"Damn!" Jocelyn cursed.
Once again their date would fall through over the need to work late. This time she double cursed herself, because it was due to her needing to work late. And this time she didn't even try to make time for play too, she'd just wanted to get some alone time face to face over dinner with Mitch so she could feel that spark again. With the kid's school and after school events, weekend swim lessons, and on and on, she was lucky to share a dinner on weekends with the four of them together. She wondered when she'd last had any time just with Mitch. They'd stayed up late to watch a movie 3 weeks ago. And Sex? Ha! She thought to herself, it had been over 2 months since she'd had any play. She was just so burned out...they were both burned out, going through their days like zombies, only able to soak up some smiles for the brief moments they could steal a moment in the car or over a bite to eat with the kids. Somehow those kids stopped wanting to do much with mom and dad...she wondered when exactly that happened. She was so frustrated that she begged Mitch to call the babysitter and cancel. She mentally cursed again, then put it out of mind and got back to work.
It wasn't until 12:30 that she'd made it home. It took an extra hour to get home due to the snow storm. People seemed to be relearning how to drive in the ice and slush, and the plows kept everyone creeping along at 25 miles per hour down the highway. Heck just getting out of the parking lot was chancy, since a good 4 inches of slushy snow had piled up at the exit she needed to go out. She was wet and cold, and when she slipped on the driveway and slathered herself in slush she growled her frustration. She looked up as the Christmas lights seemed to laugh at her as they twinkled gaily. Just great, this is how my day ends, she thought to herself.
She picked herself up and went to the door. After fumbling with the lock for a few seconds she finally entered the door. The foyer was pitch as she roughly kicked her shoes off and hung her coat up and started up the stairs to check on the kids. She quietly opened their room and looked inside. The bed was empty.
As Jocelyn made her way to her bedroom she again moved quietly to open the door. She expected to see the kids sleeping on Mommy's side of the bed fast asleep with Mitch. When she started to open the door she saw the soft light of the lamp by her bed, but as she opened the door further she saw the bed was empty. Then she saw him sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, looking her straight in the eyes.
"The kids are at the neighbors," he said flatly, before his voice suddenly took on an aggressive tone.
"Is this how you come home young lady?" he asked loudly, with a sudden edge in his voice. "Do you know how long I've been waiting up for you?" He paused for a moment.
She looked at him, then bowed her head slightly and looked at a spot about 2 feet in front of her toes.
"Do you?" he asked again harshly, still sitting sternly, with his hands on his knees, leaning forward slightly.
Jocelyn opened her mouth a moment, rolling her eyes up in her still bowed head just enough to see his shoes, but no words came out.
"That's it young lady. I've had enough of this behavior. You go out living it up to all hours of the night. And look at you, you're a mess, you're obviously fall down drunk, aren't you? I'll bet that boy you've been hanging around got you drunk didn't he?" he asked accusingly.
"No Daddy, I didn't drink, I just slipped," she said as tears started to well up in her eyes. "I didn't drink, I promise."
"Let me smell your breath," Mitch responded harshly. Jocelyn looked up but didn't move. "Hurry up and get over here," he demanded.
Jocelyn walked over slowly, tears coming down her face. She leaned down towards Mitch's face and opened her mouth, breathing forcefully so he could smell her breath.
"Good girl, I'm proud of you for not drinking. But you know what time it is. I said be home by 11:30 on weekends, Jocelyn, and I meant it. This is the second time this week and fifth time this month you've blatantly ignored the rules, and I am not about to let it slide this time. You do know what time you're supposed to be home don't you?" He asked her.
"Yes Daddy, but..." she started, before he curtly cut her off.
"No more buts, young lady. You've been warned. I think it's time to adjust the consequences. Grounding you last weekend didn't help. I think I'll have to bring back the spankings." He said resignedly, his voice suddenly flooding with disappointment.
"No Daddy, I'll be good, I promise." She started, before searching for another reason, "I'm too old for a spanking, Daddy; I'm in High School now."
"Yes you are, in High School, but you're not acting like it," He said, his voice suddenly getting very calm. "I'm very disappointed in you, and this needs to stop. Pretty soon you're grades will start suffering if you keep being distracted by boys and parties. Now I haven't had to give you a paddling in five years when you deliberately broke your brother's new toy on Christmas day just because you were upset you didn't get what you wanted. You remember that, don't you?" he asked.
Jocelyn nodded silently, her tears drying for a bit, "Yes, Daddy."
"And you never touched his toys again did you, Jocelyn?" He pressed on.
"No Daddy, I learned my lesson," she said resignedly.
"And you're going to learn this lesson too. We set these curfews for a reason. Now go get the paddle, it's still sitting in the shirt drawer where you put it back five years ago. I was hoping I'd never have to use it again, but you've got to learn." He paused for a moment, "And take those clothes off, you'll catch cold. Just put on one of my shirts and hurry up so we can get this done and you can go back to bed."
Jocelyn went to the drawer and opened it up. Her fingers trembled as she moved the shirts aside enough to find the wooden paddle. She then took a clean t-shirt. She turned her back on Mitch and quickly disrobed and put the shirt on, leaving her plain panties on. She then took the paddle out of the drawer and walked slowly back to Mitch, holding the paddle out to him handle first with trembling hands. Mitch took the paddle with a quiet reverence. He gripped it firmly in his right hand and slid his left hand along the lacquered cherry wood. The paddle was elegance itself, he thought to himself as he stood up quietly.
Jocelyn watched him closely. In that moment, everything was pressed out her mind; there was no work, no kids, and no adult responsibilities. In that moment she was 15 again, well behaved and well intentioned most of the time, but slowly beginning to rebel against her father as she tried to assert her independence. In that moment she was a scared girl, knowing she was going to be punished and feeling ashamed for having disappointed her father. She began to cry.
"I'm so sorry Daddy, I want to be a good girl," she said meekly.
"You are a good girl, honey, you just need a reminder so you'll learn," he said softly and turned the chair around, so it faced away from Jocelyn. He patted the back of the chair, "Now come here and hold onto the edge of the chair, you remember how to do this."