The doorbell rang and Emma wiped her reddened eyes and blew her nose before going to answer the summons.  She knew who was on the other side, but she stalled another couple of seconds by calling out, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Em.  Open the door so I can get your bags and we can be on our way.”

Emma opened the door and let the handsome man inside her small apartment, turning her face so that he wouldn’t notice she’d been crying.  “I’m not quite ready, Frank.  Please come in and have a seat.”

“Why aren’t you ready, Emma?”  There was a touch of disapproval in his voice and she glanced at him in dismay.  “Haven’t we had a discussion on promptness before?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, but, this is different,” she attempted to explain.

“What is different about it?” he patiently asked, looking down at her, and noting that she was attempting to hide her pretty face from him.  Emma had obviously been crying… and worrying… and her next words confirmed his suspicions.

“I am packing to meet your family, and I am not sure what I should take along,” she admitted, chewing on her bottom lip. She knew he thought her fears were unfounded, but what did she know about families?  Her childhood had been spent in one foster home after another.

“Emma Kathleen Woods, haven’t I told you that it doesn’t matter what you wear?” he asked in exasperation.  “You are creating a problem in your mind where none exists.  How long is it going to take you to finish packing?”

“I’m not sure.”  She was being honest.  Every time she tried to decide on an outfit, she found something wrong with it.  She didn’t want to look sloppy, and she didn’t want to look dowdy, either.  None of the clothing she wore to teach in seemed appropriate for a long holiday weekend on Frank’s parents’ farm.

“I see.  Well let me see if I can hurry you up a bit,” Frank drawled, and then he took her arm and pulled her to the large brown sofa and in the next minute he picked her up and dropped her over the back.  Her hands fell to the seat cushions, but her feet did not reach the floor.  Frank gave the rounded part of her skirt a hearty spank, and then another.

Emma cried out in outrage and pain.  “Owww!  Frank!  What are you doing…!” she squealed.

“It looks like I am spanking you,” he answered the redhead, and then gave her butt another stinging slap.  “Yes, that is what I am doing, Emma.  Giving you a good spanking because I do not like it when I am kept waiting for no good reason.”  He brought his hand down a few more times and Emma was soon in tears.

“You are being so mean, Frank!  Owwww!  Not so hard!” she yelled.  “Fine, damn it!  You just go NOW.  I am not going anywhere with you if this is how you are going to treat me!”  Emma’s temper kicked into gear, which she soon learned wasn’t a very good idea.  Frank pulled her off the back of the sofa and marched her around to the front.  He took a seat, then yanked her down over his knee and shoved her skirt up to her waist.  Her tights and panties soon resided around her knees and then he was spanking her again.

“I will not be yelled at in that manner, young lady.  You know better.  And, you also know that you are in the wrong.  You knew last night that I wanted to be on the road early, right?” he asked, emphasizing the word with a firm spank to her sit spots.

“Yes,” Emma answered, sniffling.  “I’m sorry, Frank.  I’m sorry!  Oh, please stop, honey!”

“Do you think you can pack now?” he asked, giving her one final spank on her reddened bottom.

“Yes, I’ll try!” she promised.  “I just want them to like me, Frank,” she whispered tearfully.  “What if they don’t?”

“They will,” he insisted, helping her up and then kissing her.  “Now fix your clothing and I’ll help you, Emma.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to sit for a five hour drive!” she complained as she eased her panties, and then her tights, up over her scorched bottom.  “Ohhh, it hurts, Frank!”

“It is supposed to hurt, young lady.  Now come on and get packed.”

“You’d best sit here.  I can work faster if you’re not in there pressuring me.”

Frank smiled knowingly.  “Made a bit of a mess in there, huh?” 

She reluctantly nodded.  Not only had Frank taught her to be on time, he’d insisted she keep her apartment clean and tidy.  The first time he came to pick her up for a date, instead of meeting her somewhere, he’d been shocked at the mess.  There were dirty dishes everywhere, as well as clothes, both clean and dirty, all over the furniture.  Her shoes were all over the floor, too.  He told her that he didn’t appreciate a messy home, and instead of going out to dinner and a movie, he’d insisted on helping her clean up her apartment.  It was embarrassing, but not nearly as embarrassing as having him stop by a few evenings later to see the apartment a cluttered mess once again.  Emma had never had to worry about what anyone else liked, and she hated to do housework, especially when she was tired from teaching all day and had stacks of papers to grade before the next day.  Frank did not see it her way and when he scolded her she got angry.  It was the first time he turned her over his knee for a ‘damn good spanking’.  Emma was shocked, but afterwards she was even more surprised to realize that she felt loved.  Frank didn’t just drop out of her life.  He saw something in her worth saving and working with.  She’d learned to keep her apartment neat and tidy and she liked it that way.  She felt organized now and it was a good feeling to come home to a clean apartment after a busy day of teaching.  She hated admitting that her room was a mess, but there was nothing to do but own up to it.  “Yes, it is a terrible mess, Frank.  I’ve been trying to pack for hours now.  Will you please help me?  I don’t know your family and I don’t want to make a fool of myself by dressing all wrong.”

