Leading the Way

by Constance Masters

  “Me, too,” Avvy said.

  “Can I have your cherry?” Jordan asked.

  “Sure,” Avvy agreed, their early difference forgotten.

  “I have some news,” Erin said as she swallowed her first mouthful of creamy sweet goodness. All eyes were on her, she never had any news, a fact that dawned on her. Perhaps it was time she started living again. She was only twenty-nine years old. She should have a life that was bursting with news. “Next week, some folks are coming to dinner at our house.”

  “Like a party?” Avvy asked excitedly. “Can my friends come?”

  “Honey, it’s more like an adult party.”

  “Well who will be coming?” Jordan asked.

  “Neighbors. I’m not sure exactly who just yet but I just wanted to tell you my exciting news.”

  Zach smiled and took her hand. “Your news is great.”

  “What do adults do at a party anyway besides eat?” Jordan asked.

  “They talk,” Erin said.

  Avery turned and grinned at her sister. “So talking isn’t boring?”

  “Depends what you’re talking about,” Jordan said, poking out her tongue for good measure.

  “And that’s our cue to go,” Zach said, raising his hand for the check.

  “Thank you, Miss Burnie,” Jordan said as the hostess saw them out.

  “Thank you, Miss Burnie,” Avvy added. “Can I take my umbrella?”

  “Sure you can, honey,” Burnie said with a smile. She handed each of the girls a lollipop. “Hope you come back and see us real soon.”

  “We will, for sure,” Erin said. “Thanks.”

  “Thank you, Bernie,” Zach said with a nod and the family left.

  ***

  “I hear you went out for dinner last night,” Diana said happily when she met with Erin the next day to talk about the dinner party.

  “Uh-huh. It was nice to have a family night out. It was a reward of sorts for me, you know, calling you.” Her face flushed a little pink.

  “I see.” She grinned. “Zach worried that you wouldn’t, but it isn’t easy for the head of house sometimes. He’d already spanked you once and he was hoping to avoid another punishment so soon.”

  “He told you he punished me?” Erin’s face had gone from slightly pink to red-hot within minutes. She felt like she was having a hot flash.

  “He confided in us. Nothing he, or you for that matter, tells us will go past us, unless you want it that way. We’re here to help.”

  “Okay, if you say so. It just seems like it’s private that’s all.”

  “It is private, just between the four of us.” She smiled. “And maybe Brent if we were worried about something.”

  “Oh my goodness.”

  “He’s the head of this place. Erin, you don’t need to feel embarrassed here about anything. That’s why you moved here. That’s why everyone moved here.”

  “I know. I’m trying to get my head around that. I never thought I was a prude, you know? I mean, I’m not but when I hear bottoms being spanked in the middle of the afternoon when I go for a walk to fetch my kids from the park or when I see someone get swatted in public, it makes me feel funny like I’m a voyeur or something.”

  “There’s a little voyeur in all of us, Erin, I think, but I wouldn’t worry too much about people getting spanked. It’s what we do. These houses are soundproofed so if they didn’t want you to hear, you wouldn’t. Maybe it’s their thing. Either it turns them on or maybe a little humiliation is part of their punishment.”

  “I’ve never thought about it that way.”

  “See, that’s why it’s good to talk about things with your mentor, because they can help you look at things the way they are and not worry about what they might be.”

  “That’s true.”

  “So I bet going out to dinner wasn’t the only reward you got?” Diana said with a grin.

  “Diana!”

  “Well, just saying, I know how Rick rewards me when I’m good.”

  “Do people here have no inhibitions?”

  “Not so you’d notice. Not about spanking anyway.”

  Erin smiled. She was starting to like this woman. Her light way of looking at things made her feel lighter, like she wasn’t carrying such a load.

  “We really should get on with these preparations. Here’s a list of people I think would be perfect.”

