The sound of a kitchen cabinet closing a little too hard roused Clare from her afternoon nap. She sat up and looked to her phone, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. 5:15, about half an hour later than Matt normally arrived home. She slid off the bed and went to join him in the kitchen.
"Why didn't you wake me up when you got home?" She asked, opening her arms to hug him. He seemed agitated as he pulled food out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter, ignoring her attempt at affection. He didn't answer her, but instead took a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with ice water. "What is the matter love?" Clare asked, her voice filled with worry. "Did something go wrong today?" Matt took a long drink of the water and set the glass down on the counter.
"You were home all day Clare, the house is a mess. I come home thinking that the housework would already be done and I could have a nice relaxing evening with my wife, and not only are the breakfast dishes still in the sink and dinner isn't started, you're sound asleep." He gestured at her pajama bottoms. "You didn't even bother to get dressed." His jaw clenched and released as he looked at the food items in front of him.
Clare froze staring at him. This wasn't the man she knew at all. He had never criticized her for how she kept house or spent her days before. Tears formed in her eyes, and she pushed away from the counter she was leaning on and walked straight out to the back porch.
"Get back here! I'm talking to you Clare." Matt called behind her as she slid the glass door closed. She wasn't listening. Her heart pounded in her ears as the tears started to spill out of her eyes. The glass door slid open and she heard Matt's voice. "What the fuck, Clare, why did you walk off like that?"
She drew in a deep breath and turned to face him. "The house is for love, not whatever this is."
Matt stepped toward her and put his hands on her arms, his dark eyes piercing her. "I want an apology Clare, that was disrespectful. You spent all day at home doing nothing, and when I point that out you sass me." Clare was stunned, he could have slapped her face and it wouldn't have hurt as much as being accused of being lazy and disrespectful. They'd never quarreled before, but she was not going to take this.
Her lips drew into a sharp line and she shook her head quickly. "No Matt. I will not apologize. I wasn't disrespectful, and I sure as fuck wasn't lazy today." She turned her body to free her arms from his grip, stepping to the side to walk away from him.
He held his arm out to bar her from moving. "Clare, apologize, or I'll turn you....."
"Then fucking spank me Matt." She interrupted. "Because I will not apologize for spending the day with Taylor and the 'twins'. We looked forward to today for weeks, I took a vacation day from work so we could have fun today. Taylor asked if she could take them for a sleep over afterward, so you and I could have the house to ourselves for the night, we've been needing that for awhile. You were off work last week for a day, did you spend it home doing housework so I could come home to a clean house and dinner ready?" She knew that was a low blow, but she was angry. It was OK for him to take a vacation day and go fishing with his buddies, but she was expected to spend her free time washing dishes and cooking. "What does it matter that dinner isn't on the table and the sink is full of dishes? We take care of those chores together every single evening when we get home from work. The house isn't any worse now than if I had been at work all day. Do whatever you want Matt, I am not sorry."
She pulled free from him and walked back into the house. She'd show him how serious she was about not apologizing for taking a day for herself and the things she wanted to do. She walked straight to their bedroom, wriggling her rings off her fingers as she did. She set them into the tray on the dresser, all but her wedding rings. She pulled off her bracelets and necklace and set them with the rings. She tugged her shirt over her head and took her pajama bottoms off, leaving them in a puddle on the floor. Finally she slipped her panties off her legs and tossed them onto the pile of clothes. She lowered herself into a kneeling position at the end of the bed, the place Matt usually had her wait when he planned to spank her. But instead of lowering her eyes to the floor she stared straight at the end of the bed. Her gaze proud and defiant, her chin high and her jaw set, determined to take whatever he threw at her without feeling any remorse.
Matt leaned against the door frame of their bedroom, the sight of her naked and kneeling with her head high was striking. He was filled with regret for having spoken so sharply to her. Especially after pointing out his recent fishing trip with Tim and Scott. He remembered how much fun they had out on the lake, even though the fish were not co-operating. He'd returned home in a much better mood, then he prepared dinner while Clare puttered around the kitchen cleaning up the dishes and getting the table ready for dinner. Their tasks were made easier by their enjoyment of each other and the occasional brushes and bumps of their bodies together in the small kitchen. Some of those bumps and brushes being premeditated on his part to be honest.
Suddenly he couldn't explain why he'd thought that today should have been any different and he realized just how wrong he had been. The sight of her patiently waiting to be punished unjustly convicted him. He needed to find a way to end this without loosing face, and he had no idea how to do that. Soundlessly he pushed away from the door frame and walked out to his garage.
