Spank & Correct: Attitude Loves Company

I said, "No."

Jenny started to laugh and then cough as she forgot to stop drinking before doing anything so foolish. Water spewed from her mouth and nose as she frantically tried to calm herself and keep from making a mess all over the table and floor. Mom could not decide which of us was in more trouble so she shook her head disapprovingly at both of us with ceiling aimed eyes and a slight tremor to her lips which told me she was more amused than angry. Dad was another story.

He was staring at me, obviously dismayed I would have the nerve to ignore him let alone, admit to it. To make matters worse, because I did not think they were bad enough I guess, I shrugged. What did he expect anyway? Was I supposed to cower before him when it was my decision to be back and accept his consequences in the first place? No, coming home and apologizing to him, had nothing to do with regret and even less with respect. It was necessity, pure and simple.

The morning spent listening to Mr. Candle's story left me with the conviction of purpose to follow through this course of action despite its obvious lack of appeal. I did not quite believe all the details, but the threat against my family, my nephew, rang true enough to leave me no other real choice. Mr. Candle had known it from the start. He spoon fed it to me though, as if he wanted to see precisely how much information it would take to sway my opinion and alter my determined course. A shiver ran down my spine at the realization like a warning to an unseen danger.

"What does it take to get through to you?" Dad asked, shaking his head to the point Jenny caught his eye. He turned halfway toward her, a frown on his lips and said, "And you, you're standing at my table with a well-deserved, red backside prominently displayed and somehow you have the nerve to laugh?" Dad threw his hands up in the air and walked the length of the table, passing behind Jenny, to the head of the table where he normally sat. "In my day," He said, resting his hands on the back of his empty chair, "Young women did not behave like this and especially not when they were already in trouble."

Jenny sucked in her lower lip, desperate to stop the fit of giggling threatening to overwhelm her. Our eyes met across the table and I too felt the urge to let it all out. Here we were, two grown women, naked, spanked, and standing at the dinner table like a couple of naughty schoolgirls. From a certain point of view our behavior warranted the situation, but from another it was infinitely ridiculous. The stern expression on Dad's face did nothing to help his case, especially with Mom sitting there shaking her head at the ceiling. Even Steve had a smile on his face, looking between me and his wife.

"You think this is a joke?" Dad said, looking pointedly at Jenny, but before she could respond I said, "Yes."

Dad's head snapped from looking at Jenny to glaring at me. If it were not for the remnants of soap in my mouth and on my lips, I might have smiled and laughed at him, but the soap's burn in my throat was enough to keep me from being too silly. The real humor was in the irony. I had said only two words and had the attention of everyone, Dad had said much more and yet hardly anyone paid him any notice.

"Have you lost your mind?" Jenny asked, staring wide-eyed at me. The expression on her face showed a clear realization we were in the thick of things together even though we had arrived from separate directions. I shrugged again, she might have been right, because I did not care what further consequences would follow. What more could he really do anyway? Not the wisest of attitudes, I know, I know, but you do not look down when you have already ran ten feet passed the edge of the cliff.

Mom, in a scolding tone, said, "You should talk, encouraging her antics with laughter while standing there in disgrace yourself."

I watched the muscles contort on Jenny's face as she bit back whatever retort shot through her brain. A rose color blush graced her cheeks as her eyes drifted downward, no doubt catching sight of her hardened nipples. I caught the slight twitch of her fingers, interlaced together in front of her stomach as the reflex to cover up pulsed through her nerves. I sympathized with her plight, but after the way my week had gone so far, I did not share the gravity of her embarrassment. That's not to say being naked in front of the family was of no concern, it's just after walking around delivering mail in the nude, embarrassment takes on a new level and the family dining room was significantly less.

Dad said, "The two of you should be ashamed of yourselves. To think your behavior has made it necessary for each of you to spend the evening meal standing with sore backside on display and even that fails to impress upon you the seriousness of your misbehaviors."

