by Maria Lake
Table of Contents
Cassie
Cassie2
Cassie's Christmas Lesson
Published by Maria Lake
Cassie's Christmas Lesson copyright © 2015 Maria Lake
Cover design by Maria Lake
Cover photograph from Canva.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
The following short story is for MATURE audiences only. It is a work of fiction that includes a scene involving the spanking and whipping of an adult female who has consented to such activities. It is presented as fantasy, not as a lifestyle guide. The adult characters only engage in consensual activity. Although the author enjoys reading and writing spanking fiction, the author is vehemently opposed to any form of abuse. To be clear, any spanking or sexual activity that occurs without the consent of all parties is abuse. Even if consent is originally given, any spanking or sexual activity that occurs after any party has changed his or her mind and asked for it to stop, amounts to abuse. Nothing in this story should be viewed as an endorsement of abuse.
If you think that you or someone you know might be in an abusive relationship please contact the nearest shelter organization. If you are unsure of where to turn please contact the appropriate agency, such as the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org or at 1-800-799-SAFE (United States) or The National Centre for Domestic Violence www.ncdv.org.uk 0800-970-2070 (United Kingdom).
Cassie's Christmas Lesson
by Maria Lake
Returning Home from Christmas Dinner
“It was a lovely dinner, wasn't it?” Cassie asked her husband on the way back home from her parents house.
Michael took some time before replying. “It was a very special service, and it was great to spend the day with family, and I really appreciated home much effort your mom put into making such a special dinner,” he agreed, his arm around Cassie's shoulder as he helped her over an icy patch in their driveway, “but I'm worried that the kids didn't quite get the spirit of the holidays.”
Oh? She asked. “I thought they seemed quite pleased.”
“Well, they certainly were excited to rip into their presents this morning, but an hour later it was all strewn around the family room, most of it already broken or abandoned.”
“I know,” she answered, “but kids get bored so easily these days.”
“And we've talked about what we could do to stop that from happening. I don't have any problem getting the kids something nice, but there is a big difference between a nice present and too many nice presents. I don't want our kids turning into spoiled brats, Cassie. I thought I made that point very clearly when we discussed our budget.”
“Yes,” she replied, “but our budget was just too restrictive. Look, I know that when you were growing up your folks were going through a hard time, and it was a big deal if you got a truck under the tree. But our business is thriving! We never have to worry about coupons or how much dinner is going to cost or even the price of a vacation! So why shouldn't the kids get to share in some of that?”
“Because,” he said, his voice rising slightly, “because we've already addressed these issues. And because I had very patiently explained that, even though we have plenty, it doesn't do kids any good to know that. And as for being nice to the kids, it's far better to put that money in their college funds instead of squandering it on some battery hogging junk that they lose interest in within the week, if not an hour after opening!”
“That's not fair Mike- the girls loved their presents!”
“Yes, and I was the monster who had to take their new dolls away from them after Anna started pulling Charity's hair, saying how it wasn't fair that she got the one with the purple dress instead of pink. And then Faith started bawling that she wanted a doll with glitter hair, even though she got what, at least 10 dolls? And the boys loved their gifts so much that Pete gave Ethan a black eye fighting over who got to be which player during some video game, and then they had to be separated too. Cassie, you know I really don't like having to be that yelling kind of parent, but someone has to be the voice of reason around here!”
“The voice of reason or an old grump? I really think you need to lighten up Mike. For someone who is still under forty, you are starting to sound more like my grandpa!”
“So trying to have values is old fashioned?”
“Look,” Cassie said, “you are obviously in a cranky mood. Let me get the kids to bed and then why don't we make some popcorn and watch a movie together before bed?”
Mike just shook his head as he watched his wife bring the children upstairs. Where had they gone wrong?
Mike Talks Things Over With His Brother
While Cassie was busy with the children, Mike called Tim, his youngest brother to wish him a Merry Christmas. Jillian was very close to her due date, and it had been universally agreed that it would be best for them to stay in Georgia this year and celebrate with her family, instead of trekking up to Ohio.
“How's the big countdown going?” Mike asked when Tim picked up the phone.
“I think Jillian's trying to time it for New Year's eve, but I think this baby might have earlier plans. You should see the way this one has been moving around!”
“Well, I guess then I'll know pretty soon whether I have a new niece or a nephew,” Mike said. “Cassie's been knitting something in white. I still can't believe you've been able to keep this secret for so long! Cassie would have told everyone immediately.”
“Nah,” his brother said, “Jill's not like that. If I ask her to keep something secret, then she'll never tell a soul.”
“Man, I'm a little jealous of what you two have. I'm sure I'm often very clear with Cassie, but then I find she's just gone off and done the exact opposite of what I asked her to do.”
“Hey, we used to have those kinds of problems too. In fact we were having them so often that we very nearly split up about a year into our marriage.”
