Stranded On Christmas (7 page)

“
No,
I'm not. I didn't mean to hurt you like this. I'll leave right now.”
I tried to walk away, but he grabbed onto my arm.

“
I
told you that I would never sleep with a woman and then not marry
her. I was clear about what my attentions were.”

“
I
assumed that you were saying what I wanted to hear just to get me
into bed. I knew it, so it was okay. I didn't know that you were
still a – virgin.”

“
But
I was, and I understood why you weren't one. I don't understand why
you’re saying no and want to leave.”

“
I
don't want this.” I motioned to the house and farm with my free
arm. “I'm a city girl through and through. I need microwaves and
vacuum cleaners and ovens that heat up when you turn a knob. I'm not
a good match for you. You can do better. You have to keep looking
until you find someone who suits you better.” I needed to get him
to understand without hurting his feelings overly much. I was the bad
guy now. At least, I didn't have someone else, like Jamie did.

“
I
just want you. I need you to stay here with me.” Gideon hadn’t
expected me to say no. This was a great shock for him.

I
had hurt him so deeply. His wounds were open, bleeding right in front
of my eyes. I was a terrible person. Not even a Rolex could fix this.

“
I
own a business. I have to go home. Several people depend on me for
their livelihood. Without me they can't feed their children.” Or
buy swank shoes. Most of the women who worked for me weren't married
yet. A couple were, but none had kids yet. I only hired women, mostly
ones younger than me. Adding a guy to that with all of those single
women would cause friction. We had harmony at work. It was my safe
haven.

“
You
and I made love. Only married people are allowed to do that. We will
be married yet today. You could even be pregnant right now. I’ll do
the honorable thing.”

“
You
don't have to. I can take care of myself. You aren't obligated to do
anything.”

“
What
does that mean?” He pulled me closer to him and stared down at me.

“
It
means that if I were pregnant, I have enough money to care for the
child.”

“
Women
work inside of the home. I will take care of all of our children.”

“
Way
back in the old days that was the case, but nowadays women do it all.
Single moms are just as good as traditional families.”

“
You
would want our child to grow up without a father? I'm not dead! I’m
standing right in front of you. My child will see me every day. We
will get married yet today. In fact, you need to go and get your
coat. We are leaving right now.”

“
Where
do you want to go?”

“
To
church. Where else would we go to get married?”

“
Well,
city hall, but that’s besides the point. I need to go back home
before someone starts to miss me. Again, I’m so sorry about all of
this. If I had known, I never would have hurt you like this.” I
stared into his eyes. I could see that he was hurt, and that he was
mad. He had every right to be. I had used him.

“
I
really enjoyed my time here with you, but it has come to an end now.
I have to go. I'll see about getting gas for my car. You don't have
to worry about me anymore. I'll get out of your hair now.” I tried
to pull away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

I
tugged and tugged, hoping that he would eventually give up. Holding
me in place wasn't especially tasking for him. He was thinking as he
held me fast, deciding on his next move. I could see the wheels
turning in his head.

Then
his eyes changed. He had snapped out of his trance. He yanked me over
to the sofa, sat down and pulled me over his knees.

What
was he up to now?

I
struggled, trying to get away from him. He pinned my arms to my back
and pinned my legs under one of his. He had me face down over his
knee like I was a naughty little girl. My face was right above the
rug. I was fighting to keep some sort of balance, so my head wouldn't
hit the floor.

“
We
have already consummated our marriage. Now we just need to actually
get married. If you’re going to be stubborn about this, I’ll just
have to break your will.” He lifted up the back of my dress with
his free hand. I fussed and screamed at him to stop.

His
answer was to pull down my underwear and tights too. They were
pressing tightly into my legs. I was trying to imagine the view of me
that he was getting, my big bubble butt being pressed even bigger
because of my tights. This was just so embarrassing.

The
first smack landed, and I stopped worrying about the picture that he
had in front of his eyes. I kicked and squirmed even more. I tried to
roll away from him but he pinned me down tighter, his elbow was
digging into my shoulder blades now.

Pumpkin
barked and came over to lick my face. He barked wildly at Gideon.

“
Get
back into your basket, right now.” Pumpkin was still whining, but
the sound was coming from his basket by the fireplace.

Gideon
smacked on like a madman, asking me what was wrong with me. I should
be thankful that he even wanted to marry me.

I
felt like he was trying to kill me. I hadn't been spanked since I was
a little child and none of those spankings had ever lasted this long.
I was screaming and bouncing around trying to get rid of him. He was
still yelling at me, but I couldn't understand him.

