Hello Readers! For those of you that follow Open Arms, you will know the characters in this story. For those that don't, it isn't necessary to read the other story in order to understand this one (but I do recommend you check out my other story) ;)
I had the idea to expand the flashback scene in Chapter 18 as soon as I wrote it, and I was going to keep this story unpublished for awhile, but I figured since I had finished it so quickly, and because I don't normally have a new update so soon, I would go ahead and post it. And if this is something you all like, I have plans for writing other one-shots of Shelby's childhood with her family (let me know in reviews and/or tumblr if this is something I should do!).
I hoping to have Chapter 19 of Open Arms finished sooner rather than later. I'll post updates and sneak peeks on my tumblr account (search for DARecruit!)
A Time To Dance
Eleven-year-old Shelby Corcoran fidgeted in the front seat of her parents' silver-blue station wagon, looking over at her big sister with a wide grin on her face. "Will you watch Footloose with me when we get home?" the girl asked, holding the video store's white plastic bag with her new purchase inside up to her sister.
"I can't, baby girl, remember? I'm meeting Mallory for lunch. I'll watch it with you later," Lauren said, glancing over at her kid sister. She saw the defeated look cross the beautiful girl's face, and she felt her heart sink. "I promise I'll watch it with you as soon as I get home, Shel."
Shelby sighed. She had been looking forward to this day for weeks. It was the first Saturday of June. Her summer had officially started at three o'clock yesterday afternoon. But today, today was also the day that Footloose was out on VHS. She had been talking about nothing else for weeks. Months even—ever since she saw the movie at the beginning of this year.
Today marked the start of what was bound to be a great summer vacation. Her three older siblings had been out of their college classes since the middle of May, and it killed Shelby that she had to go to bed at nine-thirty on weeknights when half the time, her siblings weren't even home yet. Being the youngest of four was hard to begin with, but when there were twelve, eleven, and eight years between her and the rest of the kids, it was especially problematic. But now that it was summer, Shelby was certain issues like bedtimes would be a thing of the past. She planned on staying up late every night with Jack, Ben, and Lauren, and finally being able to be one of the "big kids".
"The boys won't watch it with me," Shelby sighed forlornly, staring out the window at the trees passing by in a flash.
"I'm sure they will if you ask them," said Lauren. "Or you can ask Mommy or Daddy."
"I wanted to hang out with you guys," Shelby mumbled so her sister had to strain to hear. "You're all hardly ever home all at once."
"We'll be home plenty this summer, baby girl," Lauren stated.
"I'm not a baby, LuLu. I'll be in seventh grade next year! That's practically high school!" whined the not-quite teenager.
Lauren had to disguise her laugh in a coughing fit so she wouldn't hurt her kid sister's feelings. She felt for the girl, she did. It couldn't be easy for her being the youngest when the rest of them were in their twenties and in college.
Lauren herself had just finished her sophomore year at Ohio State. She was studying business while older brother Ben was finishing up his mechanical engineering degree this summer. They shared an apartment on campus during the school year, but came home to Mom and Dad to spend their summers with the family. Oldest brother Jack had finished his bachelor degree in architecture a year ago, and was now going for his masters while working as an intern at a big architecture firm in Columbus.
The rest of the ride was quiet as each sister was lost in her own thoughts. Lauren had just pulled into the driveway and was putting her foot on the break when Shelby was out of the car and running for the house.
"Hey!" Lauren yelled out the window. "Don't let Mom or Dad catch you doing that!"
Shelby brushed her sister's warning off with a wave of her hand and darted into the house, letting the screen door slam shut after her.
"Shelby Elizabeth Corcoran," Diane's voice carried from the kitchen. "Bust that door and I'll bust your butt!"
"Sorry!" Shelby called, rolling her eyes at her mother's threat. She had heard that warning at least a dozen times a day for as long as she could remember. The door had yet to break. "How'd she know it was me, anyway?" she said to herself as she walked into the living room.
"Your mother raised your brothers, munchkin. She's got eyes and ears all over," John answered his youngest daughter, craning his neck from his recliner to smile at the girl.
Shelby returned her father's smile before noticing that he was watching a baseball game on television. She sighed and looked down at the bag in her hand sadly. There was only one VCR in the house, and it was connected to the TV in the living room. "Daddy," she sighed, "Is the game almost over?"
"Just started a little while ago, munchkin," he replied, turning back to the screen. "Oh come on, boys! Are you blind? The ball was right there!" he yelled at the players, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
"John," Diane scolded her husband as she came into the room, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "Turn that off. It's just a game, and you'll be in a bad mood the rest of the day."
"I won't be in a bad mood," John replied. "If only the damn players were any good at their job," he mumbled to himself.
Shelby perked up as soon as her dad turned the TV off. She could watch Footloose now! She was just taking the VHS tape out of the bag when her mother took the bag and movie from her hand. Shelby snapped her head up and was about to argue, but her mother stopped her with a single raised eyebrow.
"Lunch is ready," the woman said. "Come on, both of you."
John and Shelby both heaved a heavy sigh and trudged out of the living room after Diane.
