Corbin's Bend Homecoming

by Ruth Staunton

  After handling that scene as calmly and professionally as possible, Nancy needed a breather, a second to gather her wits, and her emotions, before she returned to the fray. Even though she’d achieved her dream of becoming a doctor, the stress and environment of a busy, inner city hospital sometimes took its toll. Luckily she had Sebastian at home waiting for her after a long shift.

  She’d never given much thought to marriage or a family as a teenager, instead spending all her time studying and participating in activities that would ensure entrance into an excellent pre-med program. When she least expected it, love found her when she met Sebastian Zeal during their undergraduate studies at the University of Rochester. Handsome, supportive, gentle and loving, Sebastian was her rock through her long years of medical school and residency, going so far as to quit his own teaching career when they found themselves unexpectedly pregnant during the last year of her training. Instead of pushing the domestic responsibilities off on Nancy, he stayed home with their beautiful daughter Chloe and assumed all the household duties while Nancy finished her education and started a career.

  Sebastian was a loving husband and enthusiastic father, and Nancy felt awful for wanting more from him. But she did. Being the sole provider for their family and working grueling, twelve hour shifts wore on her. After spending all day making life altering decisions for her patients, she wished her husband would take control when she walked through the front door of her home, and sometimes help relieve some of her stress through the application of a hard bare bottomed spanking. Instead of asking for her opinion on every decision about their life, she wanted him to lead so all she had to do was follow.

  When she voiced her inner desires to Sebastian, he initially refused, not understanding how a strong woman would want a man to spank her. After much discussion, and a bit of cajoling and begging on her part, Sebastian finally came around and agreed to spank her, if it was what she wanted, but he wasn’t comfortable telling her what to do. That worked for a year or so until the need to shift the power in their relationship again welled up within her.

  That feeling grew until she knew she had to take action if she ever wanted to be truly happy. While browsing around on a few of her favorite spanking websites, she stumbled on an employment ad for a radiologist position in a place called Corbin’s Bend, Colorado. She’d never heard of it before, but at once started researching. Turns out it was a community in the Colorado mountains where spanking and discipline were openly practiced, in whatever way the individual couples saw fit. It was a place where Nancy was certain she and Sebastian would flourish as a couple once he discovered that it was a perfectly normal way to live. The fact that they just happened to need a radiologist who was ‘looking for a slower pace and unique way of life’ seemed serendipitous.

  That one little phrase in the ad drew her like a moth to flame. She was that radiologist. She wanted to move to a small town in Colorado where the most common things she’d likely see were routine mammograms and the occasional broken arm from a playground accident. She definitely wouldn’t be pinpointing the location of bullets for a surgeon to determine which location to extract from on an almost nightly basis.

  Recognizing that Sebastian believed an equal partnership was the only path to a successful marriage, Nancy took matters into her own hands after deciding that the job opening in Corbin’s Bend was the perfect position. She updated her resume and wrote a cover letter that gave a brief background on her family and her experience as directed in the ad and emailed them to the address provided. It was only after she’d hit the send button that she second guessed her decision to submit it without at least running it by Sebastian. But, she reasoned, she had no doubt he’d agree that a lower stress position in a town that would be an awesome place for Chloe to grow up would be the best thing for their family. Besides, she might not even get the job. Why get him excited for no reason?

  That was a week ago, and she hadn’t received a response yet. The wait was tortuous. Now that she’d gotten the idea of leaving in her head, she couldn’t wait to get out of here.

  “What are you thinking about? You look like you’re a million miles away.” Regan’s voice broke through Nancy’s thoughts and caught her off guard. They’d been standing silently against the building, and she’d forgotten her friend was even there.

  “That I need a change.”

  Regan turned with an astonished look on her face. “I thought you loved your work, and your job. What kind of change do you mean?”

  Regan knew her better than anyone except Sebastian, but Nancy had been afraid to let her friend in on her dreams for a different kind of life. “I do love my work, but I’d like something a little slower paced, and not in the city.” She paused before admitting her secret. “I applied for a job out of state, but I didn’t tell Sebastian so don’t say anything.”

  “Wait! What? Are you crazy?”

  “Shh, be quiet. You heard me,” Nancy said, glancing around to see if anyone witnessed Regan’s little outburst. “It’s in a small town in Colorado that just built a brand new clinic, and they’re looking for a staff radiologist.”

  “That’s great, but I don’t understand why you didn’t tell Sebastian about it. He’s always supported your career decisions.”

  Nancy hesitated a second too long before answering, drawing a knowing look from Regan. “It’s complicated.”

  “You’re hiding something, Nancy. I can tell. What’s the place called?” Nancy sealed her lips shut, frantically trying to come up with a way around answering Regan’s question. She was absolutely not going to give up that information. Regan would be researching Corbin’s Bend on her phone in the next five minutes, and then she’d discover all Nancy’s secrets.

  Nancy’s pager buzzed in her pocket, summoning her back to the ER and saving her from further questioning. The films of a man who had been on the losing end of a fist fight were ready. She suspected his jaw was broken and presumed he wouldn’t be happy when she delivered that news. He looked like a man who enjoyed his food and having to be on a liquid diet for the next several weeks would not be a pleasant experience for him.

