The Strange Healing (11 page)

He kept his lecture up all during the spanking.  “Heather, it's not just your brother you haven't been listening to, lately, and that's going to stop.”

She was crying now, but she asked, “What do you mean?”

“Did you ask who it was before you opened the door tonight?”  When he didn't get a response he asked, “Heather?”

“
No.  Sorry.”

“
When you took Sara shopping the other day were you home in time for her to be ready on time?”

This time she answered with a whispered, “No.”

“And this evening once we knew Heath found Sara and they were talking, I told you to let them alone and don't bother them.  How many times did I catch you trying to call him?”

“
I don't know.”

“
Once, twice?”

“
Several.”

“
That's right, several.”  He picked up the pace on her spanking now, having made his point.  She was crying and squirming, trying to end the spanking.

When he was sure he had her attention, he picked up the paddle.  Laying it on her bottom, he said, “Heather, you've been on a slippery slope lately, and you're just about to lose control.  Well, Honey, I'm going to help you gain your footing again, right now.”  He picked up the paddle and gave her three quick, no-joking-around swats.

“Ow!  Oh, Phil, no.  That hurts too much!”

“
Honey, you know I'll never give you too much, but I do mean to get your attention tonight.  Are you listening carefully?”

“
Ouch!  Yes, yes, I'm listening.”

“
We have a guest staying with us now, and Sara's got some problems of her own right now.  If anyone can help her it's your brother, but I want you to give him a chance to do that.  Give them time to themselves to talk.  Don't be bugging them to do things together if they want to be alone.  Do you hear me, Heather?” 

He gave her three more quick, hard swats as she yelled, “Yes.  Yes, I hear you.  Owww!”

“Remember, Heather, if you give them time alone and they work out her problems, they'll be working on their fledgling relationship at the same time.”  After three more quick swats he said, “So you be on your best behavior, don't push them on each other, and remember, your spiraling out of control, ignoring what you're told to do ends right here, right now.” 

He gave her six more sharp swats with the paddle, all to her sit spots.  “Understand?”

“Ow, ow, ouch.  Oh, Phil, please stop.  Yes.  Yes, I understand.”  With that, she gave up the fight and slumped over his knee, sobbing.

Phil dropped the paddle to the floor and rubbed her back while she caught her breath.  She was still sobbing softly when he gently picked her up and held her against his chest, being careful to keep her sore bottom off his lap.  He whispered reassurances of his love and told her she was forgiven.  When she calmed sufficiently he picked her up and laid her in bed, and quickly undressed and climbed in beside her, pulling her to him.  He kept his arm around her protectively while she calmed.

“Phil, I'm sorry.”

“
I know you are, baby.  I'm sorry, too.”

“
For spanking me so hard?”

“
No, you deserved every bit of that.  I'm sorry I let you go so long.  I didn't know Heath had already talked to you about letting the two of them get to know each other on their own.  If I had known that I would have spanked you then.  This evening when you kept trying to call Heath, and then you flung open the door without checking first, I knew you were spiraling out of control.  But I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I heard Heath talking to you about butting into their privacy.  I never should have let you go that long, and for that I'm sorry.”

Heather cuddled in a little closer to her husband.  In a strange way, she felt comforted by his words.

“You're worn out, Honey.  You go to sleep now, but keep in mind, I'm going to be watching you much closer for a while.  I'm going to be stricter than normal with you for a little while until we get you back on track.”  He was touched when his little minx turned her head and kissed his arm that was wrapped around her.  He hugged her tighter and said, “Go to sleep now, Sweetheart.  I love you.”

She yawned as she said, “I love you, too, Phil.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sara was sleeping restlessly in the other bedroom.  She was at the beach when two men started chasing her.  She ran down an alley and hid behind a dumpster, trying to lose the men.  Just as the men got closer she heard a noise.  It sounded like a drum.  She listened again, but now it sounded more like a gun, or a car backfiring.  She tossed and turned, and woke up when she heard someone scream.

She sat up, looking around her.  It took her a moment to remember she was at Phil and Heather's.  She sat there a minute, trying to remember the bad dream she'd had.  It was different this time.  She was wondering what it could mean, when she heard another scream, only this time she was awake. 

She froze.  Was someone in the condo?  She didn't know what to do.  Then she heard another scream.  It sounded like Heather.  But that didn't make sense.  Phil was a police officer.  If someone broke into the condo, wouldn't Phil have stopped him?  Maybe they made it in without Phil hearing anything.  What if they got Phil?  She had to go see what was going on.  She was shaking as she quietly put on her bathrobe and slippers and tiptoed out into the hall. 

She listened closely, but didn't hear anything.  No screaming, no talking, no nothing.  She stood outside Phil and Heather's door, afraid to move.  She stood still for five minutes, but never heard a thing.  She decided she had to do something.  What if they were in there hurt, unable to move or yell for help?  She mustered all her strength and slowly turned the doorknob.  She hoped it didn't creak, as she slowly turned it enough to open their door just a crack. 

What she saw was unexplainable.  Phil and Heather were in bed asleep.  Heather was wrapped in Phil's arms.  Both looked happy and everything looked fine. 

She slowly tiptoed back to her room, trying to figure it out.  She was sure she heard a scream, and she didn't think it was in her dream.  She was confused, but decided there was nothing she could do about it tonight.  Maybe tomorrow she'd talk to Heather about it.  She lay down and went back to sleep.

She slept the rest of the night, but not well.  When she woke up the next morning she remembered her dream, and decided she would talk to someone about it.  But should she talk to Heath about the dream, or should she ask Heather about the scream?  She thought about that as she took a shower and dressed. 

