Found Money

Found Money...a “Missy” Story (M/ff, F/f)

It was mid-afternoon and I was sitting on my bed reading this really dumb book. It was getting towards the end of summer. Why did I have to read this book? Well, ‘cuz Daddy said so. It was on my summer reading list. I’m starting second grade in a few weeks and I had been putting off reading it. School would be starting soon and Daddy said I had to get it read. And not only that, but he was gonna read it too, and ask me questions about it, so I better know it.

It was boring. Who wanted to read a book about a guinea pig that could do tricks, anyhows? I tried to get into it, but what I really wanted to do was go outside. It was really nice out. Maybe I could ask Mommy if I could sit outside and read?

I looked over at Katie’s bed. She was sound asleep, cuddling her stuffed penguin. She looked so cute. Part of me just wanted to get under the covers with her and snuggle. But nah! Who wants to sleep in the middle of the day? I hated taking naps.

As I sat there wondering if I should ask Mommy about going outside, my other sister, Debbie, came barreling into the room, waving something in her hand.

“MISSY! LOOK! Look wat I foun!” she said really loud.

“Shhh, Debbie,” I said, pointing to Katie.

Debbie put her hand over her mouth but it was too late. Katie opened her eyes. I looked at the clock. I hoped Katie had enough of a nap. First of all, Mommy would be mad. Second of all, Katie’d be cranky, and who wants a cranky four-year-old hanging around?

Katie looked over at us. She sat up. “Wats dat, Debbie?”

Debbie pulled me over to Katie’s bed. We both sat down on the edge. “Lookie here, I finded a money.”

I looked at the bill in her hand. She found money all right, and lots of it. It was a twenty-dollar bill. I started to get a little suspicious.

“Where’d you find that, Debbie?” I asked.

“Unner the couch,” she said.

“Wat couch?” Katie asked.

Debbie smiled. “Da one in da den. I wuz watchin’ TV and I lookid unner dere and seed it.”

“Wow!” I said. “Let’s go see if there’s any more.”

The three of us ran downstairs and into the den. We just raced past Mommy so fast; she didn’t know what hit her. She peeked her head into the den.

“Girls, what are you doing?” she asked. I looked at her and said, “Nothing. Look, Mommy, Katie’s up.”

“I see that. You get enough sleep, Kaitlyn?”

Katie nodded. “Okay,” Mommy said, sighing. She went back to the kitchen. Debbie and Katie watched me as I looked under the couch. I didn’t see any money.

“Nope, no more. Just some old shoebox,” I said, standing up.

Katie looked at Debbie. “The monies wuz jus sittin’ there, Debbie?”

Debbie nodded. “That’s so cool,” I said. “What’re you gonna do with it?”

Katie looked confused. “Mebbe it’s Daddy’s. Or Mommy’s. Mebbe you gotta give it to dem.”

“Nah,” I said. “Finders keepers losers weepers.”

“Was dat mean?” Debbie asked.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, “But if you find something, you can keep it.”

My little sisters smiled at me. We looked at Debbie and wondered what she was going to do with all that money. Suddenly we heard a sound. A sound that in summer is like music to a kid’s ears.

Debbie looked at me. “ICE CREAM MAN!” she shouted, waving the bill.

I knew exactly what she meant. I said, “Okay, give it to me. Katie, go put your shoes on.”

Debbie handed me the money. She trusted me. I ran into the kitchen. “Mommy, can we get ice cream? We hear the ice cream man.”

“Missy, I don’t have the change today. You can get it next time,” she said.

“But I have money, Mommy. Please?” I asked.

She looked at me. “Do you have enough for both your sisters, too?” she asked.

I nodded. “I have the money that Uncle Peter gived me, plus some allowance.”

“Okay,” she said. “You can get some. In fact, get some napkins and the three of you eat it outside. I just cleaned the floor in here.”

“Okay,” I said, grabbing Debbie’s hand and running toward the front door. “Katie, come on!” I yelled up the stairs.

Katie came running down and the three of us ran outside. We weren’t allowed to leave the yard. I saw Mommy watching us from the window. The ice cream man pulled up right outside our house when he saw the three of us.

Mommy waved at the ice cream man. Debbie said, “Missy, buy candy, too.”

