For the last couple of months the tension had been mounting in our house, I had completed my book and sent it to my agent Bob Hanks, the days dragged out as I waited for a telephone call from him. My next book idea on hold no point in starting to write something no one wanted, it was becoming harder to fill my days. I found myself wondering around the backyard day dreaming of Julie and our sexual exploits, she would arrive home after work and I couldn't keep my hands off her, I knew it was beginning to annoy her.
The telephone rang and my heart raced, I rushed to it and picked it up, " Hi Peter its Bob, I am afraid I have bad news your book was rejected by the ten publisher's, I'm sorry, Pete are you there? Pete,"
"yeh I'm here Bob what was the problem," no problem it's just the markets flooded with murder mysteries and these guys don't feel comfortable publishing an unknown, I really am sorry,"
"thanks Bob." I hung up the phone I sat dejected on the floor, all the long hours, the sleepless nights, the sacrifices of having only one income, how dare they fuck up my life, who the fuck do they think they are? This cant be happening to me, not me.
Julie arrived home from work, she passed the empty Scotch bottle on the kitchen table, she found me hunched on the kitchen floor. "Peter what's wrong?" she inquired, before I could answer she knelt down beside me and held me in her arms, "there's lots of other publisher's or maybe we could self publish the book?" Words jumbled in my head the only noise my mouth released was a pitiful groan. Days melded into weeks and I sloughed around the house wallowing in self-pity, I had hit rock bottom, Julie had tried to lift my spirits, it was useless nothing could snap me out of my depression.
I heard Julie's car pull up I glanced at the clock, 1.30 pm, a strange time for Julie to be home I thought. Her car door slammed followed by Julie running up the steps, she slammed the front door and race into where I was sitting, she grabbed my arm and pulled me down the stairs into the basement, she fumbled with the keys to the heavy steel door, she unlocked it and dragged me inside slamming the door behind her. " Now your going to snap out of this, do you hear me?" she yelled. Julie ripped off her clothes and handed me a large wooden ruler, " now I am sick of your piss weak attitude, you need to get angry, now stop being so pathetic and fucking take it out on me."
I stood there not being able to look Julie in the eyes, with my head bowed, I replied "Julie I don't think I'm up to this.' Julie ignored me, she walked up to a wall and placed her wrists into the shackles, she pulled at the chains, testing their strength. "Peter get over here now and spank me." I hit her across her buttocks a couple of times, my heart wasn't in it." Julie raised her voice at me, "your not half the man I married, you cant write, wasting you time fucking around making up stories, who does that?" I whacked her across her arse this time with more force, " that didn't hurt," Julie laughed out, I hit again harder this time, she just giggled, I draw the ruler back and hit her harder leaving a long red mark across her arse. " That's it hurt me Julie cried, come on you bastard, fucking give it to me.