Chapter 8

The day looked to be a perfect June day; the temperature was not too hot with a few clouds in the sky. Neal came down to breakfast in a happy mood only to be told the news that Tom Cooper was back in town.

"So where are you and Sally going today?" asked El as she placed his breakfast in front of him.

"We are going to tour an artist community; first lunch at the Depot and then on to see several art galleries," replied Neal.

"You be careful son, remember Tom is back from his trip," urged Peter seriously.

"That's why we are going to view the art communities in Gilbertsville. Sally seldom goes that far for entertainment and so her grandfather should be unaware and we can be out in the open more," Neal explained.

"Just have a good time and we will look for your return before it gets dark?" asked Sarah.

"Yes ma'am," replied Neal who focused on finishing his breakfast.

Tom's plan had been simple…follow Neal until he made a mistake and then strike. Tom and Dick were parked a quarter of a mile from the Burke home and when they saw Neal leave in his grandmother's car they pulled out and began to follow behind. Neal's mind was on Sally and didn't realized that he was being followed as he would have had he been in the city.

Neal drove until he came to Wilbur Park and drove up to the Applebaugh Gardens where he stopped and got out his easel and paints before walking to a shaded area to paint. He knew that Sally would be going home soon and wanted to paint her a scene of where they had met for the first time.

Tom waited for an hour to make sure that no one would be coming by and that Neal could be taken unawares. By the time he and Dick walked up, Neal had already painted the background and was about to start on the target…him and Sally having a picnic lunch on a traditional checker blanket.

Neal was so focused on his painting that he didn't even realize that he was in trouble until he felt himself being grabbed and propelled towards a nearby bench and held tightly as someone came into his view. It was Tom Cooper and he was smiling as he held up a leather strap.

"It is time for your comeuppance boy!" he spat out as he nodded to whoever was holding him and Neal felt himself pushed forward until he was bent over the cast-iron bench. It took the two of them to hold him in place while his hands and feet were tied to the feet of the bench.

"Nooooo…you can't do this!" yelled Neal as he struggled to free himself. "You touch me and I'll tell," he added when he realized that he wasn't going to be able to free himself.

"Without proof it will only be your word against mine and I have friends here that will swear that I was with them while you were getting the thrashing you deserved for going out with my granddaughter. This is your own fault for not obeying my order to stay away from Sally," replied Tom angrily.

Neal watched as Tom retreated behind him still struggling. "SWAT!" the first lick landed with such force that if he hadn't been tied down it would have easily knocked him over. Neal grunted not wanting to let them know how bad it hurt however after the next three he was beyond caring and yelled out with each lick.

"OWWWW! Owwww…owwwww…owwwww," on and on the licks and cries came until after the twentieth Tom paused and came back around to view Neal's sobs and the tears running down his face.

"I bet you wished you had never seen my Sally, don't you boy," he asked gloatingly.

Neal didn't answer at first but when he did he replied, "No…Sally is my friend; we had a lot of good times together I'm only sorry that she has such a mean bastard for a grandfather who doesn't want her to have any male friends unless he picks them!"

Tom's face turned purple with rage at being so talked to. He passed the strap to the person standing behind Neal and said, "You heat him up real good…I'm going to watch it from this side," and sat down so he could watch Neal's distress.

The licks came a moment later and they were even stronger than what Tom had given him. It was as if the man holding the strap was putting his whole strength behind each stroke and he had Neal screaming and sobbing with the first. Fortunately for Neal this didn't last very long as the thrashing came to an abrupt end when he heard Tom say, "I hear people coming…must have heard this boy's cries. We have to go," and after that all Neal could hear was the approaching park attendant who quickly freed him.

He offered to take Neal to the hospital but Neal lied and said that he wasn't hurt that bad and he could make it home. "It was only an initiation…I'll be okay," Neal convinced him as he wiped his tears away and watched as the park attendant left and only then did he limp to his easel and begin to pack everything away.

Neal pulled his cellphone out and put in a call to Sally. "Sally something has come up and I must cancel our date today. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?" he asked so charmingly that Sally immediately agreed. She could tell from his voice that something was wrong but had no idea that her grandfather was the cause of it. She hung up and went to find her grandmother to see if she wanted to do anything today.

"I thought you and Neal were going out today, dear," replied Evelyn Cooper.

