She had planned to avoid going home at all costs until after the experiment was over, a fact she had apparently forgotten to clue Troy in on. Following their rules at home had proven to be pretty easy; at her parents’ house it might be an altogether different story.
“We’re going,” her husband informed her firmly, with a look that forbade argument. “We’re going and you will be on your best behavior. And, we will be on time. Now, this discussion is over, unless you want to continue it over my knee once we get home.”
Eyes widening at the public threat, even though it was spoken softly enough that no one could have heard, Aurelia gulped. “Yes, sir.”
They finished their meal in congenial silence, paid their bill and high-tailed it out of there.
The car ride home was a short one, and Troy was uncharacteristically quiet, giving her only enough time to wonder what that meant for the fate of her bottom.
She didn’t have to wonder long. The door had barely closed behind them when Troy looked at her with that look he had developed seemingly overnight – the one with the tight jaw, the raised eyebrows and the expression that always had her stomach in her toes and her heart in her throat while somehow managing to still send tingles to her private bits.
She bit her lip nervously, and waited to see what he would say. She thought she had done pretty well, but she was also aware it had gotten a little dicey at times.
“That was a close call, Ria, a few of them, actually.”
The breath she had been holding left her in a whoosh of relief. She would have submitted to a spanking, but she really didn’t want one. She wanted to prove that their arrangement was helping her.
“So I’m not in trouble?”
Troy pretended to think it over, but the glint in his eyes gave him away, and he shook his head. “No, you’re not in trouble. You did a good job of keeping your control. All the spankings you got earlier in the week seem to be working.”
“Well, that’s kind of the point.”
“So it is.”
“Can I write it down?” she asked, already moving to get her journal from the spot on the entry table where she had left it the day before.
“You want to write down that you didn’t get in trouble?” His brow furrowed in confusion.
“I want to write down that you said it’s working! And show that I did better at something I was struggling with,” she explained, digging in her purse for a pen.
“All right, but before you do that, can you look at me for a minute?”
He waited until she turned to him, and then gave her that look again. “We’re going to your parents’ on Friday night. We go every year and this year will be no different. We will be on time, and there will be no shenanigans. Do you understand me?”
Her bottom was clenching of its own volition as she slowly nodded. New Year’s Eve shenanigans with her sisters were practically a tradition. When they were younger, it had been silly things like sneaking soda and hiding game pieces. As they had gotten older, it had changed to spiking the punch with their own secret stash of vodka, a fact that Troy had never been privy to. He didn’t like alcohol, because his father had drunk too much, so she had never found it necessary to let him in on their yearly tradition. It was just that one night each year, so she considered it perfectly harmless, even though her parents forbade alcohol consumption of any kind in their home. So far, they had never gotten caught. Hopefully their luck would hold out.
Chapter 6
When they pulled up to her parents’ house a full ten minutes early on New Year’s Eve, Aurelia was feeling much better about the evening’s events than she had been. Tradition was tradition. The risk of getting caught only added to the fun, and besides, they had never been caught yet. She had no reason to think this year would be any different.
“Ria.” Troy’s hard warning voice cut through her thoughts and she stilled. Had she spoken any of that out loud?
Smiling the most innocent smile she could muster, she met his gaze with her own. “Yes, Troy?”
“Absolutely no shenanigans tonight. By your own admission, you only used to act out here to get what you wanted. There is zero reason to seek out something here that you are already getting at home. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Troy,” she repeated, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice.
“Yes, sir,” he corrected.
“I… I’m sorry? You said that was for discipline only!”
“In this case I want to hear it, because I want you to know how serious I am.”
It didn’t escape her notice that he did not threaten to spank her himself if there were shenanigans, a fact that she found disheartening. It had been nearly a week since she had earned a spanking for any reason, and while her bottom thanked her, her brain was going crazy wondering what that meant for the fate of their experiment. She didn’t want to think about that tonight. Tonight she wanted to have fun with her sisters. Just like they always had. “Yes, sir. I get that you’re serious.” It took everything in her not to roll her eyes.
But that seemed to be exactly what he was waiting for. He nodded firmly, and finally turned off the truck, coming around to her side to let her out, and they walked together into the house.
New Year’s Eve at her parents’ was always a festive occasion that everyone dressed up for, and as far as polygamist families in Green Valley went, hers was on the larger side. She had four mothers, nine brothers, and two sisters. Five of her brothers were older, and four were younger, and she and her sisters were right in the middle of all the boys. Not everyone had come home for Christmas, but everyone made it for New Year’s Eve with families in tow.
The kitchen was standing room only with two tables filled to the brim with food, and one whole table just for the five different kinds of punch her mother made.
Her older sister Felicity was already standing at the punch bowl, eyeing the offerings with a devious smile. Aurelia hurried over to her. “Did you bring the stuff?”
Felicity opened her coat to reveal two small flasks tucked into the inside pockets, and handed one to her. Felicity was always in charge of bringing the alcohol because, unlike Troy and her parents, Aaron drank occasionally and kept a small stash at home.
Aurelia took it, and stuck it in her purse, then she started to feel guilty. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea.”
