Thanks to Gavin's mother I did start to receive calls from other neighbors to babysit their urchins. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, because of all of the time I was spending watching Gav; I really didn't have time to watch any other kids.
Dad didn't think it was a good idea either - he knew that being with Gavin all the time was more than enough. He didn't want me sitting with any other kids during the day ("This is not a day care!"), and he thought that it was only fair that I leave my evenings free.
"After school begins," he said, "You can start making some extra money on weekends by watching other brats, if you really want to." That was fine with me - Dad was right. While the extra dough would have come in handy, Gavin was more than enough.
Much more!
The only exception that summer was a cute five year old named Eric, whose folks asked me at the last minute to watch him for an afternoon, because Eric's grandmother had died, and his mother didn't want the child at the funeral home.
"Normally we have Angela Cooper watch him," Mrs. Blyton explained. "But she went with her family to the beach." It was closing in on the end of summer, and most of the kids in the neighborhood were elsewhere.
After getting Dad's ok, I agreed, and for one day Gavin and I went to go and watch little Eric.
It was so much fun - little, little kids are so much better to deal with than children Gav's age. Gavin was getting an education too. He got to see what it was like running after a kid that you are suppose to be taking care of.
"This _s_h_i_t_ is tough!" he said, winded, after endless sessions of chasing him through the sprinkler.
"Stuff."
"What?"
"Say stuff in front of Eric, ok?"
"OOoooh!" Gavin laughed. "Look who suddenly cares about his language!"
After lunch (at eleven-thirty) of PB&J, and an all-to short nap at noon, we hauled out the old inflatable swimming pool.
"I love-ed this!" Eric said, as Gavin blew it up. "I told-ed my Momma that I wanted-ed a pool, and she got-ed it fo' me!"
"I can see!" I said. "Are you a good swimmer?"
"Uh-HUH! The best! You'll see when Ga-bin blows it up."
"Yeah, Ga-bin," I said, teasing my little summer shadow. "Hurry up! Eric's going to show us how to swim!"
"No teasing, Matt," my sensitive younger buddy said. "Teasing is not nice, isn't that right, Eric?"
"Teasing isn't nice, Matt!"
"Ahhh, what's wrong, Ga-bin?" I laughed. "Can't ya take a widdle joke."
"Keep it up and I'll show Eric how YOU like to swim!" Gav said, putting the pool down on the porch.
I smirked; he gets so uptight sometimes, it was getting tougher and tougher trying to figure out what would tick him off and what wouldn't. I let the comment go, as I used the hose to fill in the little pool.
"YIPEEEEEEE!" Eric said, running back and forth between the flow of water. "I LOVE THIS! THIS IS THE BEST!!"
With the pool full, Eric jumped in, and began splashing everywhere. Gavin soon joined him, while I sat on a lounge chair, near by soaking in the rays.
"Why don't you join-ed us, Matt?" Eric asked. "Still room for you too!"
"Nah," I said, taking off my shirt . "Ga-bin's too fat...not enough room for me." I then closed my eyes.
"What did you say?" Gavin said.
"Hee-heee!" Eric laughed. "Ga-bin is FAT! Gab-bin is FAT!!"
Against my better judgment, I laughed and joined in on a chorus of "Gab-bin is fat" too.
"Matt," Gavin said. "You are ticking me off, dude."
"Oh, come on, Gabby," I sighed. "It was just a little joke."
"It's not funny."
"Yeah it is," I chuckled. "You are just acting like a baby."
"What did you say?" Gavin was really getting pissed.
"You are acting like an infant, Gavin," I said. "Why don't you chill out?"
"Matt, I said stop - that's not funny."
"No - teasing is not funny. Don't tease Ga-bin, Matt!" Eric chastised me.
"I'm sorry, Eric. I won't tease the baby anymore," I said, as I opened my eyes. "Today."
There was an eerie silence for about ten seconds. I didn't pay too much attention to it at first, and was actually startled when Gav finally spoke.