At
one point, he let go of my hands and leaned back. I tried to get up,
but he held me in place with just his right leg. At first, I covered
my bottom up to protect it. When I realized that I couldn't get away,
I pushed away from him as far as I could go and tried to hit him with
my hands, but they were useless to me because of the way he held me.

I
tried to bite him in his calf, but I didn't get a good piece of his
leg in my mouth.

His
answer to that was to smack me even lower. He went at the back of my
thighs as I howled out in pain. I arch up, and my hands went to my
bottom to cover it again.

I
needed to get away from him. If I didn't, I would surely go crazy
with pain. The pain was more than I could bear. I very frantically
tried to stand up. I didn't remember spankings being so painful. I
would be the first to admit that I had a very low pain threshold.
Stubbing my tow always brought tears to my eyes.

He
brought his hand down with another loud swat. It hurt so much that I
couldn't make a peep. I gulped, and my throat went dry. I squeaked
pitifully.

“
Am
I finally getting through to you? I’m the man and you are my wife.
You will listen to me.” He
kept
bringing his hand down with loud stinging smacks. If I had been
standing, this spanking would have brought me down to my knees, but I
was over his, suffering for breaking his heart. Maybe his
anger
would be spent when he finished, and I could go home?

He
still wasn't stopping, and this had been going on forever. I was so
scared that he wouldn't stop. He was clearly trying to kill me. I
knew that was an exaggeration. But it hurt so much.

“
I'm
sorry. Please stop.” I had been saying those words the whole time,
but this time he actually listened to me.

“
Have
you learned your lesson?”

“
Yes,”
I blurted out.

“
Good
old-fashioned discipline always works. I want you to wash your face
before we go to the pastor. I actually want to make a good impression
on him.”

“
No.
No marriage. I just want to go home,” I sobbed.

“
We
will come home right after the wedding,” he told me softly.

“
No,
I want to go to my real home.”

“
This
is your real home.” He went back to spanking me, and I went back to
screaming. It had felt so good when he had stopped. Now, the pain was
back ten-fold. I called him every name I could think of, trying to
get him to stop.

When
I realized that he wouldn't, I screamed for help as loud as I could.

“
Knock
it off. If you want me to stop, you have to agree to be good at
church. It's that easy.”

“
Never.”

He
laughed, “We'll see.”

What
felt like a lifetime later he stopped. I was bawling quietly, totally
exhausted. That had been quite some workout.

“
What
will you say when the pastor asks you if you want to marry me?”

Now,
that he had stopped my hands could move back to cover my hind cheeks.
When I rubbed, the pain quickly lessened. Still, I was shaking and
jerking around on his lap. My heart just wouldn't calm down. I felt a
need to keep on screaming, but my voice was gone.

He
delivered a sharp smack to the back of my thigh.

I
cried some more before I could talk. “I do.”

“
Good
girl. I figured that you would see the light.” He moved me so he
could get up.

I
fell to the floor without him holding me in place. My face was lying
on the sofa, and I just couldn't get up. I bawled in exhaustion as I
listened to him putting on his coat.

“
Pumpkin,
come here. When we get back, I expect you to have washed your face
and be standing here with your coat and shoes on. Have I made myself
clear?”

I
nodded that I understood him.

“
Say
'yes sir'
when you answer me.”

I
nodded and whispered a soft
'yes sir'.
I was dizzy as could
be, but I forced myself up to standing. That mere spanking had my
head in a spin.

I
reached back and laid my hands on my bottom. It was puffy and
swollen. I checked my hands to see if blood was on them. There wasn't
any, but my whole body was full of sweat.

I
slowly walked up the stairs to his room and went into his bathroom. I
gathered up my dress and looked into the mirror at my backside. It
was swollen and red, and the back of my thighs were pink. I cried
seeing it.

What
had I gotten myself into?

Had
I deserved it?

I
guessed I did. I had turned around and treated Gideon just like Jamie
had treated me. Two wrongs don't make a right, but I had been
punished enough. There was no way I was going to marry Gideon and
stay living here.

I
went over to the toilet and had to scream out again as I sat down. I
finished as quickly as I could. I lifted my underwear carefully into
place again. They were too tight. They didn't fit anymore. Then came
my tights. I had the same problem again. I was just too swollen, but
I had to do it.

I
needed him to take me to his pastor. I needed help to get away from
Gideon. The pastor would save me.