Jenny gawked at him, clearly not agreeing with his summation as it pertained to herself. I suppressed a giggle as she hotly said, "You wouldn't even know if I hadn't sent the picture of her," Her eyes flashed to me for a second to emphasize exactly who she meant.

Dad squeezed his eyes closed and then opened them wide to stare blatant disapprove between Jenny and Steve. Fixing on Jenny, Dad said, "Keeping your bad behavior a secret doesn't make it less bad." Turning his gaze to Steve, he said,"She's your wife and your responsibility. You can choose what to do with her, but there is at least one brat at this table about to find out exactly what getting a blistered butt means."

I knew he was talking about me, there really was not any doubt. Steve was busy considering his options, and probably wondering if Jenny would ever forgive him if he acted on the thoughts undoubtedly running through his head. Dad's hammer over-the-head subtlety left a tense air in the room. Blame it on a mouth soap high, but I could not help myself and so I broke the silence saying, "I know she was rolling her eyes, but don't you think it's a little excessive to be calling Mom a brat?"

"I was not rolling my eyes," Mom objected, a little too quickly and loudly, drawing a suspicious glance from Dad. Jenny gasped and said, "Liar, I saw you."

A touch of worry settled on Mom's face as her eyes flickered toward Dad, still staring at her. She said, "You aren't actually going to listen to them?" Dad's hands tightened on the back of the chair, his knuckles turning white and he said, "I don't have to, the truth is written plainly on your face."

Steve pushed himself back from the table, folding his napkin onto his plate. He stood himself next to Dad and together they shook their heads, appraising the three of us, Mom, Jenny and me. I daydreamed for a moment of saying, "Hey! We out number them come on, we can take them." Seconds later the three of us overpowered the two men and I was supplying implements to Mom and Jenny as they had Dad and Steve over their laps, respectively. Bottoms were bared and soon the loud sounds of spanking echoed in the room with the men grunting and groaning as their backsides turned first pink and then red. Ah, well it was a nice dream while it lasted.

"It seems to me," Steve said, the stern tone of his voice snapping me back to reality, "There are three bottoms in need of some blistering." Dad nodded his agreement, his head ending with a glare at Mom. In a dry voice, he said, "Apparently."

For a woman about to have her butt blistered, Jenny had a surprisingly satisfied look on her face. Oddly my thoughts wandered to the rather enjoyable spanking Mark had given me on our last date and I wondered if Jenny was thinking about such occurrences with Steve. Then, as I noticed Mom glaring between Jenny and I, I realized Jenny was pleased with us landing Mom in a spot of trouble. To be honest, it was not my intention, I was just mouthing off because I felt like it, but I certainly had no objection to Mom getting a taste of her own medicine.

"You," Dad said, looking straight at Mom, "Can stand yourself up and strip down until your as naked as those two. As for you two," He looked at Jenny and then at me, "Can clear off the table and wash the dishes."

Mom bit at her lip for a moment and then pushed herself up and began the chore of unfastening her dress with surprisingly steady hands. Jenny, wasting no time, began stacking Steve's plate on top of her own. I was a little slower, wondering for a half second if I was expected to manage the task with my hands still glued to the top of my head. Sad to say, but it felt entirely unnatural to lower my arms after having spent so long with them raised. Dad watched the three of us for a moment and then said, "If anything gets broken or if either of you does a poor job, you'll both get your hands smacked on top of the spankings you've already got coming."

I could feel Jenny's warning glare without even looking up at her. My attention remained fixed on the table and collecting the dishes, I had not used. I had no intention of creating more trouble for us, but it struct me as rather self-centered of my sister in law to be so worried I might break a dish or purposefully do a poor job of the chore before us. Had she even given a moment's thought to my situation and how I had been denied dinner and yet now was being instructed to clean up after those who had enjoyed it, including her? There was a subtle cruelty in the circumstances from my perspective and it seemed I was the only one to even notice.