"Eric, your mother likes to cook, right?" Gavin stood up in the pool and put his hands on his hips. I closed my eyes again and shook my head; I suppose I should have known better.
"Uh-huh," Eric said "She makes the bestest cookies in THE WHOLE WORLD!"
"Does she let you help her?"
"Uh-HUH! I love to help her."
What was this about? I wondered.
"Does she let you lick the spoon afterwards?"
My eyes darted open.
"The big wooden spoon?"
Ahhhhh...crap!
"Yeah. That one. Does she let you lick it?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know where it is?"
He wouldn't think of doing that!
"Don't..." I began to say.
"Yeah!"
"...you even think about..."
"Can you get it for me?"
"...it, Gav!"
"Matt and I have something to show you!"
Eric ran into the house as Gavin just stared at me. He was really upset. I mean, really REALLY upset!
It was hard to believe this was the same kid who had hugged me like there was no tomorrow a few days earlier for the game I got him for his birthday present. Of course, he was the same kid who also spanked me for not cleaning up the glass that HE broke in my kitchen.
"Don't even think about it, Gav," I repeated. "It was just a joke."
"Really, just a joke?" he said, with tears welling up in his eyes. "Then why do you always say that _s_h_i_t_...stuff... then, if you don't mean it?"
"Gavin, you know I don't."
"You do, and then you have to show off in front of other people."
"What?" This was absurd. "I have never done that. Eric is just a little five year old."
"A little five year old who is being taught by YOU how to be a bully," Gavin said.
"He doesn't see it that way," I said, looking away as I started thinking about it. Maybe my friend had something after all. "Listen," I added. "I'm sorry, Gavin. I'll stop."
Gavin didn't say anything as Eric showed up on the back porch again with the big wooden spoon. _d_a_m_n_! Just looking at it made my rump twitch.
"Whatcha gonna do with this, guys?" Eric asked.
Neither of us said anything. Tears began welling up in my eyes too.
_d_a_m_n_...!
"Ah," I said. "Gavin needs to do something, Eric."
"He does?"
"Yeah, and if you can keep a secret," I said, my eyes darting to my wounded friend. "He might let you help him."
"I can keep LOTS of secrets!" he announced, before leaning in and whispering in my ear, "I see - I see DEAD peoples!"
"That's nice," I said, patting him on the head. "Why don't you give the spoon to Gavin, and he can tell us what's gong to happen next."
Eric skipped over to the pool and handed my friend the spoon.
"Here, Ga-bin," Eric said. "What's going on?"
Gavin was still silent as he looked at me, trying to figure out how this should all play out. Part of me felt bad for him. We had both painted ourselves into a corner, and it was just not fair for him to be forced to have this much responsibility. Not just for today, but for the entire, painful summer.
"Eric," Gavin said, turning to our young guest. "Do you ever get spanked?"
"All the time!" Eric announced with an 'Oooooh! Wowsers!' look on his face.
"It's up to you, then," Gavin said. "Do you think that Matt should be spanked for being a bully."
"Oh, YEAH!" Eric said, jumping up and down. "Matt needs to be SPANKED-ED!"
I cringed; that verdict didn't take long.
"Well, then he should be spanked."
"You gonna have my Mommy or Daddy spank-ed him?" Eric asked.
"No, I don't think we should tell them," Gav said, smiling.
"HIS Daddy or Mommy?" Eric asked.
"No, I don't think so either," Gavin said, coyly, motioning for me to come to them with the big wooden spoon.
I slowly stood up and walked over to the little pool - he really didn't intend on spanking me outside, in that pool, did he?
"Then who?" Eric asked.
"Well, since he was teasing me, shouldn't it be me?"
"But you are just a kid?" Eric said - out of the mouths of babes! Why couldn't my father see that friggin logic?
"I know, but I think that if you can help me, then Matt won't tease anyone anymore."
"You mean I can help you!?" Eric said, quivering like a top.
