first time they’d skipped, he could have guaranteed it wouldn’t happen again.
He growled low in his throat. It was 3:00PM. Time for the girls to get out of school. Bonnie would be home before they got off the bus. He was too angry to deal with them at the moment, so he continued to drive.
It just seemed too big a thing to merit only a paddling like all the other misbehaviors. He supposed he could paddle them longer, but he feared they’d bruise. He sighed, his stomach souring.
Suddenly he remembered something. He swallowed and pulled the car off the road into a nearby parking lot to wrap his mind around it. His dad used a paddle on all the kids when they’d misbehaved, but when they’d really misbehaved he’d taken them out to the barn for a lesson with his belt. Those trips were rare, but when they happened it was a huge deal, especially for the unfortunate kid who got the belt-whipping as his dad called it. His dad was born and raised in the south. Up here in the north, he called a paddling a “spanking” but when he really got down to business with his belt, he called it a “whipping”. His dad always wore a wide, thick leather belt and still did to this day regardless of whether the style of the day called for thin belts or woven cloth belts or whatever. Joseph couldn’t help but grin. He’d just realized why.
Joseph put his car back into gear and pulled out at a more sedate pace, his anger gone. He drove to the Country Western store and went inside, breathing in the scent of leather, and selected the widest, heaviest belt he could find. It was of good quality and very supple, and it was black so it could be worn with his business suits. He bought it and put it on right away. He’d never be caught without a good leather belt again.
Bonnie was busy preparing dinner when he arrived home.
“ Hi, Honey,” she called. “Where did you go?”
“ I went to buy a new belt,” he told her.
“ Oh?”
She didn’t even blink an eye. Bonnie had never been spanked as a child and so a belt was nothing to her but a tool to hold up his pants. That was about to change.
He sat at the table and watched her as she moved about the kitchen. “Where are the girls?” he asked.
“ They are having dinner at a friend’s house. They’ll be home around 8:00.”
He gritted his teeth, but then he realized that worked out nicely. With the girls out of the house he could deal with Bonnie without worrying about them hearing.
Bonnie had prepared a quick dinner and sat it out on the table. After saying grace, they ate together as they made small talk. By the time they finished cleaning up the kitchen it was only 6:30.
“ Bonnie, I need to discuss something with you,” he said when she’d placed the last plate in the cabinet.
Her eyes filled with alarm. “W... What?”
“ Let’s go upstairs to the bedroom.”
Bonnie blinked several times, her face worried. “But why? Are you mad at me?”
“ Come on.” He put a hand on her back and led her in the direction of the staircase. She climbed the stairs slowly as if she were headed to her execution. When he was well past the hall closet where the paddle hung her shoulders seemed to relax and she gave him a tentative smile before she opened the door to their bedroom and went inside. He almost felt guilty.
“ Why did you want to talk to me?” she asked, her eyes lowered shyly. He could tell she thought he’d brought her up here to make love. Well, he would do that afterwards. He sighed and rested his hands on his hips. Her smile slipped a bit and her brow furrowed. “Joseph?”
“ I got a call from the school today.”
Bonnie reddened. “You did?”
“ They said the girls skipped school again . Said they would like to meet with you again to talk about what can be done about it.”
“ Joseph... I... ” Her voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes.
“ Do you