"Randy?" Aunt Claire called.
My cousin, Randy, and I were in the den playing a board game when his mother called him. Randy got up, walked into the kitchen and I followed him.
"I forgot to get Carl's mail and check his house today. Can you go do that for me now before I forget again?" she asked him.
"Sure thing," he answered.
"Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes, so don't dawdle too bad," she told him.
Smiling, "No dawdling.... Gotcha!" Randy said to her. "Hey Chris, come with me. Wait until you see this guys house! When I grow up, I'm going to have a place just like it!"
Carl's house was about ten houses down the street from theirs. He was gone for two weeks and my aunt and uncle were watching his house and getting his mail.
Randy kept going on and on about how cool this guys house was as we walked over there.
Once there, we got his mail and went into the house from the side door. Randy was right, this guy had some cool stuff. He had an Adam computer, a VCR, an Odyssey play station, an Atari play station (I can't believe he had BOTH), Led Zeppelin posters, a few lava lamps, tons of albums and a kick ass stereo, the only thing he didn't have was a CD player. But those things were super expensive, you had to be really rich to own one of them.
"Wow, this is cool! This place is awesome!" I agreed with Randy.
Randy threw the mail on the kitchen table and showed me the basement. He had a weight bench and lots of free weights. There were a few pieces of gym equipment that this thirteen year old had never seen before.
I completely agreed with Randy, I wanted a crib like this when I grew up. We talked about how cool it would be if we were roommates and had a place like this. Randy laid on the old sofa in the basement, flipping through the HBO monthly program guide.
Suddenly he jumped up, "Holy _s_h_i_t_!!! Chris -- come here.... Check this out! Stripes is on tonight! Have you seen it?"
"Stripes? Is that the one with Bill Murray?"
"Yeah. Dude, we gotta watch this! It's rated R!"
"When it is on?" I asked, stepping next to my cousin, looking at the guide with him.
"Ummm.... Oh crap, it's on at 1:10am," Randy answered.
"_d_a_m_n_, it's not on earlier?" I asked.
"Nope.... I don't care. We gotta see this! It's rated R!!!" Randy repeated.
"Well, sure, but how? I don't think your dad is going to let us come over here at 1:00am"
"So.....we just don't tell him," Randy smiled at me.
"You want to sneak out?" I asked.
"Yeah. You game?"
"Works for me," I answered.
"Oh crap, dinner is probably just about ready. We gotta beat feet!"
On the way home, we decided we were going to ask if we could sleep in the basement tonight. Randy was going to "forget" to put Carl's house keys away, so we'd already have them. Then, at 12:55am, we were going to slip out the back door.
"Hey, what about Nick and Sam?" Randy asked.
"What about em?"
"Would they rat on us or should we bring them?"
"They wouldn't rat - they know I'd kick they asses. But, we could bring them," I answered.
"Even Sammy?" Randy questioned.
"Yeah, he'll be cool. Hell, he'll be cool just because we are including the runt," I answered.
"Ok, that's your call. Not a word to my sister, she'll rat us out in a heartbeat," he responded.
"So, kick her ass, works for me. That should work for a girl," I asked him.
"Doesn't completely work that way. She's a girl. She cries when I hit her. Cries loud too. And, she ain't crying just to get Mom and Dad, she cries cause I hurt her. Then, when Mom sees Rachael's arm or leg bruised up, she'll ask what happened.... Next thing I know, Dad's kicking my ass. Don't tell her this, but I feel like _s_h_i_t_ when I hit her hard enough to hurt her. She just can't take it. I'm just too powerful for her!" he laughed.
By this time, we were at the house and dinner was ready. Rachael was spending the night at her best friends house and was leaving after dinner. Randy and I walked her over there and on the way back, we worked out the details of our plan for tonight. After we got back, we told Nick and Sam.
"So, are you in or out?" I asked them.
"In!" Nick answered immediately, and them promptly had a coughing fit. Nick had a bad cold. Randy started relaying more of our plan.
Sam didn't say anything. After a minute, he started to walk upstairs. I followed him and grabbed his arm before he got to the stairs. "Don't you want to hear this?" I asked.
