After being given permission by Sheriff Stone to leave his office, I had to undergo the ignominy of redressing in front of him and the drunken inmates. I felt ridiculous having to put my baby doll outfit on again, but it was a hell of a lot better than standing in front of them in my birthday suit.
With cheers and whistles from the inmates ringing in my ears I hurried from the Sheriff's office and walked quickly towards the hotel where my husband, Michael, and Mother in Law, Jane, had said they would wait for me at the bar.
The bar was done out in a Wild West theme, was dimly lit, and smelt of stale alcohol and cigarettes. There were half a dozen rednecks seated on stools at the bar. They all turned to rubberneck me as I entered.
There were less-than-subtle grins, and one of the men sniggered, "What do you want, girlie. Come to play with daddy?"
The grins turned to laughter, and I blushed in shame. My eyes frantically scanned the dimly lit room and to my utter relief I noticed my husband and Mother in Law sitting together in a corner booth. They had obviously seen me but had made no attempt to attract my attention or come to my rescue. I began to scurry pass the leering eyes of the bar patrons and make my way over to the corner booth when the bartender stepped in front of me and held up his big mitt.
"And where are you off to, Missy?" he demanded.
Frustration welled up from within. "Get out of my way, you fucking creep," I exploded.
The bartender responded by roughly grabbing my arm, but he contained his temper and spoke quietly. "Have you got ID young lady, to prove you are old enough to be in this bar?"
Instinctively I went to reach for my ID, but quickly realised that since I had changed into the ridiculous baby doll outfit I was carrying no money or identification of any sort. I groaned in anguish. Ironically the bartender was probably younger than my 29 years.
"Well?" the bartender quietly demanded.
I struggled to think how to form a suitable explanation, and breathed a big sigh of relief when my Mother in Law stepped into view. "This is my Daughter in Law. Is there a problem here young man?" she politely enquired.
The bartender looked me up and down, twice. "Your Daughter in Law?" he said, shaking his head disbelievingly. "Well your Daughter in Law is in a licensed hotel with no ID. I should report her to the Sheriff."
I screwed my face up in alarm. I had seen enough of Sheriff Stone to last me a lifetime.
"I am afraid my Daughter in Law is a little eccentric and very impulsive," my Mother in Law explained to the bewildered bartender. "When she behaves badly like this, which is frequent I might add, I normally spank her bottom."
"You spank her bottom?" the bartender scratched his head.
"Her bare bottom."
"Her bare bottom?" The bartender didn't know what to make of this but seemed intrigued.
I, on the other hand, was mortified and glared at my Mother in Law, but dared not utter a word. I glanced over to my husband, Michael, who was still seated at the booth. I pleaded with my eyes for him to intervene, but his only response was to give me a friendly little wave of acknowledgement.
"Perhaps if I spank her bottom, right here, right now, you might think that was sufficient punishment, rather than reporting her to the Sheriff, who I am sure is a very busy man."
The bartender rubbed the stubble on his chin. "On her bare bottom?" he clarified.
My Mother in Law nodded.
The bartender's eyes roved up and down my body once more, and he obviously liked what he saw. A broad smile covered his face from ear to ear. "Very well, but it needs to be a damn good spanking as she was downright rude to me and I was only doing my job."
"I totally agree," my Mother in Law spoke sternly like an old fashioned school ma'am. She turned to me. "Apologise to this nice young man for your behaviour."
I pouted my lip, and fought back a tear. "I am very sorry for being so rude to you. It was uncalled for."
"And what do you deserve?" my Mother in Law interjected sternly.
I blushed and looked at my feet. "I deserve to be spanked."
"How will you be spanked?" she demanded.
"On my bare bottom, Sir," I whispered in humiliation.
"Speak up girl. I want everyone to know how you feel you should be punished."
I was suddenly aware of how deathly quiet it was in the bar. I looked up and saw that the eyes of every patron were firmly fixed on me. There must have been over twenty people in total at the bar, including several women.
I gulped in several breaths of air to steady my nerves. I summonsed my courage and tried to speak loudly, "I deserve to be spanked on my bare bottom, Sir."
I felt so shamefaced.