The table was cleared without much effort or time lost. I settled in before the sink and quickly rinsed my mouth with some cold water before anyone other than Jenny could notice or object. Fortunately, Jenny kept her mouth shut and refrained from tattling. The water could only help with the awful taste so much, but it was better than nothing and the way the evening was going, I doubted anyone was going to notice one way or the other. I started washing the dishes as soon as the water turned warmed and Jenny did the drying and putting away. Steve checked on us every few minutes while Mom and Dad remained in the dining room.

With the last of the dishes washed, I shut the water off and Jenny dried it, putting it away in the cupboard. We exchanged a look, silently communicating neither of us was in a hurry to return to the dining room. I smiled supportively, feeling a touch sorry her, knowing she was unaccustomed to Dad's disciplinary temper. She had handled it all quite well so far, and I guess she probably knew on some level it was at least a little bit deserved. For myself, I felt the scales were off kilter. I will admit I acted rashly and inappropriately, but I had also been wronged. The old saying about two wrongs might apply, but should not justice be served fairly? Yes, I know the one about life and fair as well.

"Are you starting to regret that little scene at the table?" Steve asked, entering the kitchen and taking note of our reluctance to let anyone know we were finished with our chore. Tears glistened in Jenny's eyes as she turned to her husband and nodded. Her voice choking like she was about to start sobbing again, she said, "I'm sorry, Steve."

Steve nodded at her and then looked to me. He said, "And what about you?" I shook my head and said, "I'm not apologizing for anything else until I get mine from Dad. If you don't understand that, I'm sorry, but it's the way it is."

"Grow up," Steve said, "Even if Dad does owe you an apology, and the way you've been behaving I'm not sure he does, it doesn't mean you can act like a bitch and get away with it."

"I'm old enough to act how I like and not have to answer to anyone," I said, feeling a boldness I would better have swallowed than allowed a voice. Steve shook his head in disgusts and said, "Maybe when you get your own place, but until you do, you owe Mom and Dad a degree of respect."

"I had my own place!" I said, anger seething off of every word.

"Bull," Steve said, "Without Dad you would never have had that place and instead of being thankful and respectful and responsible about it, you treated it as irresponsibly as you do everything else. I love you sis, but that's exactly why I'm going to tell you straight how it is."

I said, "I'm not the only one who made mistakes today. Everybody is a little to wound up right now and it seems like a little time cooling off would be in everyones best interest."

Steve nodded and said, "I couldn't agree more and just as soon as you three ladies have had your just desserts, we'll all be taking some time to do just that."

Jenny frowned at him and said, "That's not very funny." He smiled back at her and said, "It wasn't meant to be." Liar. I could see the laughter in his eyes.

I said, "I thought I could get you to talk some sense—

Steve said, "I am, but what you don't seem to realize is you are the one who needs to be corrected. Dad might be a little brisk, but that doesn't make him wrong."

"Enough with the lectures," I said, stalking toward him and consequently the dining room beyond, "Let's get this over with."

Steve gestured toward the dining room and said, "After you."

Mom was standing in the corner, facing the room when I arrived. Her face was mostly impassive, but I could see the faint traces of embarrassment giving a light pink sheen to her cheeks. It was odd seeing her standing in the customary chastised, bad girl pose, hands folded atop her head, eyes downcast, and odder still was the utter lack of clothing. Like me, her nipples were hardened from embarrassment or cold or both and the subtle traces of goosebumps could be seen around the edges of her breasts. Having stood in her place not long before, I should have felt sorry for her, but the memories of running along the side of the house in my naked skin were all too recent for my empathy to extend to her.

Everyone present, Dad lined us up, Mom, me, and Jenny, in order and marched us into the living room to stand in front of the fireplace and stare out at the room and the large double windows open to the view of the street. Nothing was hidden from view, hands folded on our heads, legs stood shoulder length apart and Dad standing behind the arm of the couch, outside the view of the window, Steve standing next to the television on the opposite side of the room, also out of the window's view. It was dark enough we could not see out the window and with the lights on inside, anyone looking in would have a very illuminated view of three strikingly naked girls about to be punished.