"Why? You know I'll cover for you. Besides, the less I know, the better," he said quietly and tried to turn away again.
"Hey, butthead, you're invited too," I informed him. For a smart kid, he is dense as a rock sometimes.
Sam's eyes lit up like Christmas. "Really?" he practically shouted. "I can go too?" he whispered.
"Yes, why do you I asked if you were in or out?"
"I dunno, I thought you were just talking to Nick...." his voice trailed off.
Geez, you'd swear I was never nice to him. "No, you butthead," I said as I nudged his arm. Sam started coughing too. He had Nick's cold also.
"Don't get me sick!" I teased him. " Now, get in here..."
Just as Randy predicted, Aunt Clare came downstairs with two large bowls of popcorn for us around 7:30pm. Randy winked at Sam, and then asked his mother, "Ma, can we sleep down here tonight? Please?"
"Down here? You want to watch television all night?" she asked.
"Something like that," Randy said giving her his best I'm-a-good-boy-smile.
"Okay, but don't stay up too late. And bring the bowls up when you are done," Aunt Claire said. As she was walking upstairs, Nick started coughing again. She stood there for a few seconds looking at him and then continued upstairs. A minute later, she came back down with two glasses of orange juice. She handed one to Nick and one to Sam.
"Your colds are getting worse. Are you guys feeling ok?" she asked them.
They both told her they felt fine. Looking at them, I could tell they were both lying, but I wasn't going to say anything.
At 10:00pm, we were laying in sleeping bags on the floor watching television. Uncle Doug came down to check on us.
"You guys ok down here? Need anything?" he asked.
"Million bucks?" Randy answered him, smiling.
"Huh, fresh out. How about a good, swift, kick in the pants?" Uncle Doug answered him, smiling also.
"Huh.... No, thanks," Randy answered.
We laughed and Nick and Sam started coughing again.
"_d_a_m_n_, you two sound like _s_h_i_t_. Come upstairs with me and lets get some medicine," Uncle Doug said to Nick and Sam.
"Uncle Doug, we're ok. Really," Nick answered. *cough, cough, cough*
"Yeah, kid, I hear you," he answered. Nudging him with his foot, "Get up."
Reluctantly, both Nick and Sam got up and started following Uncle Doug upstairs. After a few seconds, I heard Nick say, "No, no you can't give us that! Really! CHRIS!!!!"
I looked at Randy, took a deep breath and unzipped my sleeping bag. Uncle Doug kept ushering them upstairs and Randy and I followed their voices. Every few seconds I'd hear one of my brothers yelling for me. They were in the hall bathroom when we finally caught up with them.
"No, Uncle Doug.... we can't take that!" Sammy whined.
When Sam saw me, he ran behind me. Yeah, as if I could protect him from Uncle Doug. "Chris, tell him!"
"Tell him WHAT?" I asked.
"He's going to give us NyQuil, that's what," Nick said, pointing at the bottle in Uncle Doug's hands.
"Oh. Yeah, we can't take that. Have anything else?" I told Uncle Doug.
"That's what they said. Now, why can't you take this?" Uncle Doug asked. "Are all three of you allergic to it?"
"No, it's just that when we take it, we tend to end up sleepwalking," I answered.
"What?"
"When Mom gives us NyQuil, there is something about it that makes us sleepwalk. Last time she gave it to Nicky, Mom and Dad found him asleep on the patio," I told him.
"Oh, yeah, I remember your mother telling me about that. But, that was a few years ago. You still do that?" Uncle Doug asked.
"I don't know. Haven't taken it since," Nick answered.
"But, did it help your cold?" Uncle Doug asked as he started looking through the medicine cabinet for something else.
"Yeah," Nicky answered. Uncle Doug turned his head to look at him. "I mean yes, sir," Nick corrected. Uncle Doug and Mom had a thing about "yeah". Never answer yeah, when you mean yes.
