Chapter 10

Two days later and Tony was bored…again…and hungry for something other than Jello, Gatorade, baked chicken with little seasoning and rice. Ever since that day when he had a lapse in judgment and had eaten the pizza he had been subjected to the plain and bland food he had already mentioned and he wanted something different. Then his grandfather spoke up,

"Tony it's been two days since your stomach trouble and I think you are ready for the next step in Dr. Mallard's eating plan. I was about to suggest it when you came down with that bug and had to postpone it until your stomach was over it…but what do you say…how does a steak and a baked potato for supper sound?"

"That sounds great grandpa," replied Tony already envisioning a rare

t-bone with a baked potato dripping with butter and sour cream with chives, when the rest of what his grandfather had said sunk in. "Wait you mean if I hadn't gotten that bug we would have been having steak two days ago?"

And when Jack had nodded Tony groaned, 'dummy,' he called himself, 'if I had only waited I would have been eating something good by now,' and if Jack hadn't been around he would have hit the wall.

"Are you feeling okay, son?" asked Jack as he hid his smile. He had used that as a mini punishment for Tony in hopes it would keep him from doing something stupid again.

"I'm fine, grandpa, just thinking about the steak I could have been eating if I hadn't gotten that bug. Do you think I could borrow the car again?" he asked to change the subject.

"Why…where are you going?" asked Jack as he remembered his conversation with his son.

"I thought I would go to Blockbuster and rent some movies," replied Tony. His grandfather had a DVD player that Tony had been making use of during his enforced vacation. He had been watching the ones his grandfather had but now he wanted to watch something new. There wasn't a place in Stillwater but fortunately Tony had been able to see one in Benton, PA Stillwater's nearest neighbor. He had seen the big Blockbuster sign when he found the pizza joint.

"Sure, I don't see why not…get something I would like and we can watch it after supper tonight," replied Jack as he threw Tony the keys. "I'm going to start the potatoes by four…that will give you a hour to get what you want and back…don't be late?"

Tony had seen his grandfather's DVD collection and felt he would have no trouble picking something new they both would like. As he pulled out of the driveway he saw Jack light the gas grill outside and realized that they were in for a treat tonight. The steaks were going to be grilled…and maybe the potato, too.

'If I time this right those steaks might just be ready by the time I get home,' thought Tony as he drove off.

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"Where is that boy?" Jack said out loud as he looked for the umpteenth time at his watch. It was six o'clock and Tony was an hour late. Tony had been gone way to long for the short drive to Benton and back. Even giving Tony an hour to pick out some movies he should have been back at least an hour ago. He was about to go and call his Leroy to put a trace on Tony's phone when he saw him drive up.

"I'm sorry grandpa," Tony said hurriedly, "I lost track of time…I hope you haven't started cooking the steaks, yet?"

"Nope, but you could have called telling me you were running late. I know that Leroy has had to punish you for that in the past; I had hoped you would have learned your lesson by now," replied Jack as he left to get the steaks.

"Why don't you go and wash up and set the table and I'll be in with the steaks within a few minutes," added Jack before leaving to bring the steaks out.

Tony nodded as he hurried to the bathroom, not knowing how he was going to explain the bruises on his hands. He had gotten into a fight when he had dropped by to gas the car upon entering Stillwater city limits. He felt it was the least he could do since he had been using it up. The fight had started innocently enough…he was chatting to a girl in the gas station/small grocery store when her boy friend, or so he assumed, had showed up and started to verbally abuse the girl. Tony had stepped in preventing him from doing anything worse and had been pushed causing Tony to fall back and to hit his head against the wall and had come up swinging. He had nailed the loud mouth with his first blow and all hell broke out. It was when he heard the sirens that he knew he had better get the hell out of there. He could just see Jack having to come and bail him out…but that wouldn't have been the worse…the worse would have been the trip to the woodshed afterwards and the conversation with his dad. That was one thing he had to avoid at all costs.

He remembered the last fight he had gotten into and the consequences that had followed.

"But Dad, he started it…he pushed me," twelve year old Tony had tried to explain. It had happened at school and the teacher had only seen the blow not the push and Tony had been sent to the office immediately and his dad had been called.