"Jack! Benjamin! Lunch!" Diane called as they passed the door leading to the basement staircase on their way to the kitchen. The thuds of her sons' feet coming up the steps could be heard almost immediately.
"What're we having?" Ben asked a moment later, ruffling Shelby's hair as he darted in front of her to get to the kitchen first.
"I made ham salad sandwiches and steamed broccoli," Diane replied.
Shelby groaned and made a face behind her mother's back. She hated ham salad. She caught Jack's eye just as he was walking by and saw him wink at her before making a face of his own. Shelby couldn't help but smile at him. He was always doing something to make Shelby laugh.
Shelby followed after the others and waited near the island as her brothers jostled each other for the last Coca-Cola in the fridge. Jack got to it first, and Ben settled for a 7-Up and a revengeful elbow jab to his brother's ribs.
"Boys, knock it off," Diane said from the kitchen table where she was busy getting everyone's plates ready. "Milk, Shelby."
"But Mom," Shelby whined, stomping her foot on the tiled floor. It wasn't fair. Her brothers were both allowed to have soda, and she was ordered to drink milk. And it was summer!
Diane didn't say a word, just turned and leveled her youngest with a glare. The girl pouted, but pulled out the milk jug and shut the refrigerator door—a little too roughly for Diane's liking, but she would pick her battles.
Shelby brought her glass of milk over to the table with a begrudging huff directed at her mother. She was rewarded with a quick slap to her bottom, which only made her pout more. Still, she sat down at her spot quickly to avoid any more pops, and stared gloomily down at her sandwich. Yuck!
Lunch was a fairly uneventful affair. Father and sons discussed baseball and cars, while Diane kept a watchful eye on her youngest, reminding the girl to eat her lunch every few minutes.
"May I be excused?" Shelby asked. She had been sitting at the table for twenty minutes now as everyone else chatted and ate around her. All she wanted to do was go watch her movie.
"You need to eat more," Diane said, nodding towards Shelby's barely-touched meal. The girl had taken a few bites of broccoli and had yet to touch her sandwich.
"But Mom, I hate ham salad," Shelby whined. "Can't I go watch my movie?"
Diane closed her eyes and kept them shut a second longer than necessary. She always forgot Shelby didn't like ham salad, thinking it was chicken salad instead. Lauren was the one who wouldn't eat chicken salad but would devour any and all ham salad anytime it was near her.
"I'm sorry, honey. I forgot. I'll make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead," she said. "Take two more bites of your broccoli," she added, stopping Shelby's whine before it even started. She watched as the girl stabbed the two smallest pieces of broccoli with her fork and stuffed them in her mouth. Diane shook her head as she got up to make her daughter a new sandwich, taking the girl's plate with her. Once her back was turned, the mother indulged in silent laughter. Her youngest always seemed to find loopholes in her mother's instructions, and she couldn't fault the girl for it. She had taken two bites, after all, albeit tiny ones. Shelby used the same logic on her mother with Halloween or Easter candy, and always grabbed two regular-sized candy bars when Diane restricted her to just two pieces of candy.
Diane returned a moment later with a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich with crusts cut off and cut diagonally across, just the way Shelby liked it. The smile she received from her girl when she placed the plate in front of her was just priceless.
"Thanks Mom," Shelby said, taking a big bite out of her sandwich.
Ten minutes later, Shelby was ripping the plastic wrapping off of her VHS tape in front of the living room TV. She was shaking with excitement as she stuck the tape in the VCR and heard the familiar whir as it began to wind.
Shelby impatiently fast-forwarded through the million previews until she saw the Paramount Pictures logo come on screen. It was immediately followed by the opening credits. Shelby couldn't help but bob to the energetic music, a huge smile lighting up her face.
Getting to her feet, the preteen shimmied her way over to the sofa, flopping down only when the beginning song ended.
Jack and Ben looked in on Shelby on their way back to the basement. Their parents had long ago renovated the basement to include two bedrooms for the boys so that each sibling could have their own room. Before that, the brothers shared what was now Shelby's room while the girls shared the bedroom next door.
"Nice moves, squirt!" Jack called to the girl, laughing at her little dance number.
"Shut up, butthead," Shelby retorted. She turned to stick her tongue out at Jack, and then at Ben, for good measure. She could hear her brothers' laughter echoing in the stairwell as they made their way downstairs.
Shelby turned back to her movie and watched happily by herself. She would force Lauren into watching it again with her later tonight, that was for sure!
John was passing by the living room and looked in on his daughter. The girl was standing up on the sofa, dancing and jumping on the cushions and singing along to the song from the movie.
"Shelby!" the father scolded as he plucked the girl from the furniture. He set her on her feet and popped her bottom once. It was firm enough to get her attention without hurting. "I don't want to see you doing that again. Got it?"
Shelby jutted her bottom lip out in a pout and gave her father big, innocent eyes. "Yes, Daddy," she said softly.
"Good girl," the man said, kissing the girl's head. "I'll see you later, ok? I've got to run some errands for your mother."
Shelby nodded and waited until her father was safely out the door before jumping back on the sofa and resuming her dance.
"Didn't you just get in trouble for that, little sister?" Ben asked as he came around the corner.
