Realistic Expectations

Of all of his imaginings of how his day would unfold, at no time had it crossed Crane McFadden's mind that the pivotal moment would occur when his brother Adam yanked the twelve year old across his lap and delivered an unforgettable, non-negotiable, no-way-to-save-himself butt blistering.

What an absolute nightmare!

Crane stuttered through attempts to exonerate himself as a bid to try everything in his power to beg his way out of trouble.

He failed.

Truthfully, the pre-teen never had a chance. Adam had no intention of granting a pass for his younger's thoughtless and irresponsible behavior.

Once Crane obeyed Adam's terse command to move the hands Crane had endeavored to protect his rear end he ushered in a world of pain and hurt. His protests dissolved into gasps, then tears, before body-shaking sobs replaced them. It took just three blistering smacks from Adam's hand to destroy his stoic initial resolve to not cry, and every lick after brought an increase in the intensity of the sobs.

The spanking hurt! No amount of squirming could dislodge him from Adam's hold. Adam, for his part, meant he would deliver a lesson Crane would never forget. He reiterated the reason for the spanking with each blistering contact made with Crane's bare bottom.

No! No! No! His bottom hurt so, so much!

Crane realized the futility of struggling after the first two smacks. No matter how much he begged for a second chance or how strategically he struggled in Adam's grip he could not change the course of the punishment.

Finally Crane accepted the inevitable and just buried his face in his arms and waited for his agony to end.

It hurt! It hurt! It hurt! Compounding the misery of the pain from the spanking was the embarrassment of his naked butt visible and exposed for anyone to see.

Worse, an inner dread that his little brother Ford would turn around and witness Adam spanking him lurked in the back of his mind. It would embarrass him so badly to have his first grade brother witness Adam spanking him!

Why had he ever allowed himself to end up in this predicament? What had he been thinking?

The twelve year old had considered his newfound status as a seventh grader a stepping stone into a more mature existence, one where he didn't have to ask permission for every single thing. After all, he wasn't an elementary kid any more.

So when his best friends Tyler Jordan and Ryan Neeley proposed that they get together midweek after school for an early autumn swim in a local pond, he readily endorsed the plan. All three boys loved swimming and the pond itself was only about a half mile from Ryan's house. The people who owned the land had landscaped the area around the pond's perimeter and had even added a picnic table and a couple of benches.

Since these neighbors were out of town the boys could skip clearing their use of the pond with the neighbors.

After some discussion the boys settled on planning their pond outing for Thursday afternoon and also agreed to fabricate a school assignment to provide an alibi. Since November would herald an upcoming election, the boys decided to use that as the basis for the excuse to spend the afternoon together.

Could they be any more clever?

Tyler and Crane knew without asking or consulting that they would not be allowed to visit the pond during the school week, or without permission, or at a date so long past summer. On the other hand, Ryan's parents had always been a bit more lax.

Crane set his plan into motion after supper once Adam began to work with the boys during homework time. He pointed to his Social Studies text with the eraser of his pencil. "Adam, my history teacher put us in groups for a project on the election. She said we have to do some of the work outside of school. The only afternoon Tyler and Ryan and I can get together is Thursday. Ryan checked with his folks and we can meet at his house. Is that all right with you?"

He paused and waited for Adam's reply.

Adam rubbed his chin and glanced over at the calendar by the refrigerator. All extraneous activities for the family were outlined on that calendar to keep him updated. He squinted to read Thursday's entry and smiled. "Yeah, that can work. Ford has Chess Club and I can pick you up once I collect him from his school."

"Great," Crane smiled. "I really want to make an A on this."

"You will," Adam assured him with a grin. "I have faith in you. You are one smart young man and you always make me proud."

Crane swallowed to squelch the rush of guilt that enveloped him. He could stop lying right now and reverse the deception if he wanted. Crane closed his eyes and weighed his honesty against his dishonesty.

"Do you boys have everything you need for the project? All the supplies?"

Crane opened his eyes and rubbed a forefinger over his bottom lip to cover his nervousness. "No, we're good, thanks."

