As she walked along the beach she thought about the last few days. The rhythmic crashing of the ocean against the rocks reminded her of her marriage - the senseless beating of her head against an impenetrable force, day in and day out. This time, however, she reacted in a way she had never done before. She packed a bag and left a note saying:
I need time and space to decide how and if
we are going to continue. I can’t live the way we
have and I don’t like what I’ve become in the process. Maybe this respite will remind us of what we
once had and what we could still have if things were different.
Lottie
She and David had been together since senior year in
college. They both went to law school
and married shortly after graduation, each knowing exactly what to expect of
the other. Or so she thought. Both she and David had agreed that once they
passed the bar they would seek employment with a large law firm for a few years
to gain experience and build up their resources. Once they felt financially secure they would
head out on their own. They didn’t want to compromise their ideals for a large
paycheck. They would rather live on less
and sleep at night knowing that was reward enough.
Five years later and they were still trudging away at Smith
& Anderson. David was in his element
and so wrapped up in his work that they rarely had any time alone. Everything, social life included, involved
either clients or colleagues from Smith & Anderson. Lottie hated their life and especially hated
going to work. Once in a while she was
allowed to take on a pro bono case but they were few and far between. Her reason for going into the law was to help
the underdog. Firms like Smith &
Anderson were all about billable hours and very little about helping the
underdog. In most cases their clients
stepped on and bullied the underdogs in every way possible. She didn’t want to
be Erin Brockavich but she did want to make a difference. Many times she had tried talking to David
about her feelings but it was like talking to a mirror.
When she refused to take a case to which she was
assigned, one of the partners urged David to convince her to change her mind. She was appalled this would be asked of him
and even more appalled when he did as he was bid. She gave David the reasons she didn’t want
the case. He harangued her that she was
an attorney and everybody was entitled to a good defense. She agreed but said it wasn’t going to be
her. They argued for days and one morning he called her a spoiled brat and said
her problem was that her parents had coddled her so much that she thought she
should always get her way. He said what
she really needed was a good hard spanking.
She laughed at him and said this was the 21st century and he
was no Neanderthal. To her surprise, he
reached for her, put her over his lap and wailed the daylights out of her. When he was done, she gathered all the
dignity she could muster and went into the bathroom and locked the door. She stayed there until she heard him leave
for the office. She knew she had some thinking to do where to go to get a better perspective. Before leaving, she
called the office and told them she was taking a leave of absence.
She drove to the coast where her parents had a beach
cottage. She had always been able to
think more clearly when she was near the water.
This time of year, the coast was pretty much deserted and she wasn’t
disappointed to find most of the places were closed for the season. She had stopped at the grocery store before
heading to the island to stock up on the things she might need for the next few
days.
On her first day there she ran into a fellow “escapee” while
walking the beach. He too had come to
the island to think. He had her laughing like a school girl and she realized
that was the first time she had enjoyed a conversation in a very long
time. He too was married but it was his
wife who urged him to get away for a few days.
He had recently been diagnosed with MS and he was trying to wrap his
head around this news and how he was going to rearrange his life. Lottie said her problem was not nearly as
devastating as that. He told her
problems were all relative and it was how you dealt with them that
mattered. His theory was he could either
learn to live with it gracefully or fight it every step of the way. He wanted to find a way to fight the disease
but also learn to accept it so that it had little impact on his wife and
children.
On their walks, she listened more than talked and little by
little she began to realize how stilted her thinking had become. She knew she had to get out of corporate
law. One decision down; one to go. The next decision would be based on how David
would react to her decision. Over the
next couple of days she formulated a plan to present to David.
“Well, isn’t this cozy” he said sarcastically.
Peter immediately stood up and extended his hand to
David. David didn’t take it. Peter told Lottie that he better go and
thanked her for dinner and her friendship over the last week. David just stood there and glowered. Lottie gave Peter a hug and wished him good
fortune in his quest to conquer his demons.
“What do you have to say for yourself, Mrs. Braddock”? David
said once Peter was down the walk.
“How about, Hello, David.
How are you? When did you finally
realize I was gone?”
“Don’t get all snippy with me. I wasn’t the one with another man”.
“Oh, David, this isn’t about Peter. Our problems have nothing to do with
Peter. He is just someone I met here who
is trying to deal with his own demons, nothing more than that. He has a wife and children and has just been
diagnosed with MS” answered Lottie.