Uncle Doug closed the cabinet. "Well, all we have is NyQuil, and it's took late to go to the drug store to get anything else. You need something, so I'm going to give you this and we'll just have to take our chances with you two sleepwalking," Uncle Doug announced. After he gave each of them a half dose, he added, "Since you sleepwalk, it might be better if you slept upstairs tonight."
Nick and Sam looked at me helplessly. "Actually, if they slept in the basement with us it might be better, because they would trip over Randy and me trying to get anywhere," I said as innocently as I could. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try.
"Good point. You guys don't mind?" Uncle Doug asked.
"No, they are my brothers, I'll take care of them," I answered.
Uncle Doug smiled and then kissed each of us on the top of the head and told us good night.
Relieved, we went downstairs.
"Wow, I thought he was going to make us sleep upstairs," Nick said. "Thanks, Chris."
"You sleepwalk when you take NyQuil?" Randy asked.
"Yeah," I shrugged.
"That's _f_u_c_k_ed up. All three of you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Why?"
"Dunno. Mom doesn't give us a lot of medicine. You know her, she is into all that herbal _s_h_i_t_. If we have a headache, she'll rub our shoulders and neck. That kind of _s_h_i_t_. We rarely take over the counter medicine, so when we do, I guess we react to it," Nick answered.
We let the subject drop and watched television for a few hours. Randy snuck down his alarm clock and set it for 12:45am. It went off and Randy and I jumped up. I tried to wake up my brothers, but neither would wake up. Not only did NyQuil make us sleepwalk, but it knocks our asses out. Randy tried to wake them up too, but the only reaction was Nick moaning and rolling over. So, we left without them.
We left the back door unlocked and slightly open when we left. Randy had brought down some WD-40 and oiled the door hinges so the door didn't make a sound when we opened it. We quietly walked through the backyard and through the open gate (another one of Randy's ideas). Obviously my cousin had done this before.
We ran to Carl's house and didn't say a word to each other until we were inside his house. We turned on only the television in the basement, so it still looked like no one was home from the outside.
Stripes was awesome! After the movie, Randy and I were pumped up saying "That's a fact, Jack" to everything.
Before we left Carl's Randy warned that sneaking out was the easy part. "Sneaking in isn't going to be easy. Dad always catches me sneaking back in," he said.
"He always catches you? You couldn't have told me that before?" I asked.
Randy smiled.
Nice. "So, what happens after Uncle Doug catches you?" I asked.
"What do you think? He kicks my ass!" he responded.
"Well, how do you get caught?" I asked.
"First time, he heard the door squeak as I opened it. Fixed that, oiled the door. Second time he heard the gate. Fixed that, gate is open. So, we should be golden," he answered. "I hope."
As we got closer to their house, Randy whispered to me, "Ok, no talking until we are in our sleeping bags."
I nodded and we entered the danger zone. We walked up to the gate, it was still open. Just as we left it. That's a good sign. We went though the yard without a sound to the back door. Door was still open and we slipped inside. Randy very, very gently and slowly closed the door. James Bond would have been proud of our efforts. We did it. We smiled at each other. We had stashed sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in, in storage room, where the basement door was (Randy's idea again). We changed and left our clothes and shoes in there. We slipped out of the storage room and tiptoed towards our sleeping bags. Just as we were about to get in our sleeping bags, the overhead light came on temporarily blinding us.
We both jumped and turned towards the stairs, where the light switch was. When my sight came back, I saw Uncle Doug leaning against the wall.
_s_h_i_t_!!! I thought. _s_h_i_t_, _s_h_i_t_, _s_h_i_t_! I rubbed my eyes with my hands. The adrenaline of sneaking out and watching the move was wearing off and I was getting tired.
"Uhhh....Dad...Hi.." Randy stuttered.
"Keys," Uncle Doug demanded. He walked up to us and held out his hand.
Randy silently handed over Carl's house keys.
"I came downstairs to check on you guys. After discovering you missing, I also noticed Carl's keys weren't upstairs. So, this is why you wanted to sleep in the basement. So you can sneak out, right?" Uncle Doug asked.
"Yes, sir," Randy answered.
