The Easter Egg Hunt

by Joannie Kay

  They went upstairs and Noah supervised the hanging of the written paper, making sure it was where she would see it each and every time she entered her closet. He sent her then to prepare for bed and Megan dawdled as much as possible without testing his patience. She took the time to look in the mirror at her flaming red bottom and felt sorry for herself. She would not feel like sitting at her desk the next day, and the thought of calling off was very tempting.

  “Megan, what is taking so long?” She heard Noah’s voice through the closed door.

  “I’m coming,” she announced, and then smoothed down her nightgown before going into the bedroom to find Noah seated on her side of the bed, making it absolutely clear he intended to spank her.

  Chapter Two

  “Not one word of argument, Meggie.” Noah held up his hand to stop her from speaking. “If you fuss at me, you’ll fetch your hairbrush and this will turn into a punishment instead of a reminder. Come here right now, and no more stalling. You need to take your pill.”

  Megan didn’t argue. She picked up the pill and drank the water to help her swallow it. She took a few more sips, but when Noah raised his eyebrow meaningfully, she managed to empty the glass, reminding herself that the water would help her feel better much faster.

  “Pull up your gown and put your butt right here, Megan.” Noah patted his left thigh.

  She knew he was trying to make it easier on her by permitting her to rest her upper body on the bed, and despite everything she felt grateful for that consideration. Noah was a great believer of putting her in positions that were difficult to maintain and not ending a spanking until she conquered her squirming and futile attempts to avoid the spanking. The fact he was doing it this way was a concession to the fact her head was pounding and he knew it.

  Once Megan was settled, Noah asked, “Why are you being spanked, Meggie?”

  She hated it when he made her talk! Megan had to fight down the urge to snap at him, and instead, she answered civilly, “Because you want to reheat my bottom to remind me why I am being sent to bed early, and why you punished me.”

  Noah almost smiled. He could tell her headache was bad by her reply, but he let it go. She was incapable of doing better at the moment. Her butt was already flaming red and the welts looked angry. Noah wasn’t going to spank hard or long; it wouldn’t be necessary, and in truth, Meggie was crying after the first three spanks. He gave her fifty, while reminding her he loved her very much and he expected her to take care of herself. She promised she would, and he knew she very much meant it… until it happened the next time.

  Megan didn’t lie awake long. The pill kicked in soon, and she went to sleep. In the morning, her headache was faint, but she was shaky from the migraine. Her bottom was extremely sore, and she decided she was going to call off.

  Noah came out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist. “Who are you calling?” he asked, pretty sure he knew what she was up to, and it wasn’t going to work.

  “I don’t feel good, Noah. I’m going to call in sick.”

  “No you’re not.” He took the telephone from her and put it back on the charger. “You aren’t sick; you are sore. A spanked butt is not a reason to call off.”

  “You aren’t the one who has to sit all day, and I still have a headache,” she complained.

  “Whose fault is that?” he asked mildly.

  “It’s my fault, but I don’t feel like working,” she stated.

  “Too bad. It’s not fair to put all your work on other people because you ate a bag of chocolates and earned yourself a spanking. Go take a shower, Meg, and get dressed. You are going to work today.” Noah didn’t wait to see if she obeyed him; he went downstairs and started breakfast. He was always hungry in the morning, and Meg would feel better after she ate something.

  Megan felt like smacking Noah. He was determined to see her suffer as much as possible because she ate chocolate. Her stomach was very upset and she felt weak. She didn’t feel like taking a shower, much less getting dressed and driving herself to work. She wasn’t up to it. Not at all. But if she disobeyed Noah, he would punish her again, and she wasn’t up for that, either. Megan made it to the bathroom and turned on the shower. The needles of water made her sensitive bottom and thighs sting even more and she cried. She needed to go back to bed. By the end of her shower she was feeling even worse and her head was pounding mercilessly.

  When Noah came to find her he was shocked to find her on the floor in front of the toilet, crying as she was sick. He suddenly realized she really was too sick to go in to work and he felt bad for insisting. “Is your migraine back?” he asked as he got her some water to rinse her mouth. She nodded. “I’ll get you another pill, honey.” He had her swallow the pill with more water and then used a towel to dry off her body, taking care to be gentle when he saw how bruised and sore her bottom looked. Her hair was still dripping wet, too, and he gently dried it. “Let me get you back in bed.” He carefully picked her up and carried her to their bed. “Don’t worry about work. I’ll call and tell them you have a bad migraine and won’t be in. Just go to sleep, Meggie.”

  She didn’t argue, and Noah closed the drapes to make the room as dark as possible before leaving her there to sleep and try to get past the headache. No more chocolate! she vowed once again.

  Noah called Meggie’s boss on her cell phone and briefly explained that Megan wouldn’t be in that day, and then he called his assistant and told her to cancel and reschedule his appointments. He would never leave Megan alone and helpless, and those pills were so strong he knew she wouldn’t wake up until at least noon. He could probably call their daughter to come over, but she would have to bring the three little ones, and Meggie didn’t need that right now. He ate his breakfast, and then put away the clean dishes from the dishwasher before adding the dirty dishes. Noah then went to his office and got busy. He could probably get more work done at home than he could if he went into work. Every so often he went upstairs and checked on Megan.

