The Easter Egg Hunt

by Joannie Kay

  “You aren’t mean, Meggie. You were upset with me, and with just cause. Now, no more crying, okay? I brought us a snack.”

  “A peace offering?” She tried to joke, reaching for a cracker and a piece of cheese.

  “Just trying to take care of my girl,” he insisted, and then asked, “Is any of this stuff for the grandkids, Meggie?”

  “Your daughter said she didn’t want us overloading them with Easter candy,” Megan said with a pout.

  “Well that’s no fun.” He pouted along with her. “We’ll just have to get toys to fill their baskets.”

  “Right.” Megan nodded, but she didn’t look at him.

  “What are you up to, young lady?” he asked.

  “I’m not telling,” Megan said smugly. “If I can’t do any candy, then I’ll still make it an Easter to remember.”

  “You are up to something,” he said with a smile. “Is our daughter going to wish she hadn’t said anything about candy?” he wanted to know.

  “Of course she is!” Megan giggled and then said, “Could we go to bed now, honey. I am in need of comfort,” she said with a perfectly straight face.

  After nearly thirty years of marriage he knew exactly the kind of ‘comfort’ his wife was talking about. He was anxious to be forgiven, and he quickly took her hand and led her to their bedroom. The dirty dishes would still be there in the morning, and he wasn’t going to keep her waiting now. Making up sex was the greatest.

  ********************

  The roses that arrived at work the following day made her sore bottom much easier to sit upon. The card read, “Love you with all my heart, Noah,” and she immediately sent him an email thanking him for the beautiful flowers. He emailed back and offered to help her shop after work, and she agreed to meet him at the store. She would be able to finish the shopping with two cars to haul everything home.

  To her surprise, Noah was already there and waiting for her when she pulled into the parking lot and parked beside him. “Sorry I’m late, Noah. I had a problem that I had to deal with before I could leave.”

  “No problem.” He smiled. They each took a cart and he couldn’t believe all the things she starting putting in the cart, including real eggs to boil and dye! “How many people are you expecting at this party, Megan?” he asked. “You’ve got enough here to fill at least a hundred baskets!”

  “I’m only doing sixty-five this year, but they will be generous,” she said. Mr. Palmer gave me the same amount of money as last year and said to spend it. I am making the family baskets much nicer, and hiding more eggs for the children, and the luncheon will be plentiful.”

  Megan also put a few things for their grandchildren into the seat area of her bascart, and Noah was surprised at her restraint when it came to the candy she planned to put in their Easter baskets. She also picked out cute little dresses for the girls to wear on Easter and an appropriate little outfit for their three month old grandson. Noah was relieved when she was finally ready to check out. The cashier looked at them like they were crazy, but started the arduous job of ringing up each item. It was amazing how much Meggie could pack into two bascarts. She paid for the items for the Easter Egg Hunt out of her work money, which she kept separate, and smiled at Noah when he insisted on paying for the grandkids’ Easter gifts.

  It took them some time to unload the bags into their vehicles and Noah glanced at his watch and said, “Let’s go to Dawson’s and eat dinner, Meggie. I’m hungry and don’t want to wait while we cook something to eat.”

  “Fine by me. I want to stop by Julie Ann’s and drop off the dresses and the outfit for the baby so she can make sure they will fit the kids.”

  “Sounds good to me. You want me to follow you, or…”

  “No. I’ll follow you, Noah,” she said firmly. It was their normal way. She hated having him behind her watching every little thing she did. It would be just her luck to slide through a traffic light on yellow and leave him behind, or even worse, forget to use a turn signal, or coast through a stop sign, or fail to yield when he thought she should. They had completely different styles of driving; the only difference, Noah spanked when he felt she was too reckless.

  Dawson’s was busy, as usual, but they didn’t have to wait too long, and of course Noah refused to sit at the bar to wait. They were both driving, and didn’t take chances with other people’s lives. Fortunately for her bottom, Noah asked for a booth instead of a table. The chairs had wooden seats, but the booths were padded and much easier to sit upon, and her bottom was really sore after sitting all day long for the conference.

  They relaxed and enjoyed their dinner and Noah laughed when she told him about the conference and the man who ran it. “Did you learn anything worthwhile at all? Or were you too busy looking at the guys mismatched shoes and clothes?”

  “It was hard to concentrate on anything else, honestly,” she confessed, her blue eyes sparkling. “The man was speaking about organization and tending to the little details, and here he was wearing two different black shoes and pinstriped pants and coat, but from two different suits! It sort of was ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ You should have heard Milly at lunch today. She had all of us laughing so hard we could barely eat.”

  “Poor guy probably didn’t have a clue.”

  “He didn’t…! That is what made it so funny.”

  They finished eating and then drove to their daughter and son-in-law’s home. Noah got the clothing from the bag and he and Megan went to the door and rang the bell. As soon as Jeff opened the door and told them to come inside it was obvious to Megan that something was wrong. The two little girls came running with squeals of ‘Gramma! Grampa!’”