"Hmm, I think you're right, Benny," Jack agreed, following after. "Dad just said not to let him see her do it again."
"He didn't see me," Shelby quipped, wiggling her eyebrows at her brothers.
"I don't believe it," Jack laughed, making his way over to his sister. "Where would our sweet, innocent, baby sister learn such conniving ways?"
"It wasn't from us, that's for sure," Ben answered, coming to his brother's side so the two now had the girl cornered. With a quick sidelong glance at Jack, they pounced, tickling the girl at once.
Shelby squealed and tried to run from her brothers, but she was trapped. She bobbed back and forth for a moment, finally faking both brothers out and leaping through the small space between them.
"Ha!" she exclaimed victoriously, picking up her dance where she left off.
Laughing, the brothers took off after their dancing sister. The game soon turned into a sort of tickle tag. Shelby hopped and flittered around the room on nimble feet, dodging her brother's wiggling fingers whenever she could. The boys would catch and tickle Shelby for several seconds at a time before the girl wriggled free, dancing and bobbing about until the next attack.
All three were getting short of breath, but still the game continued. Shelby didn't want their game to stop, even though she was missing her movie that was still playing in the background. It had been ages since she got to play like this with her brothers—partly because her brothers were never home, and partly because their mother always swooped in to break up their games before they could even begin!
"Gotcha!" Jack proclaimed, grabbing his sister's arm in order to tug her over to him. Shelby squirmed and twisted her arm, managing to slip through her brother's sweaty hands.
"Try again!" she squealed. She suddenly lost her footing and ran full-tilt into their mother's antique table in the corner. The table was home to several knickknacks, including one of the mother's most prized figurines. So it was only their luck that Shelby would hit the table just right and knock over that very same figurine.
"Oh no!" Shelby exclaimed, her fingers raking through her hair. Her heart started beating rapidly and she looked to her brothers for what to do.
Jack and Ben watched the scene unfold before them as if in slow motion. Try as they might to get there in time to rescue both Shelby and the figure, they were too late. All three watched in horror as it fell to the floor and broke into several pieces.
Before any of them could do anything else, Diane was running into the room, looking around widely. It took her all of ten seconds to deduce what had happened. Her terror immediately turned to anger, and she exploded.
"What on God's green earth is going on in here?" Diane asked sternly, hands on hips.
She had heard a loud thump followed by a crash, so she immediately came to investigate. The mother studied her three guilty-faced children standing stock-still, like deer in headlights for a long moment before sweeping her eyes around the room for the source of the crash. Her eyes finally fell on the broken pieces between Shelby's feet.
Diane let out a startled gasp and her hand flew up to her mouth. No! One of her prized Hummel figurines from Germany lay broken on the floor, smashed into three pieces. "What did you do?" she demanded in a harsh tone.
"Mama," her eleven-year-old daughter started, tears brimming in her eyes. "We didn't—"
"How many times have I told you not to wrestle in the house? How manytimes?" Diane yelled angrily.
"Ma, it was an accident," Jack said, stepping forward. He saw they had only moments before their mother completely flipped her lid. He wanted to try to reason with her before that happened, especially since they had dragged their baby sister into this mess. He and Ben were no strangers to Mom's tirades when it came to breaking things—Heaven knows they broke enough of their mother's treasures over the years.
"This was no accident, John Junior! You all know better! I am sick and tired of all my things being broken! You are all far too old to be acting this way! How would you feel if I went and broke your things? Would you—"
"Mom, we're sorry. We didn't mean to break your figure," Ben interceded on his and his siblings' behalf. "We'll replace it, we promise!"
"Do you know how much Hummels cost, Benjamin? What's more, your father brought that back from Germany for our second anniversary! It's irreplaceable!"
"I'm sorry, Mama," Shelby said, taking two small steps forward. She felt horrible for breaking her mother's figurine. She was the one that fell into it, after all. "I-it's my fault," she added in a small voice, tears now streaking down her face.
"Don't listen to her! It's our fault, Mom," Jack insisted.
"You are all to blame!" Diane chided, pulling her worn slipper off her foot and wagging it at her children. Without a word, Diane reached for the closest body, which just so happened to be her youngest, and yanked her to her side.
"Wait, no!" Shelby whined, trying to escape her mother's firm hold. The girl suddenly found herself tucked under her mother's left arm, staring at the carpeted floor. If she turned her head slightly, she could see the broken pieces of what used to be the cherubic little boy in brown lederhosen perched on a wooden fence with a bird tweeting at him from the fence post. The boy's head now lay decapitated, his body cracked and only one foot was still attached to the base of the statue.
"Ow! Mama!" cried Shelby, a sharp sting spreading across her bottom. A second swat landed and Shelby's hands now clutched onto her mother's pants' leg tightly in an effort to not reach back. Never in her life had she been spanked with her mother's slipper, for which she was thankful—the darn thing hurt something awful!
The two brothers stared on in stunned silence, not quite believing their eyes. In all the years that the two had been wrecking havoc on their parents' house, they had never once felt the sting of their mother's slipper, though she had threatened on numerous occasions.
"OUCH!" Shelby yelped. "Mommy, no more!" Three swats had now been delivered, and Shelby couldn't help but cry her heart out. Her bottom hurt, but her heart hurt more knowing she had broken one of her mom's treasured pieces. How was she ever going to make up for that?
