Chapter 6: The phone call
I called my mom after talking to Jessica.
"I have some great news." I told her. "I have a full scholarship for my Junior and Senior year. Mrs. Baxter arranged it."
I told her that I would also be working for Mrs. Baxter, but it meant that I would have to stay in Florida this summer. I really wanted to come home and see her and find out how she was adjusting to living alone. I knew she would be lonely after being married for 25 years, but there wasn't much I could do about that now. I told her I would try to come for a week or two before classes started in the fall.
"I'm sorry you're not coming home this summer" she said. "But I understand. Ruth seems like a wonderful lady. She spoke highly of you when we talked. She thought you were a polite young man and that she was willing to help you out anyway she could."
"She spoke quite highly of you as well, Mom." I replied. "You two must have had quite the conversation."
"Well, we did talk on the phone for quite a while and we've been exchanging emails since then." Mom replied. "She was so easy to talk to. We probably talked for over an hour."
"What did you talk about?" I asked.
"You mostly." She replied. "She asked about what you did in high school, your interests, how good a student you were. You know, just general information. We did talk for a while about some of your girlfriends and she asked me for some of their names and phone numbers. I was hesitant to do so because I really didn't know her at that point. She said she needed to talk to them because she has a lot of female boarders and she needed to make sure they will be safe around you. I hope it was alright to give her the information."
"Sure Mom." I said. "I'm sure it was OK. What else did you talk about?"
"Let me see," she replied. "It was kind of odd, but we talked for a long time about discipline. She asked me how I managed to raise a polite young man when most of this generation didn't even know what the word meant."
"And what did you tell her?" I asked.
"I told her that I took you across my lap as a child and beat your butt." She said.
"Mom, you didn't?" I laughed.
"I sure did." She said. "It's the truth. Anyway, she said that she believed in corporal punishment also. She said her Mom believed in the cane, and that she did too. She said that she continued punishing her son until after he graduated from college and moved away. You better be careful Dave. I don't think she would hesitate to give you a paddling if needed."
"You're probably right Mom." I replied.
Mom continued. "Remember the incident the summer before you left for college? You know, the afternoon I had a few of my friends over and wanted you to run to the store and get me some tea."
"Yes Mom, I remember." I replied.
"You didn't answer when I called so I knocked on your door. It was unlocked so I just opened it and boy was I surprised. There you were lying on the bed naked with those nasty magazines. I just couldn't believe my eyes. You remember them don't you? I can't recall their name. It was something like..."
"Yea Mom, I remember quite well" I interrupted. "One was called 'Variations' and the others were 'Ma'am' and 'Women in Control'. I remember them and what happened afterwards."
"I'm sure you do. You were reading a letter about a boy who was lying across his mother's lap getting his behind spanked. You had another magazine opened to a page where two women were spanking a man with a paddle. Do you still think of those things Dave?"
"Oh, come on Mom." I said, not really answering the question. "Most of that stuff is fake anyway."
"Yea" Mom said. "But you sure got a lesson that afternoon. I remember shutting the door and going back out to the kitchen. Aunt Sara was sitting at the table and could tell that something was wrong. She asked me over and over again what the problem was and finally I told her."
"Mom, do you have to?" I asked.
"She looked at me in disbelief." She continued. "Our next door neighbor Beth was there and so was Donna, our neighbor from across the street. They were both looking at me, waiting to see what I would do. Sara took control of the situation. Do you remember what she did?"
"Yea Mom, I remember." I repeated.
"She went into your room, picked up the magazines and grabbed you by the arm and marched you out into the kitchen. You had your jeans and a t-shirt on by then but you looked scared as hell."
"I was." I said.
"Anyway," Mom continued. "Sara threw the magazines down in front of everyone and looked straight into your eyes and told you that this would not go unpunished. She asked everyone how they thought an 18 year old boy getting ready to leave for college should be dealt with for looking at this kind of trash. I think it was Beth who jokingly said to give him what he wants."
"I remember Mom. Do we have to recount the whole story?" I asked.
I was getting a little embarrassed speaking with my mom this way, not to mention reliving the episode again.
She just continued. "Sara made you strip in front of everyone there and once you were naked you were told to bend over the kitchen chair. Sara handed me my sorority paddle and I preceded to beat your ass. You were crying by the time I was finished with you. Remember?"