  Megan finally woke up, and realized her head was much better. She still had that ‘after’ feeling from the migraine, but she knew she could eat something. She got out of bed, and went into the bathroom. She got a glimpse of her hair in the mirror and had to smile. It looked exactly like she’d shampooed it and went to bed with it wet. She gently ran a brush through her hair, and while it didn’t look great, it was at least passable enough she could stay home. She pulled on some sweats and slippers and slowly made her way down to the kitchen, surprised to find the crock pot on the counter with something simmering away.

  “I thought I heard you come down, Meggie. How do you feel?” Noah asked.

  “Noah, I didn’t know you were here!” She moved toward him and he welcomed her with open arms. “Thank you for taking care of me this morning. I felt so ill,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I went nuts over the chocolate, and I’m going to try really hard to do better.”

  “I hope so. I hate to see you so ill.”

  “I know, and I have to tell you that I was even more awful than you think. I ate a chocolate bunny, too,” she confessed. “That’s why I got so sick. What makes me think that ‘this time I’ll be able to eat chocolate and get away with it’? I don’t blame you for being so upset with me, honey. I’m upset with me, too.” She snuggled in his arms.

  “This time of year is difficult for you, especially since you love Easter so much,” he stated. “I think perhaps you should get someone else at work to handle the Easter Egg Hunt.”

  “Nooooo! Oh, please, Noah, don’t insist I give that up! I love planning the Easter celebration for the children and the adults. I enjoy it more than Christmas and I would be devastated if you said I couldn’t do it any more.” Her blue eyes were full of tears and Noah felt himself weaken.

  “I’ll let you try it this year, Meggie, but if we have a repeat of this, then you won’t be permitted to organize the Easter Egg Hunt next year. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, Noah,” she demurred, and then asked, “Wha
t are you doing home, anyway?”

  “I wasn’t about to leave you here alone when you were so out of it,” he said quietly. “I am working at home today.”

  “What’s in the crock pot?” she asked. “I’m hungry!”

  “That’s a good sign,” he smiled. “Sit down and I’ll feed you,” he bossed.

  Megan was surprised and pleased to find the cushion returned to her chair. Most of the time Noah didn’t give it back for several days, but he was trying hard to be nice to her, and she was really going to try very hard to keep her promise to leave the chocolate completely alone.

  ********************

  Noah was pleased when the rest of February and the first two weeks of March passed without incident. He checked her daily blood sugar readings and praised her for doing so well. She’d gone shopping several times to get plastic eggs to paint, and she spent hours in the evening making the plastic eggs look very expensive.

  When he got home from work late during the first week of April and Megan wasn’t home yet, he was concerned. He called her cell phone and when she answered, he asked, “Where are you?”

  “Almost home, Noah. I’ve been shopping. Will you help me carry everything inside?”

  “Sure,” he answered. “Do you want me to call for a pizza for dinner?” he offered.

  “Nope, I have it covered,” she replied. “I’m turning on our street now; be there in two seconds.” She closed her cell phone and he hung up.

  Noah heard the garage door going up as he reached the door from the laundry room that went into the garage. Megan pulled in and pushed the button to open the trunk. Noah shook his head when he saw all of the stuff she purchased. “I take it you received your allowance today for the big Easter Egg Hunt?”

  “Yes, and I will probably have to make more trips,” she exclaimed. “I’ll be filling eggs and Easter Baskets from now until the day we have the party.”

  “The Saturday before Easter, right?”

  “Yes. Ralph Rider agreed to be the Easter Bunny and pass out baskets to the children, and I have some nice adult gifts, too” she said happily. “I’ve bought some nice things, Noah!” She was smiling excitedly.

  Noah helped her carry in all of her packages and she insisted they take them right up to her craft room. It took several trips each, and Noah went out to close the trunk and check to make sure everything was out of her car. That is when he spotted the empty candy wrapper for a Reese’s peanut butter egg! After all of her promises, and doing so well, Meggie touched chocolate again! While it was only one egg, and mostly peanut butter, the simple truth was that little bit of chocolate would make her crave more, and he’d already seen all the candy in the bags upstairs. He knew she had to fill the plastic eggs and the Easter baskets, but her attitude was already slipping and with that much candy in the house, it was only a matter of time before she made herself ill again. He wasn’t having it, and nipping it now was the answer. He’d warned her exactly what to expect, and she was going to have an extremely sore backside by Easter Sunday. She’d signed the agreement that was still hanging in her closet, and if he had to spank her daily until Easter was over, then he would do it.

  Megan picked that moment to come and see what was taking Noah so long, and she gasped when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to his workbench and bent her over and started spanking… hard. “Noah! What did I do?” she cried out, shocked. “Noah! Owwww!”

