My mother showed me around the house - going from one large room to another - as my step brother and step sisters followed. It was an incredible house - a mansion - which had apparently been passed down threw my stepfathers family for well over a hundred years. It was huge. Thirty two rooms in all, Fifteen bedrooms, seven bathrooms, library, dining room, study, living room, a ball room........I'm talking servants, and everything.
As I went on my little tour, I remember thinking that my mother had hit the jackpot with this guy. I mean I knew ahead of time that he came from a very wealthy family, but I had no idea they were this wealthy. They must have had money coming out of their ears, and I was now going to be a part of that.
"This is where Jacob and the girls spend most of their time." My mother said and pushed open a door which led to a huge family entertainment room.
"Wow." I said as I looked around
It was the most wonderful room I had ever been in. I was large and bright with the afternoon sun, which only illuminated the wall which was covered with state of the art electronic devices....VCRs, stereo equipment, video equipment, speakers.....all surrounding this huge television. It was like heaven.
"Nice huh?" She said smiling at me. "Now let me just show you the kitchen and then we can go up and get you settled." She said leading the way out of the room.
The kitchen looked like a restaurant's kitchen. Cabinets all over the walls, a large two door metal refrigerator built right into the wall. A huge stove with three oven doors. "If you need anything, just call for Meg and she will prepare it for you." She said.
"OK."
"All right, now lets go upstairs." She said pointing to a back staircase in the rear of the kitchen. "I'll show you to your room."
I followed her to the top of the stairs, and down this corridor of doors One of the doors was open and I could see inside the large room, a desk with a computer.
"That is Richard's office." She said.
"A study and an office....wow."
She just smiled and led me down yet another to yet another corridor "This way." She said as we turned the corner. Again doors on both sides except for a large opening on the right where the main staircase connected, and also went up to the third floor. I looked down the steps at the uniquely tiled floor in the foyer.
"Well come on. Your room is down this way near Jacob's and the girls." She said as she walked.
A little further on she stopped at a door on the right. "This is Jacob's room." She said as she turned the knob.
Curious to see what the room of a rich kid looked like, I popped my head in for a quick peek. It was as nice as I though it would be. Large and filled with cool things including a bed much larger than any I had ever thought a nine year old would need. The whole room looked like something out of a magazine. So spotless and clean and neat that it actually made me nervous just walking on the carpet.
The room across the hall was Victoria's (Vicki's) room, then Rebecca's was next to hers. Same thing on both counts. Spotless, and neat, filed with toys. These kids clearly had everything.
Across from Rebecca's door was another door. "And here is your room." She said and stepped aside so I could turn the knob myself. I did and pushed the door open.
"Well?" She asked looking very excited.
I looked around. "Wow." I said not sounding convincing.
"Don't you like it?" She asked looking a little disappointed.
"Sure, it's OK." I said.
"Just OK. Look at the size of this place." She said as she stepped in.
Yeah, it was big and fancy and had a monster of a bed and all, but it was nothing to jump up and down about. It was just a room.......and a guest room at that.
"It's Nice Mom." I said trying to sound happy. "It's real nice. Everything is nice."
"Well then why the long face? HUH?" She asked as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the side of my cheek.
"It's nothing....I'm just a little tired is all." I told her.
She seemed to cheer up a little. "Well, why don't you just go in and have a little nap. Richard should be home in a few hours and then we'll all have dinner." She said.
I shrugged. "OK."
She threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. "I love you so much." She said. "And you are going to be so happy here."
Months past, and she was right. I was quite happy there, but unfortunately my new family did not feel quite the same way, especially after I began to test the boundaries in that house, which - according to Doctor Amos - was normal behavior for a child merely trying to find his place in the home.....Yeah right. I grinned when I heard this. It was like he gave me a get out of Jail free card or something and I could do what ever I pleased, and no one could touch me because after all I was only trying to find my place .......right?. Well, one day I went a little too far and nothing any doctor in the world would have said could have saved my tale from the punishment I received.
It was late afternoon, around four o'clock I guess and I was standing outside the back entrance - just off the kitchen - smoking a cigarette (which I did often but never seemed to get caught) and I noticed the limousine sitting there, unattended and left running. I scanned the back driveway for the driver and spotted him talking to one of the house keepers, and suddenly I got this crazy idea.
I was only fourteen and never drove a car in my life, but oh wouldn't it be cool to take that limo out for a spin? "HELL YEAH." I thought. So I flicked my cigarette and walked over to the unattended limousine sitting just a few yards away and merely hopped in.
I was pretty tall for my age, but I still had to slide the seat all the way up to reach the pedals, which made me all the more comfortable. I sat there for a second, hands on the steering wheel, then finally deciding to just do it, I put it into drive.
I slowly eased my foot off the brake, and the car started to move forward, right behind the drivers back. Funny thing was I doubt he would have noticed, had the housekeeper he was talking too not started to shout. Then it was like all hell broke loose.
The driver snapped around just as I slammed my foot down on the gas. Man, it was wild. I had never been so scared and excited at the same time before in my life. I was like pure power right at my finger tips. The car took off down the driveway- towards the front of the house - as if it had a mind of it's own.