*******
The garage door at the house across the street was open, and Matt could hear clinking of metal tools and an occasional swear word as he walked across to seek the counsel of his buddy. He found Tim hunched over the engine of a car he was in the process of restoring. As he came into view Tim straightened up and smiled "What's up brother?" He asked, noticing Matt wasn't looking as friendly as usual.
"I blew it." Matt said scratching at his cheek with one hand.
"Hmmmm....." Tim pointed to a stack of camping chairs along the wall. "Grab a chair, lets talk about it." He set down his tools and picked up a shop rag to wipe the grease off his hands then took a chair out of the stack and unfolded it for himself. Tim lowered himself into his chair and looked at his friend.
Matt had settled into the chair, but was leaning forward, his elbows braced on his knees and his hands held out straight in front of him, fingertips together. "What happened Matt?" Tim prompted.
Matt shook his head silently, choosing his words carefully. "So Clare had taken today off work. I don't know what I was thinking, but when I got home the house was a mess and dinner wasn't started. She was in the bedroom napping." He paused and drew in a few deep breaths. "I couldn't let it slide. I was short with her, and she was not having it." He halted again, trying to figure out a way to tell the rest of the story without giving Tim too many intimate details. "I demanded she apologize, and when she refused I threatened to put her over my knee."
"Oh no." Tim winced, thinking he knew what would come next.
Matt drew in another deep breath. "She told me to do it because she's not sorry. Then she stripped down to nothing and kneeled at the end of our bed." He rubbed his hands over his face, then pressed his fingers hard against his temples as if he felt a headache coming on.
"Ouch!" Tim said. Matt nodded. The two sat without speaking for a solid minute.
"Here's the thing Tim, I was absolutely wrong and Clare knows it." Matt finally continued. "You know how we went fishing last week, I came home and we spent the evening making dinner and putting the house straight just like we do every evening, and it was no big deal. I was rested and relaxed and Clare was happy that we'd had fun. The house isn't any worse tonight than it would have been if she'd been at work all day, but for some reason I was expecting she would have taken care of it all before I got home. I was irritated to find dishes in the sink and her napping, and I felt that I was entitled to be bothered by it, we've never even argued before. And when Clare called me out for letting loose on her in the house I took offense and demanded she apologize, and that's when she became disrespectful and defiant." Tim nodded. "I can't let those things go, but I sure as hell can't punish her when I'm the one who started the whole mess. I don't know how to fix this. And she's got such a stubborn streak, she'll wait all night on her knees before she'll back down. There's no spanking this out of her."
Matt grew silent, thinking of the time Clare had told him about the power struggle she'd had with her own mother as a child. Her mom had told her to pick up a doll that belonged to one of her sisters. Clare didn't feel that she should have to pick up the toy, since it wasn't hers and she hadn't been playing with it. Her mom had spanked her for refusing. After spanking her she'd directed Clare again to pick the toy up, and Clare again refused, earning another spanking. This pattern repeated several times until one of the other children took pity on Clare and put the toy away for her. There was one last trip over her mother's knee, and then she was sent off to stand in the corner and think about her behavior. She remembered her mother checking under her panties for a few days after that to ensure the bruises she left on Clares little bottom were healing. Even after all these years she didn't regret anything about that incident.
"I don't see a way out of this Tim." Matt finally said. "She's just so fucking stubborn sometimes."
Tim laughed softly "I think the word you're looking for is 'persistent' brother. And that persistence is what got Clare to where she is in life. You wouldn't want her to be any other way, if you really thought about it."
"You may be right." Matt said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He leaned back against the chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. "What am I supposed to do now?" He asked.
Tim studied his hands on his lap for several seconds then asked "How long has she been in there waiting?"
"Damn, probably a good half hour by now." Matt said.
"I bet her feet and legs are sound asleep." Tim added.
"Likely." Matt said.
Tim chuckled softly. "Brother, I got nothing for you on how you get out of this, but I will say that Shannon has always said she'd rather take a spanking than have to feel her feet and legs wake up after they've been asleep awhile, but whatever you do, you need to get those legs straightened out pretty soon so her circulation can return."
"Good point. Thanks brother." Matt said, standing up and returning his chair to the stack by the wall. "I'll figure this out." He walked out of the garage and back toward his house.
******
Matt paused in the door frame of their bedroom again, Clare had not moved a bit. Still on her knees, head held high and jaw set with a look of defiance. Still so beautiful. Stubborn. He walked to the bed and took a seat at the end of it, locking eyes with her as he did.