Jack's heart clenched at hearing his baby sister's cries. He had to do something. He couldn't just stand here and watch her be punished, when it was he and Ben who had started playing with the girl in the first place. And it was they who took the game too far, resulting in their current situation.
"Mom, it was our fault. Don't punish Shelby!" said Jack.
"Yeah Ma, punish us. We broke your Hummel, not Shelby," Ben added.
Her children's pleas landed on deaf ears as she continued to spank, doling out six smart swats to Shelby's rear. Diane didn't offer her daughter any comfort once she released her, instead turning her attention to her adult boys. Right now she didn't care that they were twenty-four and twenty-two years old. They were co-conspirators with Shelby, and the girl had just been punished. So would they.
"Wha—Ow!" Jack yelped when Mom's slipper made contact with his own backside. That really stung! And his mother was applying it fast and hard, hitting all the right places to guarantee he'd be feeling it for a while. "Mom! Ouch!"
Diane delivered an even dozen to her eldest son's bottom before turning to her second oldest, narrowing her eyes at him when she noticed he took a step away from her. "Don't you dare," she growled, pointing at him with her sagging slipper. The poor thing was getting quite the workout today.
Ben tried to be stoic through his own slippering, but soon found himself wincing and hissing with each swat. Twelve swats later, he was free and unabashedly began rubbing at his burning bottom.
With a long sigh, Diane returned her slipper to her foot and studied her children. Ben was rubbing without abandon; Jack was trying his best to not cry as he held his kid sister close to him; and Shelby was sobbing into her brother's chest, one hand clutching his shirt while the other tried to ease the sting in her bottom.
Now that the punishment was over, Diane was ready to provide comfort. "Shelby," she said gently. "Come here, baby."
Shelby needn't be told twice, and immediately unlatched from her brother so she could attach herself to her mother's side. "M-Mama, I'm s-s-sorry," the girl cried, rubbing her nose on her mother's shirtsleeve.
"Shhh, it's all over," Diane cooed, maneuvering mother and child over to the sofa to sit. Once Shelby was safely curled up on her lap, Diane looked up at her two boys. "You two," she said, pointing at them with her free hand. "Figure out how to fix my Hummel!" She watched with narrow eyes as Jack picked up the broken pieces and he and Ben left the room. She heard their laughter echo in the hall before the door to the garage opened and shut, and they were gone.
Diane returned her attention to her youngest and began to sway back and forth gently. The girl was still crying steadily, and the mother's heart ached at the sound. Mother and daughter sat in relative silence for a long time, only the sounds of Shelby's crying and the movie playing in the background filling the air.
Shelby sniffed and wiggled in her mother's lap, trying to relieve the pressure on her bottom. She hissed as the pain started anew and big, fat tears fell from her lashes onto her cheeks.
Diane waited until Shelby found a more comfortable position before letting her hand rest on the girl's bottom. She very gently began rubbing over her daughter's cotton shorts to help ease the pain.
"It was an a-a-accident," Shelby said, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand.
"I know, honey," Diane soothed, still rubbing. "But you know not to play rough in the house. That rule has been around since Jack was a baby. It's not new to any of you."
"We were just p-playing. I didn't mean to b-break your H-H-Hummel," Shelby sputtered.
"Oh Shelly," Diane said, pulling her child closer to her. "Honey, it's ok. It's just a knickknack. Things break."
"B-b-but Daddy b-brought it back from G-G-Germany! And I b-broke it!" Shelby wailed.
Jack and Ben entered the house again after nearly thirty minutes of fussing with their mother's figurine. After much cussing and repeated tries, the boys finally managed to glue the pieces back together. They left it to dry and came inside for a cold drink and a snack. Their excursion ended before it even began when they heard Shelby's loud sobs coming from the living room. Concerned, the brothers peeked their heads around the archway and saw mom and sister in exactly the same place they left them in earlier.
Jack's heart went out to his sister, who looked so young and vulnerable in their mother's arms. He had no doubt that she was still feeling a sting from the slipper. His own bottom housed a dull ache, and both he and Ben were wearing denim jeans that deflected the worst of it. Shelby was in thin cotton shorts that offered little to no protection from the leather-soled slipper. Not to mention that he and Ben had received their fair share of spankings growing up, and had a higher pain tolerance overall. And Shelby was eleven—of course it hurt her more than it had them.
"Shh. It was an accident," Diane affirmed.
"Mama?"
"Hmm?"
"The b-b-boys aren't g-gonna wanna h-hang out with me anymore," Shelby wept hard.
"Of course they will, Shelby," Diane replied. "Why wouldn't they?"
"B-b-because I got us s-sp-spanked!"
Out in the hall, the brothers frowned at each other. Jack wanted to go in then and assure Shelby that she was worrying for nothing, but Ben grabbed his arm and shook his head. Jack sighed and they listened quietly as their mother continued.
"Hey now. You didn't get them spanked. They did that themselves," Diane told the girl.
"But Mom—"
"Hush. You listen to me, young lady," she ordered gently. "Your brothers made their own choices. They certainly know the house rules, and the consequences for breaking them."
