Dating Etiquette

This story is for Steve. It could even have been true except my mother never made that phone call.

Saturday morning bliss. The sun was up and Janet Coolridge was busy making breakfast. It was going to be a special day as her sister, Belinda, and her daughter, Betty, had arrived the previous night. It had been nearly 12 years since the sisters had seen each other and Betsy had grown up quite a bit during those lost years. The little girl Betsy, was practically woman herself at 18. Belinda and Betsy were still sound asleep, not accustomed to the early rising of ranch life. "City folk" Janet's husband, Mike, would call them although, never in their presence.

While the new arrivals were sleeping peacefully, the rest of the house was a buzz with early morning activities. Aaron Coolridge went about his morning routine, shaving, showering, singing, dressing, and of course teasing his younger sisters as they also went about their morning routines. Aaron was beaming and clearly in a better than average good mood for a Saturday morning. His sisters, Alice and April, were getting in more than usual share of barbs as it took little imagination to guess the reason for Aaron's all to happy face. Aaron had finally got his wish and taken the Dean girl out on a date the previous evening. Alice and April, both teenagers themselves, were very well aware that the attraction between the two was mutual and had little doubt that their big brother's date had involved something more than a few kisses. They lived in a small town so, naturally the rumors would fly. Of course, no one would ever suggest that anything inappropriate had occurred, especially in the presence of the Dean family.

The Coolridge children made there way to the breakfast table adjacent to the kitchen and greeted their Mom. Janet was pleased to see her children all up and around and in such high spirits. It would make for such a wonderful impression on their Aunt and cousin. She asked her daughters to take over the kitchen so that she might go and wake their guests and sent Aaron out to call his Dad for breakfast. Aaron made his way out to the barn and not seeing his Dad around asked a few of the hands of his whereabouts.

"Mike's down at the southeast fence. Looked like something tore it up but good last night. Your Ma' want him in for his breakfast?" Jeffrey Ferris told him. Jeffrey was only about a year and half older than Aaron but, it was the year half that made him a man and Aaron still a boy. That's how Aaron saw it anyway. Just the previous year the two had ruled the high school football field together. With Jeffrey working for Aaron's Dad now there seemed to be a wedge between them that Jeffrey couldn't find his way around.

"Yeah. You mind if I ride Apollo out to him?" Aaron replied while eying the saddled horse.

"Go ahead. I won't be heading out for a bit." Jeffrey answered as he gave Apollo a pat.

Aaron mounted Apollo with accomplished ease. Jeffrey nodded at him and suddenly realized the reason for the smile on his old friend's face. "I heard you finally grew some balls and asked Miss Kelly out." Jeffrey smile up at Aaron. Aaron face got a bit dark and he glared at Jeffrey almost daring him to say anything more.

Jeffrey shook his head and laughed. "There ain't a boy this side of Dallas under the age of 25 that ain't jealous of the way that girl looks at you. Hell I'd be happy if any girl in this town would look at me like that. Exceptin' o' course my Ma."

"You be treading on dangerous waters, Mister Ferris. I'd thank you kindly not to speak of Miss Kelly like that ever again or I might just take it upon myself to teach ya some manners. Thank ya for the horse and good day to ya." Aaron voice was the epitome of southern authority as he spoke. His accent always became stronger when he was a bit on the angry side and as long as he kept his temper in check he nearly sounded like his Dad. Jeffrey Ferris responded as if it had been his boss, Mike Coolridge. He tipped his hat with a sharp nod of his head and walked away.

Aaron was only riding out for about ten minutes when he spotted his Dad riding toward him. They waved at each other and Aaron held up until his Dad reached his location. They headed back to the house together at a casual pace. Mike Coolridge was beginning to think of Aaron as more of a young man than a boy and the way he was looking as he sat up in the saddle was making Mike realize that his boy was all but grown up.

"I s'pose your Ma' sent ya ta fetch me." Mike nodded to his son as they started out.

"Yes, sir. She was going to wake Aunt B and Cousin Betsy when I left. I'm a guessin' that gives us about fifteen minutes or so still." Aaron's replied with a slight grin. He always enjoyed these private moments with his Dad.

"Did ya have a good time with Miss Kelly last night? I hear from some of the young hands she's quite the catch." Mike was never shy about probing into his son's life. He figured it was his responsibility as his father.