  Erin took the list and skimmed through it. A couple of the names seemed familiar, although she wasn’t friends with any of them. If Diana thought these were the best candidates she was happy to go along with that. There were five couples, so with Diana and Rick, herself and Zach, that was dinner for fourteen and the girls would be there, too. Sixteen. Holy shit. She couldn’t remember ever cooking for that many people.

  “I think you’ll know some of them or at least know of them,” Diana went on, pointing to people on the list. “Jen is a stay at home Mom like you, she’s thirty and Brock her husband, is a firefighter. Works in the next town, he’s thirty-two and the head of their house.”

  “I’ve seen her around at school, I haven’t really had a lot to do with her. Her boy looks about a year younger than Jordan and her daughter is older than Avery.” Erin pointed to a name on the list. “I know that Carol has a little girl in Avery’s class, though.”

  “That’s right, Brianna, that’s one of the reasons I chose Carol. That and she’s nice. Very laid back. She’s about your age, her partner Crystal is a little older. She’s thirty-four and the head of their house. They’re friends with Jen and Brock, Crystal is also a firefighter.”

  “They’re gay?” Erin hadn’t realized. She had just assumed that Carol had a husband somewhere.

  “Yes, that doesn’t bother you, does it?”

  “No, of course not!” She hadn’t meant it to come out like that.

  “Good. Because there’s another gay couple as well. Jonathon and Benjamin. Jonathon is...”

  “Brent’s secretary. He’s lovely. I don’t know him, know him but I’ve spoken to him whenever we’ve needed Brent. I don’t think I’ve ever met his partner though.”

  “He’s military, away a lot. Unless Benjamin gets home before then I think Jonathon might have to come alone. We try to include him when Ben is away, he needs to get out and he’s fun.”

  “Good choice,” Erin said with a smile. She was liking the idea of this more and more.

  “Brent’s not on the list.”

  “No, unfortunately he and Char are away that weekend.”

  “Oh, okay. Who’s next?”

  “Bethany and Kirk.” Bethany is a twenty-eight year old high school teacher and Kirk is in his early thirties. He’s a lawyer. They live together and live the lifestyle.

  “No children?”

  “Not yet,” Diana said. “The final couple is Brittany and Trevor. Another couple that live together and have a head of house.”

  “That would be Trevor?”

  “Uh-huh. He’s thirty-one and a physical therapist. Brittany is thirty-four. She’s a personal therapist. That’s about it. Any questions?”

  “What the heck do I feed all these people?”

  “Oh, honey, don’t panic about the food. Why don’t we change our original idea of a grill and do a pot luck dinner?”

  “Won’t people be insulted that I asked them to dinner and asked them to bring their own food?”

  “Would you be?”

  “No.” When Erin thought about it, she realized it made sense to do it that way and she’d be only too pleased to take a dish to someone’s house. “Ok then, let’s do that.”

  “All we have to do is invite people,” Diana said with a beaming smile.

  “My girls will be here, until bedtime, of course.”

  “Of course. I’m sure everyone will love them.”

  Chapter 4

  Zach sipped his morning coffee and gave the paper a shake to remove the wrinkles. He could hear his wife’s heavy breathing from the other side of the kitchen counter and
he could tell she was none too pleased with whatever had just come out of the oven. He waited and as he expected, the next sound was clang after clang as various cooking implements were tossed into the sink.

  “I can’t cook anymore. That’s all. I’ve tried. No recipe comes out looking like they do in the picture.”

  “The photos of the food in those recipes are probably fake or been airbrushed.”

  “Or maybe I’m just not a very good cook!” Erin said as she threw the dessert into the trash and then the offending cake pan into the sink.

  Zach looked over the top of his paper. “Stop that.”

  “Stop what?” Erin said, not quite managing to keep the edge from her voice.

  “Throwing things for a start, but you can also lose the attitude. Do you want your children to think it’s okay to behave like that when something doesn’t go your way?”

  “You know I don’t.”

  Zach could see Avvy coming down the hallway with her backpack. “They’re coming, now take a breath. Do you remember the warning you got last night? That’s another.”