"Randall, how many times have I busted you for sneaking out......" Uncle Doug lectured.
As Uncle Doug started his lecture, I looked around the room. Nick and Sam's sleeping bags were empty. Where were they? They took the NyQuil and we left the basement door open. I frantically looked around to see if they were anywhere else. Suddenly Uncle Doug or sleeping were the last things on my mind.
"Uncle Doug," I interrupted his lecture. Normally, interrupting a lecture is very bad idea, but I my brothers were gone and I was freaking out. "Uncle Doug, where are Nick and Sam? I don't see them. They aren't here! They had NyQuil, and they are not here!" I babbled.
"Didn't they go with you?" he asked.
"No!" Both Randy and I answered.
"Oh God. Chris, we left the back door open, they could be anywhere," Randy said starting to panic also.
"Oh God, oh God...." I panicked.
"Did they know what you were planning?" Uncle Doug asked.
"Yes, sir, they were going to come with us, but we couldn't wake them up! We have to find them! Mom and Dad are going to kill me!" I panicked.
"Stop, they're upstairs in Randy's room," Uncle Doug told us.
"They're ok?" I asked.
"Yes, still asleep, I had to carry them up there, but they are ok," Uncle Doug said.
It felt like the world was just lifted off my shoulders. Then, reality hit him. We are in soooo much trouble.
As if reading my thoughts, Randy said, "Dad, we are in sooo much trouble, aren't we?"
Uncle Doug pulled off his belt. Guess that means yes. "Whose idea was this?"
"Mine, Dad," Randy answered.
"That's what I thought. Randall haven't you learned by now I'll catch you each and every time you sneak out? Your aunt used to pull this stunt for years and I caught her every time too. And she was a lot sneakier then you are." Uncle Doug raised my mother after their parents died in a car accident.
"And Christopher, weren't you the one that said you would take care of your brothers if they did sleepwalk? Can't do that if you aren't here, can you?"
"No, sir," I answered.
Uncle Doug lectured us more, asking us how we snuck out and where we were. Randy answered all of Uncle Doug's questions unless they were directed at me. Being the oldest, when Nick, Sam and I are getting lectured, I usually fall into that role. For once, it was nice not to have to do that.
"Alright, lets get this over with -- " Uncle Doug started.
"Dad, right now? It's like 4:00 in the morning, we'll wake the house up!"
"Randall," Uncle Doug warned.
"Yes, sir..... But, can't we wait until the morning? Please?" he tried again.
"Randall! It IS the morning. Besides, your mother is already awake, you sister isn't home and a bomb won't wake up your cousins at this point. We are going to take care of this right here and right now. Is that clear?" Uncle Doug asked.
"Yes, sir," we both answered.
"Sir?"
"What, Chris," Uncle Doug answered, exasperated. He looked tired and I could tell his patience was wearing thin.
"What about my brothers? They really didn't have any part in this, it was all us," I asked quietly.
"I'll deal with them in the morning," he said.
"But if it wasn't for me, they wouldn't have known. It's not their fau--"
"Christopher! Drop it. I said, I'd deal with them in the morning," he interrupted.
"But --" I started.
I felt Randy elbow my arm just as Uncle Doug yelled, "Christopher, drop it. Now!"
"Yes, sir," I answered, finally getting the hint.
Uncle Doug grabbed my arm and pushed me towards a corner, "Get in that corner and don't move," he ordered.
"Randall?" Uncle Doug said.
I heard movement behind me, but since I was facing the corner, I couldn't tell what it was. Next thing I heard was CRACK. "Randall CRACK you are older CRACK then Christopher CRACK you're fourteen CRACK and you should CRACK know CRACK better."
"Yessss, sir," Randy strained to answer.
"Boy, CRACK I'll bust CRACK your CRACK ass CRACK every time you CRACK sneak out, CRACK do CRACK you CRACK hear CRACK me?"
"Y-y-y-yes, ssssiiiiirrrr," Randy sobbed.
Uncle Doug continued to lecture and whip Randy. After about fourteen times, Randy broke down and started crying. I hoped I would last at least that long. Uncle Doug had never spanked me with a belt before. Hell, Dad just started spanking me with a belt not too long ago.
