Gabrielle’s weekend was off to a painful start as she is spanked by her father for failure to submit homework, lying to teachers together with general rudeness and disrespect. However, in a rather delicious turn of events, her sympathetic Aunt Jacks reveals with pleasure, and to her father’s obvious discomfort and embarrassment, how the hairbrush and strap visited his bottom for much the same behaviour when he was her age.

You are welcome to contact the author Gabrielle Pearson

Aunt Jacks is staying for the weekend and let me tell you it didn’t get off to a good start. Aunt Jacks (Jackie) is Dad’s sister and we get on great. She’s a lot of fun – unlike Dad these days I must say! Anyway, despite the bad start, I did learn something new this weekend.

Aunt Jacks was waiting for us when we got home from school on Friday. I trudged through the door and said a muffled, “Hi.”

“Is that all I get from my favourite niece? You’re normally much more talkative than that.” (Actually, I am her only niece, but that’s beside the point.) “You guys have been gone ages,” she said to Dad as he walked in behind me, slammed the front door and stood there with his hands on his hips.

“She’s not very talkative because she’s in trouble and we’ve been gone ages because I had to go and speak to one of her teachers”.

I blushed and fumbled about with my coat, trying to avoid eye contact with either of them.

“Uh oh, what did you do Gabby?” Aunt Jacks smirked.

“She’s not been handing in Biology homework,” Dad said angrily, “And do you want to know why?” Because she’s been claiming it’s against her religious beliefs to cut anything up!”

“Well that’s perfectly normal John, don’t give her a hard time because she doesn’t want to do dissection,” Jacks said defensively.

“Oh no! That would be fine, only she’s claimed that she can’t cut up plants! She told her teachers it is against her principles to harm anything that grows and has been using that as an excuse to get out of doing any work!”

Aunt Jacks laughed.

“This isn’t funny, Jackie! You’re only encouraging her!”

“Oh come on, it’s pretty funny or at least pretty inventive. She reminds me of someone,” she said, raising her eyebrow.

“That’s exactly the sort of inventiveness I don’t want to encourage! A whole term of not handing in homework! It’s disgraceful, Gabrielle, these are not your beliefs and you were just trying to get out of doing any work. Get up to your room.”

“Oh now, John,” Aunt Jacks interjected, “You know what teenagers are like.”

I stood there, hoping Aunt Jacks would soften Dad’s thunder and get me off the hook.

“Yes I do know what teenagers are like! They need a firm hand. Gabrielle, get up to your room NOW unless you want me to spank you here in front of your aunt.”

“John, you aren’t going to spank her are you?”

“I’ve yet to hear a decent reason why I shouldn’t,” he said, glaring at me.

“Spanking is also against my religious beliefs?” I offered, hoping to crack a smile. Big mistake!

“That’s it!” Dad bellowed, landing a few swats on the seat of my skirt and grabbing my wrist. “I’ve had enough of your smart remarks,” and he escorted me up to my room leaving Aunt Jacks trying very hard to be an adult but failing to hide her smile. I glanced back over my shoulder and she gave me a “hang in there kid” look of sympathy.

Dad did fortunately close the door of my room, but I still think Aunt Jacks heard my spanking. Dad had very swiftly pulled out my desk chair and had me over his knee in a matter of seconds, raining at least 10 smacks on my skirt before I’d found my balance.

“I am appalled that you lied to a teacher and I’ve had enough of your smart remarks” he said, lifting my shirt and landing dozen more smacks on my knickers. “You consistently talk back even when you KNOW you are in the wrong,” he continued, as he pulled down my knickers, “and I think it’s time you started to think seriously about the consequences of your actions,” and with that he started the spanking for real, hard and fast. Mortified at having my bottom bared I wriggled and tried to cover my self with my hands, but it was no good, Dad simply moved them away and continued tanning my behind.

“Dad please, oowwww, I’m sorry, stop, aaawww”

“Do you want to be here all night?” he barked

“Nooooo”

“Then move your hands”.