Despite the ease at which he had secured a supervision free Thursday afternoon Crane clearly understood he had compromised his own ethical foundation. Not only had he lied, but he had also misled his brother into thinking he had to meet with his friends. A couple of times the words formed on the tip of his tongue to call off the whole venture, but he suppressed them and allowed the opportunities to pass.

So Thursday afternoon the three boys laughed their way to the pond, stripped down to their underwear, and swam and played their way through a couple of hours.

Some time later Tyler glanced at the sky and announced that it was probably time for him to trek home. His parents had agreed to the after school project plan but wanted him home long before supper.

Crane and Ryan waved goodbye but opted to stay longer.

While Crane and his friends played at the pond, Adam collected Ford from Chess Club. He had elected to chauffeur one child from the elementary school before he picked up Crane.

Excited about the chess moves he had learned after school, Ford talked non-stop as he drove.

Once he reached Ryan's house Adam shifted the truck into park and let it idle, then sent Ford to summon Crane.

Ford returned to report that Ryan's sister informed him Ryan was at Crane's house-at the McFadden house- and not vice versa.

Adam tried to make sense of the answer and had Ford repeat the words. When he couldn't decipher the message to his satisfaction he went to speak with Ryan's sister himself.

That proved educational.

Adam returned to the truck still trying to process the turn of events and piecing the story together. Crane had lied- out and out lied- to him about working at Ryan's house.

Why?

Was there even a school project?

If Craig had not gone from school to Ryan's house, where was Crane? Was he up to something dangerous? Was he hurt?

Ford strapped himself into his seat and the first grader turned to Adam expectantly. "If Crane's not here at Ryan's, can we go get him where he is?"

"Yes," Adam switched on the ignition and tried to remain calm in front of Ford so as to not upset him. Yet a whole part of him wanted to collapse into panic. What if Crane were hurt or in some type of danger? Had he failed in protecting his younger sibling?

Another part of Adam felt the anger begin to ferment. Crane had outright lied to him. Lied as in not uttered a single honest thing in the entire school project conversation! Adam felt confident now that Crane had deliberately manipulated the events of this afternoon and fabricated the whole project.

Not certain of which direction to travel to find his brother, Adam followed the road in front of Ryan's house and hoped it would lead him toward the right path. Half a mile from Ryan's house he and Ford spotted a figure by the side of the road.

Ford bounced in his seat. "I know that person! He's Tyler. See Adam? That's Crane's friend, Tyler."

Adam focused. Sure enough he recognized Tyler, the same Tyler with whom Crane should have been working to create an election project.

Adam honked and watched Tyler's expression change from nonchalance to panic once he identified Adam.

The child physically froze in place.

Well, that left no doubt in Adam's mind that the boys had made up the whole election after school project.

Adam edged the vehicle to the side of the road and motioned Tyler over. He rolled down the window.

A wide-eyed Tyler approached. "Yes sir, Adam?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation Adam almost laughed at the tone of voice. Based on body language, Tyler knew that the scheme had unraveled and his voice reflected that with every nuance. Adam barely had to speak before the child confessed all to him.

Adam directed Tyler to head straight home and assured him that he would speak with Tyler's folks that evening.

He and Ford continued with the quest.

Crane and Ryan had already emerged from the water and stood on the edge of the pond chatting with each other when Adam pulled up in the truck. Glimpsing both figures Adam ordered Ford to stay inside the cab and start on homework.

Adam counted to ten before he disembarked.

He needed to remain calm no matter how furious this little stunt made him.

The boys had just crossed the bank to the picnic table to retrieve their clothes when Adam appeared in front of them. Crane was so surprised that he dropped his bundle of clothes onto the ground.

Sensing serious trouble, Ryan grabbed his own clothing and excused himself as fast as possible. He hurriedly jogged toward the road.

As with Tyler, Adam expressed a promise he would call Ryan's parents that evening.

Adam's sudden presence had shocked Crane into a frozen silence and he stared at his brother wide-eyed.

Adam waited.

Once Ryan departed from their view Adam directed his attention to Crane. "Start talking!"

Crane licked his lips, "Adam I…" he began before sputtering to a guilty stop.

"Now, Crane!" Adam demanded.