  “I’ll go and tell Jules you’re here,” Jeff said quietly, and Megan looked at Noah who raised one eyebrow questioningly even as he was picking up the three-year-old to give her a big squeeze.

  “Are these for us, Gramma?” Rachel, who was five years old, asked hopefully.

  “Why, yes they are!” Megan laughed. “This one is yours; do you like it?”

  “Yes, Gramma!” she said, excited. “I love yellow!”

  “I know you do,” Megan agreed solemnly, and Noah was amazed how she kept all of those important little details in her head. She knew Rachel loved yellow, and pink was Natalie’s favorite color, and her new dress was pink! Rachel was jumping up and down in excitement and Noah remembered when Julie Ann used to do the same thing. Where is David?” Megan asked. “Sleeping?” She crossed the room to see him sleeping soundly in the bassinet that Jeff and Julie Ann moved from room to room.

  Rachel brought Grampa a book to read to them, and Noah settled on the sofa with the girls.

  “Hi, Mom and Dad,” Julie said as she walked into the room. It was obvious she’d been crying and the look on Jeff’s face said he was not pleased with his wife. “I see you are spoiling the grandkids again?” she smiled.

  “They need something special to wear for Easter!” Megan insisted. “You are coming to the Easter Egg Hunt?” She looked at them expectantly.

  “Of course we are, Mom,” Julie answered. “The girls are excited about coming.” She checked the sizes on the dresses and nodded, and then smiled when she saw the size on David’s outfit. “You did great, Mom! Davey is growing so fast and needs all new things again! This is perfect. Thanks so much; you too, Dad!”

  “Your Mom did all the sizes and colors; I just did the easy part and took out my billfold.” Noah grinned. He hated seeing his daughter so upset. “Why the long face, honey? Is something wrong?”

  Julie shook her head no, but Rachel spoke up and said, “Daddy spanked Mommy!”

  “Rachel!” Julie gasped, clearly startled. She looked at Jeff accusingly and then ran from the room. A door slammed, and it woke David, who started crying.

  “Rachel, I thought I asked you to keep an eye on David and only call me if he woke up?” Jeff spoke quietly.

  “He didn’t wake up, Daddy, and I came to tell you that,” she explained. “Did I do somethi
ng bad?” She was on the verge of tears.

  “Mommy is just embarrassed, Rachel. Remember what we told you about privacy? That when a door is closed, you should knock because whoever is inside might want privacy?” When she nodded, he said, “Mommy and I were private then, honey. Sometimes adults need to have a conversation they don’t want to share with others, especially with children. The next time I tell you to stay in the same room with David, I expect you to do that. Understand?” She nodded, and he hugged her. “Don’t worry about Mommy. She’s not upset with you.” He reassured her with a smile.

  Megan had already picked up the baby and was trying to quiet him. Noah said quietly, “Meggie, why don’t you have the girls show you where David’s diapers are? He must need a change…?” Megan nodded, well aware that Noah was going to have a word with their son-in-law.

  “Will you come and show Gramma where all of David’s things are?” she asked the girls and they eagerly led the way to the nursery upstairs.

  “I know what you’re thinking, Noah, and you can just stuff it,” Jeff growled, running a hand through what would have been his hair if he didn’t keep it buzzed so short. “Jules deserved a spanking, and the lines she is going to write. She drives that van like she is on a Kamikaze mission! She’s had three speeding tickets in the last five months! I warned her the last time that I would paddle her if it happened again, and she hid it from me. The only reason I found out was because the paper boy came to collect and she was in the shower and I didn’t have anything the kid could change, so I got in Jules’ purse, and found it. Damn, she had the kids with her, too! I kept my promise, but I guess I should have waited until the kids were down for the night, but Natalie is such a light sleeper… I figured putting on a video for them would keep them down here and entertained while I kept my promise to Jules.” He frowned, “I hate it that Rachel knows I spanked Jules, but I can’t let her get away with that, Noah!” He had a sheen of tears in his eyes as he looked at the older man, “I swear it’s the first time I put a hand to her…!”

  “And that is why she got the second and third ticket. You should have spanked her butt the first time, and put a stop to it right then,” Noah said quietly.

  “You think so?” Jeff asked, clearly surprised at his father-in-law’s words.

  “I know so. Did you take off your belt this time?”

  “No!” Jeff was startled.

  “I would have.”

  “Jules acted like I was killing her with my hand; she’d scream the house down if I took off my belt,” he stated.

  ********************

  Megan changed David’s diaper and he quieted right down. She put the girls to playing in their bedroom, and then went to check on Julie Ann. She tapped on the door and ignored the ‘Go away’ from within. “I will not ‘go away’, young lady,” she said as she entered the bedroom. “ You sit up and talk to me right now. What happened, and don’t tell me ‘nothing’. I want the truth.”

  “I got a speeding ticket and Jeff spanked me,” Julie replied.

  “You’re not fidgeting so he didn’t spank you that hard,” Megan stated matter-of-factly. She knew the signs well, and sitting on a soft mattress would hurt… a lot… if she’d just been spanked for speeding!