"But they're too old!" insisted the eleven-year-old with a loud sob.
"As long as my children live in my house and I support them, they're never too old," Diane declared in a serious tone.
"Mommy," Shelby cried dejectedly. She was working herself up so much that she could hardly breathe and began to cough because of it.
"Honey, you were spanked, right?" Diane tried a new approach.
Shelby sobs stopped short for a moment as she eyed her mother. What was she playing at with that question? Did she already forget that she had blistered Shelby's backside half an hour ago?
"It wouldn't have been fair if I had punished you and didn't do the same to your brothers. You would have been upset that you got blamed for everything, wouldn't you?" continued Diane.
Shelby sniffed and laid her head on her mother's shoulder, considering the woman's words. As badly as she was feeling now, she knew she would have felt even worse had she been the only one to been spanked with that darn slipper while her brothers looked on. They were chasing her all around the living room, after all. And had Jack not grabbed her at the moment he had, she wouldn't have pulled away, and she certainly wouldn't have lost her footing and run into the table. At that thought, she cried even harder, if that was even possible.
"It's all t-their f-f-fault!" the girl wailed.
The boys both laughed and quickly stifled the noise with their hands. Lucky for them, neither mother nor sister heard them, too engrossed in their own conversation to notice. Shelby's loud sobs probably helped drown out any other noise as well.
"Ok now, stop crying," Diane said in a firm, but gentle tone. She needed to calm the girl down before she made herself sick. "Don't you worry about it anymore, Shelly Bean. No more crying," she added, using her daughter's pet name. The parents rarely used it anymore because their daughter had declared the name childish, and she was anything but.
"Am I s-still in t-t-trouble?" Shelby sobbed, more tears ready and waiting in case her mother said yes.
"Of course not, Shelby," Diane said. "You aren't in any trouble."
Jack took this opportunity to clear his throat and get his mother's attention. "We glued it back together. It's drying, but it will be good in a few hours," he said, coming to sit on the arm of the sofa next to his mother and sister.
"See?" Diane said, kissing her daughter's sweaty head several times. "Your brothers fixed it. Please stop crying now, baby," she pleaded.
Under her mother's coaxing, Shelby took a few deep breaths and began to settle herself. Tears were still winding their way down her face, but her sobs had finally stopped.
Ben met his brother's eye and nodded, silently encouraging him. The brothers had talked about what they could do nice for their sister while they were out in the garage, and now was as good a time as any to ask for permission.
"Hey Ma?" Jack said, tapping his mother lightly on the shoulder after a minute with no response. "If it's ok with you, Ben and I would like to take Shelby out to see a movie later. I think we'll even meet up with Lauren, and the four of us can spend some time together."
"We were thinking we could go out for a pizza or something afterwards, so you won't have to worry about dinner for any of us. You and Dad can have to the house to yourselves for once," Ben added.
"What am I doing? If it involves you two boneheads, count me out," Lauren joked as she came into the room.
Everyone looked up at the new arrival, except Shelby. She was still too preoccupied with her sore bottom and feeling sorry for herself. She wished all three of her siblings weren't right there in the room with her and Mom at the moment. She was starting to feel embarrassed about her current situation.
Lauren sobered up once she got a good look at her family. Jack and Ben both looked like that had done something stupid and regretted it. Nothing new there, Lauren thought to herself. Her heart sank at her little sister sitting in their mother's lap, crying. Lauren knew what that meant—Shelby had gotten a spanking.
Jack didn't miss the look his younger sister was now giving him and Ben. He knew what that look meant. Once their mother wasn't around to witness, Lauren was going to ream them out. He also had a feeling he would yet again regret teaching her how to fight when she was little. Lauren packed a mean right hook, especially when she was upset with her brothers for hurting their baby sister.
"If Shelby wants to go, it's fine with me," Diane answered Jack, giving him a warm smile. She was forever grateful that her older children were always mindful of making time for Shelby.
"I wanna go," Shelby said, her voice hoarse from her crying. She cautiously raised her red, puffy eyes to meet her siblings', smiling slightly at their encouraging expressions.
"There now, all better," Diane sighed with relief, patting Shelby's bottom several times before helping her stand. She brushed the girl's hair from her face and kissed her tear-streaked cheeks. "I love you, Shelly Bean."
"Love you too, Mama," Shelby answered, readily accepting her mother's big hug.
Diane sent Shelby off to wash her face with a few more light pats. She watched as the girl headed for the stairs, rubbing her bottom the whole way.
"I'll go check movie listings," Jack said to no one in particular.
"Wait," Diane stopped him, resting her hand gently on his forearm. "I want to talk to you and Ben for a minute."
Lauren quietly left the room, knowing that the conversation between her mother and brothers was private. She'd be talking to them about whatever they did later, but for now, she was going to go check on her sister.
The warm water felt good on Shelby's face as scooped up handful after handful and splashed herself with it. With a sigh, she turned the facet off and grabbed for a clean hand towel. After all the crying, Shelby was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to go to her room and take a nap. But she had one more thing to do before that.