With no way out of the situation, Crane's eyes began to fill. "Well we just wanted to get to swim and so Ryan and Tyler did too, and we figured that if we asked to go swimming everybody would say no."

Even to Crane the excuse sounded lame.

He had to try, though.

Adam folded his arms across his chest, his dark eyes snapping. "You lied, Crane."

Crane dropped his gaze to the ground. The ripple of fear in his stomach intensified.

"To me." Adam directed, "Look at me right now. You lied to me, lied to me,Young Man." Adam stretched out the last words for emphasis.

Crane remained silent, not certain how to salvage the situation.

Losing patience, Adam reverted to questioning. "You lied to me?"

Crane licked his lips. "Yes. Yes, sir."

"There was no class project."

Crane nodded slowly, his expression miserable.

"Verbal response!"

Guilty tears started once Adam finally raised his voice. Crane didn't bother to wipe them away and they gathered speed. "No, there is no project," he confirmed.

Adam leaned against the end of the picnic table. He focused on Ford's small figure in the truck several seconds before turning his attention back to Crane. "All right, we have established that you made up the project. Let's keep moving. Where did you tell me you would be today, Crane?"

Crane answered dismally, "At Ryan's." He checked Adam's expression to gauge his brother's outrage. "I said Ryan's house, that I would go to Ryan's house."

Adam's jaw clenched. "What would have happened today if an emergency occurred and I needed to get to you instantly?"

Crane lowered his eyes again.

"I asked you a question!" Adam snapped.

"You wouldn't know where to find me."

"Exactly!" Adam confirmed. "And what would have transpired had you yourself gotten hurt or injured? No one except you and your buddies would even have an inkling where you are."

Several seconds passed while Crane processed Adam's points. Finally Crane made eye contact with Adam. "I know."

Adam inhaled deeply and gathered his thoughts. He regarded the twelve year old. "Do you have anything else you need to say?"

Crane's stomach tightened, certain Adam would punish him now. He shook his head back and forth, "No, but Adam I am really, really sorry and it was stupid. What I did was stupid and I won't do that again. I promise."

"I appreciate that. But I have the responsibility of rearing you and of keeping you protected and safe. So when you blatantly lie to me, position yourself in potential danger, and go off-grid where no one can locate you, you have presented issues I will never tolerate from you or from any of your brothers. Ever."

"Adam, I know I deserve…."

"What you deserve and what I am going to deliver is a spanking. I love you much too much to not punish you. That's final. If you ever think of trying something like this again I want you to remember that when you pulled this stunt this time, I tore your butt up for misrepresenting your intentions."

Before Crane had a chance to respond to the announcement or absorb the words Adam took a seat on the picnic table bench. Adam lost no time but yanked his little brother across his lap, Crane's thin frame and skinny arms and legs colliding with Adam's muscular body.

If he'd hoped for a reprieve Crane knew he wouldn't get one and he'd regret every second of his deception the moment he realized he wouldn't have one scrap of material to dull the spanking.

Sure enough, Adam delivered one very painful punishment that Crane thought would never end. To him it went on and on until he thought his butt would actually ignite.

Finally Adam stopped. Instead of letting his brother go he held Crane across his lap until the sobs of pain reduced to shuddery breaths.

Adam slipped him into a standing position then.

Adam pointed to Crane's clothing. "Get dressed and head to the truck. The punishment finished and we go forward from here. I love you, Crane, whether you believe it right at the moment." Adam's voice firmed again. "If we ever have to re-visit this situation or even a portion of this situation I promise I will use a belt instead of my hand. This family functions on realistic expectations and I will not allow you to shirk your part. Am I clear? Do you understand me?"

Miserable as he felt, Crane answered honestly. "I understand, Adam." His voice cracked a bit from leftover tears. "I learned my lesson and you won't have to spank me again."

Adam searched his face and seemed satisfied.

"Ok, get dressed," Adam directed. He left his brother to pull on his clothes and returned to the truck.

Crane dressed himself carefully, making sure that as he covered his bottom he did so gingerly. In his heart he admitted he deserved every bit of the consequence and Adam had every right to call him on it.

Swimming that afternoon with his friends hadn't been worth the price he paid for it.