The sudden opening of my bedroom door woke me up that Monday morning. As my eyes tried to adjust to the light of day, I could see a thin, blonde woman stomping angrily towards my bed. Fear welled within my heart as I sat up.
"Out of bed, boy!" Aunt Naomi snarled at me. "You know the drill!"
I quickly jumped out of the bed and stood beside it. I put my hands on the mattress and spread my feet shoulder-width apart, as if I was preparing to be arrested. I looked over at Aunt Naomi, who had a leather belt in her hand.
"Let's get this over with," she said.
Standing behind me, she quickly yanked down my pajama pants and underwear. She then reached around and grabbed my limp penis and gave it several squeezes. I clenched my eyes shut and tried to think of the usual: roadkill, a clogged toilet, and being stuck in traffic - anything to keep from getting morning wood.
Aunt Naomi's cold hands made keeping soft somewhat easier. After a few minutes she let go of my manhood and backed away. She then did a thorough inspection of my pajamas, my bed sheets, and my bedroom.
"Very good," she said. "I guess you won't be needing punishment today. Get dressed."
After she left the room and closed the door, I heaved a relieved sigh and collapsed forward onto the bed. Fear was replaced by shame and a certain confusion. These morning checks were getting a bit ridiculous.
Ever since I was 10, I had lived with my Aunt Naomi. She was my mother's sister, and after I had lost both my parents to a car accident, she had taken me into her home. Unfortunately, she was my only living relative, and super conservative.
Living with her meant going to a Christian school on a scholarship, going to church several times a week, and having my internet and television usage scrutinized. I wasn't even allowed to wear casual clothes; Aunt Naomi always insisted on me wearing long pants and plain shirts. While other kids had fun going to pool parties and other unsupervised hangouts in the summer, I was only allowed to go to Bible Camp.
I had lots of friends at my Christian school, but I never invited them over for fear of Aunt Naomi's strictness alienating them from me. The only time I was allowed without question to hang out with my peers was when the church youth group had supervised functions. Still, whenever I came home from a picnic or some other youth group function, my aunt would criticize the parents involved for petty things like letting their daughters wear casual clothes, or playing Christian rock music.
I would have hated Aunt Naomi more, but she'd had it rough. Growing up, my grandparents had raised her as strictly as she had raised me. Also, she spent most of her days taking care of her elderly husband Randolph, who was 30 years her senior and bedridden. The folks at the church were very supportive, and a lot of them came over to help cook, clean, and watch him whenever we could not. It was one of the reasons that Aunt Naomi did not allow me to bring any friends over to the house.
For the most part, I had learned to live with this rigid lifestyle. Aunt Naomi and I co-existed pretty well, as long as I followed the rules in her house. However, things between us had changed.
Last month, after I had turned 18, I had awoken with serious case of morning wood. Aunt Naomi had walked into my room unannounced and noticed it, so she instantly thought that I had been choking the chicken. She went hysterical, subjecting me to several lashes with her favorite leather belt, and then several hours of prayer. Since that day, not only was I banned from unsupervised television time, but she performed daily checks to make sure that I wasn't masturbating. Aside from a few wet dreams, I had been in the clear.
After showering and getting dressed for school, I went downstairs and fixed myself a bowl of cereal. I went outside to find Mr. Larson, one of Aunt Naomi's friends from church, waiting for me. I could have easily walked to school or even taken the bus, but Aunt Naomi didn't trust me not to skip school.
I didn't care, though. I was simply waiting until I turned 21 so that I could start getting money from the trust fund that my parents had set up for me. I was going to get a place of my own, get a girlfriend, and find a nice job.
When I returned home that afternoon, my heart dropped as I saw an ambulance in the driveway. Mr. Larson pulled up along the street and we quickly hopped out of the car. We went inside to see Aunt Naomi escorting two paramedics through the house as they moved a stretcher. There was a large black body bag on top of the stretcher. We didn't need three guesses to find out who was in the bag.
"I'm sorry that you had to see this," Aunt Naomi said stoically. "Your Uncle Randolph has gone to meet Jesus."
"I'm so sorry," I said, awkwardly walking to her and giving her a hug.
She gave me a small pat on the back and muttered thanks. In all my years, I found that hugging Aunt Naomi had all the sentimentality of hugging a streetlight. Mr. Larson went over and gave her a hug, and then clasped her hands as he offered his prayers and sympathies.
The next few days were tumultuous for us. The ladies at church had set up a meal train, bringing us casseroles, pastas, and desserts. The pastor came to pray with the both of us and to discuss the funeral arrangements. A funeral director helped oversee the cremation and planning of the funeral. Through it all, Aunt Naomi was like a rock.
Unfortunately, the death of her husband wasn't enough to distract Aunt Naomi from our morning routine. Every morning, she'd be there to ensure that I was softer than a teddy bear. I guess she didn't have anything better to do after all.
That Saturday, I awoke with a chill. I looked out of my window to see my neighborhood blanketed with snow. I jumped out of bed and dressed for the outdoors. Aunt Naomi was surely going to have me get up and shovel the driveway and sidewalk, so it made sense to try and beat her to the punch. In less than an hour, I cleared the snow and salted the driveway and walkways.
I reentered the house, ready for a nice hot breakfast, but, first, I'd treat myself to a hot shower. I quickly went up to my bedroom and denuded, and then went into the bathroom. After turning on the water, I entered the shower after I felt the water was hot enough. The soothing heat was doing wonders for my achy joints and muscles. It was really hard to find the motivation to leave the hot shower.
Suddenly, the shower curtain was noisily pushed open, causing me to jump and drop my bar of soap. Aunt Naomi was standing outside of the shower, clad in a pink robe. She had a furious look in her eyes and the leather belt in her hand.
"What are you doing in here?!" Aunt Naomi barked.
"Taking a shower!" I cried, trying to shield my nakedness.
"You don't get up this early EVER!"
"I just got finished shoveling the driveway, so I wanted to get a shower afterwards! If you don't believe me, then look outside!"
"Don't you lie to me! You were in here pleasuring yourself!"
"No! I just told you..."
"LIES!" Aunt Naomi screeched. "All lies! Show me your loins!"
"What? No!" I turned off the water.
"Don't you defy me, boy!"
"I'm telling you the truth!"
That still wasn't enough for Aunt Naomi; she began pelting my wet skin with the belt. Any other day I would have curled up in a ball and tolerated it, but I was angry. I had just tried to do something nice for her, and she was rewarding my hard work with corporal punishment.
To her surprise, I intercepted her next blow and was able to wrest the belt from her grip. She instantly put her hands up to shield herself from the assured payback. I stood there, ready to smack her with the belt, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
"Aunt Naomi," I started. "I'm tired of you treating me this way. From now on, you won't lay a hand on me ever again. If you don't like that, I'll gladly leave this place."
"What are you talking about, you stupid boy?" She spat. "You don't have anywhere else to go."
I stepped out of the shower and used a towel to cover myself. "I could camp out at the Salvation Army. I'd rather sleep with homeless people than live in this comfortable house with you!"