"We were, but he just called to cancel. He said something came up and tried to down play it but I think it was more serious than he's letting on. I wonder what happened," she mused as a horrible thought came to her. "You don't think that granddad had something to do with his cancelling our date?"

"I don't know but I sure hope he didn't. Neal is a nice boy; one that I feel you will be safe with. I have no idea why your grandfather is so against you two seeing each other," replied Evelyn honestly.

The ladies talked for a few more minutes before deciding to stay in and baking cookies. "You can take some to your young man later," suggested Evelyn as Sally smiled in agreement.

By the time the ladies were baking, Neal was gearing himself for a painful drive back to his grandparents. He just wanted to put this behind him, no pun intended. He knew that what Tom Cooper had told him was the truth. He had no witnesses to the strapping and it would only be his word against whomever Tom chose to cover for him.

It was best that he return home and to recuperate because he was planning on meeting Sally at the Depot tomorrow evening for supper. He wasn't going to let Tom Cooper ruin his vacation and tell him who he could or couldn't see. Neal was going to keep that date no matter how bad he hurt just to show that old man that he couldn't be bullied.

Neal gingerly got behind the wheel and with tears he couldn't control running down his face he drove back to his grandparents' home. He drove as quickly as he could to get off his burning backside as fast as possible and within fifteen minutes he was home. Now came the hard part…fooling his parents and grandparents that he wasn't injured.

While Neal unloaded the car he began to control his emotions and wipe the tears from his face. He quickly used the garden hose to wash his hands, brushes and face trying to hide that he had been crying before walking in. "I'm back…just going to take a shower," Neal called out as he entered before heading up to his room.

The men only nodded as they continued to watch the baseball game on the television but Sarah and El paused as they looked at each other before glancing upstairs. Something didn't sound just right and they got up casually to find out what it was that alerted their "mom alarms".

The shower was running when they arrived and so they sat down to await their boy's return…while they waited they picked up the clothes scattered around the room. Neal was in the shower a long time, so much so that they were about to check when it turned off and a moment later a nude Neal stepped out wrapped only in a bath towel. "Mom…Mama Sarah! What are you doing here…I'm naked under this towel," he croaked as he pulled the towel tighter.

He stood still as the two ladies gave him a though check over before El walked over and asked, "What's wrong son? Someone has hurt you; I can see it in your eyes. Was it Sally…or did Tom say something to cause you the pain you can't hide from me."

That was all it took for Neal to break down and say, "It's not so much what he said that hurt me but what he did," as he turned around and pulled up the back of his towel exposing his stripped backside.

"Oh, baby," El said as she pulled him into her arms.

Sarah yelled down the stairs, "PETER….MIKE GET UP HERE AT ONCE!" before heading to her bedroom to get the painkillers and salve for her grandson's abused bottom. She met the men as they came running up.

"What's wrong Mom, Dear?" they asked at once.

"Tom Cooper is what's wrong. He's taken a strap to Neal and his poor bottom is stripped and bruised," she replied as she pushed past them to go to her grandson.

Peter and Mike walked in afterwards to see that Neal was residing on his stomach on his bed wearing only a bath towel and sobbing. El pulled up the back of the bath towel to expose what Tom's strap did to her son's backside and both men winced in spite of themselves. There were stripes decorating the poor boy's backside and bruises were already forming.

"Tom did that to you?" Mike asked in barely contained anger.

Neal nodded. "He t-told me that it w-would do no g-good to com-p-plain since it was only my w-word a-again-st his-s," Neal sobbed out his reply.

"That's it…the last straw. I'm going to give that old man a taste of his own medicine," Mike roared as he stalked out.

"Peter, go with him…try and stop him from doing something stupid," cried his Mom.

Peter nodded but before he left he went over and kissed the top of Neal's head and patted him on the shoulder. "It's going to be okay buddy. Your grandfather and I are going to make that old man pay for what he did to you…and Mom, it isn't being stupid to want to protect your family…it is justice." A moment later the ladies heard the truck roar away.

"Don't worry Sarah; Peter won't let Mike do anything he will regret…now let's take care of our boy," assured El as she turned her attention to the young man crying on the bed. Between the two of them and with a little help from Neal they were able to make him more comfortable and to get two painkillers down his throat that also had the added ability to knock him out. After that they rubbed the salve on his abused bottom and pulled up rockers to sit with him in case of nightmares.