“Sweetheart, as long as they can see how happy I am they won’t care what you are wearing.  Come on, and I’ll help you.  We have a long drive ahead of us.”  He took her hand and made sure to keep his expression neutral as they entered the bedroom.  It looked as though a cyclone had passed through.  Emma showed him what she planned to wear on Thanksgiving and he told her it was perfect.  He suspected it was brand new as were the shoes she packed to go with it.  She put in some jeans, dress slacks, tops, sweaters, and a warm jacket.  She also put in a nicer dress just in case she needed it, and within fifteen minutes her bags were packed and she was smiling.

Frank said, “Take a few minutes to pick up in here, sweetheart, and I’ll put your bags in the car.”  Unless he was mistaken it would take close to an hour to put her bedroom to rights, but he simply couldn’t let her leave it this way.  He stowed everything in the trunk with his own bags and then returned to see if he could help by putting clothing on hangers.  To his shock, the bedroom was nearly finished. 

“I am working as quickly as possible, honey.  I’m sorry I was not ready when you got here.  I don’t want you to be upset if we hit heavy traffic.”

“We’ll manage just fine, Emma.”  She was ready within ten minutes time, and he helped her make sure her apartment was locked up tight.  Emma also went to tell her landlady goodbye and let her know that she was leaving and would be home sometime Sunday evening.

“You have a good time now, Emmy-girl,” the eighty-eight year old woman said with a cheerful smile.

“Thank you, Mrs. Stevens.  Is your son still planning to come and get you tomorrow morning?” she asked politely.

“Oh my, yes, he is, Emmy.  He wouldn’t let his Mama spend Thanksgiving alone.  The entire family will be there.”

“You enjoy every one of them,” Emma said with a smile.

“I will.  You drive safely, young man.”  Mrs. Stevens shook her finger at Frank.

“Yes, ma’am, I will.  Happy Thanksgiving to you.”  He took Emma’s hand in his and walked her down the steps and out through the gate to his car.  Once they were seated and seat belts fastened, they were on their way.

Emma was soon squirming and fiddling with her seatbelt in a futile attempt to get comfortable.  “Frank, I am utterly miserable!  I need a pillow or I will never be able to sit for the entire distance to your parents’ home.”

“You know better than that, don’t you, sweet Emma?” he asked with a gentle smile for her.

“But, honey, it is going to be a very long time!” She urged him to reconsider.

“Yes, it is.  I doubt you will be late again for quite some time, right?”

*****

“Nita, what do you think you are doing?” Zachary Howard scolded.  “You are slamming those dishes as if you want them to break, woman!”

“Oh, I am not!” she declared.  “Are you ever going to finish with that mug so I can get this kitchen clean, Zach?  I have other work to get done, too.”

“What other work?” Zach demanded, hanging onto his mug for fear she would grab it if he didn’t, and then all hell was going to break loose.  “This house is plenty clean enough.”

“Clean enough for family, yes, but Francis is bringing home that woman with him!”

“That woman is the woman he is planning to ask to marry him, Nita.  You need to give her a chance.”

“It’s too damn soon, Zach!  Why is he doing this to us?  How are we supposed to be happy when it hasn’t been a year yet since Cynthia was killed?”  Nita banged the skillet she’d used to make scrambled eggs for her husband against the sink.

Zach had heard enough.  If he didn’t deal with Nita’s mood immediately she would ruin the entire weekend for everyone, and he wasn’t going to have it.  He got to his feet and crossed the room. 

Nita didn’t even look at him, but held out her hand for the dirty mug she thought he was bringing to her.  When he didn’t hand it to her, she turned to see what he was doing and was shocked to see him standing there with a wooden spoon he’d taken from the small crock jar that they kept on the counter beside the stovetop.  “No, Zachary!” she immediately protested.  “I don’t have time for this nonsense.”

“Yes, you do, Nita.  Now walk yourself over to the table, take down those jeans and your panties, and bed over the table for a good walloping.”

“For what, Zach?  I haven’t done anything!” she argued.

“Yes you have.  You’ve worked yourself into a snit over Frank’s new girlfriend and you haven’t even met the girl.  You’re going to get a good spanking to improve your mood and get over this attitude of yours.  Now, you do what I told you to do or I’m going to start adding extras and you’ll be sitting and writing lines instead of whatever it is you think you need to be doing.”