"That we did. I reckon' she is about the pretties girl in these parts and I'll be the first to say how lucky I am. Still, it ain't polite for a man young or not to be talking about a lady as though she were a trophy." Aaron was still polite but, you could hear the edge in his voice that was a clear warning. Aaron was sweet on the girl and he wasn't going to stand for even a hint of impropriety in reference to her.

Mike chuckled as he regarded his son, "The Dean's are good people. Miss Kelly is sure to be a proper lady of that I have no doubt. I just wanna make sure you know how a lady's to be treated. By your response I reckon my boy is becoming a man. Now let's go get us some breakfast, son" Mike couldn't have been prouder of his son than he was right at that moment.

About an hour later breakfast was over. The young ladies of the house shewed the rest out of the kitchen as they went about the routine of cleaning. Mike apologized to his wife and sister-in-law that he had spend a few hours working and wouldn't be able to take them into town until the evening hours. Mrs. Coolridge kissed her husband and sent him on his way. He needed to pick-up some supplies at the local hardware store to fix his mangled fence. Aaron always eager to lend his Dad a hand offered to come with him and help with the repairs. As usual Mike refused the offer and insisted that his son at least pay the proper
respect to their visitors since he could not. Shortly after Mike Coolridge left the phone rang. Mrs. Coolridge answered.

"Good Morning, Janet Coolridge speaking." There was a pause as she listened. Her face brightened as she recognized the voice on the other end.

"Yes, indeed. Aaron has been tight lipped but, I can tell by the look on his face he fancies Miss Kelly something fierce. Oh, look at that I've made him blush." Aaron wasn't sure who his mother was speaking with and appeared a bit nervous.

"What did you say?" A brief pause as Janet listened intently and stared her best harsh, cold eyes into her son.

"You have my sincerest apologies. If you ever see fit to allow him to take Miss Kelly out again I can assure you he will not have such a lapse in manners or etiquette ever again. Please extend my sympathies to Miss Kelly and assure her that Aaron will be sitting even less comfortably by the time his father is through with him." Mrs. Janet Coolridge maintained her pleasant voice on the phone all the while using her face to clearly communicate to her son that he was in more trouble than he could imagine.

"Good day, Mrs. Dean." Aaron's mother hung up the phone and released her full fury upon him.

"Get over this instant, AARON MICHAEL COOLRIDGE!" Her voice became louder and more enraged with each careful word.

"Yes, Ma'am." Aaron's voice was meek and he was of course wondering just what part of the previous evening his mother had learned of.

"How dare you! What do you think you are, some trailer trash boy? I raised you to be a gentleman not to go off and embarrass yourself and your entire family! You disrespectful, self-absorbed, snot-nosed brat. Explain yourself this instant!" Mrs. Coolridge had a temper second only to her husband's and Aaron was hearing the full wrath of it.

"What did I do? I'll make it right I swear." Aaron thought it was best to keep his options open still not sure of what the topic of conversation had been.

"What did you do? You know damn well what you did boy. Keeping a lady out an hour past her father's curfew and you didn't even have the guts to walk her to the door and explain yourself to him. You have brought shame on yourself and our entire family! How dare you ask me, 'What did I do?'!" Mrs. Coolridge was seething.

"I'm sorry Ma'am. She didn't want to me come with her. Miss Kelly thought it best I just leave. I'm sorry Ma'am." Aaron was sounding less and less like the young man he had earlier in the morning and more like a scared little boy.

"I am going to spank some manners into your little butt if its the last thing I do."

"No, please. Not in front of Aunt B and Cousin Betsy. Ma' please!" Aaron whined like a little boy.

"You should have thought about that last night, its way too late now. You strip your clothes off boy and hand them in a nice folded pile to Miss Betsy. Don't you argue with me boy. Then you go on up and fetch my hairbrush and don't forget to bring the chair with you on your way back here. Don't test my patience boy or I'll follow up my hairbrush with a dose of the strap." Mrs. Coolridge had no sympathy for her son and figured the humiliation of being spanked in front of the house guests and his sisters would do him as much good as the spanking itself. If she could have had her way, Miss Kelly would have been present as well.