When she went out to the kitchen she was surprised to see Phil, Heather, and Heath all sitting at the table having coffee.

Heath greeted her immediately.  “Good morning, sleepy head.”  He gave her a quick kiss.  “Did you sleep well last night?”

Looking at all three of them, she quietly said, “Yes, fine.”

Heath gave her a guarded look and said, “We'll talk a little more after breakfast.  How about some coffee?”

“That sounds wonderful.  Heather, what can I do to help?”

“
Absolutely nothing, Sara.  Phil had breakfast just about ready by the time I got up.  You have to try his omelets.  They're delicious.”

The four of them enjoyed breakfast while they made plans for the day.

Heath said, “I hate to steal your house guest, but I'd like to take her to my place after breakfast.  There's a couple things I want to talk to her about and I don't want to be interrupted.”

Heather glanced over at Phil, and quickly said, “Heath, that's fine.  I want you to know that I've thought about what you said last night, and you're right.  You guys can have as much privacy as you need, and I promise I won't give you a hassle.”

Heath smiled at her, and glancing at the look on Phil's face, he bet he knew what brought about her change.  “Thank you, Sis.  I appreciate that.

After breakfast Heath and Sara walked hand in hand to his condo, both
eager to talk to the other.

Heath led Sara inside his condo.  He turned toward her and they both started talking at once.  He said, “Sara, there's something important I want to talk to you about.”

She told him, “Heath, there's something on my mind I'd like to talk to you about if you don't mind.”

They stood, staring at each other for several moments, before they both started laughing.  Heath suggested, “It sounds like we have a lot of talking to do.  Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you.  Not yet anyway.  I've had enough for a while.”

“
Yeah, me, too.  If you want some iced tea or lemonade after while, let me know.”

“
That sounds like a good plan.”

“
Okay, ladies first.  What do you want to talk about?  Does it have anything to do with why you lied to me this morning?”

“
Lied?  When did I lie to you?”

With a stern expression on his face he answered, “When I asked you how you slept.  You told me fine, but you didn't, did you?”

Sara felt her face blush, and she quietly admitted, “No, not really.”

“
I didn't think so.  Is that what you wanted to talk to me about, or is there something else you want to talk about first, before we talk about that?”

“
That's kind of what I want to talk about, but you said you wanted to talk to me about something.  Was that what you wanted to talk about; about why I lied?”

“
I planned on talking to you when I first got to Heather's this morning.  Then when I could tell you lied to me, I had another thing to talk about.  So yes and no.  We're going to talk about that, but there's something else, as well.  So we better get started.  Shall we start with how you really slept?”

“
Okay, this is going to sound really weird, but it's the truth.  I hope you can help me make sense of it so I can get it off my mind.  Last night I was really tired, so after you left I took a shower and fell right to sleep.  I hadn't been asleep real long, though, when I had another dream.  Two men were chasing me, and I was trying to get away from them and I ran down an alley and hid behind a dumpster that was in the alley.  They were getting closer and I was afraid they'd find me, so I was being real quiet.  Then I heard a weird sound, like a drum beating.  I kept listening, and it sounded more like gunshots, or maybe a car backfiring.  Then I heard a scream, a lady's scream.  I kind of woke up then.”

They were sitting on the couch, and when she said she'd had another dream, he'd pulled her onto his lap to comfort her.  “You kind of woke up?”

“Yeah, I think I was about half awake, kind of still in a daze, but I heard something again.  This time it sounded like, I don't know how to describe it.  I guess like a book fell off a table to the floor, like a bang, or a thud, only there were three of them in a row, and another scream.  Then I woke up.  It took me a few seconds to get oriented, but then I heard it again, only this time it was like five or six times in a row, and I know I heard a scream.  It sounded like Heather.”

Phil's eyebrows rose, as he considered what she'd told him.  Then he thought back onto how quickly Heather agreed to giving them all the time alone they needed, and her glance at Phil, and the look on his face, and it all fit together.  His Sara had overheard Heather getting a spanking.  Now, how should he explain this without violating Heather's privacy?

He told her, “Honey, you could have called me.”  She just looked at him, thinking about that possibility.  He asked, “What did you do?”

“
I was afraid someone had broken into the condo and Phil and Heather needed help.  I couldn't just lie there and do nothing if they were in the other room hurt, so I went to check on them.  When I quietly got their door open a bit, though, they were both fine.  They were sleeping.”  She looked up at him with a very serious look on her face.  “I went back to my room, but Heath, I know I heard something.  I tried to tell myself it was probably part of my dream, but it seemed too real to be a dream.”

“
Did you sleep okay after that, Honey, and before you answer, I want the truth this time.”

She frowned at him as she said, “Yes, I slept fine after that, and yes, that is the truth.”

His smile returned as he said, “Good.”  He leaned down and kissed the top of her head casually, and carefully tried to explain, “Honey, I think I may know what you heard last night.”

She had an incredulous look on her face as she asked, “You do?  How?  What was it?  Is Heather okay?”

“Well, I can tell you Heather's fine, but I think you should ask her about the sounds you heard.  It would be better if she told you.”

“
Why?  If you know, why can't you tell me?”

“
Honey, I think you just have to trust me on this one.  It would be much better if she tells you herself.  I think she would feel better if you heard it from her rather than someone else, and you might understand it better in a woman to woman talk.”

“
What?”

Heath felt helpless.  Poor Sara was so confused, but he didn't feel it was his place to explain that Heather g
ot her butt spanked fairly regularly.  He pulled her close and tried a different tactic.  “I promise I'll take you back there and give you girls some privacy to talk as soon as we're done, but there is one more thing I really want to discuss with you.  Can you wait just a little while to get your answer to that question?”