  Erin slapped the lunch sacks on the counter and dropped in two sandwiches that she’d made earlier, two juice boxes and two apples. “Which cereal would you like Avvy?” she asked.

  “Cereal again?” Avvy pouted. “We had to have cereal every day this week. Couldn’t I have pancakes or waffles?”

  “Not this morning,” Zach said, pushing a bowl towards his daughter. “Eat some cereal and I’ll make some toast.”

  “I can make toast,” Erin said, her pout rivaling Avvy’s. “I’m not totally useless.”

  Zach gave his wife a pointed look. “Second one. You’re not useless at all.”

  “I love your cooking, Mom,” Jordan said, coming into the kitchen to give her Mom a hug. “Eww. What’s that mess?” she said, staring into the still open trash can.

  “Another one of Mommy’s cooking failures,” Erin said with a sob.

  “It looked better before it was in there Jordie,” Zach said. “Sit down and eat your cereal.”

  “Again?” she whined.

  “Do I have to tell you both about the starving children again?” Zach asked in his best teacher voice.

  “No,” Jordan answered with a sigh. She sat in her seat and poured some cereal in her bowl with little enthusiasm.

  “I’m already eating,” Avery said around a mouthful of Cheerios.

  Zach got up to start the toast. He leaned in and kissed his wife’s cheek. “That’ll be three my love,” he whispered in her ear.

  She opened her mouth but closed it again. “I’ll do the toast,” she said with a smile at her children. “I’m putting a cup cake in each of your lunches but you have to eat your apple first.”

  “How will you know if we don’t eat our apple first?” Jordan asked.

  “I have eyes in the back of my head.”

  “No you don’t,” Jordan said with a giggle.

  “Maybe,” Erin said, placing a jar of jelly on the table. “But if you decide to risk it you might find yourself with no treats in your lunch next time.”

  “Hmm. Apples taste worser after cup cakes anyways,” Jordan said.

  “I’m done, Mommy, I need you to do my braids please.”

  “You don’t want any toast?”

  “No thank you,” Avvy said. “The cereal was ok.”

  “Come on then, let’s do your hair. You come in when you’re done with your breakfast, Jord, I’ll do yours too.”

  “Okay,” Jordan said. “Why’s Mom throwin’ all the food away all the time?”

  “Mom’s nervous, she wants to make perfect food for the party,” Zach explained.

  “But Mom cooks great.”

  “Yes she does,” Zach said. That was it; he had to talk her into cooking something she already knew how to make before she’d become obsessed with this party. He didn’t mind what she cooked, but he hadn’t seen her this stressed for a long time, and he needed to help her with that. She always listened better with a warm bottom.

  While he waited for the girls to get their hair done, Zach cleared up the breakfast things and stacked the dishwasher. When they appeared, they had fresh faces and neat hair. They were all ready for the day to begin. “Go wait in the car for me girls,” Zach said.

  “Can I open the car please?” Avvy asked, pleading with her hands together as if in prayer.

  “No fair, it’s my turn. You opened the car yesterday,” Jordan whined.

  “So what? I called it.”

  “You can’t call opening the car door! It doesn’t count. Daddy should decide.”

  “I am deciding,” Zach said sternly. He walked out to the garage and clicked the lock. “Done,” he said, coming back inside.

  “See what you did. You made him mad.”

  “I’m not mad, but go buckle up and I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Wanna kiss me good-bye?” Erin asked with a wince.

  “Always,” Zach said kissing his wife. “But I also wanted to tell you something before I left.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  “Uh-huh. Someone needs some stress relief.”

  “You?” Erin asked hopefully.

  “No.” Zach slapped Erin’s behind. “But this is a little more than that. Three warnings, Erin. You know you’re getting spanked and yet you’ve still got attitude, and in front of the kids. I’ll come home at lunch, make sure you’re where you should be.”

  “But I have to go and get some more supplies.”

  “That can wait. The party isn’t for two days.”

