It was strange for Katherine to sit there while they talked about her as if she weren’t there. It was clear she wasn’t going to talk her way out of trouble so she contemplated what the Gardners were going to do about this. They always seemed so nice and she was surprised by their harshness now, though she could hardly blame them. She hoped they would just throw her out without payment. That would be a punishment since there was this great outfit at the mall she’d had her eye on.
“I would like to believe you, Katherine, but my wife does have a point. How can we believe anything you say now? I can’t think of anything to do but call your parents.” Now Mr. Gardner seemed deeply disappointed in her and she felt ashamed. He’d always been so nice to her. But they couldn’t call her parents! Her mom would freak!
“You can’t!” Katherine blurted out.
“Excuse me?” Mr. Gardner asked with surprise. “I am sure you did not just say we can’t.”
“My mother would kill me and then when she tells my dad I’m going to be so screwed.”
“You should have thought of that before you went snooping and took my jewelry. I know several of the other couples at church you’ve sat for. I’m sure you’ve been through their things, too. What would they think?” Mrs. Gardner asked.
Ohmygod!
Katherine thought. This was just getting worse and worse. Would they really tell people at church? Her reputation would be ruined. Not only could she forget about ever babysitting again, but everyone would hate her. They would all be suspicious of her. “Please, don’t tell anyone,” she pleaded.
“I have to telephone your parents. My hands are tied,” Mr. Gardner said.
“Please, don’t. It’ll ruin my life.”
True, she was twenty and not a kid anymore, but Katherine’s parents still kept her on a short leash and they would institute some kind of punishment for sure. They could take her car away, which would leave her virtually stranded. No beach this summer, no going out to meet her friends unless she could convince them to swing by and get her.
“That is not our problem, young lady. I think we have an obligation to let our friends know what you’ve been doing. I think being grounded should be the least of your concerns.”
So that was it. Mrs. Gardner really did mean to tell everyone at church that she’d been going through their things. Katherine just couldn’t stand the thought of it. There had to be something she could do to get out of this. She glanced past the door she’d just opened and although it was dark she’d seen enough to guess at what went on in there. It went against her nature to strike out—she’d always been the good girl—but her back was against the wall.
“If you tell people I’ve been snooping I’ll have to tell them what I saw,” she said defiantly, purposely staring at Mrs. Gardner. Katherine hoped the Gardners would be embarrassed enough by what they kept locked away to back down. Mrs. Gardner was on several committees at church and was an accomplished professional. Of course it was a bluff, as she was not sure what she saw in that dark room. Katherine was just gambling that whatever that room was for that the Gardners wanted to keep it a secret.
“You little…”
“Tara, silence,” Mr. Gardner barked and his wife immediately fell silent and looked down. Katherine didn’t understand the change that came over the woman. “Katherine, surely you are not trying to blackmail us. You are in enough trouble already.”
“Of course not, sir. I’m just saying we all have things we don’t want getting out.”
“It does sound like you are trying to blackmail us. I am going to call your mother
and
make sure everyone at church finds out exactly what kind of girl you are.”
“But…”
“When I am done with you everyone in this town will know what a sneaky little thing you are. No one will believe a word you say, so if you wish to spread gossip about me and my wife you may go right ahead because it will just make you look like a vindictive little bitch.”
Katherine shrunk from the heat of Mr. Gardner’s anger and burst into tears. He was right. Once everyone knew she was a sneak—possibly a thief—no one would trust her. Trying to spread rumors about the Gardners would just make her seem worse. She was trapped and she knew it. That glimmer of light she’d seen was gone. Katherine was resigned to her life being ruined.
“Now don’t cry, Katherine. Falling apart will not change the situation.”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Gardner. I didn’t mean what I said. I would never tell tales about you and Mrs. Gardner,” she sobbed. “I know I’m wrong. You can go call my mother.”
“Young girls are so dramatic. Katherine, calm down. I don’t wish to see you cry.”
