Chapter Two

When they enter the shop a young man approaches. 

‘Can I help you, sir?’ he asks E. 

‘Yes,’ says E. ‘I need a tail for this little pup.’ 

She blushes bright red and stares down at the floor. She wishes she could run away. 

‘Very good, sir,’ the young man says, as if this is a perfectly usual request. ‘Did you have anything in particular in mind?’ 

‘What I’d like,’ E. says, ‘is something that will wag nicely when she wiggles her bottom.’ 

God, she thinks,this is even more excruciating than I feared. 

‘Step this way,’ says the young man. 

On a shelf are set out a variety of tails. Each is attached to a large plug; to her mind, a very large plug.I’d never be able to take anything like that, she thinks. 

‘There’s this one,’ says the young man, picking up a tail rather like that kind a Playboy bunny might wear, a white, stubby, fluffy thing. 

E. looks dubious.

‘Or there’s this one,’ the assistant says. 

It’s longer but furry. 

‘That looks more like a tail for a kitten,’ says E. ‘But she’s definitely a little puppy dog.’ 

‘Yes,’ says the young man. ‘I can see that.’ 

She doesn’t know how he could possibly see anything of the kind. She’s doing nothing but stare down at the ground, paralysed with embarrassment. 

‘There’s this,’ he says. It’s smooth, not fluffy, but curly. 

‘That looks more like a tail for a piglet,’ E. says. ‘But she doesn’t go hoink, hoink, she goes woof, woof.’ 

Oh please, please god, don’t let him make me bark, she says under her breath. 

‘Then it’s got to be this one,’ the assistant says finally. It’s a smooth, straight tail about nine inches long, with a very thick plug at the end, all wrapped in cellophane. 

‘That looks like the one,’ says E. ‘Can we try it?’ 

‘I can’t let you insert it, for reasons of hygiene,’ the young man says. 

‘No, I understand,’ says E. ‘But if you could take it out of the wrapper I can see what the effect would be.’ 

‘Very well,’ the young man says. He unwraps the tail and hands it to E. 

‘Pull your jeans down,’ E. says to her. 

She blushes once more. ‘What?’ 

‘I said, pull your jeans down, as far as your knees, and your knickers too.’ 

The young man is staring at her. Obviously, he has no intention of missing the demonstration. The look in E.’s eye is a familiar one. Despite her shame, she knows it would be a big mistake to refuse his order, especially in front of another man. Not looking at either of them, she unzips her jeans, unbuckles her belt and pulls jeans and knickers down in a single movement. She knows the young man is staring at her groin. 

‘Now down on all fours, like a good little pup,’ E. says. 

She gets down on the floor. E. pushes the tail against her bottom. ‘Hold in there with one hand, then crawl around the room,’ says E. 

Suddenly she sees that two more men have appeared, browsing customers attracted by what they hear. She can’t believe she’s going to do this, in front of all these spectators. She holds the plug of the tail between her buttocks and starts to slowly crawl across the floor. 

‘Stop,’ says E. ‘Now wiggle your bottom. Let’s see that tail wagging.’ 

She shakes her bottom quickly from side to side. She can feel the tail moving, nudging first against one buttock, then against the other. 

‘That’s good, don’t you think?’ E. says to the assistant. 

‘Excellent,’ the young man says. ‘You’ve got her well-trained.’ 

‘Crawl a bit more, then wag again,’ E. says. 

She does so, crawling in front of the two other customers, then stopping and wiggling her bottom. They break out into a polite round of applause. 

‘That tail will do fine,’ says E. ‘Just one question. Does the attached plug come in only one size?’ 

‘Yes, sir,’ says the assistant. ‘I’m afraid they are rather large because these tails are mostly worn by boy pups.’ 

‘I see,’ says E. ‘That’s fine. A good tight fit is just what she needs.’&