Corbin's Bend Homecoming

by Ruth Staunton

  She took a deep breath and swallowed the ball of dread creeping up her throat. How did she ever get into this position? Oh yeah, she’d asked for it! “I didn’t tell my husband that Corbin’s Bend was a spanking community, and he found out when Brent and Jonathon came to our house Saturday morning.”

  Mr. Scott’s face wrinkled in confusion. “How did you get approved to move here without him knowing?”

  Nancy swallowed again before answering, her voice thick with embarrassment. “I lied to Brent and told him Sebastian was too sick for the interview, and filled out the application without Sebastian knowing, and just had him sign the last page.”

  Silence and a smothering air of disappointment filled the office. Nancy couldn’t meet Mr. Scott’s stern gaze any longer and instead stared at the floor, waiting for him to fire her. Just because Brent and the Disciplinary Board gave them a chance, didn’t mean Mr. Scott would.

  “I’m very disappointed to hear that my new radiologist would behave that way. If there’s one thing I will not tolerate, it’s lying.”

  “I’m very sorry, Mr. Scott. I’ve never done something like that before, and I’ll never do it again. I can assure you that I will uphold the highest standards of ethics and professionalism here at the clinic.”

  Another long pause while she felt him studying her intently.

  “I can only assume since you’re here that the Disciplinary Board reviewed the situation and made a determination?”

  Oh how mortifying! “Um, yes, they did, and they said we could stay if—” Before she could go any further, Mr. Scott cut her off.

  “I don’t need the details. If you’re telling me that the situation was resolved to their satisfaction, then I’m also satisfied.” Nancy let out the breath she’d been holding, waiting for him to pronounce judgment. “However, I will not tolerate that sort of behavior in my clinic. If I find out you’ve lied, or been anything other than forthright and honest, I will be alerting your HOH to the situation and putting a reprimand in your file. Depending upon the severity of the offense, you could also be terminated. Do I make myself clear, Dr. Zeal?”

  “Yes, Mr. Scott.” Nancy forced herself to respond politely when inside she wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. Never in her life had she been more humiliated than right now. Not only did her boss know she’d been punished over the weekend, he told her he’d tell her husband if she misbehaved at work!

  Thankfully, Mr. Scott moved on to different topics. “Good. Now let’s discuss the position, and then I’ll show you around the clinic.”

  Nancy nodded woodenly and smiled, but her insides were shaking so badly she barely heard a word he said. Afterwards, she didn’t remember how she made it through the next hour. She must have given the right answers and asked the right questions, but by the time he rose from his desk to take her on a tour and show her to her office, she felt like throwing up.

  After making a circuit of the building, they finally reached her office.

  “Here we are,” he said, seemingly oblivious to her turmoil. “You likely won’t have many patients at first since it will take a while for the word to get out about the clinic, but you should review what we’ve stocked and where everything is to make sure it’s to your liking when you start next week.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Scott. Everything looks lovely.” She managed to speak calmly, even though tears were threatening. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

  After he left, and she closed and locked the door, she took a deep breath, willing the tears away. The weight of all her decisions over the past few weeks came crashing down, and she knew, without a doubt, that she’d made a huge, terrible mistake.

  She couldn’t live like this, where her boss, and probably half the town, would know whenever she screwed up. The idea of a town where spanking was out in the open sounded great, until she was the one being punished. Good thing Sebastian wasn’t really invested in the idea. It would be easy enough to get him to agree to go back to Rochester once she told him that she’d changed her mind.

  She slumped down in her brand new leather chair, behind her brand new desk, at the brand new clinic she really wanted to work at, but now couldn’t imagine ever stepping foot into again. Sitting perfectly still, she took several deep breaths to calm herself enough so she could leave without having people look at her suspiciously. While she sat, trying to forget the last few hours had ever happened, she also planned out how she would approach Sebastian and convince him to start packing again as soon as she got home.

  The front door slammed at ten minutes after eleven, making Sebastian smile in relief. Even though they’d set out her plans for the week, Sebastian worried that Nancy would get caught up at her new workplace and forget she was only supposed to be there for a meeting and a tour.

  The ‘old’ Nancy definitely would have and, at a minimum, tried to squeak an extra hour or two in there, so he was pleasantly surprised that she’d left promptly at eleven.

  The first clue that all was not well were her footsteps pounding up the stairs, with her shoes still on. The second was when she burst into their bedroom where he was folding laundry on the bed and slammed the door behind her.

  “Where’s Chloe?” she asked, looking wild and obviously upset.

  “In her room, rearranging her dollhouse again. Why? What’s the matter, Nancy?”

  “We have to go back to Rochester. Let’s call the movers and have them here by Wednesday.” She stripped off her suit jacket and skirt as she spoke, jerking them back onto hangers and shoving them into the closet.

  “Slow down a minute. What happened?” He watched her thrust her legs into a pair of yoga pants and pull on an old college tee shirt. “Didn’t you like the clinic?”

  “No,” she cried, pulling out her neat braid and throwing her hair into a messy bun. “I loved the clinic. Everything was brand new and shiny and clean.”