“I’m sorry,” she insisted and a fresh flow of tears erupted.
Mr. Gardner glanced at his wife and she sat on the bed beside Katherine, putting her arm around the girl. “Come on, it’s not as horrible as it seems. I understand you just felt trapped. You’re not the kind of girl who would spread trash about us,” Mrs. Gardner said. It was the first time she spoke since her husband silenced her.
“I wouldn’t, I swear it.”
“I know, dear. It’s all going to be okay.” She put her arms around Katherine, stroking her dark hair and the girl wept into her shoulder. “Isn’t there something we can do, Patrick?”
“What can we do? The girl not only went through our private possessions, she then threatened to spread gossip about us. I am not inclined to show her any mercy.”
“I understand.” Katherine sobbed.
“Please, Patrick. She’s so sorry. I know she would be willing to make it right.”
“Well…”
Katherine saw a glimmer of hope, tiny as it was. Mrs. Gardner felt sorry for her and now if only she could get Mr. Gardner to have mercy maybe she wouldn’t be ruined after all. If nothing else, she’d learned her lesson. Katherine would never go through anyone’s things again, if she ever had the chance after tonight. “I’d do anything, sir.”
“I don’t know. Can we really trust you, Katherine?” Mr. Gardner still sounded unsure.
“I swear I’ll do anything if I can stay out of trouble.” She was even willing to babysit for free from now on.
“You are doing a lot of swearing tonight.”
“I really, truly mean it, sir. I promise I’ll do anything to prove you can trust me if you give me a second chance.”
Mr. Gardner crossed his arms and paced the room, seemingly considering her words. His face gave nothing away and Katherine didn’t know what he was going to decide. All she could do was hope for the best and she clung to Mrs. Gardner like a security blanket. The older woman wiped away her tears and Katherine sniffled. There wasn’t a chore they could ask her to do she wouldn’t agree to. This is why Katherine always tried to behave, because she’d learned the hard way that when she didn’t, there were always consequences.
“You will do what we ask if we keep this incident quiet? Be very sure before you answer, Katherine, because if you back out everything will be much, much worse.”
Mr. Gardner was so serious it scared her, but she readily agreed, nodding vigorously. “I promise I’ll be good, sir. I’ll prove I’m the girl you thought I was.”
“I believe her, Patrick.”
“All right, but I am only agreeing to this because Tara believes you are sincere.”
“Thank you so much, sir. I really appreciate it.”
Katherine was so relieved. Just a few minutes ago she was sure it was all over. Now she could see her whole summer stretched out before her again and then she would be off to a local college in the fall and a new set of adventures. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
“Stand up,” Mr. Gardner ordered.
Katherine stood with a sigh. She didn’t understand why he still sounded so mean. Didn’t he just say everything was going to be all right? With her hands clasped in front of her, she stood at the foot of the bed with her posture straight. Mrs. Gardner stood beside her husband.
“Come along, Katherine. If you are so curious about what we keep in that room, let me show you.”
“Mr. Gardner?”
He did not answer her, but walked over to the secret room and opened the door all the way. He reached in and turned on the lights, which were subdued, still leaving parts of the room in shadow. “I said to come here. Do not make me ask again or I’ll regret giving you a second chance.”
This time Katherine did as he said and stood beside him looking into the strange room. She thought she recognized it as some kind of bondage dungeon, but she didn’t know much about that sort of thing and most of the items in the room were alien to her. All she knew about bondage and kinky sex she’d learned from a porn video her friend Sandra had shown her. All sorts of chains and leather things hung on the walls. More straps and chains hung from the ceiling and there were other, larger objects along the walls. Toward the back, in the center of the room was a high backed chair of dark wood with restraints on the arms and legs. Katherine did not even want to think about what Mr. Gardner did to Mrs. Gardner when she was in that chair.
