The Strange Healing (18 page)

Heather went over to Sara, who had already picked up some of the dishes to take to the sink.  She took the dishes from her hands and with a grim expression said, “No, Sara, it's okay.  I don't mind, really.  You cooked a delicious meal for us.  I'll do the dishes.  You need to go with Heath right now.”  Sara was obviously confused, and Heather quietly told her, “If you want to talk when you come back, just tell me.  I don't have to be at work as early tomorrow, so we can talk as much as you want after we have our dessert.”

Sara still didn't understand what Heather was talking about, but both men seemed to, so she didn't argue.  She let Heath lead her out the door, and they walked hand in hand to his condo in silence.  She was trying, unsuccessfully, to make sense of what was happening.

When they entered Heath's condo, he led her directly to the couch.  He sat down, pulling her down beside him.  She looked up at him with such innocent eyes he had to steel himself to do what he knew he needed to do.

Taking one of her hands in his, he said, “Sara, I want to talk to you about the ticket you got today.”

She suspiciously answered, “Okay.”

“
Have you gotten many tickets in the past?”

Still confused and suspicious, she answered, “No, not many.  Why?”

“Good, I'm glad.  Can you tell me why you thought it would be okay today to ignore the law?”

She quickly tried to correct him.  “I didn't think it was okay to ignore the law today.  I just couldn't find anywhere to park.  When I realized there was a hydrant there I decided I would be in and out quicker than I could get back in my car and drive around more.  I had chicken in the car and I didn't want it to spoil.  So I hurried in and back and would have been gone in five minutes.  No problem.  No harm done.”

Still holding her hand, Heath patiently asked, “But something could have happened, couldn't it, Honey?”  He gave her a while to consider his question, but when she didn't answer, he asked, “Sara, I expect an answer.  What could have happened while you were parked there?”

Sara didn't understand why he was making such a big deal out of a simple overpriced ticket, but the serious expression on his face made her answer.  “I suppose something could have caught on fire.”

“Yes, it could have.  And what would have happened then?”

“
I would have had to move my car.”

“
But that's not always possible, Honey.”

“
Why?”

“
If there's a fire things get chaotic.  Fire trucks come and take over the street, and people are running to get people out of there, or help.  Once the fire trucks are there they aren't going to all move just so you can move your car.”

“
So my car would be in the way, blocking the hydrant.”

“
Yes, it would.” 

Seeing he was getting her to think it through, just as he'd hoped, he continued.  “And what do you think would happen when they tried to hook their hose up to the hydrant?”

She looked at him uncertainly.  “I'm not sure.  I guess it would take longer to hook it up since my car would be in front of it, and then the hose would have to curve off to the side.”

“
Actually, Honey, if you car is in front of the hydrant the hose wouldn't be able to be hooked up to that hydrant.  There wouldn't be enough room in front of the hydrant.  Those hoses are big and need a lot of room for the hookup, and then if you try and curve them that much you'd have a kink in the hose.  What happens to the water flow then?”

She gulped and said, “The water won't flow.”

“That's right.”  He saw tears in her eyes and knew he was making his point, but he had to see it through.  “They would have to hook all their hoses together and run them all the way to another hydrant.” 

He gave her time to think about what all he'd said.  After
a while she looked up at him and quietly said, “I'm sorry.  I didn't know.” 

He wiped a couple tears from her cheeks as he said, “I didn't think you'd thought about what could happen.”

Tears were running more freely now as she said, “I didn't.  I won't do it again, Heath.  I promise.”

Taking a deep breath, he said, “Sara, do you remember when we talked about what would happen when you do wrong from now on?  About consequences?”

She looked down, and nodded.  Heath had to listen closely to hear a quiet, “Yes.”

“
So you know what has to happen now then, don't you?”

“
It doesn't have to happen.  I told you I won't do it again.”

Remembering what she'd said the other day, that she liked how it felt to have somebody that cared, he said, “
But Sara, there's one problem.”

“
What's that?”

“
I care too much about you to not do what needs to be done.”

She looked up at Heath with tears in her eyes.

He studied her expression, but couldn't tell if she was happy he cared that much, or afraid that he wouldn't really follow through after all, or afraid he would. 

Not wanting her to worry any longer than necessary, he said, “Let's get this over with, Sara, so we can get on with our evening.  Stand up, please.”  He wasn't sure what to expect, but was happy
that she stood, even if a little reluctantly.  He gently pulled her over so she stood in front of him. 

When he started to unfasten her pants she put her hand over his, stopping him.  “What are you doing?”

“Taking your pants down.  A spanking is not effective if it's administered over jeans, Sara.”

“
But you can't –”  She stopped, but when he saw how red her face was he knew what was bothering her.

“
Sara, I won't take your panties down.”  She heaved a sigh of relief until he added, “Not yet anyway.”

“
What do you mean not yet?”

Looking into her eyes he said, “Sara, I hope some day to make you my wife.  We need time to get to know each other better yet, but I hope that's where this relationship is heading.  Until we do know each other better, though, I will leave your panties on, like I did anytime I had to spank Heather.  In the future, though, after we've grown closer, your spankings will always be on your bare bottom.”  After giving her time to digest that information, he again reached up to unfasten her pants, and was again happy when she moved her hands away and allowed him access.