I looked at Debbie. “You sure? Don’t you wanna save some of the money?”

“Nah, les get lotsa stuff,” she said.

I grinned. I loved candy. I looked at Katie, “I know I don’t have to ask you what you want. A cherry snow cone and gummibears, right?”

Katie smiled and nodded. Debbie told me she wanted a Snoopy pop and I wanted a nutty buddy cone. We also picked out lotsa candy. Just as I was about to pay, I saw two of my friends running toward the truck.

“Hi Anna, hi Jasmine,” I said.

“Hi, Missy, hi Debbie, hi Katie,” they both said. They each had one dollar in their hands. They were looking at the different pops. “We only have enough for those,” Anna said, pointing to the cheapy pops.

I looked at Debbie and she nodded. “Jus spen’ it all, Missy, ‘s okay.”

“What you guys want? We gots lotsa money. We’ll buy you your ice cream and candy, too, if you want.”

Jasmine looked at me. “You sure your mommy won’t mind, Missy?”

“It’s not Mommy’s money, it’s Debbie’s. And she said I could spend all of it.”

Jasmine opened her mouth wide. So did Anna. “Wow,” Anna said, spying the twenty-dollar bill in my hand. “Where’d you get that, Debbie?” she asked.

“I finded it,” Debbie said, proudly.

We spent the whole twenty dollars. Now that’s a lot of candy and ice cream! The ice cream man even gave us a bag to put it all in. I carried it to our front steps and sat down. Katie, Debbie, Anna, and Jasmine followed me.

“How we gonna eat all that, Missy?” Anna asked. Anna was only six, a year younger than me. Jasmine was my age, and was gonna be in my class this year. We played together all the time. She was a tomboy like me, sorta. But she liked to wear dresses. Yuck!

I looked into the bag. “There’s not that much there. And there’s five of us.”

I sat down and pulled the wrapper off my cone, and started to eat the nuts off. I heard the front door open and shoved the bag behind the bush.

“Hi, Mommy,” I said a little too quickly.

“Missy, did you get extra napkins? Oh, hi Anna, hi Jasmine.”

Anna and Jasmine waved hello. I nodded. “Yeah, Mommy, I gots them.”

“Well, I don’t want you all in the front yard. Why don’t you go back and eat your ice cream at the picnic table?” she suggested.

“Okay,” I said, motioning for Jasmine to grab the paper bag with all the candy in it.

Katie, Debbie, Jasmine, Anna, and I walked into the backyard. I made sure to latch the gate. We sat at the picnic table. Jasmine sat next to me and slid the bag on the seat beside me.

I had an idea. I looked up at the treehouse. “Hmmm,” I said. “The boys aren’t home today. We could go up there to eat our candy.”

Katie looked sad. “But Missy, we’s not ‘lowed, me and Debbie.”

“I know. But maybe ‘cuz Jasmine and Anna are here, she’ll let you. I’ll ask when I’m done with my cone, okay? Don’t worry, sis. If Mommy says no, then I’ll think of something else. I won’t leave you two out.”

Katie and Debbie both nodded. Jasmine smiled. She didn’t have any brothers or sisters and thought Katie and Debbie were the best. Anna only had one brother and thought my sisters were so cute. Also, Anna and Debbie played together a lot. They were only one year apart.

I asked Mommy. She must have been in a good mood, ‘cuz she said yes. But she said she had to be there for when they climbed up and down. “Okay,” I said. I ran out to tell them the good news. I gave Jasmine the bag of candy and told her to go up with it first.

Then Anna climbed up. When Mommy came out, she watched both Katie and Debbie climb up. Then I climbed up.

Mommy called up to me. “Missy, when you come down, come get me, so I can help your sisters. And don’t let them sit near the door.”

“Yes, Mommy,” I said obediently. I pulled my head into the treehouse and started to giggle. Jasmine had dumped the entire contents of the bag on the floor of the treehouse. We all dug in.

It was so amazing. I don’t think I’d ever seen so much candy before in my entire life. We ate almost all of it. After a while, none of us even wanted to look at candy again.

“What should we do with the rest of this?” Jasmine asked, pointing to what was left.

Just then, we heard Mommy’s voice. I poked my head out. “Yes?” I asked.