Shelby double checked to make sure the bathroom door was locked before pulling her shorts and underwear down to inspect her bottom. She was expecting to have individual red marks everywhere the slipper had struck her, but there was nothing. Her skin wasn't even pink! The girl huffed and turned so she could look at herself in the mirror, thinking that maybe she just needed a different angle to see the marks, but all she saw was pale, unblemished skin. Shelby felt that for as bad as it hurt during the spanking, and as much as she still hurt now, she should at least have some battle wounds to show for it. With a loud, belabored sigh, Shelby fixed her clothes and stomped off to her bedroom to sulk.
The preteen opened her door and was not at all surprised to see her big sister sitting on her bed, waiting. Shelby immediately began regaling her sister with the events of the past hour and a half, complete with dramatic reenactments.
"I didn't get to finish my movie, and I don't have any red marks!" she declared with a loud, drawn out sigh.
Lauren listened quietly to her sister, letting her get it all out before speaking. She was surprised that their mother had used her slipper. That had always been a running joke in the Corcoran household. Mom threatened, but none of the kids ever thought she would use it on them. Lauren could only imagine how much that had hurt. She couldn't help but laugh at Shelby's declaration at the end though.
"I'm serious, LuLu," Shelby pouted. "The slipper hurt—I should at least have something to show for it!"
Lauren laughed even harder, and Shelby huffed. "I'm sorry…you don't…have marks," Lauren managed between fits, clutching her stomach.
"If you're just going to laugh at me, you can go," Shelby said in a hurt tone, rubbing her bottom. She really was still very sore, even if her bottom had betrayed her by remaining milky white.
"No, I didn't mean it, baby girl," said Lauren, sobering up immediately. "I'm sorry I laughed. It was just…funny, the way you said it."
Shelby crossed her arms and just stared at her sister. She wasn't sure what to do. Lauren was always on her side on things, and now she was laughing at her.
Lauren sighed. "I'm really sorry, Shelby. Don't stay mad at me," she pleaded, offering her hand out.
Shelby continued to pout, but came to her sister anyway. She didn't fight when Lauren pulled her onto her lap and wrapped her protective arms around her.
"I didn't get to finish watching Footloose," Shelby mumbled after several minutes of sitting in silence.
"Do you want to go watch it now?" asked Lauren, kissing the girl's head.
Shelby pulled away slightly and looked up into her sister's bright blue eyes. "I'm really sleepy," she confessed.
"Well take a nap, baby girl," Lauren chuckled lightly.
"But the boys want to go to the movies," Shelby argued, stifling a yawn.
"I won't let them go without you," Lauren promised, shifting the pair of them so she could lay Shelby down.
"But LuLu—"
"Shh. There's still plenty of time to go to the movies. You can take a nap," Lauren insisted.
Shelby huffed and rolled onto her stomach, relieving the pressure from her bottom. She took a minute to fluff her pillow just right, and then reached under it to pull her well worn, floppy eared bunny, Hazel, out of hiding. She had had the brown, fluffy bunny since she was a baby, and still liked to sleep with her, but didn't want her brothers to know—she was afraid they would tease her and call her a baby. Shelby wasn't worried about her sister laughing or telling their brothers because Shelby knew for a fact that Lauren still slept with her baby blanket.
"Do you want me to lay with you for a bit?" Lauren asked once Shelby was comfortable. When Shelby was much younger and was fighting sleep because she wanted to hang out with the older kids, the only way their parents could get her to nap was if Lauren promised to lay with her too. The big sister always did, and within fifteen minutes, the girl would be fast asleep and Lauren would go back to whatever she was doing before.
Shelby smiled into the soft fur of her bunny and nodded. "I love you," she murmured, snuggling closer to her sister.
"I love you too, baby girl," said Lauren, putting an arm around her sister protectively and closing her eyes.
Back downstairs, the boys were waiting for their mother to begin. They had each taken a seat on the sofa and were looking at her expectantly.
"Listen, boys," Diane started. "I hope you understand that I had to treat you the same as I did Shelby earlier."
"We know, Mom," said Jack.
"I know you're both older now and think I treated you like children, but it wouldn't have been fair to only punish Shelby. You were both roughhousing with her, after all," Diane continued without pause.
"We don't think that, Ma," Ben insisted.
"If Shelby hadn't been involved, things would have been different, but...I was angry and I reacted. You will understand when you both have children of your own and I—Wait, what?"
"We get it, Mom. It's no big deal," Ben said, cracking a smile.
"Besides, you're losing your touch, Ma. I'm not even sore now," Jack added cheekily.
"Oh, I am, am I?" Diane asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can certainly change that, young man," she added, reaching for her slipper.
Both boys laughed and bent down to kiss their mother on the cheek before hightailing it out of the room. Diane shook her head and let out a chuckle, flopping down on the sofa. There was never a dull moment in her household.
A Time To Dance * A Time To Dance * A Time To Dance
Shelby sat between Jack and Lauren in the dark movie theater, her hands over her eyes. She had begged her siblings to see Gremlins, thinking it was going to be a nice movie about a cute little furry creature, but it was anything but. Sure, Gizmo was cute and cuddly, but halfway through the movie, it turned scary. Shelby didn't want to tell her siblings that she was scared though. She would never hear the end of it. Besides, she wasn't a little kid.
