Cathy's Creative Corner: The Domino Did It (Part 2)
“Verne! Valena! Victor! Get in here! Now!” bellowed Mom Peterson after processing what young Vanessa had just revealed. Not only had the children failed to mention the six-month-old’s tumble from the bike, they came up with an incredible lie to cover it up! The mother knew for herself that baby Vivian was fine and there was no need to get hysterical but the children needed to learn a lesson about responsibility and being truthful. “Verne, Valena and Victor, I know you heard me,” barks Mom Peterson as she walks around the corner into the playroom. Her call has fallen on deaf ears because the guilty parties have fled.
The twins are creatures of habit so she has a good idea of where they will be hiding. Victor, on the other hand, can fit into more nooks and crannies and is a little harder to find. She seeks him out first. Only two rooms away and there he is, hiding behind the door. She saw him, before she even entered the room, through the gap on the hinged end of the door. Victor let out a cry as his mother jerked the door away from the wall. “Momma, please! Momma, please! Momma, please!”
“Momma, please, what? Please don’t punish me for lying?” spoke Mom Peterson in a calm voice. “Don’t worry. I’m going to let your father handle this as soon as he returns from the store.”
“NO, MOM! You do it, please!” sobbed Victor.
“No, no, no, not today. I’m the lightweight punisher. This calls for heavy-duty work,” Mom Peterson replied. “Go sit in the living room until your father gets here. I’ve got to round up your sisters.”
“Verne, I’m heading to the kitchen to get the broom,” announces Mom Peterson as she passes the girls’ bedroom. “You better come from under that bed before I get back.” To her surprise, Verne wasn’t under her bed when she returned. But as she turns to leave the room, there’s Verne. Balled up in the corner under baby Vanessa’s bed. “Didn’t… I… tell….you….,” huffs Mom Peterson as she pokes away at Verne with the broom.
“Wait, Momma, wait! I’m stuck! OUCH! My hair! It’s caught in the metal springs! OWW, oww! I can’t get it loose!”
“Serves you right for lying! I should leave you under there until your father gets here but I need you to go get Valena off the poles in that smokehouse. Victor! Come help your sister untangle her hair from the bed springs,” Mom Peterson calls out.
A few tugs here, a few tugs there and Verne is free. She ran all the way to the smokehouse to get Valena. As she walks under the screened air vents, she hears a voice from above. “Verne, is Momma with you? Is she mad?” asks Valena.
“Is she mad?” repeated Verne. “She’s so mad she’s not even gonna punish us. She’s letting Daddy do it!”
“NO! Why can’t she just whoop us and get it over with? Punishments last forever!”
The two girls walk back to the house. They join Victor on the couch and wait on Dad Peterson. Before long, they hear a car coming up the gravel drive. Everyone’s first instinct is to run but they opt to turn on the waterworks instead. By the time the father has made his way to the children, they are snorting and sobbing with each trying to give their version of what happened. As he listens, he begins to unbuckle his wide black leather belt. Silence fills the room as the children stare.
“I hear y’all want your mother to administer your punishments. Guess what? It’s not gonna happen. Her spankings hurt your feelings more than your behinds, and when it’s over, your punishment is over. I want you three to understand the severity of your actions. Your bad decision to take the baby on a ride could have been devastating! What if the bike had been moving and you all fell? Do you know how much internal damage or head trauma could result from a bike and kids landing on an infant? And the ride wasn’t so she could enjoy it, it was so you could! Furthermore, this lying had better stop! The next time you get caught lying, we’re gonna have belt-to-butt contact.” With this, Dad Peterson slaps his belt on the couch. All three siblings felt the vibration. “Your punishment will be no bike riding for two weeks unless you’re riding little Vanessa. That’s her reward.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“So what have you learned?” asks Dad Peterson.
“It’s not good to lie.”
“We need to make better decisions.”
“Watch out for the four-year-old snitch.” Good thing Victor’s the only boy.
