Tim knocked quietly at his son's bedroom door. The muffled response was inaudible but he entered anyway, the knock was more of a notification of his presence than a request for admission. He would be going in regardless of the answer he received.
Tim shook his head. Luc was lying on his bed, his face buried in the pillow with his arms supporting both.
"Did you hear me call you to dinner?" Tim asked calmly.
A feather filled answer that was probably yes came from the pillow.
"Are you coming then?" He asked trying not to sound annoyed that his child had chosen to ignore the summons to the table.
Luc simply shook his head no, not even raising it slightly off the bed.
Tim's first reaction was to demand Luc's presence and lift him unceremoniously from the bed. But instead he took a second to take a deep breath, think and then asked "Why are you not coming down?"
"I can't" Luc said, this time lifting his face out of the pillow enough to be heard and understood.
"Because?" Tim's question was one word but he drew out its pronunciation.
Luc didn't answer immediately but eventually turned his face away from the waiting man and whispered " 'cause mom paddled me".
Tim screwed up his face in confusion. Although Abby had explained to him how supper preparations and homework time had gone south Tim wasn't expecting that to be a reason his ever growing 13 year old son didn't want to eat. Luc had been small for his age until a while ago when they had noticed that Luc had 'caught' up to his classmates in height. The way he was eating recently everyone surmised that Luc was going to grow fast and furious. So Tim was surprised there was any reason Luc wouldn't want to come down to eat. And as Abby described the situation she had only swatted their son 3 or 4 times. Although his reaction seemed to portray that he'd been given the licking of his life.
"I know" Tim answered "she told me".
"Hhmmpf"
Tim continued to be confused by his son's reaction. This was not the first time Luc had been on the receiving end of physical chastisement. Statistically speaking it was more likely to be his brother in trouble but Luc still found himself in need of correction every now and again. Out of the 2 boys Luc was actually the one more likely to accept correction and bounce back without a grudge. Actually Luc was more likely to apologize for his behavior then hide in his room and pout.
Tim approached the bed and sat on the edge gently patting his son's shoulder. "Luc what's the problem, mom wasn't that hard on you and by the sounds of it you were very rude to her" Tim explained.
"Hhmmpf" Luc spat out quietly but turned his head just enough to see his father out of the side of his eye. Seeing the look of concern on his dad's face Luc relaxed slightly and decided to tell him at least what part of the problem was. "She did it in front of Sam" the young teen choked out.
Ah! Thought Tim this was more about the humiliation of the incident than what actually happened. It was their parental view that one should praise in public, punish in private. Yet circumstances forced by Luc hadn't made that an available choice.
"Well son, it is my understanding from Abby that you gave her very little choice in that matter."
Throwing his head to the opposite side so that he was no longer looking at his dad Luc flopped back onto his pillow.
"You don't need to say anything Luc but I want you to listen…OK?" Tim waited for some sort of response and when he finally heard a stifled noise he continued. "If you don't want to get your butt smacked in front of your brother go to your room when asked!" Tim thought it was pretty obvious but somehow Luc's common sense had left him so stating the obvious seemed to be necessary lately. "The other suggestion I have for you would be that when your mother leaves the room to get control of her temper you don't turn to your brother giving him a high five and tell him 'that's how it's done'" Tim waited so that his words had time to be heard and processed. "When your mother asked you to go to your room, her only intention was to give you time to get control of yourself and take a minute to ponder your options. It was your response, your comments to Sam and your attitude that changed her mind."
Luc didn't move or give any indication that he even heard the advice he'd just been given. He was mad. Mad at his mother for 'over reacting'. Mad at his brother for laughing. Mad at himself for being so stupid in the first place. Mad that they didn't understand he was too old to be spanked like a toddler. He was 13 for Christ sake. They didn't understand. As he laid there thinking about his father's words he started seething. They didn't know what it was like. They didn't remember what it felt like. It all started because his mother was telling him what to do and how to do it. He could clear away his books and set the table without any instructions thank you very much. God they treated him like he was 3. Now his dad just told him how it was entirely his fault in the first place and he could have prevented it all. He'd been provoked didn't they understand that. He was justified in his sarcastic stinging reply.
This time the "Hhmmpf" that he let escape had a slightly different tone which Tim easily caught. "Luc, I too am losing my patience. I am trying to help you understand how you can avoid another incident like tonight."
"Hhmmpf" could be heard through the pillow and Luc added a kick of the bed to add emphasis. Tim's hand quickly made contact with the easily accessible backside.
"Luc what has gotten into you?" Tim asked exasperated.
Raising himself onto his elbows Luc looked sideways at his father before looking back down at this damp pillow. "She started IT. Telling me every step of everything again! I can figure it out on my own. Thank you very much. I'm not a baby. I'm 13 for Chri…crying out loud" Luc had enough where withal to keep himself from cursing. Neither of his parents was ever accepting of anyone taking the Lord's name in vain.
And in that very moment true understanding came to Tim. This was not about clearing his books, this wasn't about getting punished in front of Sam or even being told how to do things. This was about feeling like he was too old for a spanking. There is a time in every kid's life in which they feel that they are above such consequences. And the sting of the realization that it just isn't the case is often way worse than that of the reprimand itself.
Tim smiled to himself; his anger quickly dissipating as he too had been in such a situation.
"Luc… Let me tell you a story…"