Shelby sank down in her seat as she watched the mother creep into the kitchen. She screamed when the woman turned on the mixer and green blood splattered everywhere. As soon as the mother approached the next gremlin, Shelby gave up all hope of pretending to be brave and hid her face in Lauren's shoulder.
Lauren reached over to stroke Shelby's hair while she watched the scene unfold with one eye shut. Even she couldn't help but scream when another gremlin was blown up in the microwave.
Jack and Ben sat engrossed in the movie, laughing during the kitchen scene and whooping along with some other guys in the theater. They only laughed louder when their sisters screamed.
Shelby was more than ready to leave by the time the lights came on, and whined when her three siblings were taking too long.
"Shelby, don't get too far ahead!" Lauren called after her retreating sister's back, watching the girl weave in and out of other moviegoers.
By the time the four Corcoran siblings were on their way home after dinner, Shelby had completely forgotten about the scary gremlins and was instead talking her siblings' ears off about everything she wanted to do with them this summer. The three older siblings noticed "watch Footloose" seemed to come up an awful lot.
"Shelby!" Diane called when she heard the screen door slam. "Bust that door and I'll bust your—"
"Mama, it wasn't me! Ben did it!" Shelby called back as she walked in after her brother.
"Benjamin!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, Ma. Bust the door, bust my butt," Ben sassed, flopping down on the sofa next to his father.
Shelby skipped into the room, receiving a sharp rebuke from Diane—and settled on her father' lap.
"Hello, munchkin," John greeted, kissing Shelby's cheek. "How was the movie?"
"It was good," said Shelby, images of the scary gremlins floating to the forefront of her brain. She shivered as she remembered the kitchen scene. "Can we watch Footloose?"
The older siblings groaned good-naturedly and Shelby stuck her tongue out at all of them. "LuLu, you promised!" she added with a pout.
"I'll watch it with you," Lauren confirmed, scrunching her face at her kid sister.
"Sorry guys, I'm taping a documentary," said John, earning a groan from his youngest. "How about we play a game instead?"
Shelby leapt off her father's lap and darted from the room, Diane's firm reminder to not run in the house drifting after her. The girl returned a moment later, holding a board game in her hands. "Can we play Clue?"
None of the other Corcorans were surprised at Shelby's choice. She always wanted to play the mystery game when one of her parents brought up game night.
"Clue it is!" John said, rounding his family up and ushering them into the kitchen.
The family played three games of Clue before Diane turned to Shelby. "Time for you to go get ready for bed, miss."
"Moooooom," the girl whined, jutting her lip out in a pout. "It's summer."
"And it's also your bedtime," said Diane, completely immune to the pout. She had spent the last twenty-four years building up her resistance.
"One more game?" Shelby asked, looking to her father for help.
"We can play more tomorrow, munchkin. It's getting late, and I know you're tired," John said gently.
"I am not," grumbled Shelby, crossing her arms over her chest and slamming herself against the chair back.
Jack looked back and forth between his youngest sister and their mother, knowing that Shelby was walking on thin ice. Clearing his throat, he glanced at both Lauren and Ben before standing. They followed suit. "Man," he said, faking a yawn, "I'm wiped too. I think I'm going to call it a night."
"That sounds like a good idea," Lauren agreed, stretching.
Diane knew Shelby didn't realize what her siblings were doing, but the mother was grateful. It wasn't easy for her to be the bad guy in Shelby's life, making her follow the rules and have bedtimes when her three other siblings were free to do as they pleased. Diane knew it wasn't fair in Shelby's eyes, but the girl was still a child, and the other three had gone through exactly the same upbringing as Shelby…they just happened to get to do it together while Shelby was the straggler at the end.
"Mama, I'm not tired," Shelby insisted even as she stood. Everyone else was now standing, and Shelby didn't want to be seen as a child. She had to admit defeat and do as she was told. It would only turn embarrassing if she didn't. Still, she had to try to weasel her way out of it, somehow.
"I know, honey," the mother sympathized, helping Shelby along with a few light pats to her bottom. "I'll be up in a few minutes to say goodnight."
Shelby was just pulling her covers back when a light knock sounded on her door and her mother's head peeked in. Shelby's pout returned full force.
Diane smiled as she came over to sit on Shelby's bed next to the girl. She ran her hand over her daughter's hair and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Shelly Bean," she said.
Shelby scrunched her nose up at her mother's nickname and grabbed Hazel from under her pillow. "I love you too," she grumbled.
"I know you think I'm the bad guy here, Shelbs," Diane said gently. "Ask your brothers and sister though, I was ten times more strict with them growing up."
Shelby snorted and gave her mother a dubious side-glare.
"What? I was!" Diane laughed, patting Shelby's leg. "They will all tell you you have it easy!"
"She does!" Lauren said from the hallway on her way to her own room. Diane and Shelby both laughed.
"Ok, miss, time for sleep," said Diane. It was nearing eleven now, and it really was bedtime.
Shelby sighed and lay down, letting her mother tuck the covers snuggly around her and kiss her head once more. "Goodnight, Mama," she whispered, pulling Hazel close.
