Free Traditional Terms by Alta Hensley

slightly as she gave a knowing wink.
    “Oh… I… I mean we… oh Jesus…” Coley stammered. She could feel the blood rushing straight to her face.
    “No need to be embarrassed, dear. I hope I didn’t step over the line. I’m sorry if I was too blunt. I tend to do that,” Vance’s mother apologized with a look of concern on her face.
    “No, you’re not over stepping. I just… uh… I’m just having a hard time finding the right words.” Coley’s face was on fire. She had never been so embarrassed in her life.
    “I see I embarrassed you. I’m sorry. I guess I just assumed you knew that in this household the idea isn’t a foreign one.”
    “Um… actually no, I had no idea. Vance never told me you and his dad practice. I guess I’m just a little stunned.”
    Vance’s mother reached for Coley’s hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Well I think I need to start my conversation over. Yes, Vance’s father and I have practiced this lifestyle for a long time. We call it Christian Domestic Discipline. It goes all the way back to the bible. I know Vance isn’t that religious and his views are a little different, but it’s the same thing.” She put her finger to her lips. “Shh, don’t tell him I told you that.” She smiled with another one of her classic winks.
    Coley finished off the remainder of her drink to try to regain some composure. “This is just really new for me. I haven’t wrapped my mind around this yet.”
    Vance’s mother rose and grabbed her and Coley’s glasses and made a fresh drink for the both of them. “I had no idea that you were new to this way of thinking. That really changes everything.”
    “Well, I’m not really new to the idea. My brother has lived this lifestyle for a long time. So, I understand it. I just haven’t been in a relationship where it was involved. So, the idea, and obviously even the idea of talking about it, is still really new to me.”
    She returned with two fresh drinks and sat back down with a smile on her newly flushed face. “I remember when I first was getting used to the idea, too. It takes a lot to be at ease with the idea. Do you love my son?”
    Coley took another drink and could swear that it was twice as strong as the first two. “Yes, I do. I love him very much.”
    “Are you going to be able to fully give yourself to him and his beliefs?”
    “Yes. I want to. I want to try. I’m scared that I won’t be able to, but I’ll give it everything I have to give him that. I’ve come to terms with what he wants and what he needs. I want nothing more than to make him happy.”
    Vance’s mother’s face lit up with pure joy. “I love hearing that, Coley.” She took a large sip of her drink before asking, “So, do you mind if we talk about it, or is it too personal?”
    Coley could feel the alcohol warm her body and suddenly she felt much more open and willing to talk about just about anything. “I would like that very much. I could use all the help I can get.”
    Both women giggled for a few minutes and continued to sip on the third drink which was slowly disappearing.
    Coley decided to be the first to break the laughter. “So, tell me something. Why? Why do you?”
    Vance’s mother paused for a moment, and with a very soft smile replied, “I grew up in a very religious home where the man was the Head of the Household. Now, I have no idea if my father and mother practiced Christian Domestic Discipline, since that was not something we would ever talk about back then. But my father was no doubt the man of the house. So, when I met my husband, it wasn’t something unfamiliar to me. I believe in the bible and the bible clearly states, in several areas, that this is the way of the Lord.”
    Coley leaned in closer, fascinated by hearing that this belief had such a deeper and more spiritual root. “It does? This has been around since Jesus?”
    Vance’s mother giggled. “Yes, I think so. I don’t want to get too Christian on you, but I