  “But I haven’t had time to even get something right enough to choose what I want to cook.”

  “That is totally your decision, but I suggest that you make something that you know. Something we love.” He frowned. “Some of this food you’re throwing away has expensive ingredients in it. You can’t just keep tossing it away like it’s nothing. It’s not right.”

  “I really don’t have time for the starving children lecture and none of what I make is special enough for strangers.”

  Oh but she was overdue for a damn good spanking. “That’s just silly. It’s dinner with friends.”

  “They’ll be judging me.”

  “No they won’t. It’s a pot luck. Their food may not be up to scratch. Will you be judging them?”

  “No,” she had to say.

  Zach kissed his wife again and headed for the door. “Remember. Be in place with your butt bared.”

  ***

  The house was eerily quiet when the door clicked shut after Zach. She’d done it again. Why? Why did she let herself get so worked up? This morning had been mild compared to the tantrum she’d thrown the night before when testing the stupid fish for dinner…

  “Hi, honey.”

  Zach wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. “Hi.” She kissed him back.

  “Mom, can we go to the park?”

  “Do you have homework?”

  “Just a little,” Jordan said. “It’ll only take me but ten minutes.”

  “Well good, then it won’t hold you up too much to get it out of the way now.”

  “Geez.”

  Erin watched Jordan slope up the hallway to her room dragging her back pack behind her. “Don’t rush it., Dad’ll check it before bed.”

  “How did I end up with a teacher for a Dad?” She heard her mutter.

  “Can I go to the park if I do my homework?”Avvy asked.

  “You sure can,” Erin said.

  “So what are you making?” Zach asked. “This looks exotic.”

  “I hope it is. Obviously, that is a large trout that I am serving with,” she looked at the recipe book propped up on the counter, “brown butter and coriander sauce.”

  “Fancy.”

  “I know, but look at the picture, honey. Don’t you think it will look impressive in the middle of all the other dishes?. I mean I know this is a pot luck and I’m sure that everyone’s dishes will be wonderful, but this is our home and w
e’re the hosts and I want what I make to be special.”

  “You want people to go home and say, ‘did you see that fish’, I get it.”

  “I also want them to say did you taste that fish?”

  “Oh, of course.”

  “And the reason you’re trying to sell this to me?”

  “The fish wasn’t cheap,” she said with a wince, “and this is just a tester. I need another one for Friday night.”

  Zach kissed her forehead. “We can afford a couple of fish,” he said. “I’m just happy to see you so enthusiastic.”

  “Thank you, thank you. Now go and watch TV or something while I sear my fish’s skin.”

  “Yes Ma’am.”

  Erin flipped his butt with a kitchen towel.

  “Oy!” he said with a grin. “If you want to play with your fish you don’t want to go there.”

  “Spoil sport.” Erin giggled.

  The girls ran through in their play clothes which for Jordan were a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that had seen better days and for Avery was a dress. Her hair was still the way it was when she got home from school. Neatly tied up in braids. She didn’t like it when her Mom had to tug out knots. Jordan’s hair was out and untangled from her braids, but not brushed or anything. That was her. Erin wished she could be that carefree.

  “Bye girls. Have fun.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “An hour and a half,” Erin said, and they were gone.

  Although she did have some issues fitting it in the pan, the trout was finally laying there, looking spectacular on the shiny foil. The skin was beautifully brown and crispy. The colors Erin used for the garnishes were the perfect contrast. Inside the fish, various herbs and different colors of cherry tomatoes spilled out showing off their vibrant colors. Along its back were thin slices of lemon. The last stage before making the sauce was to wrap the fish and bake it in the oven. Erin wrapped that fish with as much care as she would have taken with a new-born baby. She had never been more proud of anything she had ever cooked.

  Enticing aromas filled the house. Erin dropped the butter into a pan and stood there stirring it as it melted .There was still a large glob in the middle of the pan when Jordan burst through the door with tears running down her face.