"Yeah!"
"Help you spank-ed him!?"
"Sure!"
"I get to SPANK-ED MATT!?"
"Yeah."
"ON THE BUTT!"
"Uh-huh," Gavin laughed.
"Ooooooooh!!!" Eric took off running around the backyard in circles - he was so jazzed.
"You can't be serious," I whispered.
"Oh, I am," Gavin said back.
"He can't keep a secret."
"Sure he can, dude," Gavin reached up on his tip-toes and and tussled my hair. "Don't you worry about anything. Eric and I have the situation taken care of."
"You know, I can make sure this doesn't happen."
"And you know I can call your Dad right now."
I looked at him and stewed for a few moments longer, before Eric came down off that rush of adrenaline he just experienced.
"Hey, MATT!" Eric exclaimed. "I'm going to spank-ed you! I'm going to spank-ed you on the BUTT!"
"So I hear," I sighed, as I put my thumbs in my swim trunks.
"No," Gavin said, shaking his head. "Not bare."
"Not bare?" This was a first.
"Not in front of Eric. Not bare."
"I don't care!" Eric said - I'm sure he didn't!
"Thanks," I said, actually smiling.
"Don't thank me yet, dude," he said, adding. "There will be more waiting for you when we get home tonight!"
Ahhhhh....CRAP!!! In exchange for keeping the swim trunks on, he was going to spank me twice in one day. Dang! This really was going to teach me not to tease him!
"Ok," I sighed, like the pussy I was becoming.
Gavin made me lay face down in the water of the pool, exactly as I had done back at the bathtub.
SMACK! SMACK!
"Oooooh! NOOOOO!!! OH! OH! OHHHHHH!!!!"
SMACK! SMACK!! SMACK!!
The good news was that he let me keep my swimming trunks on as he and Eric took turns beating me with the spoon...
SMACK!! SMACK!! SMACK!!
"OOOOH! OOOOOHH!!!! NOOOO!! OH! PLEEEEEAASE!!!"
SPANK! SPANK!!!! SPANK!!!! SPANK!!!
The bad news was that...well...
SMACK! SMACK!
"NOOOOOOO!!! OHHHH! OUCH! OOOOHHH!!"
SPANK! SPANK! SPANK!!!!
I was spanked with a big wooden spoon by an eleven year old and a five year old!
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!!
"OOOOH! I'M SORRRRRY!!!!!! OHHHHH! OHHHHH!!!!"
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SPANK!!!
"This is SO VERY MUCH FUN!" Eric screamed out, as he brought the spoon down with an unrestrained force.
SPANK! SPANK! SPANK!
"OOOOH! OOOOONNOOOOO!!!!OOOOHHHH!!!""
SPANK! SPANK! SPANK! SPANK!!!
It was so very, very, very painful and humiliating...!
SMACK! SMACK!!! SPANK!!
"OOOOH!!! OOOOOH!!!! PAH-PAH-PLEEEEEASE!!!
SMACK! SMACK!! SMACK!
They, on the other hand, seemed to be having a good time bonding over my torture.
SMACK! SMACK!!!
"And one more!" Gavin announced.
SMACK!
Each of them had given me twenty searing spanks with that spoon (forty total! BIG OUCH!!), and even though my swimming suit was on the entire time, I was in so much pain I was crying and wiggling and splashing up a storm.
"Matt," Gavin said, when they finished. "Why don't you go take the spoon inside, and bring me and Eric out some lemonade, ok?"
I slowly stood up and took the spoon. If I had any balls I would have put my little "friend" over my knees and spanked HIM with that spoon, but I did as I was told. When I returned there was not another mention of the ordeal by either of them - Gavin later told me that he promised Eric that he could spank me again, at a later date, but only if he swore never to tell ANYONE what had happened.
"Why did you do that?" I moaned.
He shrugged, and then said, "I figured with your luck, it was inevitable."
I actually laughed at that one - sadly, my buddy was right.
With my luck...