I couldn't believe how fast it could go. I mean it was so big and awkward, who would have known. Did the driver know? Thinking of the driver I looked in the rear view to see where he was and that's when I realized that he had stopped running and was now just standing there with his hands up on his head, looking very strange, almost painfully so.
"What the heck is he doing?" I wondered as I glanced forward, and that's when I saw it too. A big white delivery van coming around the corner in front of me. _f_u_c_k_)
I cut the wheel hard to the left, but in all the excitement I couldn't think enough to take my foot off the gas pedal. Instead I held it firmly to the floor and the limo went flying across the grass, heading straight for one of the tall oak trees that stood closest to the house. It was like slow motion after that.
I remember seeing the tree and trying to get the information from my brain to my hands to turn the wheel before I crashed. Finally I reacted in time to only sideswiped it - sending bark and chunks of wood fragments through the air - and ricocheted off into the rose garden where I managed a complete 360 degree turn, which sent dirt and flowers flying in every corner of creation. Then I remembered the brake.
When the car stopped and all was still I put it into park and slowly got out. "God, what a mess." I thought as I looked around, amazed by all the damage that had occurred in just that little bit of time. The grass was all torn up, there was dirt and tree bark all over the hood of the car, roses laying everywhere.
"_s_h_i_t_." I said.
"_s_h_i_t_ is right kid!" The driver yelled as he came up behind me. "What the hell did you think you were doing? Are you insane? You could have killed yourself!"
"I only meant to drive around front." I told him, but he was clearly not interested in hearing any excuses.
He slowly walked around to the side which had sideswiped the tree, and shook his head. "God _d_a_m_n_ stupid kid!"
Well, it didn't take long before word had traveled and the whole household came running out to the scene.
"What happened here?" Richard shouted, looking very concerned, confused, and angry.
"Was anyone hurt?" My mother asked the driver.
"No ma'am....No one was hurt. The boy just decided to take her out for a spin." He said.
My mother was taken back in shock. "You did this?" She asked.
I gave her the most innocent look I could come up with, and replied. "It was an accident mom."
"Oh Jonathan." She said as she looked around.
Richard raised his hands to his hips. "An accident?" He said giving me a funny look.
"Yes."
"What kind of accident involves steeling the limousine and tearing up the grounds like this!?!" He yelled.
I had never seen him look as angry as I did right then, much less heard him yell at me. I mean I had heard him yell at his own kids before, but I was not his.
"I didn't mean to tear up the grounds, I only meant to drive around front, but there was a van coming and...." I started, but he cut me off.
"I don't care what you meant to do, and I don't care what was coming around the corner. The point is that you never should have been in the car in the first place!" He shouted
"I'm sorry." I said.
He really started to go off on me then. "Well, I'm afraid SORRY isn't going to cut it this time young man!"
I looked at him like he had lost his mind. Even my mother was taken back by his sudden burst of fury. "Richard, please stay calm." She said.
He snapped his head around and looked at her. "Don't tell me to stay calm, Jackie. Just look at this mess."
"I know dear, but it was an accident." She said.
"Accident hell. He did this out of pure viciousness."
I rolled my eyes and laughed.
He whipped around on me quicker than I could believe. "OH, you think this is funny do you!?!"
"No." I said as I tried not to laugh again.
He looked at my mother and shook his head. "He thinks this is funny." He said quite calmly.
My Mother didn't know what to say to this. She just stood there looking at him, kind of waiting for his next reaction, which was nothing close to what I had expected.
He spoke very quietly "Jonathan ......................... house" was all I got out of it.
"What did you say?" I asked.
"I SAID!!!" He shouted as he took a few quick steps forward suddenly and grabbed my upper arm. " To get you backside in the house!" and with that - to my utter shock - he began to drag me along.
I tried to pull away from him, but his grip was too strong. "Get off of me." I shouted as I struggled. "Mom make him let go."
My Mother stepped in immediately. "Richard! What are you going to do?" She shouted.
"What I should have done in the first place." He said.
"Look, I agree he did a bad deed, but you know what the doctor said. He's only trying to find his place."
"His place...HA." He shouted. "I'll show him his place.... ......right over my knee. He has done nothing but push the limits since he got here, and up till now I have done what you have asked and ignored it, but I will not ignore it anymore. This is it! I have had enough!" He yelled as he dragged me along.
I can only imagine what we looked like out there. Him pulling me across the yard like I don't know what, my mother trotting beside him trying to plead my case, the other kids running behind my mother asking what was going to happen to me, me shouting at the top of my lungs. "Get your hands off of me!"
But he wouldn't let go. I became desperate and dropped down to my knees. The sudden jolt made him loose his balance and he stumbled forward a step, which only made him more angry.
He pulled up on my arm - hoisting me up in the air - and whacked my behind with his open hand three times, which shocked the hell out of me. "Get on your feet!"
My mother threw a hand over her mouth.
"Ouch! Cut it out! Stop it!" I screamed at him.
"You will go inside like I told you, or I will drop you pants and tan your backside right out here in the open!"