David calmed down after that and came over and gave Lottie a
big hug. He apologized for thinking the
worst but told her he couldn’t bear the thought of her with another man. He knew they had problems but he hadn’t
thought that was one of them.
“You’re right, David, it’s not. Our problems only involve us and Smith &
Anderson. While I have been here, Peter has helped me see things more clearly
and I want to talk about them but just not tonight. Tonight I just want your arms around me and
enjoy you. Is that okay with you”?
“More than okay” then kissed her like he meant it. The way he kissed her years ago.
That’s a start Lottie thought to herself.
“We have some big decisions to make” she said
“How big” he asked.
“Are we going to stay married big” she said.
“How did we get from you quitting your job to our getting a
divorce” he asked.
“David, I’ve been telling you for years that I can’t
continue living as we have been. You are so involved with work that I never see
you. You are either late at the office, entertaining clients, or working at
home. Smith & Anderson consumes all
your time. If you are not going to be
present in our marriage there is no sense in prolonging it.”
“Is this because I spanked you?” he asked.
“That is what you got out of this conversation? Prior to last night, spanking me is probably
the most physical contact we’ve had in months.
No it is not about the spanking.
I love you David but I don’t love the way we have been living. There has to be a change. I don’t expect you
to make any decisions today. Take some
time the way I have. Think about what’s more important to you, our marriage or the law firm?
“Honey, I don’t need to think about it. You are more important to me than
anything. I am sorry I have been so
neglectful that you don’t think you matter.
I’m here now and I want you home with me”
“That’s good enough for me for now David, but not forever. Long term changes have to be made”. He went to her and took her in his arms.
The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying the beach and
each other. David left Monday morning
and Lottie was going to close up the cottage and be home by that evening or noon the next day depending on the weather.
On the way out of town she stopped at the general store and
for some unknown reason checked out the bulletin board posted by the door.
There was a notice there that Donald L. Watson, Attorney at Law was selling his
practice. She took down his number and
called when she got to the car. They
made an appointment to meet the following morning so she drove back to the
cottage.
The meeting with Don Watson went well. He had been practicing law for the last
thirty-five years and wanted to retire.
His client list had allowed him a reasonably successful living. He preferred to sell his practice to someone
who would be willing to continue in the area rather than selling his client
list to a larger firm on the mainland. Lottie left the office armed with all of
the particulars. This could be their
answer.
She started to call David to tell him the good news and
realized her phone had been turned off.
There were 16 messages and 22 text messages all from him. She pressed
dial and when he answered and heard her voice he was all over her like white on
rice.
“Are you okay? Where
are you? What happened? Why aren’t you
home?
“Which question would you like me to answer? She asked.
“All of them but as long as you are alright you can answer
them when you get home. You are alright
aren’t you”
“Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry my phone was off and I didn’t
realize it. I am on my way and will be
there soon. I’ll explain when I get there.
Love you. Bye honey”.
When he hung up he thought to himself she was damn right she
had some explaining to do. She left just
after a spanking and like it or not he planned on giving her another one when
she finally got home. They would go from there.
When Lottie walked in the door several hours later, David greeted her with a big hug and kiss. When he let go, he took her hand and led her over to the couch where he proceeded to drape her over his knee. She was sputtering and asking him what he was doing?
“I’m spanking you. Do you have any idea how worried I was when I wasn’t able to reach you? You were supposed to be home yesterday. I called the police and the hospitals to see if they had any information on a Charlotte Braddock. That’s why you’re getting this spanking.”
He started off giving her some hard whacks over her jeans. She kept yelling ouch, ouch. He told her she would know the meaning of ouch in just a moment. He raised her up and unbuttoned her jeans. As he slid them down he could see the pink of her bottom through her thin panties. It turned him on. He stopped a moment and then remembered how worried he had been waiting for her and began smacking her again. He stopped again and lectured her about her cell phone. She told him she was sorry. “Too bad” he told her and slipped down her undies and once again began spanking her bottom until it was a fiery red. When he was finally satisfied that she was truly remorseful he stopped smacking her tush.
Seeing her draped across his lap, he could feel the heat of that delicious red tush, and he could feel something of his own. How could he be so turned on by just spanking? He felt moisture on his pants and looked down to see his wife’s glistening labia. She was as turned on as him. He started rubbing her back in slow circles. His hand extended down her back to her flaming tush and continued the circles. He could hear soft moans as he continued fingering her. He heard “don’t stop” and he felt her whole body shudder as the first wave came crashing into her. He rolled her over and she saw him undo his zipper and watched him stroke himself as he prepared to enter her pleasure zone. She spread herself as wide as possible but was restricted by the jeans and panties he had lowered earlier. He grabbed her hips and slammed into her. He felt her shudder just before he released his sperm.