  “I have to run, Regan,” Nancy said, walking quickly away. “Just don’t say anything to anyone, okay?”

  The little square leash buzzed insistently, so Nancy didn’t wait for Regan to respond. They’d been friends for years, and she was confident Regan wouldn’t spill her secret. Hopefully she’d hear from the Corbin’s Bend clinic soon, and then she’d tell Sebastian about the great new life they’d have. One where she wouldn’t be up at one o’clock in the morning, just entering the second half of her shift, ever again. She’d be home, tucked in bed in her new home high in the Colorado Rockies. A girl could only dream.

  The late July sun shone brightly overhead, but a cool breeze coming off the lake made the day bearable, Sebastian thought as he walked up the path to the community center where Chloe attended a half day summer camp program. She didn’t need to go there, he was home all day after all, but with her starting kindergarten in the fall, he and Nancy agreed it would be beneficial for her to spend more time with children her own age. She’d been going to pre-school three days a week for the last two years, but this summer camp was every day until two o’clock in the afternoon.

  Sebastian was nervous about how she would react to being away from him so much, but it ended up being harder on him than on Chloe. She said good-bye in the morning and never looked back, her long blonde ponytail bobbing behind her as she raced to join the other kids in whatever activity the staff had come up with for that day. She was just like her mother, both in looks and temperament. Each week had its own theme, with crafts and games and field trips that corresponded. This week the theme was animals, and the fridge at home was already covered with drawings of various creatures, and it was only Wednesday. Tomorrow they would go to the zoo and on Friday the children were supposed to dress up like their favorite animal. Since Chloe still liked lions, she was going to wear her lion costume from Halloween
last year, slightly modified to accommodate the warmer weather.

  As usual, when Sebastian entered the room, he found Chloe still engrossed in an activity. He called her name, so she knew he was there, then headed over to pack up her stuff. Between the swimsuit and towel, lunch and their arts and crafts from the day, these kids ended up needing luggage to carry all their stuff.

  By the time he finished, Chloe had too, and raced over to where he waited, hot pink backpack slung over his shoulder.

  “Hey beautiful, how was your day?”

  “Good, Daddy. I made a snake out of clay. It’s on the window sill drying and then tomorrow, after the zoo, we’re going to paint them.” Sebastian signed Chloe out as she rambled on, relaying every last minute of her time at camp. Some people might find it tiring, listening to a five year old go on and on about what everybody brought for lunch that day, and who made what animal, but not Sebastian. He’d gone into teaching because he loved children and even though, at first, it burned to give up the job he’d worked hard for to raise Chloe, he didn’t regret a single second of the last five years. She made him laugh, and she made him think, and even when she frustrated him, it was still worth it to spend this time with her and watch her grow up. He wished that Nancy had been around more though, and he feared one day soon she’d look back and realize her daughter had grown up without her noticing.

  Not that Nancy wasn’t a loving mother, she definitely loved Chloe. She just hardly ever saw her. When Chloe was up, Nancy was either working or sleeping before working an overnight shift. Sebastian tried hard to make up for Nancy being gone, and it hadn’t seemed to affect Chloe too much. Now she was so used to Nancy not being around that it was the norm.

  Sebastian held Chloe’s small hand as they walked to the SUV listening to her ongoing chatter. She’d just started relaying how Jimmy wet his pants and tried to blame it on spilled apple juice when she suddenly stopped, and changed the subject so quickly it took him a minute to catch up.

  “What are we having for dinner, Daddy? Do you think Mommy will be home in time? I’m hungry, can we eat right away?”

  Sebastian sighed, familiar with this discussion since they had it at least once a week. “Yes, Mommy will be home for dinner, but you know I always wait to see what she wants before cooking. Mommy works hard for us so she should get to pick the dinner when she’s home, don’t you think?”

  “But I’m hungry, and she’s always late,” Chloe whined. This was the only problem Sebastian had encountered with these long days at camp. Chloe was so tired by the end of the day she often had a mini-meltdown in the truck on the way home.

  “I’ll make you a snack when we get home. How about some cheese and crackers?”

  “With apple slices,” she added after a few seconds of contemplating his offer. “And juice.”

  “Deal,” he replied, happy she relented easily today. Sometimes he had to promise ice cream with gummy worms to get her to relax. No, it wasn’t the most ideal way to handle the situation, but it worked. And he was certain he wasn’t the only parent that used treats as a method of keeping the peace.

  The front door to their rented townhouse banged closed four hours later while Sebastian was giving Chloe her bath. Nancy had actually made it home before seven. She’d called and said she was going to try to leave a little early because she had something she wanted to discuss with him tonight. He really hoped she wasn’t going to bring up the spanking thing again. When she first approached him a few years ago and expressed her desire to be spanked, he’d refused, but that was more of a knee jerk reaction to an unexpected request than any real, personal belief he held about the practice. After doing some reading and trying it in the bedroom, even he admitted that it spiced up their love life. Lately she’d been pushing him to put a more disciplinary spin on it, even to the point of creating rules she had to abide by, but he just wasn’t comfortable with that. He loved that his wife was a smart, independent woman, and didn’t want her turning into a doormat. Even though she claimed that wouldn’t happen, he wasn’t able to grasp how it would work.