  “You know damn well what you did, Megan, and don’t you dare stand there and tell me you don’t!” He picked up a heavy five gallon paint stirrer that was lying on the bench and he pulled up her skirt and pushed her panties down to bare her butt.

  Megan cried out as the paint stirrer made contact with her delicate skin. It hurt! But what hurt most of all was not knowing what she did to incur his anger, and he was angry! No doubt about it! He wasn’t in a rage, but he was spanking her hard… for whatever reason! “Owwww! Please, Noah! Stop! I don’t know why you are spanking me!”

  “Stop it, Megan, or I swear I’ll take my belt off!”

  “I’m serious! Owwwwww! Stop! Talk to me!” She tried to get free of him. “I’m getting angry, Noah!” she said, and then burst into tears. “This is NOT fair!”

  Noah gave her a final hard crack with the paint stirrer before tossing it on the workbench. “You look inside the car and tell me what you see, young lady,” he ordered, jerking her over to her car and giving her bared rump a hard spank. “Well…?” he demanded. “Are you going to stand here and tell me you don’t know why you were spanked? And why you are getting a spanking every day between now and Easter?” His hand landed again and Megan squealed.

  “You jerk!” She whirled and pushed him away from her. “You farden jerk!” she borrowed a favorite word from one of her favorite futuristic romances. “That candy wrapper was Shirley’s! She offered to go shopping with me, and since I needed to buy so much it was nice to have help. She bought a candy egg, but I didn’t! I took her home after we finished shopping… and she left the wrapper in the car!”

  Noah felt like a jerk… no… he felt like a ‘farden’ jerk, whatever the hell that meant. Meg didn’t lie, and he knew it, and he was in some deep doo over this one. “I’m sorry, honey,” he apologized.

  “I’m really angry with you right now, Noah Martson!” she declared, reaching down to step out of her panties. She was hurting too much to pull them up. Megan marched into the house and went upstairs. She needed some time alone to calm her temper. Of course the first thing she saw when she opened her closet to walk inside was that damned agreement. She snatched it off the wall and tore it into tiny pieces and then tossed the pieces on the floor of Noah’s closet. He could take his agreement and shove it! she decided. She opened a drawer and took out a soft night gown to put on. Her backside couldn’t tolerate anything else…! And, damn it, she had an all day conference to attend the next day! How would she ever sit through that!

  “Meggie, you have every right to be angry,” Noah said as she came out of the bathroom. “Come here and let me put some aloe gel on your backside. I feel terrible.”

  “I already did it myself,” she said shortly.

  “Babe, please…!” He moved to stand in front of her and block her from leaving the room. “I am sorry. At least let me hold you and make it up to you somehow.”

  Megan shook her head ‘no’. “I’m too angry for that, Noah. You should have talked to me before you punished me. Please move; I’m hungry, and I have a lot of work to do tonight.”

  Noah followed her to the kitchen and watched as she reheated the Chinese take-out she brought home. She politely handed him his plate and then did one for herself, but instead of sitting with him at the table, she took her plate and practically ran from the room. Noah ate his food without tasting it and then cleaned up the leftovers. He knew that Meg wouldn’t want anything else to eat. She was very conscious of her portions and seldom ate too much… unless it was something sweet.

  Tempting fate, he went upstairs to her craft room. She glared at him when he entered. “What?” she demanded.

  Her dinner was still untouched. “You haven’t eaten, Meg. Do you want me to reheat your food?” he offered.

  “No. I’ll do it myself when I’m ready.”

  “Do you want some help filling the eggs?” he offered.

  “No. I prefer to do it myself. It’s my project and I don’t need to have you sitting in here watching me like an eagle to make sure I don’t touch the candy!”

  Noah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Megan, I know you are upset with me, and with good reason, but that was disrespectful. I was trying to be nice; I didn’t want to sit here to watch you. But, since you obviously want to stay angry for a while, I’ll go to the office and get some of my work done. If you need me, let me know. And, don’t plan on staying up late to work on this. You have plenty of time to finish before the Easter Egg Hunt.” He turned and left the room, but not until he picked up her plate. He reheated the food and took it
back upstairs and put it beside her. “Eat your dinner, Megan,” he said firmly and then left the room.

  Noah tried hard to concentrate on his work, but he felt like a jerk for punishing Megan when she was innocent of any wrongdoing. He finally gave up trying to work and shut down his computer. He went to the kitchen and fixed a snack to share with Megan and carried it up to her craft room on a tray. To his surprise, she had her head on her arms, sobbing.

  Chapter Three

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” Noah asked, sitting the tray down on the cluttered table and hurrying to pull her in his arms. “I am so sorry I upset you so much. I’ll kick my own butt if it will make you feel better,” he offered.

  “Noooo. I’m the one who is sorry, Noah. I didn’t have any right to get so angry with you. You never refuse to forgive me when I am terrible. And, the only reason you got so upset is because you love me. I would react the same way you did if the situation was reversed. I hate myself when I am so mean to you.”