He had asked of her such a simple, basic task and she has failed him. She checks her watch... 25 minutes late already and she still had 2 more shops to visit and then a 15 minute walk home.
She clutches her heavy bags and rushes to the last of the shops she needs to visit. She stops quickly outside, weighing up her dilemma. Should she continue straight home and avoid being even later but return without the last of the items on her list, or should she pick up what she needs but be more than an hour later that she was told. She looks down at her aching hands, she was already loaded with bags and knew she would be slowed further if she had even more to carry.
She backs away from the shop door and turns to head home, clutching her heavy bags. The walk passes quickly as her mind races, trying to predict how she will have to pay for her mistakes yet knowing that trying to guess is pointless as Sir never just settles for a typical punishment. His imagination was something that she found so attractive when they first met, but sometimes she just wished she knew what was coming her way.
She turned a corner and the house came into sight. Her heart rate instantly increased as she felt that familiar sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that she always got whenever she knew she had disappointed him. Struggling with her bags she fumbles around to find her keys, as she walks down the path she looks up to see him standing at the window, waiting for her.
Before she has had chance to find her keys the door opens. She looks up to him, grateful, a slight smile on her face as she thinks for a moment that perhaps he has seen how she is struggling and perhaps she won't be in trouble after all.
But that hope doesn't last for long. "What time is it?" His tone is serious and his expression shows no hint of amusement or sympathy.
She scurries into the hall and gently places the bags down on the floor so she can check her watch. "It is 15.25 Sir," she speaks timidly.
"Yes it is 15.25, so what does that mean?"
She hangs her head a little, and sighs deeply "I am late Sir."
He moves over to her quickly and grasps her arms roughly, startling her. "Don't sigh like that girl, I made it quite clear you were to be back here by 14.30 but you were clearly not paying attention were you?"
She wants to look up to him and explain that she had tried, that it was not her fault that she is late but she knows it will just anger him more. He grips her arms more tightly, shaking her a little, "Were you?"
She opens her mouth to defend herself but she can't bring herself to argue, "No Sir, I wasn't paying attention."
He lets go of her arms, and turning his back on her he walks back into the living room. She hears him switch on the TV and settle down into the sofa. She gathers up her bags to go and put away the shopping but stops on her way to the kitchen when she hears him call her. He tells her to bring the bags in with her then asks her to lay the purchases out on the floor. She sets everything out neatly on the floor and kneels next to the line of items. He stands up and goes to her bag that is hanging at the bottom of the stairs, returning with the shopping list he had written for her in his hand.
He scans the list against what she has placed out on the floor, she can see the anger creeping over his face again. "So you have not only failed in getting yourself home on time, you have not even bothered getting everything on this list."
He throws the piece of paper to the floor, "Get it all put away, now."
She scoops up the shopping in her arms, dropping something each time she thought she had picked everything up, feeling her cheeks glowing with frustration as she feels his stare burning into her. She rushes out of the room and hurriedly puts the items into the cupboards, stopping still as she hears his voice from the living room, "Come back in here please."
She senses a change in his tone this time, not quite so harsh and sharp. She stands sheepishly in the doorway, desperate for his forgiveness. He looks over to her, she thinks she can see a slight smile on his face but then quickly wonders if it is a smile she wants to see, knowing he is probably feeling pleased with himself for thinking up some cruel punishment for her.
"You'll need to undress for me," he gets to his feet and leaves the room. She undresses while her mind races as to what he has thought up this time. She listens to him moving around noisily upstairs, then hears him bringing something large and heavy down the stairs.