He pulled her pants down to her ankles, then carefully helped her over his left knee, resting her upper body on the couch.  He laid his hand on her bottom and took a moment to draw on his inner strength.  The panty-clad bottom lying over his lap was nothing short of beautiful.  The fact she allowed him to do this was very humbling.  He knew this would be her first spanking ever, and he knew how difficult this had to be for her to submit to. 

He forced his thoughts back to the present, to the beautiful, but trembling he now realized, bottom draped over his lap.  “Okay, Sara, time to pay the consequences for your
poor choice today.”  With that he spanked her once on her left cheek, followed quickly by a matching swat to her right cheek.  They were relatively light swats, though she jumped.  He was sure that she felt them, but they scared her more than hurt her.  He gave her about a dozen swats, using the same fairly light force, before stopping to say, “Okay, Sara, we're going to review what could have happened today, and then we're going to talk a little bit about why laws are laws, but I want to be sure you're listening.  Do I have your attention?”

She was starting to cry, but dutifully answered, “Yes.”

“Okay, good.  We'll get started then.”  He started spanking again, using the same fairly mild force.  He knew this first spanking would be very emotional for her and it wouldn't take a great deal of pain to be effective. In the future he would put more focus on pain to make his point, but today he was more interested in making sure she knew what was happening and why.

He continued talking to her throughout the spanking, occasionally asking questions to be sure she was focusing on the right thing.  She was doing her fair share of squirming and yelling, but for her first spanking, he was proud of her.  When he thought she'd had about enough he paused, keeping his hand on her bottom.  He asked, “Sara, I don't know what you ran into the store to get quickly, but whatever it was, was it worth this spanking?”

She was crying, but she immediately and forlornly answered, “No.  It was for that damn pink and purple zebra.”

That got his attention!  He was momentarily silenced.  Having no idea what she meant by a pink and purple zebra, he momentarily put that on hold to address her language.  His Sara didn't usually talk like that, and he was shocked to hear it, especially during a spanking.  Instinct soon kicked in, however, and he scolded, “Sara, I don't like that kind of language anytime, but I will not allow it during a spanking.”  With that he gave her ten more swats, which caused more squirming and yelling from his little miscreant over his lap.

Again keeping his hand on her bottom, he said, “Now, no more such language, young lady.  Understand?”

Crying and gasping for breath, she managed to answer, “
Yes.  I'm sorry.”

“
That's better.  Now, what did you say you went to that store to get?”

Sara was crying, and he was having a hard time understanding her.  He listened carefully as he thought she mumbled, “I had to get the stuff the pink and purple zebra needed.”

Again he was silent.  “Did you say the pink and purple zebra?”

She was still sobbing, and a little frustrated, as she answered, “Yes.  What did you think I said?”

“Watch your attitude, young lady,” he admonished, as he gave her six more swats.

“
Ow!  Heath, no!”

He was more confused than ever, but something inside him told him she needed to be comforted and reassured right now, so that's what he did.  He rubbed her back until she caught her breath, then gently helped her up to sit on his lap.  He pulled her into his chest, wrapping her in his arms.  She immediately laid her head against his shoulder and clung to him, one arm on his shirt and the other holding his forearm.

With his mouth close to her ear he whispered, “It's okay, Sweetie, it's over.  You've suffered the consequences and you're forgiven.”  She started crying a bit louder and snuggled in closer to him.  He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, and rubbed her back, helping her to calm down.  He kept talking, telling her how proud he was of her, and how much he cared about her.

When she calmed sufficiently, he said, “Sweetheart, the spanking's all over, but you've got to explain something to me.”

“What?”

“
Who ever heard of a pink and purple zebra, and what in the world does it have to do with what happened today?”

She looked at him like he was dense.  “I already told you.  Didn't you hear me?”

Smiling, he said, “Apparently not, because I'm more than a little confused.  Could you please explain it to me again?”

“
Okay, but it's really pretty simple.  The next book I'm illustrating is about a pink and purple zebra.  I have a ton of colored pencils in the normal colors I use a lot, but I knew I'd need more pink and purple.”

“
So you went to get pink and purple pencils?”

“
Yes.  What else would I be doing at an office supply store?”

Heath just laughed and hugged her a little tighter.  “Sara, you are simply precious.”

She looked at him quizzically, then just cuddled up to him a little closer.

Heath held Sara on his lap and gave her plenty of time to recover from her spanking.  He loved the closeness they were sharing and was content to let them both absorb as much of that feeling as possible.

Eventually, though, he checked his watch and said, “Sweetheart, are you about ready to go back to Phil's?”

He was happy when he saw that mischievous look in her eye again as she asked, “Are you just wanting some dessert?”

He chuckled as he said, “Yep, that's the only reason.”  When she sat up to look at him, he added, “Brat.”

She reached up and punched him in the arm, and he grabbed her fist and used it to pull her close enough to give her a
tender kiss, which quickly turned into a very sensuous kiss.  He eventually pulled back and whispered, “I don't think I need any dessert now.  I already had some.”

She smiled and leaned forward again to kiss him, which he readily
accepted. 

When he pulled back this time he said, “Okay, now we do need to get back to Phil's.”  He took her
chin in his thumb and index finger so she was looking at him and asked, “Are you okay, Sara?”

She knew he was referring to the spanking, and although she felt her face flush again, she assured him, “Yes, I am.”

He studied her face and saw the truth of her words, and smiled.  “Good.  That's very important to me.”

“
I know,” she answered honestly.  “And thank you for caring."