Uncle Doug stopped at twenty-five. Randy was crying hard when was done. Butterflies started filling up my stomach when I heard Randy's whipping stop. That meant I as next. This sucks, I guess this is what Nick and Sam feel because Dad always spanks me first.
I stood in the corner a few more minutes. Finally I heard Uncle Doug call my name.
"Sir?" I answered, still facing the wall. Butterflies have turned into dolphins and they were doing back flips in my stomach.
"Turn around and come here. You're next," he ordered. "Randall, go stand in the corner."
I turned around and walked towards Uncle Doug. Randy was walking towards me. Even though he was looking down as he past me, I could see his face was red big time. He was still crying a little too.
I stood in front of Uncle Doug, not knowing what to do. "What do you want me to do?" I asked quietly.
Uncle Doug grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him. "Has your Dad spanked you with a belt yet?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. A couple times," I answered. Lying would be stupid at this point. Besides, he probably knew this anyway.
"Have you ever snuck out of the house before?" he asked.
"No, sir."
"Well, this is your cousins third time, that is why I was so hard on him. Do I need to spank you with the belt?"
"No, sir," I answered quickly. What did he think I would say? Yeah, sure beat my ass with a belt. I don't think so....
"Good," he said. He pulled my sweat pants and briefs down and pulled me across his lap. I was getting a little big to be pulled across his lap, and my face was a few inches from the carpet. Without warning, Uncle Doug started spanking me with his hand. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Ow! Uncle Doug is strong. After the first ten, my butt was stinging big time.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
After twenty, I still managed to remain fairly quiet. Uncle Doug had spanked my entire butt and it didn't feel like he was going to stop anytime in the near future.
I propped my upper body up with my hands and tightened my face up with each spank. I noticed I was holding my breath for each spank, letting the air out of my lungs and then holding my breath again for the next one.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
After thirty, I wasn't able to keep so quiet. My ass was hurting and I was grunting at each spank. I was also beginning to feel very warm. When Uncle Doug first put me across his lap, I felt cold, now I think I was starting to sweat.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
After forty, Uncle Doug started lecturing. "Christopher, SMACK I'm really SMACK disappointed SMACK in you. SMACK You know SMACK better SMACK then to SMACK sneak out. SMACK You also had SMACK a responsibility SMACK to your SMACK brothers. They are sick, SMACK and you SMACK said you SMACK would make SMACK sure they didn't SMACK sleepwalk. You said SMACK you would SMACK take care of them SMACK and you SMACK let them SMACK and me down."
"Yeeesssssss, sirrrrrr..... I'm sorrrrryyyy......" I cried. SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! "Won't ha-ha-hap-happen again!!"
I think he continued to lecture me, but I couldn't hear him. My butt was toast and that was all I could focus on. Finally, he stopped spanking me and I hung over his lap crying. When I calmed down, he pulled me up to my feet and pulled my briefs and sweatpants up.
"Go stand in the corner," he ordered and pointed to an open corner in the room.
Obediently, I walked to the corner and leaned my head into it. I rubbed my ass, but it didn't help much. I could feel the heat through my light sweatpants. The last few times I got in trouble, Dad's whipped me with his belt, so I had forgotten how much a hand spanking stings. While I was standing there, I heard Randy move. Oh crap, I forgot he was there. Randy had heard the whole thing. I felt so embarrassed. Randy got whipped like a man, and I got spanked like a little kid.
"Boys, come here," Uncle Doug ordered.
We both turned and stood in front of him.
"Randall, I told you last time, if you snuck out again, I'd whip you with my belt. Next time it'll be more. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Randy answered.
"It's late, go to sleep," Uncle Doug told us and started to go upstairs.
"Uncle Doug?" I asked.
He turned to look me. "Nick and Sam are really ok? They didn't sleepwalk, did they?" I asked.
"They're fine," he answered. "And Sam did sleepwalk after I carried him upstairs. Found him in the kitchen trying to make a pickle sandwich."