Mommy called up. “Jasmine, Anna, your mothers are looking for you. Anna, your mom just called, and Jaz, your mom is out front.”

“Oops,” Jasmine said. “I forgot to call her and let her know where I was.”

“Me too,” Anna said, sighing. “I better go.”

I nodded. I had a feeling I knew what they were both facing when they got home. Not telling your parents where you were was a big no-no. I had lots of experience with that. I looked at Katie and Debbie. At least our Mommy knew where we were.

I watched Jasmine and Anna climb down. Mommy was still standing there. I looked at the bag of candy and then at my sisters. “Guess we’ll have to hide this up here. I’ll come back for it later.”

“Good idea, Missy,” Debbie said. She watched as I hid it under the crate that Jasmine had been sitting on.

Mommy called up. “Okay, Debbie, you come down first. Carefully!” Mommy warned.

I watched Debbie go down. Mommy caught her at the bottom. Then I helped Katie climb down too. Then I went down. Mommy looked at me. “Did you know that Anna and Jasmine hadn’t told their mothers they were here?”

I shook my head. “No, Mommy, I didn’t know. Honest!”

“Okay, come on, let’s go inside. You can help me with dinner and set the table. Daddy’s coming home early tonight,” Mommy told me.

“Yay!” I said, running after my sisters into the house. I had totally forgotten about the book I was supposed to read. I was just excited that he was going to be home early.

An hour later, we sat down to dinner. Billy and Joey had come home from their friends’ houses and Daddy had come home early, just as Mommy had said.

“Billy, let’s go!” Daddy called, from the dining room. We had a very informal dining room and ate there most nights. The only time we used the kitchen was for breakfast, or if it was just us kids.

Billy ran in. He looked upset. “I can’t find it!” he said to no one in particular.

Daddy said, “Can’t find what, son?”

I passed the broccoli. Yuck. Mommy gave me a look. “Missy, you have to have some,” she said, putting some on my plate. I hated broccoli.

I barely touched my dinner. I was so full from the candy. Katie and Debbie didn’t touch theirs either. Maybe no one would notice.

Billy was pouting. “I lost something, Daddy.” Then he looked at Joey. “Unless someone took it!”

Joey looked at Billy. “Took what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Well, it was there this morning,” Billy said sadly.

Daddy looked at Mommy and she looked back. Mommy said, “Billy, what did you lose?”

“I wasn’t even home all day!” Joey shouted at Billy. “I didn’t take nothing of YOURS!”

“That’ll be quite enough shouting, Joseph,” Daddy said sternly.

Meanwhile I tried to hide my broccoli in the rice. Usually I loved rice but I wasn’t feeling too good.

Now Joey and Billy were both pouting. Daddy turned to me. “Melissa, why aren’t you eating?”

I put a mouthful of chicken and rice on my fork and put it in my mouth. “I’m eating, Daddy,” I said with my mouth full.

“Melissa, don’t talk with food in your mouth,” Mommy scolded. Daddy frowned.

He looked over at Katie and Debbie’s plates. They hadn’t eaten much either. “What did you girls eat today that you’re not eating your dinner?” he asked.

Katie looked at me. I looked at Debbie and Debbie looked at Katie. Then Mommy spoke up. “They had ice cream. But that was a couple of hours ago. They should be hungry now.”

Billy threw his napkin down. “Well someone took my money!” he said loudly.

“Money? What money?” Daddy asked.

I didn’t say a word. I did get this bad feeling in my tummy, though, and I don’t think it was the candy. I listened to hear what Billy would say next.

“I had twenty dollars. I hid it so Joey wouldn’t take it. And now it’s gone,” he announced.

“Twenty dollars?” Mommy asked. “From what?”

“I had it saved, Mommy.”

“Well where was it?” Daddy asked, looking between Billy and Joey.

“I didn’t take it, Daddy!” Joey insisted, a little too loud.

Daddy looked again at Joey. “I didn’t say you did. But I did warn you about your voice. And I don’t think I like that tone, young man.”

Joey nodded. “Sorry, Daddy. But I didn’t take any money.”

Mommy looked at Billy. “Where was the money, Billy? In your room?”

Billy shook his head. “No, I hid it in a box, under the couch in the den.”