“What? You've gotta be kidding me Tim!” Mike couldn't believe his ears. One of the things they had been taught as kids was that husbands and wives stayed together. And to hear Tim say that he'd been thinking of calling it quits was beyond mid-boggling. Tim and Jillian had made a lovely family, and they were expecting their seventh child. Jillian was a warm and nurturing mom. It just didn't make any sense that Tim would have thought about leaving her. In fact, even though he knew it was wrong, sometimes he felt a little jealous of how happy Tim and Jillian always seemed to be together.
“Look, I know what you are thinking,” Tim said, “but you gotta believe me- it really was that bad. I never would have thought about throwing in the towel if my marriage hadn't been a complete misery. We were both still in college back then, and money was really tight. I had switched to night classes so I could work during the day but Jill couldn't because most of the nursing classes were only given during the day. But, even though they had weighed on us, the money issues had been the least of our problems. Jill and I were just butting heads all the time over everything. Y'know, Jill is the youngest in her family, and she'd gotten pretty spoiled. I was working, I was going to school, I was cooking dinners, and I really didn't appreciate it when Jill would spend whatever time we had together complaining how rough she had it, when all she did was go to classes and hang out with her friends. It's hard to picture it now, but back then she always wanted to go out dancing at clubs and ba
r hopping with her girlfriends. I thought that she would settle down and be more of a wife but I found myself in a real hard place.”
“Oh, man, Tim you never told me about that!”
“I know, I know, but things were going so well between you and Cassie and everyone else seemed to be in such great stable relationships that I just couldn't talk to you guys- I just felt like such a complete failure.”
Mike felt terrible knowing that his little brother had once felt so lost and unhappy. He wished he had been more aware of things back then. It had been back when he and Cassie had been busy starting their own family, and Ethan had been quite a handful as a baby. It was hard to keep up with baby Ethan while keeping tabs on what had been going on with Tim down in Georgia. He regretted that he hadn't been able to help Tim during such a trying time. But Mike didn't really know how to say that to his brother. Instead he just asked Tim what happened to turn things around.
“Things just continued to build up,” Tim said, “and then we would wind up yelling at each other. And it was happening all the time. But, things got really bad one night when Jill's parents came over, and she acted like a complete brat. She expected her mother to do all the work, and didn't even bother to thank her. We got into a huge screaming match about it, and I wound up spending the night on the couch. Although to be honest, by that point, the living room had started to turn into my bedroom anyway.
The next morning, I drove over to my in-laws to apologize, and I had a life changing conversation with my father-in-law. After I said my piece to my mother in law, Frank pulled me aside and thanked me, but said I wasn't the one who should be apologizing. 'I'd tried to do a good job raising my kids,' he said, 'but by the time Jill came around, both we were older and had less energy to keep after her. We just didn't discipline her as consistently as we had with her sisters,' Frank said, 'and she wound up getting away with a lot that she shouldn't have. That was a mistake,' he said, 'but it's not too late for you to right it.' He gave me a good long look and asked me if I remembered my wedding vows. I got a bit upset at this, and I admit I clapped Frank on the shoulder. I told him I sure as heck remembered them, and that I was doing my best to honor them. 'Well then,' he asked me, 'so why aren't you doing everything you can to keep them?' I got pretty annoyed with him, because I thought my father-in-law was accusing me of going after someone else, but he assured me that wasn't what he was getting at. 'You are a good man,' Frank told me, 'but it's going to take more than you being a good man to turn Jillian into a good woman. You are the head of your household,' Frank said to me, 'and we all made that very clear to Jill before she married you. And Jill knew darn well what that meant before she made her vows. But unless you call her on her behavior, she is going to keep challenging you Tim.' Well, I wasn't really pleased to be getting a lecture from Frank, and I got a bit testy with him. 'You think I don't tell Jill how I expect her to behave?' I asked him. 'Oh, I'm sure you can tell her until you are blue in the face son, but nothing is going to change unless you truly assert yourself as head of the household. You need to sit down and talk to her, and you need to talk rationally and calmly to her. And if she listens, that's great. But if she doesn't, he told me, you're gonna have to be a bit more emphatic.' Well, I admit that I wasn't always the fastest one in our family, so I didn't quite get what he was saying. Well, he looked up at me direct and said, 'I'm saying that I expect my daughter to get her butt over here and apologize to her mother within the next hour or two. And if the only way to get her to do that means reddening her bottom, then son, you've got to take her over your knee and keep her there until she understands.'”
“Tim, your father-in-law told you to spank Jill?” Mike said, shocked.
“He sure did.”
“But you didn't, right? I mean your own wife... A grown woman...”
“Oh I did all right. And precisely because she was a grown woman who was acting like a child. And sure enough, it worked just the way Frank had told me. As soon as I mentioned being the head of the household, she turned red with shame. We talked about what was going to happen, and why. And then I calmly took my hand to her behind and gave her a good set of hard spanks. It didn't take many swats before Jill promised to behave better. I was proud of her for admitting that she had acted wrongly, and I made sure she understood that. I hugged her and soothed her and we talked about it some more, and then Jill drove over to her folks and apologized. And she must've learned her lesson, because that car ride couldn't have been too pleasant!”