“Do you know what this room is?” Mr. Gardner asked. Mrs. Gardner was behind her, silent and still as a statute. Katherine looked everywhere but at him and did not answer. What did he want her to say? “Go on, Katherine, it’s okay to tell me. You’re a grown woman now, we’re all adults here.” Just that Mr. Gardner recognized her as an adult when it seemed like no one else in her life did gave her a boost.
“Is it a dungeon?” she asked meekly.
Mr. Gardner chuckled. “In a way, Katherine. If it was in the basement it would be a dungeon, but we just like to think of it as a playroom. An adult playroom. The objects in here are for restraint and discipline.”
“Uh, that’s nice, I guess.”
“I know you must be curious. Please, take a look around.”
“That’s okay, sir. I understand this is private.”
Katherine started to back away, but Mr. Gardner’s hand on her back stopped her. Pinpricks of fear swarmed up her spine.
“I insist, Katherine. Have a look around.” His voice was cold, hard.
Taking baby steps, Katherine entered the room. She
was
curious about the things in the room and what they were used for, but she was also turning bright red with embarrassment and would never ask. She could feel the cold from the stone tile even through her socks. She touched some sort of harness hanging on a hook and it jingled when it moved. She risked a glance back at Mrs. Gardner and tried to imagine the woman wearing the harness, or chained up to the wall. She just couldn’t. She did not think it would be Mr. Gardner who was chained against the wall. The vibe between the couple told her who was in charge here. The Gardners were not quite old enough to be her parents—Katherine thought they were in their thirties—but they did seem much like her parents. Mr. Gardner was nice, but stern and uptight and Mrs. Gardner was like the perfect blond suburban wife.
Does he really paddle her behind in here?
The thought almost made her giggle, but she knew giggling would not be appropriate at the moment. She ran her hands over the soft black leather of what she thought was a gymnastics horse, but this one had shiny rings set into it and seemed sinister.
“What do you think?”
“It’s interesting,” she replied cautiously. “Do you guys, uh, use this a lot?” She knew he wanted her to be interested and right now it was very important for her to keep Mr. Gardner happy.
“Not all the time, but yes, we do enjoy being in here. Sometimes Tara just needs to be punished,” Mr. Gardner said without a hint of irony.
Katherine looked at Mrs. Gardner, who did not seem shocked or ashamed by what her husband had just disclosed. If it were her, Katherine would be smacking her husband right about now. She didn’t think she could ever understand the Gardners’ relationship. Mrs. Gardner was still standing quietly, her hands at her sides, like she was awaiting orders. It was creepy, so Katherine looked away and fingered a black, coiled whip that hung from a hook. It was the softest leather she’d ever felt, but she bet it would still hurt if someone used it on her. Did Mrs. Gardner really like it? Katherine tried to picture herself bent over and being paddled. She couldn’t.
Although she wasn’t a virgin, Katherine had only been with two guys. She slept with her first boyfriend once and it hurt so much they never did it again, but things were different with Cody, her second boyfriend. He took his time and Katherine found out sex could be really fun. Now that they were broken up she missed it and hoped she would meet another boy to play with this summer. Once when they were doing it, Cody held her wrists down on the bed, and it was exciting. She felt trapped and it made her heart beat faster because she was at Cody’s mercy, even though she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. If she liked that, would she like being tied up? Katherine thought that might be going too far, but would not rule it out with the right boy.
“Would you like to see how we use some of these things?” Mr. Gardner asked and his voice made her jump.
“Like how?”
Did he want her to watch them do it?
she wondered. That would be creepy.
“Tara.”
Mrs. Gardner turned and closed the door, throwing the deadbolt to secure it. Katherine’s heart was in her throat because something did not seem right. Why were they locking the room? For the first time it dawned on her they maybe it wasn’t free babysitting Mr. Gardner was after. She was suddenly dizzy with fear and knew that her curiosity had gotten her into much more trouble than she could handle.