I sat up straight then and looked at Debbie. She looked down at her plate. She hadn’t told me that she had found the money IN the box. Oh boy! We were in big trouble!

Katie looked at Debbie, too. We both knew now where Billy’s money had gone to, who had found it, and where.

Daddy looked at me next. “Melissa, I expect you to finish that chicken and eat the piece of broccoli you hid under your rice.”

“But, Daddy, I’m full,” I said, quietly.

“Full? You barely ate anything. Let’s go, now, Missy!”

I think Daddy was starting to regret coming home early today. I picked up a piece of chicken and put it in my mouth. I chewed it a million times. I didn’t want to finish it. I didn’t think I could eat one more bite.

As I was contemplating calling my puppy over to finish my meal, Billy was ranting and raving again about his money. “Calm down, Billy, you’ll find it. I’m sure you just misplaced it,” Mommy said.

“No, Mommy, it was in the box under the couch. The box is still there, and the money is gone!” he said sadly.

Mommy looked at Daddy. Neither of them knew what to say. Daddy folded his napkin and laid it down on the table and sighed. He looked at my plate which was still full, and then at Katie’s and Debbie’s.

“If you girls are finished, you can bring your plates in. But no dessert tonight. If you’re hungry later, you’ll finish this dinner. Do you understand?” he asked in that stern Daddy voice.

The three of us nodded. I didn’t care about dessert; I never wanted to eat anything sweet again. I helped Katie carry her plate in. When we were in the kitchen, I turned to Debbie and said, “You didn’t tell me you found that money in the box, Deb.”

Debbie shrugged. I gave her an evil look. “That was Billy’s money. We have to tell.”

“Noooo, Missy!” she said, clutching my arm. “Please don’t. I’ll be in trouble.”

I sighed. She was right. She’d be in trouble, and I would, too. And so would Katie. We knew that money wasn’t ours, yet we took it and spent it. While I was trying to decide what to do, Daddy came in carrying his plate.

“Melissa?” he asked.

“Yes, Daddy?”

“Did you finish your book today?”

Oh no, the book! I totally forgot about it. I shook my head. “N-n-no, sir,” I admitted.

Daddy sighed. “Missy, you promised me you were going to read it today. Come here.”

I walked over to Daddy slowly. He sat down in a kitchen chair and pulled me in front of him. I noticed that Katie and Debbie snuck out of the room then. I didn’t blame them.

He looked down at me. “What were you doing instead, young lady?”

“I st-started to read it, Daddy. But it was so boring.”

Mommy came into the kitchen then, followed by Billy and Joey. She looked at me and Daddy. “Is Missy in trouble, hon?” she asked.

Daddy nodded. “A little. She promised me she was going to read her book today and she didn’t do it. I’m trying to find out what she did instead.”

Mommy said, “Oh. Melissa, I didn’t know you promised Daddy that. If I had known, I would never have allowed Jasmine and Anna to stay so long.”

Daddy looked at me. I explained about the ice cream man, and going up into the treehouse. “I guess I just kind of forgot, Daddy.”

“Well, you won’t forget tomorrow. Because you are grounded to your room until you finish that book. And this weekend, we will talk about it. Do you understand?” he asked.

I nodded. Tomorrow was Friday. So I had one day to read the stupid book. I hated being grounded. Then I thought about Billy’s money and wondered what I should do about that. I didn’t want to tell Mommy and Daddy about the candy.

“Missy, you go up to your room and put your pajamas on. You’re to stay there the rest of the night. And,” Daddy said, “I suggest you start reading that book.”

I sighed and said, “Yes, sir.”

Daddy looked at me and I went up to my room. When I got there, Debbie and Katie were sitting on Debbie’s bed. I went over to my bed and picked up my pajamas.

“Wat you doin, Missy?” Debbie asked.

“Daddy said I had to put my pajamas on,” I answered.

“Oh,” said Debbie.

“Missy?” Katie asked in a little voice. “Is we in trubble?”

I looked at Katie then. “You mean ‘cuz of the money?”

She nodded. I just looked at Debbie. “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me that you found that money in Billy’s box. That was stealing, sis. When Mommy and Daddy find out, we’re all gonna be in big trouble.”

“Why all us, Missy?” Katie asked.