"Gross," I answered. Pausing, I asked, " Why did you let me think they were gone when we first got back?"
"Did I scare you?"
"Yes. Bad," I answered.
"Now you know how I felt when I came down here and found you two missing," he said.
"I'm sorry," I said softly.
"Go to sleep, kid," Uncle Doug said, as he turned off the light and went upstairs.
"Chris?" Randy called in the dark after a few minutes.
"Yeah?"
"I'm ..... sorry," Randy said.
"It's ok. Wasn't all your fault," I answered. Being the oldest in my family, I understood responsibility.
"Yeah, but it was my idea. Dad whipped me about a million times, my ass is on fire," he whispered.
"Twenty-five times. My dad's never whipped me that many times yet," I said.
"That's the most he's ever whipped me. This is only the second time he's whipped me with the belt and last time it was only ten," Randy whispered back.
"Was that the last time you snuck out?" I asked.
"No, he spanked me over his knee that time. He whipped me when I back talked Mom and told her to shut up," he replied.
"Oh _s_h_i_t_. That sucks."
"Yeah, Dad said he was going to start whipping me with belt more and if that doesn't get my attention, he's going to take a switch to me."
"Oh _s_h_i_t_," I repeated. "What the hell is a switch? Isn't that like a tree branch or something?"
"I think so, but I don't really want to find out," he answered.
"Your dad said my mom used to sneak out and he caught her all the time. Do you know if he switched her?" I asked.
"Dunno. Don't think so. She's a girl, I don't think he'd do that to her. He's never even threatened Rachael with the belt," he said.
"But she's Sam's age. Dad hasn't spank Nick or Sam with a belt yet. Hell, Dad just started spanking me with the belt. That hurts like a bitch. I don't want to feel a switch."
"That's a fact, Jack," Randy answered. Quoting Stripes again.
We laughed and eventually fell asleep.
The next morning, Randy asked me if I thought I was going to get it again from my parents. I wasn't sure. I didn't think so, but I figured I would at least get a lecture. Sam and Nick didn't get in trouble. Uncle Doug lectured them briefly, but that's about it. Both of them were still sick and actually admitted they felt bad. For once, I didn't catch their cold.
On Sunday, Mom came to pick us up. In front of Randy and me, Uncle Doug told her about us sneaking out. When he was finished, Mom looked at me. "I'm not too pleased with you, little man. You know better then this."
Doug interrupted her, "Ah...little sister, and just WHERE do you think he gets this from? Hmmm?? Seems to me, you were guilty of doing this several times yourself??"
"Doug! Excuse me, he doesn't need any encouragement from you," she accused.
"Oh chill out, Lia. He got his butt spanked, let it go," he smiled at her.
My hopes were soaring. I gave Mom my best innocent look.
Mom laughed, "Fine...."
"You have no idea how many times you mother did this when she was a teenager. But I caught her every single time just like I will catch you every single time too," Uncle Doug said.
"Well..... You didn't catch me EVERY time, big brother....." Mom said, smiling mischievously. Then she turned and walked away.
"WHAT? Yes, I did! What does that mean? Amelia!!!" he questioned following her.
"Sure, you caught me a lot, but not every time, Douglas...." Mom said as she continued to walk away with Uncle Doug hot on her heels.
Randy and I started laughing. "Think your mom will give me some pointers?"
"Doubtful. She'd be afraid you'll tell me," I answered.
"But worth a shot."
"That's a fact, Jack," I answered.
When we got home, Mom put Nick and Sam to bed. At dinner, it was just Mom, Dad and me since they were crashed. Mom told Dad at dinner.....
"Oh Danny, I forgot to tell you. Your son snuck out of the house with Randy to Doug's neighbors house to watch the movie Stripes," Mom announced.
"Nick? I thought he was sick," Dad asked.
"Not that one, this one," Mom nodded her head at me.
Dad looked at me and I just about dropped my fork. "That true?"
"Yes, sir," I answered quietly.
"What happened?"
"Pretty much what Mom said. We snuck out to watch the movie and Uncle Doug caught us as we were sneaking back in."