He lay there on top of her getting his breath back to a more normal level. When he felt he could speak all he could say was “Damn, that was something I never expected”. Lottie mmmm’d in agreement.
He raised himself off of her and helped her up. “How’s the tush? ” He asked.
“Fine, everything’s fine” she replied with a smirk. “I never expected that welcome home”.
“Me neither”, David said. “I knew I was going to spank you but what came after that was a complete surprise to me. It didn’t happen the last time I spanked you.”
“Well the last time you spanked me we weren’t exactly on good terms” she replied.
“We are now, aren’t we”?
“For the moment, but as I said things have to change and I can’t wait to tell you what I think may be the best opportunity we will ever come across”.
With that she explained about Don Watson. He could see how excited she was about the prospect. He asked some pertinent questions and she could tell he was beginning to be interested. She told him she thought the best thing would be for them to make another appointment with Watson. He agreed and told her he would call him that afternoon and set something up.
He said he had to get to the office and went off to take a shower. She followed him to the bedroom and began unpacking. She was excited and hopeful. This could be the beginning of the next chapter of their lives. Mentally, she began making lists of what needed to be done to transition to the cottage full time.
When he left he told her he wasn’t sure what time he would be home. There was a partner’s meeting at 4:00 and they had asked him to stick around for it. Lottie didn’t like the sound of that. How would David react if they asked him to become a partner? Would that be the end of her little dream, the end of them? She decided not to think about that, there would be plenty of time for that if her thoughts came to fruition. She kissed him good by and started straightening up the house. David would not make a good house husband. She opened the fridge and saw the first thing she would have to do was hit the grocery store.
When she was just putting away the last load of laundry, David walked in the door carrying a bouquet and a bottle of champagne. He offered them to her and she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She accepted the gifts and began walking toward the kitchen. When she put the items on the counter she turned to look at David and knew. He picked her up and twirled her around kissing her the whole time.
“Guess what?, he said.
“What?”, she said knowing what he was going to say and not knowing how she would be able to be happy for him.
“I’ve been asked to become a junior partner in the firm. Do you know what that means? It means a bigger office, more prestigious clients, a larger salary not to mention a bigger bonus.”
She knew it and knew by the way he was telling her the perks he had made up his mind, accepted the offer and never even gave “them” a thought. She tried to be happy for him. She offered him her congratulations with as much enthusiasm as she could muster. He uncorked the champagne and poured some into the glasses she took out of the cabinet.
“Here’s to us” he said. “To our future”.
“To us” she raised the glass and tried to take a sip but it just would not go down. He told her to go put on something pretty they were going out to dinner to celebrate. She did as she was bid with a heavy heart.
While they were at dinner, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He handed it to her. She took it and was surprised when she opened it to find a key. Perplexed, she looked at him, and asked
“What’s this?”
He told her it was both real and symbolic. First and foremost it represented the key to his heart. Secondly, it represented a key to the future. Thirdly, it represented the key to their new law offices.
She moved her hand over to touch his and thanked him. “You know I love you and I know you love me, but I will keep the key close to my heart to remind me when you’re working the longer hours required of a junior partner. Is that why you’re giving me a key to your new office, so that I can come visit you once in a while?”
He looked at her and laughed.
“Sweetie, that key represents the key to our new law offices, not mine. Did you really think I would accept a partnership in the firm knowing how you feel? I should spank you for having such low expectations of me.”
“You’re telling me you told them no”
“That’s what I am telling you. When I got to the office this afternoon I immediately called Don Watson. We talked for a long time and if everything is agreeable to you, we will be buying his practice. It wasn’t until they offered me the junior partnership that I knew eventually it would mean losing “us” and that was unacceptable. I didn’t outright turn it down, I told them I needed some time to think and talk it over with you, but I am assuming it would be alright with you if I turned them down.”
She was up and across the table in a flash throwing herself onto his lap. She whispered in his ear, “Get the bill, I don’t want dinner. I want you. I also want that spanking for jumping to conclusions. Then I want a repeat of what we did after the spanking”.
“Waiter, check please”.
THE END