“What? Why? It’s our tradition! It’s not like we get falling down drunk or anything! We’re just trying to have enough fun to forget that we’re spending New Year’s with our five parents and eleven siblings playing board games instead of doing something cool.”
They had started the tradition when they were seniors in high school, mad at their parents for not letting them go to a party with their friends instead.
“I know, I know, but Troy will be so mad if he finds out, and,” she paused, lowering her voice to a whisper, “he spanks now.”
Felicity’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as she gaped at her. “Okay, first of all, that’s a story I need to hear ASAP. But second of all, I call BS on you. Aaron has always been a spanker, and I have never once punked out on you! But now that your butt is on the line, you want to call the whole thing off? Nuh uh, no way.”
“It’s more complicated than that, but besides that, Aaron drinks and Troy doesn’t.”
“Just because Aaron drinks occasionally doesn’t mean I’m allowed to, not without permission anyway – and definitely not here. If we ever get caught, oy! He’ll spank me once for breaking Daddy’s rules and again for breaking his!” Felicity rubbed her bottom dramatically, then smiled mischievously. “The danger is part of the fun, Ria. Besides, we’ve never gotten caught, but if we ever do, the years of fun we have had will be worth it!”
Her sister had always been very persuasive, and soon Ria was pouring her punch into a glass and pouring the contents of her flask into it. Felicity cheered silently and then did the same.
“All right, then! Here we go!” Ria held her glass out for th
eir annual toast.
“To sisters and shenanigans!” they cried gleefully, their voices low, so that they wouldn’t be heard outside the kitchen.
Quickly downing half their drinks, they then made their way out to the party to join their husbands just in time for the beginning of a rousing game of charades. They’d be back for round two later.
Troy couldn’t care less about games, or staying up late to ring in the New Year, but he loved Ria’s family. Sure her parents were ridiculously strict, and more than a little uptight, but their family loved each other, and acted like the kind of family he had always wanted to have. They were loud, and crazy, and bossy, and nosy, but they had welcomed him and each of their older children’s spouses, into the fold with open arms.
Troy had been an only child with three mothers, and all of his parents had since passed away. But it didn’t matter, when he had married Aurelia he had gained so many parents and brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins to boot. It was pretty much everything he had ever wanted. And it made game night his favorite night of the year.
He took a seat next to Felicity’s husband, Aaron, and waited for their wives to join them. The two girls were only six months apart and were thick as thieves.
“Hey, man!” Aaron greeted him. “Long time no see. It’s been what, a week?”
Troy nodded, immediately realizing where this was going to go and wondering if it was too late to make a break for it.
“Man, that was some Christmas dinner, huh? I thought the moms were going to have a heart attack when that jello salad went flying across the room and landed on Figgy.” Figgy was the family cat.
Troy nodded again, wincing at the reminder of that fateful night.
“Oooh eee. I’ll tell you, Felicity won’t be pulling a stunt like that again any time soon. She’s just now able to sit comfortably again!” Aaron shook his head thinking about it, and nudged Troy knowingly. “I bet Aurelia got it pretty good too, huh? I mean, I know Harold handled it here, but I’m sure you drove the lesson home later.”
Again, all he could do was nod as he mentally planned his escape. It wasn’t Aaron’s fault he was making Troy feel like a giant heel, he couldn’t have known the truth. Troy and Aurelia had kept their private life private, but everybody had just assumed that they too, practiced DD, because well, because this was Green Valley, and that was what people did here.
Aaron was oblivious to his discomfort of course, and kept talking. “I’ll tell you what – Felicity won’t be pulling any stunts like that for a long time. I can relax tonight, because I know she’ll be on her best behavior.”
Troy still had a niggling of doubt in that area, but he nodded his agreement. “I told Aurelia no shenanigans.”
“That’s right. They know better now.” He smiled wryly and shook his head. “Those girls, though. They’re trouble, but they sure are good women – most of the time. Oh hell, who am I kidding? Keeping them in line is half the fun.”
The women in question came out of the kitchen then, coats on their arms and smiles on their faces, as they joined their husbands on the floor near the tree.
Aurelia scooted in next to Troy to make room for her sister, and Troy greeted her with a kiss, thankful for the reprieve from the macho HOH talk. The games would start soon and it would be far too noisy to hear anything else, thank God.
“Saxophone! Jazz band! Bill Clinton!”
“Yes, you got it!” her oldest brother, Oscar yelled, giving a high five to his twin, Holden.
Aurelia caught Felicity’s gaze and rolled her eyes. Oscar and Holden always won at charades and she swore being twins gave them some sort of unfair advantage.
“Kitchen?” she mouthed.
Felicity nodded eagerly.
“We’re going to go get some punch!” they said to their husbands as they excused themselves. Both men just grunted, so wrapped up in the game, their departure was barely noticed.
“Remind me to make my drink stronger this time,” Felicity joked, generously pouring half of her flask into a red solo cup and topping it off with a scoop of punch. “This year sucks worse than the others!”
“Nah, you’re just not buzzed enough yet. It’s exactly the same.”
Aurelia patted her coat pocket, frowning when she came up empty. “Um… Liss? I can’t find my flask.”