  “It hurt, Mom,” Julie insisted.

  “It hurt your pride more than your bottom.” Megan smiled at her. “If Jeff didn’t take off his belt, then you are one lucky lady. Speeding is dangerous. Oh, gosh, Julie Ann…! Please tell me you didn’t have my babies in the van with you at the time…?” The look of guilt in her daughter’s eyes was all the answer she needed. “Julie Ann!” She gave her a meaningful look and then asked, “Just how fast were you driving?”

  “You don’t want to know, Mom. Believe me, I heard enough about it from Jeff. And I am mortified that Rachel knows!”

  “Jeff talked to her and he handled it beautifully. Now you need to tell Jeff you are sorry and promise us all it won’t happen again.”

  “I will not tell him I am sorry; he needs to apologize to me!” she huffed. “I’m not like you, Mom. I won’t tolerate my husband spanking me!” When Julie saw the look on her Mother’s face she felt awful. “I’m sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “You know…?” Megan was embarrassed.

  “Sure. Both Jake and I knew when we were still living at home,” she admitted.

  “Then you should know that if I’d been caught speeding I wouldn’t be able to sit right now. Your Dad would have used his belt to make certain of that… Because he loves me. And Jeff loves you. I think the reason you are pouting right now, young lady, is because Jeff stopped spanking much too soon!”

  “Mom!” Julie was shocked.

  “I’m serious, Julie Ann. You are a mother now, and those babies need you. Speeding is not an option, do you hear me? If you want to be treated as a grown woman, then be responsible. If you don’t want your husband to spank you, then stop doing stupid things.” Megan got to her feet and left the room. She checked on the little girls and once satisfied they were playing well together, she went downstairs, carrying little David. He was hungry and she went to the kitchen and took a bottle from the fridge and heated it to room temperature. She went to the living room and took a seat in the rocking chair, unconcerned with interrupting Noah and Jeff.

  Noah saw his wife’s red cheeks and was positive she’d had words with their daughter, but at this point it was hard to tell if she was upset with Julie Ann or with Jeff. He was going to say something but Julie Ann came into the room right then and went to give Jeff a hug. “I’m sorry, Jeff,” she said. “I won’t do it again, I promise.”

  “I promise I’ll spank you again if it does, Jules, and I’ll use my belt, too,” he promised in return.

  Julie smiled ruefully. “You’ve been talking to Dad, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, I have,” he admitted. “I love you, Jules, and it would kill me and the kids to lose you! Please don’t put me through that…!” He had tears in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry. I get so rushed, and I don’t think. I’ll do better,” she promised.

  “And you will not hide any more tickets from me, either,” he warned.

  “No, I won’t,” she agreed. “Am I forgiven?” she asked.

  “Of course you are forgiven, but you are still going to write every last one of the lines I gave you.”

  “I don’t have time for that, Jeff!” she protested.

  “Not long or hard enough,” Megan whispered, pretending to be talking to the baby.

  “You’ll write the lines and have them done before the weekend, Jules, or I’ll spank you again, a lot longer and harder.” He nodded at his mother-in-law for the suggestion.

  “Mom!” Julie wailed in frustration.

  “Meggie, I think it’s time we head home.” Noah thought it prudent to leave before Meggie lost her temper completely. “We have all those Easter baskets to fill,” he reminded his wife.

  “Yes, we do.” She got to her feet and handed David to his Mommy after kissing his little cheek. She and Noah ran upstairs to kiss the girls goodbye, and then Megan kissed her daughter and said, “I love you, Julie Ann.”

  “No more speeding, daughter,” Noah warned, hugging her. They both said goodbye to Jeff and then headed for home. Noah waited until Megan pulled into the garage door before opening his car door. It took several trips to unload both cars and Megan’s craft room was so full it was overflowing. She was putting finished baskets and the filled plastic eggs in Julie Ann’s old room, and they would probably fill Jacob’s room next. The Easter project grew each year!

  Megan suggested they get comfortable and Noah didn’t argue. He knew his wife well, and she was going to spend a few hours at least working on decorating and filling baskets. If he helped her, then she would consent… willingly… to going to bed at a reasonable hour. He didn’t want to have to order her to bed. He knew from past years she would just lie awake half the night fuming if he did that. Better to help her play Easter bun
ny.

  Chapter Four

  Megan was frowning as she attached a rubbery bunny to the handle of an Easter basket. “What did Jeff have to say for himself?” she asked when he sat on a stool beside her and waited for instructions. Meg was very particular about the baskets and how they were filled, and he permitted her to boss him around, just as he did when they decorated the house for Christmas. It really didn’t matter to him where the decorations went, and his pleasure came in seeing her so happy with the results.

  “Do you want me to put grass in these baskets?” he asked, and when she nodded, he got to work.

  “Not quite that much, honey,” she said. “Take about a fourth of that out. Yes, that looks better,” she approved. “What did Jeff say?” she asked again.