“But you never did it again, did you?”
“Well, that lesson sank in pretty quickly, but I've had to give some other lessons over the years. I didn't know it in the beginning, but it turns out its not just in Jillian's family, there are other couples with spanking marriages. After that conversation with my father-in-law, I went home and read all about it. It all comes down to the idea that marriages fall apart when no one can agree on their responsibilities, but with domestic discipline, the husband has to fulfill his role as head of the household. It's not an easy job, he said. It's one thing to have to give Jill a few hard swats every now and then when she does something wrong, but sometimes I'll find out that she lied to me to cover up something that she did, and then that's a more serious thing. It isn't easy telling her that she has to pull down her panties and go wait in the corner while I go get the belt.”
“Tim, I'm pretty sure none of my friends take a belt to his wife!” Mike exclaimed.
“Maybe you've never asked about it, but I'd be shocked if there weren't a few couples practicing domestic discipline in your congregation! We've got quite a few couples in ours...”
“And how would you know that?”
“Well, there was one day when Jesse used a bad word with me, and he got in trouble for it. But when I asked him where he learned it, well, wasn't I shocked by the answer! Jill had been blasting some very inappropriate music in the car while driving the kids around. Apparently this had been doing so for quite some time. Well, up until the day I found out. After the problem was properly addressed, we agreed it would be best if she stayed out of the drivers seat for a few days.”
“And her friends found out? Man you are lucky they didn't come after you with an ax!”
“No, nobody did that! And Jill's friends knew about her spanking because I specifically told Jill that she had to tell them why she wouldn't be able to participate in the carpool for the rest of the week.”
“The whole story?”
“Yes, I sat with her by the telephone as she called every name on her list. And you know what? Out of the five of them, three of her girlfriends admitted that the same thing happened in their marriages too! In fact one of them admitted that she was still a bit sore from a recent 'correction.'"
“Well what happens after you spank her? Does Jill get all sullen and stop talking to you?”
“Now, that's where things get interesting brother! Jill knows I would never take my hand to her unless she had done something really wrong. But after I hug her and reassure her how much I love her, and how I just want the best for us, including expecting her to be the best person she could be... well, that works wonders on the other side of our marriage! If Jill's been spanked, well there's no sitting on the couch and watching TV afterward. No sir! She'll look at me like we were newlyweds, and she'll pretty much beg me to take her. And then she'll just grab me by my belt loops and start tugging my jeans down until she... and well... it isn't at all modest of her, but wow, is it ever...”
Mike coughed.
“Sorry,” Tim said sheepishly. “Got a bit caught up in some good memories. Promise me you'll wipe that image from your brain okay? I don't need you drooling over Jill the next time you see her.”
“The next time I see Jill, she'll probably be covered with drool, and fully wrapped up with a beautiful baby. Don't sweat it, man. The only woman I fantasize about is Cassie.”
“I'm sorry she is giving you such a hard time these days.”
“Maybe I just need to do wha
t you did and take control,” Mike sighed.
“Well, if you decide to go for it, make sure you do your research first. But, when you do your research, be awfully careful about what you are reading. If you come across stories about how some wife made a tiny mistake, and then the husband grabbed her and started spanking her even though she begged him not to, and she continues to cry 'no, no, no' as he smacks her, and begs and pleads to be released, well, that's either fictional spanking porn or a real life abusive relationship. Either way, it sure isn't my lifestyle. Its very important that to know where the lines are drawn with domestic discipline, Mike. It's discipline alright, but it's very important that the head of household doesn't do anything more than calmly warm his wife's bottom. A man better make darn well certain he isn't causing real injury to the woman he loves.
And of course, domestic discipline only works if a wife agrees to submit to domestic discipline. Lack of consent and hitting in anger are just abuse, not domestic discipline. If she don't agree and you take a hand to her, well then you are asking for a police visit and a retraining order. In fact, even though traditional domestic discipline doesn't require it, I've always told Jill that I won't spank her unless she agrees that she deserves it. And I've always been very clear that if its starting to move beyond what she can take, that she's got to tell me. I'm not in this to hurt her.”
Mike was quiet. It was a lot to take in.
“It isn't for everyone,” Tim added, breaking the silence, “and I don't know if it would work for you and Cassie. But if you are considering it, then please make sure you are real careful.”
Mike Thinks Things Over
After he got off the phone with his brother, Mike poured himself a cup of milk and sat down at the table to think. There was a tin filled with sugar cookies on the table and he started to pick at them absentmindedly. Some of them were more than a little lopsided, but they had all had a good time making them together. That family time baking together last weekend had been one of the happiest moments he had in a while, and he hoped that memory wasn't about to get drowned out by all their other grievances.