I took a long sip and steadied myself, this was going to be difficult. For once in my life I was going to have to read the instructions fully and actually carry them out to the letter. “So first unlace the back laces”. From the back of the corset two long loops of laces hung down disappearing into the length of the back of the corset. I pulled the lace back through the first hole it went in and suddenly realised the back would open if all the lace hanging down was distributed along the back evenly. OK it took some time but I got there in the end. Carefully I pulled the laces evenly along the back two rows of eyelet's until a gap of about four inches appeared. Ha Ha. The missing three inches when I tried to put it on earlier have magically appeared, but it took forever. I grabbed at my cup and realised I had been so engrossed in the delivery that my tea was now stone cold. Referring back to the instructions I was horrified to see I had completed the tasks down to line five of the A4 sheet. Still, at least I had at last reached the “place the corset around your waist” Well my tea was cold now so I put the kettle on again and returned to the table. In it’s unlaced state the corset had become more fluid and seemed to have a life of its own.
I picked it up, steadied myself and placed it around my waist again. A little pull there, an adjustment here and I was ready to fasten the clasps. I followed the instructions and joined the top clasp first then I pulled the bottom of the front together and clipped the last of the fastening, six in all, together. Well I was in! It felt really snug. I could see the attraction straight away. I looked in the mirror and realised the top of my head was missing. Strange! Why has the mirror dropped its level on the wall? I thought, then it stuck me. I was standing much straighter than normal and was a fraction taller. Intriguing.
I reached around the back and found the two short loops of the laces that had been so long on arrival and pulled. My waist nipped in the middle just a little as approximately a foot of lace pulled out in my hands.
It was very awkward to tighten the laces on my own and I remembered all the films I had watched with ladies maids. This must have been a full time job for someone. As I pulled, more and more of the lace fell to the floor and I started to become a little breathless with the effort. As I rested I could hear a dull thump as if someone was walking up the path to my cottage. I looked out of the window into the mist but could see no body in sight. As I listened for more footsteps I suddenly realised the thud was my heart beat throbbing in my ears. Feeling slightly foolish I returned to the mirror, turning around I saw there was still quite a gap at the back of the corset and began once again to pull the laces. I still glanced out of the window and felt faintly vulnerable and yet empowered all at the same time. The fog outside reminded me of the horror faced by women around the alleys of Whitehall during the terror of Jack the Ripper. I held on to the table trying to catch my breath as I imagined running for my life from a merciless killer. Skirts and petticoats weighing me down and the grip of the whale boning on my ribs. The corset was having a strange effect and I began to understand the emotions these garments stirred in people. Leaving an inch gap between the sides of the back I tied off the laces as per instructions and inspected my hard work in the mirror. I remembered the words Willow uttered in the Buffy series when she impersonated her darker personality by wearing a corset. “Snug very Snug” she gasped. I had the same feeling looking upon the new silhouette I had achieved.
My self admiration was disturbed when the radio quietly playing in the background suddenly became quiet. The silence sucked at the atmosphere like a vacuum. The pounding in my ears became unbearable. I looked around the room. The mist from outside had created a menacing gloom. My friendly poltergeist had a habit of turning off the kettle, maybe he had moved on to another electrical appliance. A power cut perhaps? The lights were still on and I walked across the room to look out of the front window. Across the road there was a hive of activity. The stables filled with the clack of horses hooves slipping on damp cobbles. The horses set out in their tack and livery tugged at their bits as the stable lads backed them into the Hackney carriages. The drivers sat up high on their seats supervising the operation, whip and reins in hand. The horses hooves, the shouts of the drivers and the scurry of the lads was a scene to behold.
I stepped back away from the window and rubbed my eyes. Earl Grey did not normally have this effect on me. I felt slightly dizzy as my blood pressure took a while to adjust to the tightness around my waist and chest. The radio sprung back to life as I returned to peer out of the window. The derelict stables once used to train the London Hackney Carriage Horses looked close to collapse. As the sun broke through the mist each tile on the roof appeared in danger of joining so many others on the dusty floor of the building. Only the dated stone seemed to boast of the buildings proud past, the numbers 1880 chiselled into the pale grey block above a rickety looking doorway. I returned to the mirror for one last look. That one inch gap could be closed with a little more effort. My thundering heart beat called for escape so I would leave it for another less foggy day. After reading the instructions on how to take off the corset I carefully folded it back into the tissue wrapping and placed it into the back of my wardrobe. Halloween this year was going to be better than ever.
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