Free Stranded On Christmas by Rachel Burns Page B

before I put it back in the oven.
    This
whole housewife game was exhausting me. I wasn't used to hard work.
Why couldn't he understand that?
    Besides,
I had a headache. I got myself a glass of water and slowly drank it.
I often suffered from headaches. Water usually helped.
    I
forced myself to wash off the table and set it. Just one thought went
through my head. How much more could I take? This constant work and
punishment was too much for me. I wasn't tough. I was a softy.
    I
felt sick to my stomach. I moved slower than before and couldn't pull
myself together.
    Gideon
came in and sat down. I pulled out the roast again and cut him a
piece and added vegetables before I laid it down in front of him. I
made myself a plate, but I just wasn’t hungry. I sat down across
from him and folded my hands.
    He
started to pray, and I started to cry. Sitting hurt me, and I just
couldn't take it anymore. I sniffled as quietly as I could, but I
could hear that he was getting mad. First, when he was finished
praying did he look at me.
    I
was making him mad, but I wanted to yell at him and curse him. If he
wanted a maid, he should have hired one and not just kept some poor
woman who happened by, namely me. My inner battle to hold my tongue
wasn't going well.
    In
my head I was a badass who had very clever things to say, but in
reality I was sniffling at the table, trying not to cry.
    I
was just so tired that I had to cry. My bottom was sore and it hurt
to sit. I wanted to go home and have a nap on my sofa and maybe take
a couple of aspirin.
    “ Just
leave. Get up and leave, but when I get up to our room I better find
you ready for me with the belt laying next to you on the bed.”
    I
had already stood up when he started to speak, and I was walking away
from him. When he continued to give me instructions, I turned to look
at him. I walked right into the doorframe with my left shoulder.
    I
was still looking at him, so I saw that he almost stood up. He had
looked worried, even concerned, but I needed to get away from him as
quickly as I could. I had been crying before, and now I just couldn't
control myself.
    I
wasn't even sure what I had done wrong this time. Was he going to
punish me because I had cried at the table?
    I
hurried up and went to the bathroom, thinking that I just couldn't
take three major spankings on one day.
    Why
did he think that I would love him again if he kept punishing me?
This week had been hell.
    I
got ready quickly, knowing that he could eat fast when he wanted.
    I
lay down on the bed and waited. The first thing he would see when he
came in would be my upturned backside.
    I
was fighting to stay awake.
    He
still wasn't here, and I was getting really unsure. I went through my
mind, thinking about what he had told me to do. I was kind of sure
that he said I should be here.
    Today
was the first day of the year. We hadn't celebrated.
    Tomorrow
I would be missed. No one would think to look for me here: half
naked, lying over Gideon Thompson’s bed, waiting for a spanking.
    This
was my life now. I wouldn't be getting away. I had to somehow make
peace with him, but he was still so mad at me for turning him down.
    In
my mind I often went back and time and reacted differently to his
proposal. My daydreaming made me fall asleep. I imagined myself
accepting his proposal and softly explaining about my company and
employees. In my dreams he was kind and listened to me. He kissed me
like he did before.
    I
felt loved and absolutely adored as I fell asleep.

Gideon
    I
was kind of mad at myself for scolding her like I had. I cleaned up
the kitchen before I went up to her. I had wanted to say that I
wouldn't punish her, but I didn't want to hear her begging to get out
of punishments either.
    I
needed to think before I sentenced her to any punishment. I just had
to pause for a moment before I said anything, contemplate it, and
then inform her that she had a punishment coming and what it would
be, confident that what I was saying was