  After they put Chloe to bed, Nancy poured them each a glass of wine and led him to the couch, where she pulled him down next to her.

  “This conversation can’t be good if you see the need to get me drunk first,” he joked, but her actions were making him nervous. They drank occasionally, but not usually on a Wednesday night for no reason. She’d been acting strange for about a week now, more quiet and withdrawn than normal, but he’d brushed it off as stress. Last Friday had been rough on her, he knew, and sometimes her solution was to clam up until she worked it all out in her head. He rolled the last week back in his mind, looking for some other hint of what was going on with his wife. Sebastian didn’t come up with any one particular thing, unless she was about to tell him she was leaving him and Chloe… but he doubted she’d sit down and have a glass of wine with him as she dumped him. It wasn’t Nancy’s style.

  “I know that you’re aware I’ve been very stressed about work lately,” she started and he wasn’t sure if he should breathe a sigh of relief or annoyance. She wasn’t leaving him; it was just the spanking thing again. “So I thought that, maybe, I should consider changing jobs. To something more laid back and better for our family.”

  A herd of hungry antelope might have walked through their living room right then and Sebastian wouldn’t have noticed, that’s how surprised he was by Nancy’s suggestion. The only thing he managed to come up with to say was, “But you love your work.”

  “I do love the work, but my job at the hospital is long hours and the worst cases. I think something a little more routine might be nice. Where I wasn’t working overnights or dealing with patients dying on me every other day.”

  His mind raced with possibilities. He’d never dared to hope that Nancy would leave the hospital, even though he secretly suspected it would be better for their family if she slowed down and spent more time at home. She loved the rush of making split-second decisions and dealing with a variety of issues every day. But she seemed serious about giving it up, and he certainly wasn’t going to dissuade her if she’d made her decision.

  “I agree that a change of pace would be great for you, babe. You’ve been going full steam ahead for years, barely even slowing down when Chloe was born.” She cringed at his last statement and he almost apologized, but then bit it back. He didn’t want to make her feel guilty, but it wasn’t his fault that it was the truth. She’d been back doing rounds three weeks after giving birth, leaving him home with a fridge full of breast milk. “Where are you thinking of looking for a new job? A private practice somewhere? Or a hospital in the suburbs? Maybe Unity? We could move to Gates then, they have a good school district.”

  Sebastian worried about sending Chloe to the local school in the fall and if they moved to a better district, he’d be greatly relieved. Not to mention, they would probably be able to buy a house and stop renting. They’d looked a little over the last year, but hadn’t found anything they liked in the city. The houses they were able to afford were either too run down or in a neighborhood even worse than the one where they now lived. But Nancy liked to live near the hospital so she didn’t have far to drive when she was exhausted, coming off a twelve-hour shift, and how could Sebastian really argue with that?

  He was so caught up in the possibilities she’d just opened up for them that he almost missed her next words.

  “I thought that a completely new change of scenery might be nice… like a different state.”

  He switched his focus from daydreaming about a brand new house in the country to really pay attention to what she was saying. “You want to move out of state?” he repeated, dumbfounded at this turn of events.

  “Yes. And I found the perfect position. It’s in a small town in the Colorado Rockies and they’ve just built a new clinic and need a staff radiologist. It’d be brand new equipment for me and a nice community for you and Chloe. Plus the salary is almost double what I make now.”


  Sebastian took a moment to absorb the load of information she’d just dropped. They had nothing holding them to Rochester, all their family had long ago moved to escape the snowy winters of the Northeast. He’d grown up in a smaller town a few hours away from the city and fondly remembered a sense of safety and security living in a place where everybody knew everybody else. He wanted that for Chloe. And he’d heard Colorado was a beautiful place to live, so as long as the schools were good, he couldn’t see why not. Though he wasn’t sure how Nancy, a born and raised New York City girl, would take to everyone knowing her name. She’d only come to Rochester for college, then never left, and even this mid-sized city felt like Hicksville to her at first.

  “The schools are good there?” he asked, knowing Nancy would have done her research. He trusted her judgment and if she had looked into the place and the opportunity, and was willing to give up her job and move across the country to go there, then he’d be on board too.

  “Yes, they’re excellent. Low student to teacher ratio, modern equipment, everything you would want in a school.” A smile broke out on her face since she knew him well enough to guess that he was about to agree to her crazy proposal. She was correct, but really all Sebastian could think about right then was that he hadn’t seen her this happy in weeks, if not longer.

  “Well?” she prompted, getting antsy at his silence.

  “Yes, go for it. Send in your resume and see if you get the job. I’ll support you one hundred percent.”

  She set her wine glass on the coffee table and flew into his arms. “Thank you, thank you!” She peppered his face with kisses then curled up in his lap. “I’m so excited that you want this too, because they want me to do a phone interview tomorrow!”

  “What?” He couldn’t possibly have heard her correctly. No way did she just say that she already had the job.