“This is not fair, Zach.  I have a right to my feelings,” Nita said, but she was moving over to the kitchen table and unfastening her jeans as she walked.  She did not want extras.  Her husband of forty years was very good at giving her little punishments that took away what little free time she had, and the longer they were married the more ingenious he became in making sure she regretted the extra punishments she received.

Zachary enjoyed watching his wife wiggle her plump backside as she pushed down her jeans, and her pink nylon panties with them.  “You have a right to grieve for Cynthia; we all do.  But badly treating this new lady in Frank’s life is not the answer, Nita,” he stated firmly, and since she was now bent over and in place he raised the spoon and cracked it on the fullest part of her right cheek.

“Damn, Zach!  That hurt!” Nita told him.  “Not so damn hard if you must do this!”

“Oh, I must,” he assured her.  “You are so determined to compare this young woman to Cynthia that you are not being fair.  Not to her, and especially not to Frank.  It is tragic that we lost Cynthia, and even more tragic for Frank.  He loved her, grieved for her, and he is trying to move forward with his life.  We have to accept that, Nita.  Being mean to this new girl is not going to bring Cynthia back to us.”  Zach used the wooden spoon with experience, determined to impart a lesson that would remain with his wife through the long weekend.

Nita was soon bawling, but when she tried to escape, Zachary pushed her down and held her in place while he continued to spank her sit spots and upper thighs until they matched her cheeks.  She was in serious pain and begging for an end to the spanking long before her husband stopped and asked if she was ready to behave herself.  Nita nodded and promised she would try.

Zach put the spoon down on the table and then pulled her up to hold her in his arms.  “We all of us loved Cynthia, darling.  Losing her was terrible.”  He was suddenly crying as hard as she was.  “Our boy was in so much pain, Nita.  I found him in the barn a couple of days after the funeral, and he was holding a gun to himself.”

“Oh my God, Zach!” She clung to him, overcome.  “No!”

“I got there just in time, Nita. I stopped him, begged him to think of you and the rest of his family.  That it was going to be hard enough to lose Cynthia, but we couldn’t lose him, too!  He promised me he wouldn’t do that to you, that he would somehow get through things a day at a time.  He cried so hard, darling.  All I could do was hold him and tell him that the pain would lessen.  He asked me, ‘How do you know, Dad?  You still have Mom.  My wife and my baby are gone thanks to some drunk kid who shouldn’t even be driving yet!’  I couldn’t answer him; I just held him and let him cry until he finally fell asleep.  Every time that phone rang for the next few months I was afraid it would be bad news about Frank.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, honey?”

“There was nothing you could do but worry, Nita, and I was doing enough of that for both of us.”  He put her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly.  “I am thankful that Frank has found someone to love.  He picked Cynthia and we loved her dearly.  He also picked this girl and I think we should try to love her, too.  Will you try, my darling?”

Nita nodded, completely shaken by what Zachary shared with her about their son.  “I just hope I don’t do something completely stupid like forget and call her by the wrong name!  It will seem so odd to have a stranger sitting in Cynthia’s seat.  They were together from the time they were old enough to date, Zach.  I just don’t know how I will manage, and I don’t want to upset Francis.  What if she doesn’t like us?  She could prevent Francis from coming home at all if she hates it here.”

“Just be your sweet, gracious self, Nita.  You are a very special woman and she will love you.”

“I need to make sure the guest room is thoroughly cleaned.  Oh, Zachary!  I know they live in separate apartments, and Francis is certainly no child, but what on earth will I do if he wants her to stay in his bedroom?”

“Nita, Frank knows better than that!” Zachary reassured her.  “Come on and I’ll help you clean up that already clean room.  Then I want to smell me some good cooking.  You need to start your baking today, don’t you?  And put on a pot of soup for tonight…?”

“I don’t know if this woman likes soup, honey!”

“Then she’ll learn to like it!” he growled.  “I’ll hand Frank a wooden spoon and tell him to use it where it will do some good if that girl thinks to interfere with my homemade beef vegetable soup on Thanksgiving Eve.”  As he intended, the remark earned him a giggle from his beautiful wife.  He helped her change the bed and put on fresh linens that would keep Frank’s new girl nice and warm in the chilly upstairs of the old farm house.  He then dusted for dirt that didn’t exist, and his wife did the same on the wooden floor.  She lastly sprayed air freshener and then pronounced the guest room ‘ready’.  “What else can I do to help you, Nita?” he asked.

“Would you vacuum downstairs, honey, while I make sure the bathroom up here is presentable?”

“You’ve got it.”  He hurried to do as she asked, happy to see that Nita was in a much better mood now.  Zach only hoped that his son wasn’t settling for just anyone because he was so lonesome for Cynthia.  If that was the case, Nita would see through it in a heartbeat and there would be hell to pay.