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A week had gone by since Karen's punishment in front of her daughter, Nikita and Dave made no mention of that evening in front of Nikita.
Nikita however, had quizzed her mother about her domestic discipline sessions, much to her mother's embarrassment.
"One day, you too may do things to spice up your sex life," said Karen, trying to make Nikita understand.
Cutting to the present, Karen, Nikita and Eric were discussing the wedding plans and drawing up the guest list.
Dave, was going about his weekly task of sorting through the mail. He opened one, his face turned red in anger.
"Karen, honey," he said waving a letter in his hand. "I thought we had decided once and for all that you will not carry a balance in your credit card?" he thundered.
Karen flushed at being reprimanded in front of Eric.
"Honey, things got out of hand. Let's discuss this later?" she pleaded.
Nikita smiled as she detected the implicit agreement to another private domestic discipline session.
"Actually, I am tired of repeated, broken promises on this front. Eric needs to learn to how to deal with this kind of situation in his married life," the normally agreeable Dave, said unreasonably.
Karen turned pale at what was being suggested. Nikita almost choked on her beer. Eric was looking pretty non-plussed except being a little annoyed with Dave for his lack of tact in discussing these matters in front of him. Granted, he was now almost family, but surely this was uncalled for, he thought.
Karen ran up to Dave and whispered in his ear, "Honey, please? Don't humiliate me in front of Eric? I will make it up to you later, I promise," she pleaded in the most seductive voice she could muster.
Dave whispered, "Sweetheart. I am tired of having had to deal with this matter over and over for years. My mind is made up. You will be punished publicly for this," he whispered back.
Karen held his gaze for a while to see if she could make him relent.
Nikita squirmed uncomfortably as Eric stared at her quizzically as if to ask what was going on.
Nikita shrugged her shoulders and pretended to have no idea.
Dave was firmly unrelenting and Karen threw up her hands in frustration.
Karen looked as if she was going to storm out of the room and go up the stairs to her bedroom when she turned and moved to the center of the room, stood with bowed head and said, "I am sorry I did not pay off the credit card as promised, Honey. Please punish me and teach me a proper lesson."
Eric was astounded. He looked at Nikita to see if this was real. Nikita blushed and nodded.
"Nikita and I had planned to go out for dinner, Sir. We better get going," he said diplomatically looking at Dave and avoiding looking at the poor embarrassed Karen standing with bowed head in the middle of her own living room.
"Eric, Son. I request both of you to stay. Karen's overspending and lack of impulse control has been a long-standing issue for us. It has threatened to tear up our marriage several times. I had to bail her out of all her past debts when we got married and she is still not able to keep her finances in control. In this bad economy, when hardly any job is guaranteed, she wants to splurge and pay exorbitant interest rates on her credit cards. I am afraid Nikita has inherited some of her habits and I have had to bail her out a few times too. You need to learn how to keep Nikita in control as far as this issue goes otherwise you are going to be spending many evenings fighting over it," he said sadly.
"I, I don't really know, Sir," said poor Eric, not knowing what to make of it.
Yet he was getting turned on at the sight of the demure Karen and he pictured Nikita standing in front of him like that.
"Karen sweetheart, please convince Eric and Nikita to stay. You know you really need this corrective humiliating punishment," said Dave.
'I have turned my mild mannered husband into a monster. Or was the monster always there lurking under the placid exterior encouraged to surface by her continued irresponsibility. Or was he just trying to up the ante to keep their sex life white hot. Humiliation had always turned him on,' thought poor Karen as she contemplated her next act.
Deciding to accept her punishment whole heartedly, she went and knelt before Eric and said, "Eric, please stay and witness my punishment. It will make it all the more humiliating for me and correct my financial behavior."
Eric gracefully took her hand and kissed it gallantly.
She now had to undergo the indignity of kneeling before her own daughter and requesting her to witness her punishment.
"Nikita, my daughter, please stay and witness my punishment. Let his also be a lesson to you," said poor Karen, wondering if she would be able to be a wise mother to her daughter ever again.
"Oh mommy! I am sooo sorry you have to go through this," said Nikita genuinely, and shot an angry look at her step father. Her sympathy though had the unintended effect of heightening her embarrassment.
Karen then stood in the middle of the room and asked her husband to commence the punishment.
Dave arranged the dining room chair so that Karen could kneel on it. There was a mirror facing her and behind her was a mirrored wall.
Once Karen knelt on it, he asked Nikita to stand in front of her and hold Karen's hands.
"I want you two to look into each other's eyes at all times," instructed her husband.
"Eric, you may stand with me and observe," he continued.