"What did your uncle do?"
"Lectured and then punished us," I answered.
Dad looked at Mom. Looking back at me, "Punished how?"
"He ...um....ah...."
"Did he spank you?" Dad asked.
I nodded, "Yes. I'm sorry, Dad."
"How did he spank you?"
I hated Dad's interrogations. This was so embarrassing. I knew what Dad wanted, he wanted a total recap of the scene. I was pretty happy Nick and Sam were sick and weren't at the dinner table to hear this. I had told them, of course, but somehow it's different when you have to admit this to an authority figure. "We snuck back in the back door, changed clothes in the back room and just as we were going to get in our sleeping bags, Uncle Doug turned on the overhead lights. Oh, yeah, we were sleeping in the basement. Um..... We were busted. He lectured us and then told me to go stand in a corner as he whipped Randy with a belt. When he was done with Randy, he ....uh.....it was my turn," I explained.
"Did he whup you with a belt?" Dad asked.
"No, he said it was Randy's third offense, that's why he got the belt. He.....ummm.... put me over his knee and ...... just used his hand," I managed to spit out. And, because I knew Dad wanted to know this too, "Bare."
Dad looked at Mom again and didn't say anything more about the subject for the rest of dinner. I was freaking out. I didn't get in trouble with Mom because of Uncle Doug, but I don't know what Dad was thinking. Mom didn't say anything about Uncle Doug telling her to let me off.
For the rest of dinner and the next few hours, I was all "yes, sir no, sir" and "yes, ma'am no, ma'am".
A few hours later, Mom was in the kitchen heating up some chicken broth for my brothers. I was in the family room watching television. "Roo?" Mom called.
I flew into the kitchen, "Ma'am?" I should have known since she called me Roo, that she wasn't mad, but I wasn't taking any chances.
Mom smiled at me. She had made a tray with two bowls of soup. "I'm late -- I've got to teach in 20 minutes, so I gotta get out of here. Can you bring this up to your brothers? Tell them they have to drink the soup. I put some mint in it to help calm their stomachs, so it'll taste a bit different. Of course, they can't smell anything, so they probably won't notice it."
"Sure," I said and I grabbed the tray. "Have a good class. What are you teaching at 8:00pm on a Sunday?"
"Yoga. Mostly meditation and relaxation tonight, you know, prepare for the week ahead," she smiled at me.
"Uh-huh. Whatever, Ma," I answered.
"Watch it buddy, or your butt will be doing some power yoga as soon as I get home," Mom said teasingly.
"But, isn't that against the yoga practice? Yoga is supposed to relieve stress, not inflict it?" I answered.
"Oh....you are so lucky I'm late and don't have time for you to change into sweats, or your ass would be coming with me now. Now, go take care of your brothers. And be NICE to them, they don't feel good and you know how cranky Nick is when he first wakes up when he does feel good; when he's sick .... I just want to ring his little neck."
"I'll be NICE," I answered.
I went up to my brothers room. "Room service!" I announced. Both of them were awake, but still laying in bed.
Sam rolled over and said, "I'm not very hungry."
"I'm sorry, sir, Mother stated you must drink the soup, even if you did not want it," I answered, doing my best English butler impersonation.
Sam managed a weak smile, "What kind of soup?"
"You are sick, sir. Therefore, it would be chicken broth, sir. Now, if you please, get your ass out of bed and sit at your desk, sir, and drink your broth like a good little brother before I pour it down your throat. Sir," I said with a smile.
Both of them were laughing by now. Laughing triggered coughing fits from both of them. "Stop, stop, you're killing me," Nicky begged, spoken in between coughs.
Nick and Sam got up and slowly drank their soup. I had to help Nick down from his bunk bed (he had the top bunk). I sat on Sam's bed, waiting for them to finish.
Sammy looked at me. "What's wrong?"
"What?"
"What's wrong?" he repeated.
"What do you mean?" I countered.
"Yeah, why are you being so nice to us?" Nick asked.
"Because Mom ordered me to," I said with a smile.