“Cuz we knew it wasn’t our money, sis, and we spent it anyway,” I said. “Now go downstairs; I’m being punished and I have to read my stupid book.”

Debbie looked at me then. “Why you let me spen’ it, Missy, if you knowed it wuz stealin’?”

I thought about that. I didn’t know why. I guess because when I heard the ice cream man, I forgot that the money wasn’t really ours. I looked at my little sisters. They looked up to me, and again I had failed them. What was I gonna say?

“I don’t know,” I said.

“You gonna tell?” Debbie asked.

“No, I’m already in trouble with Daddy for something else. But they’re gonna find out eventually. It’d probably be better if we did tell.” I sighed; I really didn’t know what to do.

I put my pajamas on and laid on my bed. I picked up the stupid book and read the back again. It sounded so stupid. Katie left the room, but Debbie just sat there staring at me. I tried to ignore her and opened up to the first page.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Down in the den, Mommy and Daddy watched Billy crawl under the couch and retrieve his box. It said, “Property of Billy” on it. He opened it and showed Mommy and Daddy that it was empty. “See?”

Daddy and Mommy both nodded. Joey just stood there. “I didn’t take it, Billy. Honest. I didn’t even know about your box.”

Mommy said, “Billy, honey, maybe you put the money somewhere else. How ‘bout the treehouse? Did you look there?”

Billy shook his head no. “Well, why don’t you look there and in your room again before you go blaming people?” Daddy suggested.

“Oh, okay,” Billy said, heading for the back door.

“Can I come?” Joey asked.

Billy turned to look at Joey. “Yeah, whatever!”

Mommy and Daddy watched the boys go out back. Mommy snuggled into Daddy’s arms. “Alone at last,” she said, smiling. Daddy smiled, then he sighed.

“Christine, why do you suppose the girls couldn’t eat their dinner? What time did they have that ice cream?”

Mommy was about to answer when Katie appeared in the doorway. Daddy looked up. “Hi sweetie, c’mere!” he said, opening his arms. Katie came over. She had a sad look on her face.

Mommy was concerned. “What’s wrong, pumpkin?” she asked, as Daddy pulled Katie into his lap. “You feel okay?”

Katie shook her head no. “My tummy hurtses.”

Daddy exchanged a look with Mommy. “Is it because you’re hungry? You didn’t eat much dinner.”

“No,” she said, “it awready hurted afore dinner.”

“I see,” Daddy said, “would you like to tell me what you ate that made your tummy hurt?”

Katie opened her mouth to tell Daddy when Billy and Joey burst through the door. “LOOK WHAT WE FOUND!” Joey yelled.

“Joseph!” Daddy said sharply. “That is not an indoor voice, young man!”

Joey covered his mouth. “Sorry, Daddy, I forgot. But look!”

Billy held out a plain brown paper bag. Katie gasped when she saw it. Daddy took it from Billy and looked inside. He showed Mommy. She was shocked. It contained a million candy wrappers and some unopened candy.

“Where did this come from, Billy?” Mommy asked.

“I found it in the treehouse, Mommy. It was shoved under a crate. I thought for a minute that it was my money, but it wasn’t.”

Katie started to cry. Both Mommy and Daddy looked down at her. “Do you know about this candy, Kaitlyn?” Daddy asked, already knowing the answer and the mystery to the puzzle.

