Lunch at Jason's

2016 - I can't believe it.  Not only did 2015 speed by but the holidays were a blur and didn't even seem like the holidays.  I realized for the first time in forever; I didn't watch the Rose Parade.  I've done that every year since I can remember, and I forgot all about it until New Year's night.  It's as if I was still waiting for the holiday.  Did you see it?  Were the floats as fantastic as ever?  I will tell you that no matter how magnificent they seem on television, seeing them in real life is, even more, beautiful - the detail is unbelievable.

Anyway, with the holidays behind us and a whole new year stretching out ahead, I hope your hopes and dreams are coming true even as you read this post.  

Here's this week's story.  Lunch at Jason's

Here it is Saturday, and I have to come up with a story for the paper by Monday.  The problem is I have no idea what I am going to write about.  That’s the hard part of being a freelance writer.  When I was just another reporter, I had an assignment, but I knew the topic, I just had to provide the words.  Now, I had to provide the subject and the words.  What to write, what to write??

After scrolling through FaceBook and not finding anything that tweaked my creative juices, I decided maybe food was the answer.  After all, it was almost lunchtime.  I grabbed the car keys and my wallet and headed out the door.

I turned on the radio, hoping to get some inspiration from a song, something, anything, but once again no luck.  I had a hankering for a pastrami sandwich and decided that Jason’s Deli was the place to fill my want.  I placed my order, found a small table and awaited the delivery of my sandwich.

There were two couples sitting at the table next to me. They looked to be in the mid-to-late thirties and based on their attire had probably been to or were going to an athletic event.  Now I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but if you want privacy, you don’t go to Jason’s.  It’s a wide open space with nothing to break up or muffle sound. It’s a place to go in grab a bite to eat and leave – the ambiance is not conducive to leisurely lingering over food.  So as I sat there, awaiting my order, every once in a while a word or phrase would jump out and waft my way. One couple seemed to be having a slight disagreement. 

My ears perked up – this might just be the fodder for my article.  The couple that was arguing were getting louder, and the other man tried to quiet them down. 

“Mind your own business, Jake.  I’ll quiet down when Bill stops being such an ass.”

I heard that loud and clear, and now my ears were really perked up.  I watched as Bill grabbed his partner’s knee and squeeze, she winced but it didn’t quiet her down one iota.  This scenario was getting good, and I found myself mesmerized by the scene that was unfolding before me.

Bill brought up his arm and placed it behind his partner, settling it on her backside with fingers pointing down and began tap, tap, tapping away.  He brought his mouth close to her ear and whispered something. The color rose from her neck to her forhead as she turned the loveliest shade of pink. 

What magical words had he whispered to quiet her down?  The smug smile on the other couples’ faces seemed to know what had suddenly stilled the girl’s words. My imagination was now running wild, and my writer’s intuition took over. I began weaving a tale in my mind.  This was a couple that practiced domestic discipline.  Okay, maybe not true DD, but maybe he spanked her when she misbehaved. Maybe he just whispered that she was in for a spanking if she didn’t calm down.  I was getting hot and bothered as my mind conjured up a scenario.

Just then the server delivered my lunch.  The food began to calm down my imagination, and I started concentrating on the flavors of the pastrami and mustard as it swirled around my tongue – just the right combination of salty and spice. 

My mind reacted to those words, salty and spice and I remembered what was happening at the next table.  I hoped I wasn’t too obvious as I leaned in their direction to glean any word that may tell me my instincts were correct. Although the conversation was now between the two men, there was still that tension hanging in the air.  I could sense it. The other fellow must have said something funny because both men and the other lady laughed, but not Bill’s partner.  The scowl on her face told me that whatever the remark, it hit close to home.  She got up then and walked to the restroom.  I watched Bill glare as she walked away and his hand swatted the air. The other man gave a knowing smile at the gesture.

I knew then I was right.  Not only was Bill a spanker but the other man was too.  Swiftly my mind shifted into gear, and I knew I had my story.  I could take a page from my own life and write this story. 

My first husband and I married way too young.  We were in lust – not love, but puppy love – but at the time ‘living together without the benefit of marriage’ was not as accepted as it is today.  Especially, not in Bedford Falls, Nebraska. We did not have the first idea of what marriage was or how it worked –not the real life version. We only saw what we wanted, not the everyday struggles of money and budgets and whatnot.  We saw that we could have sex whenever we wanted and we didn’t have to listen to anyone except ourselves.  We weren’t married very long before we realized all of our ideas of marriage were just not true.  Sure – the sex part was great, but the rest wasn’t.  We were fighting all the time, and  when I didn’t get my way, rather than work things out, I just left. 

It wasn’t until I met my current husband, ten years later that I knew what real marriage was. Being on my own taught me a lot but what also helped was a man who had enough confidence in himself not to allow me to walk all over him.  We had been dating about two months when one night I threw a world class temper tantrum over what restaurant we were going to for dinner.  When my cell phone went sailing across the room aimed at his head, his reaction was instantaneous.  I was picked up, upended; dress hiked up and over his knee getting the first spanking I experienced as a grown woman.  It was humiliating and hurt like hell, but instead, of resentment and anger, it had the opposite effect.  Once I settled down I realized that here was a man who cared about me – cared enough not to allow me to disrespect myself or him by childish behavior.  Not to mention, how turned on I was by the spanking and by him. Who knew?

From that day on, I knew to expect a spanking if I crossed the imaginary line in the sand. I also knew that spanking turned me on and knew how to engineer a situation to get me exactly what I wanted.  Sometimes it backfired, and I got more than I wanted, but it was all good.

Oh, to get back to the couple at Jason’s, when the woman returned to the table, and they all stood to leave, I saw the woman get a good hard swat on her backside.  I couldn't see her reaction but I could just imagine that her face was once again colored pin.

I wrote that article, and titled it ‘Do You Spank Your Wife?’  The article got so many responses that my editor suggested I write a series of articles on spanking in modern day marriages. So far, it is one of the most popular series of the year.

The next time I have writer's block and am stumped for a story, I’m going to Jason’s, how about you?

Happy New Year and see you later for more Aimless Ramblings.