His butt was already smarting from the paddling he had received at the hands of the assistant principal. Once his father had learned that Tony had hit another child he had given his permission for the paddling. It was either a paddling or having Tony suspended for two days. There really wasn't any choice and Tony had received four licks for fighting. Now the school day had ended and the boy was trying to explain his actions to his irritated father.

"Let me get this straight, another boy pushes you and your first thought is to hit him?" asked Gibbs.

"It sounds worse when you say it like that, Dad?"

"It is worse son. You've got to learn self control."

"But Dad I had been picked on all day by some of the boys and I was just getting tired of being pushed and being bullied," Tony replied frantically. He had to make his father understand.

"Was that particular boy one of the ones bullying you, son?" Gibbs asked quietly.

Tony paused to think before answering just as quietly, "no, sir…but at the time I thought he was…I'm sorry dad," cried Tony as tears began to fall.

Gibbs nodded and pulled the boy into a hug, "I know you are son but that doesn't excuse the action. I've got to punish you for this and tomorrow you will be apologizing to the boy you struck," Gibbs said sternly.

Tony sprung away at the mentioned of being punished…again. "But the assistant principal already punished me," he said as he rubbed his bottom. "He gave me four hard licks and told me the next time it would be six."

"That was the official punishment but not mind. You are about to learn rule #1 in this family, whenever you are punished at school you can expect another from me. The same thing applies whenever you are away from home whether it is spending the night with a friend or staying with your grandpa if you get in trouble and the fault is yours I will be busting your butt when I learn of it," explained Gibbs and he took is son by the arm and lead him up to his room.

Gibb sat on the edge of the bed pulling Tony across his lap as he sat. He made short work of baring his son's bottom before delivering the first of many licks and he didn't stop until he had painted Tony's bottom a bright red and had reduced the boy into sobbing and begging for mercy.

'I'm just glad that Dad or grandpa doesn't know about this fight,' thought Tony as he returned to cleaning up. It was as he was setting the table that he heard Jack's call,

"Tony would you come out here for a moment," and he dropped what he was doing and hurried to the grill. He stopped abruptly when he saw the police officer talking to his grandpa and knew that he had to do some fast talking to keep his butt safe.

Jack looked up and saw Tony's expression knowing that what the officer had told him was true. He could see the truth of the matter radiating from Tony's expression. "Tony, I want the truth…were you in a fight this afternoon and was that why you were late getting back?" He might has well kill two birds with one stone and get an answer to both questions even though the officer only want ed to know if Tony was the one to bust Bill Williams' nose a few minutes ago.

Tony opened his mouth to try and lie his way out of it when he remembered another incident while growing up. It had dealt with him trying to lie his way out of breaking a window while playing baseball with the neighborhood kids.

"Dad, it wasn't me," he had lied repeatedly. "It was another kid…anyhow old lady Jenkins didn't even see it," he had tried to explain. The fact of the matter the kids were playing where they had been warned not to play because of the houses nearby. There was a field nearby that they should have been using where the possibility of having a ball burst through a window was nearly impossible. The kids just hadn't wanted to walk that far to play. Everything was going well until he had come to bat and the ball was thrown just right and he had hit a homerun. He had been so proud and happy with the hit until it sailed through the big picture window of Mrs. Jenkins house. Then the boys had grabbed bats and fled the area.

Gibbs had been called as soon as he had arrived home and told about the incident and that Tony was responsible for the broken window by one of the neighbors who had witnessed the whole thing. He was now confronting his son and getting angrier with every lie.

"Tony!" Gibbs had yelled forcing the boy to stop talking and listen to him. "What is the worse that will happen to you if you are the one that hit the ball that broke the window?"

"You will paddle me," replied Tony instantly.

"What is the worse if I find out you have been lying about the whole incident?"

"You will paddle me worse?"

"What is the worse that you can expect if you just tell me the truth about what happened?"

Tony shook his head, "I don't know…a spanking?"

"Then what are you afraid of that keeps you standing there lying to me…it wasn't Mrs. Jenkins that told me about the incident but her neighbor who saw the whole thing. Don't you ever be afraid to tell me anything, son but don't lie to me because I will find out the facts eventually about any trouble you get into."