"So, that never stopped you before," Sammy answered.
"Ok, Mom told Dad at dinner about Randy and me sneaking out," I admitted.
"Oh crap. What did Dad say?" Nick asked.
"Nothing. Well, he interrogated me first, and then said nothing," I said.
"Nothing? He didn't yell? Lecture?" Sammy asked.
"Nope."
"_s_h_i_t_. That's not good. You know what that means? He's mad and later Dad's gonna kick your ass," Nick deducted.
"I don't know. He didn't seem mad," I shrugged.
"Dad is gonna kick your ass!" Nicky teased.
"Shutup!"
We exchanged limited banter for a few more minutes. Both of them were starting to look tired again and talking was zapping their energy.
"I'm done. I almost finished it," Sammy said, showing me the bowl.
"Me too," Nick said.
"Good enough for me. Go back to bed, you two still look like _s_h_i_t_," I said as I got up and put their bowls on the tray. "Get better soon, because you both stink, you need to take a serious shower."
They smiled as they dragged themselves into bed.
Picking up with my English butler routine, "Would you be needed anything else, sir?"
Nick started coughing and the threw his pillow at me. "Stop!"
I put the tray down, picked up his pillow and said, "Your pillow, sir" and then I beamed it at him. Sammy laughed and coughed.
"Very good, then, sir. If you need anything, please ring the bell," I announced as I was leaving the room.
"But we don't have a bell!" Sammy called after me.
"Exactly, sir!" I smiled at him.
I was still chucking as I came downstairs. Mom said to be nice to them and I was pretty pleased with myself for making them laugh.
Dad was in the garage, "Chris?" he called.
Oh crap. The smile on my face quickly disappeared and the last few minutes of fun were faded from my memory.
Stepping into the garage, "Yes, sir?"
Dad pointed to the ground in front of him. "Come here," he ordered.
_d_a_m_n_, _d_a_m_n_, _d_a_m_n_.... I walked towards him and looked up at him.
"So, you snuck out, huh?"
"Yes, sir," I answered quietly.
"You made your uncle spank you."
"Yes, sir."
Dad took off his belt. My eye were as wide as saucers and my jaw practically hit the floor.
"Hold this," Dad said, handing me the belt.
Gingerly I took it from him. You'd swear he handed me a poisonous snake.
Dad leaned over the hood of his 'vette and started checking the fluid levels. I stood there like an idiot, holding his belt.
"Come here, know what this is?" Dad asked pointing to an engine part.
"No, sir," I answered. Dad could have been pointing to a tire, and at this point my brain wouldn't have recognized it. All I could focus on with his belt in my hands.
For the next thirty minutes, Dad and I worked under the hood of the car. Dad would explain what things were and how they worked. I put his belt down and just about forgot about it.
When we were done, we went into the kitchen to wash our hands. "Where is my belt?" Dad asked.
"Um.....in the garage," I answered.
"Get it," he said.
Retrieving his belt, I handed it to him. Dad pulled me close and push me towards the counter, forcing me to bend over slightly. I put my hands on the counter and held my breath.
TAP, TAP, TAP
Dad tapped his belt on my butt. "Do I have your attention?"
"Yes, sir," I answered. Hmm....My father has me bent over the counter and he has a belt in his hands. Where else would my attention be?
"Good, don't sneak out again. Especially at your uncles house."
"Yes, sir." I remained in position, even after I heard him put his belt on.
Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me into a hug and laughed. "You are so easy to mess with, kid."
"What?"
"I supposed I should be mad at you, but your uncle took care of it. It's just much fun watching you squirm," Dad laughed again.
"You mean you aren't mad?"
"I'm a bit disappointed, but, you got busted for it. I don't need to bust you again. But I have liked the attitude improvement this evening," Dad told me.
"Dad, that's mean! I thought you were really mad at me and that you were going to kick my butt."
Dad laughed again. "So, is that what it takes to get you to behave?" He still had his hand around my neck, but he lowered it and swatted my butt a few times. "Get outta here, boy. Go watch some TV and corrupt your mind."