"_f_u_c_k_ you!" I yelled, which got me an immediate slap. I reeled back with my hand over my cheek.
"Richard! Stop it this instant!" My mother demanded suddenly.
He stopped and just looked at her, but he didn't let me go. "You need to make a choice here." He said to her. "You can either prevent this and I can continue ignoring him and treating him like a piece of furniture that I walk around , or you can stand aside and let me try to be some kind of father to this boy by giving him the punishment he deserves."
She stood there for a moment thinking about this as both Richard and I waited for her decision. Finally - to my utter shock - she stepped aside.
"MOM!" I shouted at her, but she just looked away.
"Fine." Richard said and jerked my arm then dragged me - stumbled along - across the yard toward the house, following the tire tracks which I was responsible for.
I started to shout at him. "You aren't my father!"
"I know I am not your father, but as long as you are living in my house and under my care, you will learn to behave, and do as you are told."
"The HELL I will!" I yelled as we entered the house.
He didn't respond. He just pulled me across the kitchen floor and dragged me up the back steps, down the hall, all the way to my room where he threw to door open and shoved me inside. I went stumbling forward so hard that I had to run to keep myself from falling flat on my face. When I was steady on my feet I turned back to face him. He was locking the door.
"You have no right to treat me like this!" I shouted, feeling as if I could cry..
He crossed the floor quickly and grabbed my arm once again. "You stole my limousine, tore through the grounds, destroyed the rose garden, damaged a tree, scared us all half to death......I'd say I have every right." He said as pulled me towards my desk where he pulled the chair out with his free hand and turned it around. Then he sat down, still holding my upper arm.
"Lower your jeans." He ordered.
"No! I won't do it! You can't make me!" I said - my voice shaking - as I stood there looking scared.
"We'll see about that." He said as he jerked me in closer and grabbed the front of my jeans. "You will learn to obey me if it's the last thing I teach you!"
Next I knew my jeans were yanked down to my knees and I was pulled face down over his knees.
"Stop!" I shouted. "If you hit me I'll call the police."
"Oh don't you threaten me with police young man." He said as he hooked his thumbs in the waist band of my underwear and began to pull them down just past my butt.
"No!" I shouted as I went wild trying to grab them and pull them back up, but he pulled my hands away and wrapped his arm completely around my chest, pinning me in place. Then without hesitation he began slapping his hard heavy hand down on my bare unprotected cheeks.
"You will never pull a stunt like that ever again!" He shouted as he brought his hand down faster and faster.
"OWCH.......Stop it......AHHHHH.....don't!" I shouted as I fought not to cry, but he was wailing on me.
"If you do I'll see to it that you don't sit down for a week. Do you understand me....Young.......Man!"
"Yes....OWLLLLL....UHHHH........yes AHHHH yes!" I shouted, the pain too much to hold in. I started to cry. "OWLLLL.........OHHHH...stop it."
"And the next time I tell you to get over my knee....... you will get over my knee, is that clear!?!"
"AHHHHH.......it's clear.....it's clear....UHHHH...... OWLLLL!"
It hurt worse than any punishment I ever got in my life. I was screaming and crying so hard toward the end that I could barely breath, but he kept it up till he was quite satisfied.
When it finally ended I just collapsed over his knee where he let me cry it out a minute, then he began to speak. "You and I will get something straight right now young man." He said sternly as I cried. "First of all this is my house and if you are going to live here and be a part of my family, then you will obey my rules and do what you are told.....if you do not then you can expect to find yourself in the same position as you are right now.....is that clear?"
I shook my head yes as I continued to blubber.
"Now I want to be your friend and maybe one day I can even be somewhat of a father to you, but you will not disobey me, and you will not disrupt or destroy another thing in or around this house again, is that clear?"
Again I just shook my head.
"Fine." He said and with that settled I was pulled up and place back on my feet.
I immediately turned my back to him and slowly pulled my underwear up over my now roasted backside. The jeans came next, but I didn't bother to zip them up, I just let them hang open as I stood there rubbing with one hand and wiping my face and nose with the other.
I didn't look at him, but I could feel his eyes on me as he waited for me to calm down a little more. When my sobs turned into sniffs and deep breaths he spoke.
"Now you can allow me to hug you so we can forgive each other, or you can ask me to leave. The choice is yours." He said softly.
I told myself that I didn't want that bastard to touch me, but I couldn't seem to get the words out of my mouth. I just stood there looking at the floor, sniffing and trying to control the hitch in my breathing.
"Well, you're not telling me to get out so.........." He said after a few minutes and slowly started to step closer to me.
I could see him out of the corner of my eye as he approached - his arms rising slowly - and the voice in my head started to pound in my ears. "Say it....... For gods sake say it you stupid idiot, don't let him hug you. Tell him how much you hated him. Tell him you how much you hate this stupid house and all his kids. Tell him how you wish your mother never set eyes on him. Tell him.....TELL HIMMMMMM!"
It was some time before I realized that the voice in my head was gone and now the only pounding I could hear was the pounding of Richard's heart as my head lay against his chest.
"Things are going to be OK son." He said as he held me. "Things are going to be OK."