  Sebastian was beyond confused, both by her actions and her words. “Why are you putting on crappy cleaning clothes? We’re going to go shopping.” He knew she wouldn’t be caught dead in yoga pants and a ratty shirt outside the house. “And if you loved the clinic so much, why do you want to leave?” Not that they were going to do any such thing, but he needed to figure out where her head was at.

  “There’s no reason to go shopping if we’re moving back home,” she replied, as if that explained everything.

  She started to leave the bedroom, but he stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm, and pulled her over to sit on the bed next to him. “What’s going on, Nancy?”

  “I can’t live here,” she wailed, tears suddenly running down her cheeks. “Today was so awful. Mr. Scott asked how everything was going, and you told me not to lie to anyone, so I told him what happened, and he yelled at me too.”

  Sebastian couldn’t believe that. Philip didn’t seem like the type of man who yelled. In fact, he doubted any of the men he’d encountered so far in Corbin’s Bend yelled at anyone.

  “He really yelled at you, Nancy?” He suspected she was exaggerating, greatly.

  “Well,” she sniffled. “No, he didn’t actually yell. But he told me if he caught me lying, he would tell you and the Disciplinary Board on me.”

  “So?” Sebastian didn’t see the problem.

  “What do you mean ‘so’? I don’t want everyone to know when I’ve done something stupid. And I certainly don’t want my boss telling my husband on me! It’s crazy! And unprofessional!”

  “Nancy, I’m not just your husband now. I’m your HOH, and that’s how things work in Corbin’s Bend. You read the rules before we came here.” He made sure to speak gently in the hope she’d understand and accept that this was now their way of life.

  “I don’t like it!” She sounded more like a petulant child than an adult woman. If she didn’t stop acting like one, there would be trouble. “I know I did everything in my power to get us out here, but I changed my mind. I want to go home.”

  Sebastian considered his words carefully before he spoke. He
wanted to make sure he made his point the first time he said what he had to say. “You need to lower your voice so Chloe doesn’t hear you and get upset, Nancy.” She opened her mouth to argue, but he shushed her with a wave of his hand. “I’m speaking now and you need to listen. I don’t think Philip was unprofessional, at all. From what you just told me, all he did was inform you that you couldn’t act like that at work, and what the consequences would be if you did. From his point of view that’s a valid concern when your new employee admits on her first day that she’s manipulated and lied to gain admittance to the community.”

  That quieted her for a minute, but she soon spoke again, although at a much lower volume. “I want to leave.”

  Sebastian studied her while he considered the situation. She looked truly miserable, and he had no doubt that she regretted coming here in that moment. He knew, firsthand, how much of a shock the reality of Corbin’s Bend could be when you weren’t expecting a particular outcome. Sure, he’d spanked her Saturday night, but Nancy had been expecting that, asking for it actually. Now that she’d come face to face with an aspect of living in a spanking community that she hadn’t anticipated, she wanted to give up.

  Sebastian decided that he wouldn’t let her throw in the towel. The culture shock would wear off as soon as she became used to how life worked here. She’d been wanting this for years, and he knew she’d be disappointed in both of them if he let her give up and run back home at the first challenge.

  “No.” He made sure his refusal was gentle, but still firm enough for her to know he wasn’t budging. This would be the first test of his authority as an HOH. He hadn’t expected that just a day and a half after agreeing to lead their family, he would need to make a huge decision that would make his wife unhappy, at least in the short term. “You wanted to come here badly enough that you lied to people and hid things from me. We’re sticking it out, and you have to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

  “I admitted that I did all those things, Sebastian, but I really can’t face Mr. Scott after today.”

  “You can and you will. We need to move forward and put this behind us. You made a mistake, were punished for that mistake and now it’s in the past. Philip said what he had to say, and I’m willing to bet he won’t bring it up again. You need to choose to move past it too. This is what you wanted, right? Me making decisions based upon what I feel is best for our family?”

  Tears ran silently down her cheeks, but she nodded her agreement.

  “If we give up now, we’ll regret it for the rest of our lives. We’ve only been here for three days, which isn’t enough time to even give this place, and this lifestyle, a chance. You’ve never been a quitter before, even when life presented us with huge obstacles. This is a small little bump that we need to get over, and I think we can do it. So, we’re staying, for now. If you truly hate it in two months, after giving it a fair shot, then we’ll discuss it again.”

  He waited for her response, not sure what she would do. Argue and fight, or submit? Saying she wanted him to take control, and having him actually do it, were not the same thing at all. Would she truly let him lead?

  Nancy’s tears stopped, and she wiped her eyes to clear the remaining moisture, still not saying a word. Sebastian gave her a few minutes to process what he’d said, knowing that it would get easier for her with time. Finally she took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.”

  Sebastian contained the urge to do a very, un-HOHy happy dance, barely, but his relief must have shown in his eyes because Nancy smiled when she saw his reaction. “I’m glad you said that, sweetie.” He caught her up in a tight hug.

  “You’re really taking to this lifestyle quickly, Sebastian,” she noted. “I’m glad I was at least right about that part.”

  “You were right, and I’m sorry I wasn’t willing to give it a chance before you felt like you had to take such drastic measures.”