"Yes, ma'am" Aaron was fighting back tears as he complied with his mother's orders and stripped himself naked. He was down to his boxers when his sister came into the room having finished their clean-up chores. Cousin Betsy filled them in as finished his chore and folded his clothing neatly. He wished to cover himself as he walked over to his cousin and silently offered his pile of clothing to her. She smiled and winked suggestively at him as she took the clothing from his hands.

Aaron knew better than to cover himself despite the shame burning in his face and his uncomfortable exposure to several females. He took deep breaths attempting to calm himself as he made the journey to retrieve his mother's hairbrush. He picked it up off her dresser and stared at it for a moment. It was nothing special, just a small oval brush with white bristles and a maple wood back. He carried it back downstairs and paused as he entered the dining room. He picked up the extra chair against the wall and carried it with the brush to his waiting mother. He sat the chair down so it was facing his sitting aunt, cousin, and sisters. His humiliation was complete as he handed the hairbrush to his mother and she commented, "That's a
good boy. Now over my knee and lets see if I can make your backside as red as your face."

As soon as he was over her lap the hairbrush started connecting. Mrs. Coolridge's spankings were always delivered in much the same manner. Several hard, loud spanks followed by some lecturing about the boy's behavior. Then a flurry of fast, biting spanks followed by a yes or no question. Then the routine repeated itself until Mrs. Coolridge was satisfied that she had given a good lecture, her boy had responded appropriately to the lecture, and his bottom was certain to be a blazing inferno.

Since they had visitors she included asking them questions as to whether or not they thought he had learned his lesson. Betsy seemed to take the longest to be satisfied that Aaron was truly remorseful of his transgression in proper etiquette. It was only after he was sobbing and begging his mother for "No more, Please mommy!" that she felt comfortable that his punishment had been effective.

Aaron was finally released from his mother's hold and stood up. The ladies in the room observed a little boy with a red face and even redder hiny. Tears streaked down his ashamed cheeks and his fist clenched at his sides wanting to comfort the burning fire that was his very blistered butt. Knowing better, he simple stood and endured the gazes and giggles until he was sent to stand in the corner of the room to display his "little red hiny" for all the world to see.

As he stood there staring into the white walls he contemplated the future. He was certain his sisters would never allow him to live this down and his Aunt and cousin, how could he ever face them again? Betsy had made little secret of enjoying her view of his equipment. He had to focus on his impending spanking to avoid becoming hard and really humiliating himself in front of her.

Half an hour later the front door opened and Mike Coolridge stepped inside. "Ma' what has your son done now?" He called out. Funny, whenever any of the children were in trouble they suddenly became the sole property of Mrs. Coolridge. Not that Mr. Coolridge wouldn't oblige his wife and strap their bottoms should she ask it but, he preferred to think of his children as well behaved.

Mister and Misses Coolridge had a short discussion outside of Aaron's hearing and while he could not hear the words he knew the details all to well. Mike Coolridge came back into the room with a vegenance. He grabbed his son by the ear and hauled him through the house and out the back door, yelling all the while. Outside, he continued to drag his struggling son toward the old tool shed next to the barn. He had not a care of who saw his bare boy as he continued his deafening lecture on how to treat to a lady and the proper etiquette of obeying a ladies father. The ranch hands all watched in silent amusement as the
young man was dragged along. They had little doubt he would soon be hollering as his father drove home his lesson in proper etiquette of dating.

They were of course quite correct. As soon as the two entered the shed the screams began. Aaron's cries and pleadings were unintelligible outside of the shed. Although, even inside the house the ladies could hear the effect Mike Coolridge was having on the young man. The strapping lasted a good ten minutes and when they emerged from the shed it was obvious to all around that Aaron Michael Coolridge would be standing as much and as often as possible for a very long time.

Aaron was still sobbing as he was escorted back inside the house. He found himself firmly planted back in his corner and was at least glad to know he wouldn't have to sit quite yet. Mister and Misses Coolridge had another talk this time only a few feet from their sobbing son. He didn't pay much attention. Mike was insisting that the boy needed to learn a very harsh lesson. Janet was starting to feel sorry for her boy but, acknowledged the truth of her husband's words. While she did not like his plan she agreed it was fair and perhaps even appropriate.

Mike returned his attention to his son. "Alright, Aaron let's go. You have some apologies to make at the Dean residence."