"Goodnight, my angel," answered Diane, making her way to the door and turning off the light. "Sweet dreams," she said before shutting the door.
A Time To Dance * A Time To Dance * A Time To Dance
Shelby woke with a start, looking wildly around the room. Her heart was beating fast and she could tell she had broken out in a cold sweat. She was dreaming that she was home alone when she heard a knock at the door. Shelby went to investigate, expecting it to be a friend from the neighborhood asking to play. When she opened the door, a dozen gremlins stood on the porch, holding chainsaws and bloody axes. Shelby slammed the door shut and ran for her room. She darted to her closet to hide in, and as she sat in the small, dark space, she could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She was positive the gremlins would be able to hear it.
Deciding she needed something to protect herself with, Shelby began feeling for a fallen clothes hanger. She could bend it into a makeshift weapon and poke the gremlins eyes out if they came near. Her fingers brushed against something scaly and she pulled the light string. Spike, the leader of the bad gremlins, stared back at her with fangs dripping with blood. Shelby screamed and jolted awake in her bed.
"Mama! Daddy!" Shelby called, too afraid to move from her spot. What if Spike was hiding under her bed, waiting for her feet to touch the ground to grab her and attack? "Mommy!"
Downstairs, Diane, John, and the three older Corcoran children sat in the living room watching Saturday Night Live. "Did you hear something?" Diane asked during the commercials.
The rest of the adults stopped to listen, but none of them heard anything. "Must have been something outside, dear," said John.
Shelby had called for her parents nearly a dozen times by now and they weren't coming. She wanted her parents. She needed them. Steeling her nerves, she threw the covers off of herself and crouched on her bed. With a deep breath, the girl jumped and landed halfway across the room with a loud thud. Stumbling, she darted for the door, flinging it open. She saw light coming from downstairs and could hear everyone still up. They lied, she thought as she bounded down the stairs.
"Spike was trying to kill me!" Shelby yelled, flying over to her parents. She was in between them in a flash, and was clinging to her mother for dear life. "The gremlins, they were coming to get me," she cried, tears appearing in her eyes.
"What? Who's Spike? What are gremlins?" Diane asked, bewildered. She wrapped her arms around her shaking girl and pulled her close, kissing her head over and over.
John looked at his other three children and his face darkened. "You took her to see Gremlins?!"
Jack, Ben, and Lauren all looked away, thinking fast. Jack was the first to speak. "Well, we—uh—She wanted to see it!"
"If she wanted to go skydiving, would you have taken her to do that too?" John asked incredulously.
"Of course not—not until she's fourteen," Ben said, straight-faced. He paled at his father's look and shut his mouth.
Shelby was settling down now that she was safe in her mother's arms. "You all lied," she accused a moment later, after realizing that she had only gone to bed a little more than an hour ago.
Everyone looked to the youngest questioningly, and the girl scowled at each of them before responding. "You said you were going to bed. Liars."
Shelby's accusation broke the ice again and everyone laughed, much to Shelby's disdain. But while they laughed, Shelby's eyes fell on her new movie, and an idea formulated.
"Daddy?" she said sweetly, playing on her father's weakness.
"Yes, munchkin?" John answered with a warm smile.
"Can we watch Footloose—to help me forget about my bad dream?" asked Shelby, slyly.
John looked to his wife and had to conceal his smirk. Without a word, the two decided to give in to Shelby's request. It had been a long day, and they both knew this was a battle not worth fighting. Besides, all six members of the family were home and spending time together, which was an increasingly seldom thing these days. So, John nodded and asked Ben to put the movie in.
Shelby shook with excitement, thrilled and a little shocked that she had convinced her parents so easily. The opening credits began playing, and Shelby wiggled in between her parents, the urge to dance becoming more and more apparent.
Before any of them knew what was happening, Shelby was up and shaking her butt to the beat as her feet took control.
"Uh-uh," Jack said, grabbing a fistful of Shelby's nightshirt and tugging her back onto his lap. "Remember what happened last time."
Shelby giggled and immediately tried to stand, but Jack wrapped his arm around her waist and held her still. With a defeated sigh, Shelby relaxed into her brother's body and cuddled closer into his arms.
Jack tightened his arms around Shelby during the next big dance number, expecting the girl to want to wiggle off his lap so she could join in. When he wasn't met with resistance, he looked down and realized the girl was fast asleep. Smiling, he snuggled her close and kissed her head.
"Think she's ever going to be able to watch this all the way through?" Lauren whispered, brushing a lock of hair from Shelby's face.
"Maybe tomorrow," Jack answered, carefully standing up with Shelby in his arms. "I'll put her back to bed."
Jack carried Shelby up the stairs and into her room, laying her gently in bed. He made sure to grab Hazel from under the covers, knowing the girl would start searching for the rabbit in her sleep in he didn't, and tucked her securely in Shelby's arms. "Goodnight, little sister," he whispered, pulling the covers up to Shelby's chin before kissing her head. He let his hand rest on her head for a moment before leaving quietly, shutting the door behind him.
Shelby shifted onto her stomach in her sleep, a small smile on her lips. She was dreaming that she was with Ren, and he was telling her it was time to dance.