“Sorry,” Abby repeated.
“As you’re on water tonight I assume your husband was far from happy with your merry state when you got home the other night.” Tasha laughed and was beyond grateful when her friend allowed her to move conversation from her abusive childhood.
“He was seriously pissed, still is. I don’t know what happened, but I was hammered by the time I got home. Maybe taking the rest of the bottle for the ride home was a bad idea, but Bobby doesn’t know about that.”
Tasha laughed. “I thought you looked a little delicate on Thursday, but we couldn’t really talk in front of the girls, could we?”
Abby shook her head. “Can I tell you something and kind of ask you something?”
Tasha frowned her confusion, but agreed with a nod of her head.
“You said that Jim doesn’t hit you like your dad, but I think he and Bobby share a trait there.”
Tasha frowned again, although she had a very strong suspicion of what Abby was intimating. Jim had made several references to similarities between him and his brother.
“Did you notice that I was restless when we went to see Kayla and was reluctant to take a seat when I was offered one?”
Tasha nodded, but definitely knew where this was going now so smiled.
“What?” asked Abby.
“I knew it!” Tasha laughed. “Bobby’s a spanker too, isn’t he?”
Even before Abby nodded, her face had already answered Tasha’s question.
“I’ve tried asking Amanda but she doesn’t like to talk about such things, so maybe Jim didn’t spank her,” mused Abby.
“He did,” revealed Tasha with a smirk.
“How do you know?”
“She kind of admitted it to me, but Jim once told me he’d spanked them all to some extent.” Tasha knew she was probably revealing too much now, but she was so wrapped up in this conversation she continued.
“I bet she didn’t like it,” said Abby seriously.
“Probably not, but as I was once told, you’re not supposed to like it, it’s a punishment.”
They both laughed loudly like naughty school girls.
“You see, I like it,” admitted Abby in a near whisper.
“Yeah, well I’d never done it before Jim, but I love it.” Tasha felt quite liberated to be sharing common ground and feelings. “I even sent him a paddle from London.” She giggled. “Which was harsher than I thought it would be.” She laughed again.
“No way.” A wide-eyed Abby sounded in awe of her friend.
“Way! We need to lunch next week, just the two of us.”
“Bobby has used a leather whip, like a mini cat o’ nine tails thing.”
Tasha stared. “What’s it like?” Her mouth dried slightly.
“I like it, but it was just his hand the other night. That was more than enough. I think he was just slightly pissed until I ended up with my head down the toilet and then he was really, really pissed.”
Tasha flinched, imagining it, but still laughed. “Was that the final straw for Bobby?”
“Yeah, but he let me sleep until six when he gets up and we then had to discuss and address my inappropriate behaviour.”
Tasha rolled her eyes at the all too familiar line. “Hmmm. I can understand why the offer of a chair didn’t appeal so soon afterwards. Does he have other kinds of punishments?” she asked and wiggled her fingers to put punishments in inverted commas.