“Because you stuck it in your purse.”
“Oh, shoot! I left my purse in the other room! If I go back out there and get it now, Troy will get suspicious.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Felicity grabbed an empty cup from the stack, and emptied half of her drink into it, handing it over with an exaggerated curtsy. “Here you are, my dear. Next round is on you.”
“Thank you, my lady.” Ria bowed back and giggled. Maybe they didn’t need a third round. They probably did not, but she knew that would not stop them. She just hoped her sister was able to keep her cool once they were outside of the kitchen.
“Lorelei Leanne Carver! What is the meaning of this?” Her father’s voice echoed through the house, the tone he was using was one Aurelia knew well. She involuntarily winced, even though her name was not the one being yelled at the moment. That voice, combined with the use of a middle name could only mean one thing – somebody was in big trouble. This time, her youngest sister Lorelei appeared to be the one in for it.
Felicity jumped, looking at her quizzically. “What in the hell just happened?”
“I don’t know!” Ria whispered back frantically. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Lorelei all night, have you?”
“When I first got here I think I saw her coming into the kitchen just as we were leaving, maybe? I’m not sure. There has to be at least fifty people here. It’s hard to keep track.”
All fifty people were stone cold silent at the moment. You could have heard a pin drop in the other room.
Lorelei’s answer was a muffled whisper they were unable to make out.
Her father’s response was another story entirely. His roar could have been heard down the street and around the block. “To my study, young lady. Right Now. March.”
A trip to her father’s study meant one thing, and one thing only. Never mind the fact that the house was full with their entire extended family, who were there to celebrate and play games. In Harold Carver’s house, when somebody was due a spanking, they got what they had coming to them right then, come hell or high water.
They both froze immediately at the sound of their father’s decree, an instinct that was ingrained into them over the years. They held their breath as the footsteps sounded down the hall, and the door creaked loudly as it closed.
Finally Felicity exhaled. “And, on that note, join me out back for a bit, won’t you?”
Ria’s head bobbed up and down as she nodded. “Just give me a minute. I want to add another scoop of punch to my drink. It’s way too strong.”
Felicity wasn’t listening, she was already standing at the back door. “Um… Ria?” Her voice was low, and uncertain. “I found your purse.” She paused. “Your flask isn’t in there.”
Aurelia’s heart and stomach sank as she realized what had probably happened and remembered her promise to Troy. She wasn’t worried at the spanking she would undoubtedly get from her father. She was worried about ruining every bit of progress she had made with her husband. She wasn’t scared for the fate of her backside – only for the fate of her marriage.
“Shit. Do you think…” she trailed off, wondering.
“I’d bet on it.” Felicity informed her, looking all of a sudden like a scared little girl, instead of a married woman with a drink in her hand. “Drink up, sister. You’re gonna need it. We’re next. You can bet your booty on it.”
Chapter 7
Her father came out of the study with her youngest sister in tow. Lorelei was rubbing her bottom ruefully, her tear streaked face a dead give-away to everyone in the room, as if there had been any doubt. Everyone in this
house knew that a trip to the study only meant one thing. Not to mention that they had heard the whole thing go down, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind what had happened, least of all Aurelia and Felicity’s.
“Aurelia.” Her father’s voice was gruff and firm, and her stomach sank to her knees. Her part in the shenanigans had been ratted out by her sister, undoubtedly under duress. Her father had a way of getting down to the bottom of things, figuratively and literally as well.
She could feel Troy’s sharp gaze on hers as she squeaked out her response. “Yes, Daddy?”
“You sister tells me she was not alone in her naughty behavior, that she stole the forbidden contraband out of your purse after she saw you and Felicity imbibing in the kitchen earlier. Is this true?”
The room, which had been full of cheerful laughter and good-natured teasing only moments before, fell silent. All eyes were on her as she hung her head in shame, suddenly regretting choices that had seemed great only hours before. She could feel her husband’s disappointed gaze more keenly than anyone’s. She didn’t dare look at him. “Yes, Daddy.”
He shook his head gravely, his eyes full of disappointment, and her stomach turned. Why did she do this to him, and to herself? “Well, then, you’re next. Come along.”
She could see Felicity out of the corner of her eye, looking like she wanted to sink in the floor because she knew she would be next. Felicity’s husband, Aaron was looking at her shrewdly, with a tight grip on her upper arm. Ria felt bad for herself, but even worse for her sister, who swore that Aaron spanked harder than their father did. She shot her sister a wide-eyed look of sympathy before facing toward to her father, who had turned back towards the hallway, and motioned for her to follow. It was trip she had made a hundred times before, but somehow this time her feet felt as if they were made of lead. Her bottom still tingled and ached from Troy’s experimenting. What’s worse was she knew she had really messed up. As angry and disappointed as her father was, it was nothing compared to how her husband was going to feel. She knew how he felt about her getting in trouble when they visited her parents. And he hated alcohol. She knew, and she had gone along with it anyway. It was just second nature by now. Felicity was her partner in crime. Sometimes they didn’t even mean to do anything, it just happened.
A Spanking Good New Year: Short Story Collection Page 8