I did, eventually, and accepted my fate. Conscious of Aunt Jack’s presence I tried very hard not to cry, but I think that just gave Dad the impression he wasn’t spanking me hard enough, because he stepped up the pace. After a while, with my bottom burning red and a continuous lecture from Dad about lying to teachers, not doing homework etc, I couldn’t help but let the tears fall. By the time he felt I’d had enough it really, really stung and I no longer cared what Aunt Jacks heard, I just wanted it to end and said over and over through sniffs and sobs that I was sorry. He stood me up, and waving a finger in my face told me to stay in my room until dinner, and then I could come down and apologise to my Aunt Jacks for this “disgraceful welcoming” and then he left me to lie on my bed and generally feel pretty sorry for myself.

When I was called down to dinner I had stopped crying, but my bottom was still red and my face was burning with embarrassment when I stepped into the kitchen.

“Don’t you have something to say, young lady?” Dad asked.

I swallowed, “sorry, Aunt Jacks, sorry your arrival was overshadowed by my bad behaviour,” I said. Aunt Jacks shot me a sympathetic smile, but I quickly diverted my eyes.

“It’s all right love,” she said ,”want me to get you a cushion Hun?” she asked, trying to make me feel more comfortable.

“No, she’s just fine,” said Dad, obviously still happy to let me suffer for my actions.

Dinner was pretty quiet for a while, I stared at my plate and shoveled food around it, desperate to get out of there and wishing very much this hadn’t been the situation Aunt Jacks had arrived to see. “Hey Gabby cheer up,” Aunt Jacks said as she looked up, “considering what your father and I got at your age for that sort of thing, you got off lightly,” she smiled.

Dad shot her a look, but I kept staring at my food, my cheeks flushing red at the reference to my punishment and not willing talk about it.

“Seriously Hun,” she continued, “we used to get the strap.”

“Jackie,” Dad said in a voice warning her not to continue, but she did – good old Aunt Jacks.

“Or rather, your father got the strap,” she smiled. “Jackie!” Dad said, “that’s enough thank you”

“Whenever our father was mad he used the strap and Mum used a hairbrush. I never got the strap myself, only your Dad”

At this I looked up, interested that Dad had ever been in a similar position to me. Dad was actually squirming in his seat slightly, clearly not comfortable with the information Aunt Jack’s was relaying. Dad shot me a look as if to say that I better not encourage this conversation, but it was too late, I really had to know.

“How often did this happen?” I asked.

“More frequently that your father would like to admit I’m sure,” Aunt Jacks continued, “you see your father was often in trouble for, now what was it Mum used to call it?” She looked at Dad, clearly enjoying his discomfort,  “oh yes, ‘backchat’, that was it. When your dad was your age, Gabby, he had one hell of a smart mouth!” She said triumphantly.

This was all too much for Dad, his head in his hands mortified at his sisters recollections.

“All right all right, that’s enough of this conversation,” Dad said sternly. He looked at me, and I was smiling too, enjoying it as much as Aunt Jacks. “All right fine,” he sighed ,”she’s right, I had a smart mouth, just like you, and my father dealt with it. And I’m grateful.”

“Ha!” said Aunt Jacks, “that’s not how I recall it at the time.”

I could tell Dad was torn between trying to stop the information of his own punishments coming out, or whether to get back at his sister and relay his own memories.

“I was punished because I deserved it”

“Rubbish! You never admitted you were in the wrong at the time, in fact you often got more whacks than Dad planned purely because you refused to apologise most of the time.”

“Oh yeah?” questioned Dad, deciding it was time Aunt Jacks remembered a few home truths, “what about you and mum’s hairbrush?” Two can play at this game he thought, “I can remember many a cry of ‘Ow mum no, I didn’t mean it, blah blah blah!’ This girl,” he said, looking at me but pointing to his sister, “was nothing short of a terror when she was younger”.

I couldn’t help but laugh, in the show of sibling rivalry my recent trip over the knee had been completely forgotten.

“Well at least I only got the hairbrush, I never got the strap!” shot Aunt Jacks

“That was more to do with gender than anything else, Mum punished you, Dad punished me.”

“Well I remember you getting both on several occasions.”

Dad had gone quite red with embarrassment, “All right all right, that’s enough of this conversation. Dessert anyone?”

I’m looking forward to the next time Aunt Jacks comes to stay, I want to know more about just what my dad got up to when he was my age.

You are welcome to contact the author Gabrielle Pearson