  “So you’re happy?” she asked, pulling back to study his face while he answered her question.

  He knew his answer meant a lot to her, so he made sure to let the truth show. “Yes, I am happy. I didn’t expect to feel this way, but I do, so I’m not going to question it. We have a beautiful new house and a fresh start in a new place. I want us to take full advantage of that, starting with going shopping to make your new office feel like home. How does that sound?”

  “That sounds great.” She gave him another squeeze before getting up, off the bed. “But first I have to change. I can’t go out looking like this!”

  Chapter 8

  Thursday, Nancy had her first meeting with her assigned mentor, Traci Jackson. From what Jonathon had told Sebastian, Traci was a well respected psychologist who also happened to be submissive. Nancy thought they would be a perfect match since they were both professional women who had successful careers but also liked to be spanked.

  She entered the Ginger Paddle right at twelve o’clock on the dot and found a neatly dressed woman with warm brown eyes standing by the door. Only a few tables were occupied at that early hour, and no one else was waiting so that had to be Traci.

  “Nancy?” the woman asked, approaching with an open smile.

  “Yes, I’m Nancy, and you must be Traci. It’s so nice to meet you.” Nancy truly meant that too. She’d looked forward to this meeting all week. Having someone to talk to about her new DD relationship would be a relief.

  “It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve already got us that table in the back corner but I wanted to meet you at the door,” Traci said, heading into the restaurant. They sat down at a table that already had menus and glasses of water on it, the latter of which Nancy picked up and downed half of. Even though she wanted to have this meeting, she was still nervous. Traci didn’t say a word about her apparent thirst, thank goodness.

  “I’m so glad you like sushi, Nancy. I’m always looking for someone else to join me here.”

  “I’m just glad to find out that Corbin’s Bend has a sushi restaurant. Our first night in town I couldn’t believe it when Sebastian went looking for a pizza place and there wasn’t anywhere that would deliver after lunch time!”

  Traci laughed out loud at that. “I’m sure it’s been a big adjustment for you coming from a city.”

  “It’s different, that’s for sure. But there are far more pros to living here than cons. Giving up take-out food is a small price to pay to have good schools and a beautiful place to live.”

  The waitress came then, taking their orders quickly and then whisking the menus away to leave them alone.

  “How is everything else going with you and your Head of Household? Brent told me that this is a new relationship dynamic for you and Sebastian, and that you might need more guidance than most.”

  Nancy immediately became uncomfortable at the thought that people were talking about her behind her back. How much had Brent told Traci?

  Before she could ask, Traci continued, “I can see that you’re worried we’ve been talking about you, but there’s nothing to be concerned about. Brent just gave me some background facts about you and your family. It’s up to you what else you share with me, though I’d encourage you to tell me everything you can so I can get a full picture of how you’re doing. We want you and Sebastian to be successful, and I, personally, believe in the benefits of power exchange relationships.”

  “Sebastian told me that you focus your research in that area.”

  “I do, and I’d love to include you guys as a case study, with your permission and names changed of course.”

  Nancy didn’t hesitate to agree. “As you know, I’m a doctor myself, so if I can assist a colleague’s research, I’m more than willing.”

  “Oh good.” Traci clapped her hands in excitement. “So let’s get down to business. How are things going in that area?” she asked again.

  Nancy bit the bullet and fought her natural inclination to downplay the negative aspects of what she’d done. She couldn’t help but drop her voice to a whisper as she told Traci every
little gory detail of the past few weeks. Through it all, Traci maintained her professional demeanor, not even showing any reaction when Nancy confessed the worst parts and staying quiet until Nancy finished the whole sordid tale.

  Their food arrived, giving them both time to think about what Nancy had said. Going through it this time was a hundred times easier than telling Mr. Scott. Maybe because Traci was a woman, or because she wasn’t in a position of power over Nancy, or maybe because she was a psychologist and just had that way about her. Whatever the reason, Nancy felt better after having told Traci and wanted to hear what she had to say.

  “You don’t have to whisper, you know. Nobody is going to think twice about what we’re saying,” Traci reminded her. “That’s one of the wonderful things about Corbin’s Bend, we don’t have to keep our lifestyle a secret. There’s no judgment here.”

  “It’s only been a few days. I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon.” Nancy picked up a piece of a spicy tuna roll and dunked it in soy sauce. “Well, what do you think?”

  “Before I answer that, I want to know how Sebastian’s lecture and punishment made you feel.”

  “Guilty,” Nancy responded without hesitation. “Embarrassed that other people knew what I’d done and embarrassed for my husband. I never thought I’d be that woman whose husband had to go make apologies for her. I felt ashamed of myself for lying to him, and I was scared that I’d gone too far. Until he told me he wanted to try DD, that is, then I felt excited but nervous.”

  “And the punishment?” Traci prompted, not letting Nancy dodge the hard question.

  “It hurt, but I knew I deserved it so I tried to be good, though that didn’t work so well towards the end.” Her face burned from telling someone else these intimate details but Sebastian’s voice telling her not to lie echoed in her brain. “Afterwards, we talked some more, and he held me. I don’t think we’ve done that in years.”

  “So, overall it was good? What you expected?”