Tony had remembered that incident now and knew that he had to tell the truth this time and answered truthfully,

"Yes grandpa, I was…he started it though when he lit into his girlfriend for talking to me while I was filling up the car," reported Tony.

The officer nodded, "that is what the witnesses said too. And for your information young sir, Bill isn't Cindy's boyfriend, he wants to be but she won't have anything to do with him."

"How do you know?" asked Tony curiously.

"Cindy is my little sister and I want to thank you for coming to her aid," replied the officer as he left.

Tony walked over to Jack then and Jack asked, "what were you remembering before you truthfully answered my questions?"

"An incident when I was a kid about a baseball game and a broken window," admitted Tony with a wince.

"The one where Leroy tore your butt up for lying to him?"

Tony nodded and asked, "Did Dad tell you about that one, too?"

"Yep, once you came into his life he became more open mouth about your accomplishments…it opened our communication as well."

"He considered giving me a spanking as an accomplishment?" asked Tony confused.

"Nope, but he did the homerun…now are you ready for some steak?"

"Yes, sir," replied a grinning Tony.

"Then grab those potatoes and I'll get the steaks and we are about to have a real feast," replied Jack as he lead the way inside.

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Jack waited until after supper to ask, Tony why didn't you tell me that you had gotten into a fight when I asked you why you were late."

Jack had wanted Tony to enjoy his supper in peace before springing this on him; and he had he didn't even protest when Jack denied his request for sour cram and chives on his potato. He had been too happy to be eating something other than the bland food that had been force on him since his arrival in Stillwater. He had thoroughly enjoyed the steak, baked potato and the helping of string beans that Jack had placed on his plate; but now he had to answer the question his grandpa had posed.

"I don't know grandpa….I guess I was afraid that I would be punished for striking the first blow like I was when I was a child," Tony admitted as he pushed away from the table.

"But that wasn't the case this time, was it son?"

"No, I had only tried to protect the girl. I was only trying to protect the girl," he repeated as he just realized that he wasn't in trouble for the fight. "I'm not in trouble for the fight, am I grandpa?"

"No son, what you did was admirable, although you should have told me about it instead of allowing the police to do so," explained Jack.

"I'm sorry grandpa. Are you going to tell dad about it?"

"Nope, son, I'm not," began Jack to Tony's relief only to add, "you are as soon as he arrives Friday night; but I am going to give you a spanking for not telling me the truth when I first asked you why you were late."

"Oh, man…I just can't get a break," cried Tony as he eyed his grandpa fearfully, and headed for the door.

"Tony…where are you going?" asked Jack.

"To the woodshed?"

"No...we are going to handle this here… so go leaned against the counter," ordered Jack as he opened a nearby drawer and removed a small paddle.

"Do you remember this paddle, son?" he asked as he showed Tony the small thin paddle.

"Yes, it is the one you and I made the first time I spent a week here with you," remembered Tony with a wince. They had made it together but he had been the one that it had been used on. When applied just right it left a might sting…one that he was going to relive now.

"Yep, I kept it for occasions like this one; I had hoped that you would have learned about not truthfully answering my questions but I see that a reminder is in order now," explained Jack as he let the first lick fly and like that first time he applied it over and over to the same spot on his bottom before moving on to another until Tony had gasped in pain and then just as quick as he started Jack put the paddle down and pulled Tony in a hug of forgiveness. "Now let's see if you picked out any good movies," leaving him to bring his emotions back in control.

Tony slowly straightened as he recalled the first time. He had wandered off exploring and had been late in getting back. Jack had given him guidelines to follow; he couldn't go any further than the fishing pond and had to be back within the hour…well, to say the least Tony had wandered further and when he had realized the time he had run back home only to meet his grandpa waiting at the pond. He had given him some story about only being on the other side of the pond behind some trees when he noticed the time. His grandpa hadn't believed him but hadn't done anything about it until alter when he had proposed the project and once it had been completed had turned him over his lap and had paddled him but good; he hadn't been able to sit comfortably for days.