roll of kitchen tissue.
"Your next job is to put a little of this oil on the neck on Judy's body, but try to avoid putting too much on, because I feel sure Judy will be upset if it runs down her neck and makes a stain or even a moist patch on her dress. Then you'll want to wipe your fingers clean with the kitchen roll; I feel sure you don't want to get your suit messy either."
Mike stood back up and accepted the oil as the magician pushed across the table. He opened the bottle and dripped a few drops onto a finger and then gently, so as not to disturb the film, he spread the oil across the surface. "Is that enough?"
"It should be, it's only to stop the two lots of cling-wrap from sticking when you put them together. So move the collar within easy reach and then pick up Judy's head and put it back in place, then put the collar back round Judy's neck so that she doesn't run the risk of her head falling off by accident."
Both Mike and Judy realised the implications of this statement. They both thought of the fun they could have with Judy having a detachable head, but also went on to wonder, if Miss Mystery was not going to be available, how was Judy going to get her head re-attached when she needed to.
Cautiously, Mike picked up Judy's head and turned it right-side-up before approaching his headless girlfriend from behind and placing his burden on the flat surface of the stump. He leaned sideways to pick up the collar and in that moment Judy felt a little unstable and raised her hands to make sure that her head did not topple from her shoulders.
Fitting the collar was quicker that it had been first time, despite Judy's arms being partially in the way. Once the collar was buckled into place, Judy experimentally released her hold on her head and tried moving and was pleasantly pleased that it did not seemed too different from normal, but not quite the same.
"That's it, you two. Go have a lovely evening at the restaurant! And enjoy each other's company! I just want to say one more thing; I don't want to hear of you pulling pranks like frightening people at the restaurant, or anywhere else, by making it obvious that your head and body aren't properly connected. If that happens, there is a very good chance that neither you, nor anyone else, will meet Miss Mystery again. I'm not saying don't have fun, but be inconspicuous about it. Judy, if you don't mind I need a word with Mike about the proper care of a headless person and how to fix your head back on; you could probably work it out from what happened when we first met, but he will need instructions."
Judy stood up cautiously and felt her head wobble a little, but the presence of the leather collar assured her that that was the worst she would feel, at least until the collar came off. The slight unsteadiness induced by her detached head compounded with her unaccustomed high heels forcing her to walk with an exaggerated straightness to her posture, but after the first few steps, it felt almost natural. As she left the dimly lit living room where she had been decapitated she wished the magician well with her other commitment. Judy sat on the chair in the hallway to wait for Mike to be coached on how to keep her safe and, perhaps, more importantly how to re-attach her head.
The instruction did not take long and a few minutes later they were in the car on their way to the restaurant.
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At the restaurant they were seated in a corner table, lit more by the two candles on the table than the generally low ambient light; it made for a romantic atmosphere and they also felt they could experiment with what they could do with Judy's new beheadedness. During the meal Judy did not find the six layers of cling-film in her neck did anything to inhibit her abilities to breathe or eat. They also tried removing the head, turning it backwards and even having Mike hold the head and feed it some morsels from his plate; none of which seemed to be problematic or be noticed by anyone in the restaurant.
After the meal, which they both enjoyed for the quality of the meal and the distraction of having Judy's head to play with, Mike drove Judy back to her flat. The couple shared some coffee and some of a box of chocolates that Mike had bought as a back-up birthday present, in case, Miss Mystery had not been there or the restaurant had not lived up to expectation.
During this phase of the evening Judy stood her head on the coffee table, creating an olive oil smear, and tried moving her body around headless. She found that it could be done, once she had remove the higher than usual heels, but she did not feel steady and asked Mike to be with her in case she started to fall over. She even tried moving out of sight of her head, which seemed possible, but meant she could not see to maintain her already uncertain balance and was effectively blind. When she stubbed her toe on a kitchen chair, she had Mike guide her body back and she put her head back in its accustomed place.
Shortly before midnight, Mike said it was close to his bed-time and asked if Judy wanted him to put her head back on now and if she would like to stay for the night.
Judy asked if she could be left headless until the morning and suggested that Mike come back in the morning to fix her head and take her to work. Mike told her that leaving her head detached until the morning would not be a problem, but seemed less keen to leave Judy alone in her magically altered state. It took Judy's assurance that she would immediately go to bed and wear the collar all night to persuade him that she would be safe enough until morning; she even pressed a copy of the door key into his hand, so that if she was still asleep or in trouble when he returned in the morning, he could let himself in.
Judy was relieved to have an excuse to give Mike the door key and wondered how long it would be before he returned the favour.
Once Mike was gone, she wiped the olive oil smear from the coffee table and took several sheets of kitchen tissue with her into to the bedroom. She placed a set of three or four sheets on the dressing table and placed her head on the sheets, then turned it so she could see the rest of the room. She indulged herself by doing a striptease from her clothes, except the collar and then took out a nightdress and put on the bed, before getting onto the bed naked with her head. She spend some time exploring her own body, but soon feel into a deep sleep that included more than the usual proportion of dreams involving magic and sexiness.
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In the morning, Judy was woken by someone coming in through the door to her flat and, possibly more worryingly, face-to-face with a pair of breasts. It took a few minutes to recall the events of previous evening and regain her feeling for where she was relative to the rest of her body; it helped that Mike was calling that it was him.
Judy called that she would be out in a minute. She stood her body up and lifted her head and placed her neck stump into the collar, then dressed in the nightgown she had put out. She found Mike in the living room and greeted him by standing next to him and then lifting her head from her collar and lowering it to kiss him. He seemed surprised, but happy.
"What's the plan?" he asked.
"I thought that it could go like this; you fix my head back in place and then you make us breakfast while go through my morning routine, then after breakfast, you take me to work. How does that sound?"
He had her sit down and then placed her head upside-down in her lap so that she could hold it steady. He then pulled the collar from the lower stump of her neck and, as expected, the film came away with the collar. Judy expressed some worry that this was a bad thing, but Mike told her that it was ok, as he would have had to peel it off if it had not come away. Next he peeled the film from the bottom of Judy's head. He lifted the head from his girlfriend's lap and kissed it on the stump, before placing it on the other stump and guiding Judy's left hand to hold it in place. Judy could still feel the separation between head and body until Mike took her right hand and gently kissed the back of it. At that point the differentiation between what was head and what was body disappeared and Judy was whole again.