She nodded. Both Mommy and Daddy sighed. Daddy put Katie into Mommy’s lap and stood up then. He went to the bottom of the stairs and called up, “Deborah, Melissa! Come down here, please!”

~~~~~~~~~~

I was finally getting into the book. It actually wasn’t that bad, and it was quick reading. If only I had started it that afternoon. Then I heard Daddy calling me and Debbie. Uh oh.

I looked at Debbie. She was laying on her bed, clutching her stomach. I didn’t really know what to do for her, so I just let her lay there. I had told her to put her pajamas on and she had.

She looked up at me. We both had a feeling that we were in trouble. I stood up. “Come on,” I said, holding my hand out. She took it and we went downstairs.

“Yes, Daddy?” I asked, when we got to the bottom.

“Come to the den, please, we need to talk,” Daddy said. He was using a strange voice.

When we got to the den, I saw Katie crying in Mommy’s lap, our bag of candy on the couch next to her, and Billy and Joey watching all of us. They both had grins on their faces, like the cats who had caught the canaries. Oh yeah, we were dead. I had forgotten all about that bag. I had meant to go back and get it, but then I had gotten sent to my room. Oh boy!

I looked up at Daddy. He motioned to the couch. I pulled Debbie with me, and the two of us sat down. We both looked at Katie.

“I dint tell, Missy,” she said, sniffling.

Debbie sat down, and started to cry. “My tummy hurts, Daddy,” she tried.

“Well, I would think so, if you ate all that candy. Isn’t that what the three of you did?” Daddy asked, sitting opposite us.

No one spoke. Finally, I nodded. “Yes, sir,” I said quietly.

Billy and Joey stood to the side. They didn’t know what to do or if they should leave and Daddy hadn’t told them anything. Finally, Billy sat down on the floor, and Joey joined him.

Mommy looked at me. “There’s a lot of candy in there, Melissa. Just how much money did you spend?”

I didn’t answer. I looked over at Billy and then at Debbie. “Tell them, Deb,” I encouraged.

Everyone looked at Debbie. She finally spoke. “T-t-twenty dollas.”

Daddy sighed. So did Mommy. Billy jumped up. “MY TWENTY DOLLARS?” he screamed.

“William, there will be no screaming. Now sit down,” Daddy said. He was getting very angry.

Debbie nodded. “I finded it unner the couch,” she told everyone. “And wen da ice cream man comed, we buyed ice cream and candy.”

Billy looked at Debbie and then at me and Katie, and then at Mommy and Daddy. I didn’t say a word. There wasn’t anything to say.

Mommy looked at me. “Missy, didn’t you tell me you were going to buy your sisters ice cream from the money Uncle Peter gave you and your allowance?”

I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“So you lied to me,” she said, not asked. I nodded again. Daddy frowned. He hated when we lied.

Daddy looked at me. “So, Melissa, you knew where the money came from, yet you spent it anyway?”

I nodded and started to cry. “Yes, sir. Well, I knew Debbie found it under the couch, but I didn’t know it was Billy’s. She didn’t tell me it was in the box.”

“But you knew it wasn’t yours, Melissa,” Daddy pointed out.

I nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

Of course, I was to blame. I was the oldest of the three of us. And I was the one who lied to Mommy. And I was the one who bought the ice cream and the candy.

Daddy looked at Mommy. “How do you want to handle this, Christine? I think there are three little girls who are going to get their backsides warmed.”

Billy looked at Daddy. “But what about my money?” he asked, impatiently.

“You will get your money back, Billy.” Daddy stood up and took a twenty from his wallet and handed it to Billy. “The girls will pay me back by not getting their allowances and doing extra chores around the house. Now, I suggest, young man, that you put that money in a safer place than under the den couch.”

“Yes, Daddy, thank you,” Billy said.

“Okay, you and Joey go upstairs to your room and put your pajamas on. We’ll come get you in a little while, and then you can come down and watch some TV. Please stay in your room ‘til we come for you.”

Billy nodded, picked up his box and left the room. “Okay, Daddy,” Joey said, following.

Daddy looked back at Mommy. She sighed. She put Katie down on the couch next to me and went over to Daddy. The two of them talked quietly for a few minutes.

I just looked at Debbie. I knew this was partly my fault. But it seemed so unfair. Then I looked at Katie. She was still crying softly. She hadn’t really done much, but she was guilty just the same. And she had tried to talk us out of it, too. Why hadn’t we listened to her?

After several minutes, Daddy turned towards me. “Melissa, take Katie upstairs and both of you get ready for bed. I’ll be up in about ten minutes and I want you both in separate corners of your room. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Daddy,” I said. “Come on, Katie.” I offered her my hand. She stood up crying, took it and we went upstairs. I knew Debbie was gonna be bawling in a matter of minutes.

~~~~~~~~~

After we left the room, Daddy and Mommy sat on opposite sides of Debbie. “What were you thinking, Deborah Nicole? You knew that money wasn’t yours when you found it. That was stealing!” Daddy said sternly.

Debbie started to cry right away. “I sorry, Daddy, Mommy,” she said. “I not thinkin’, I guess.”

“No, young lady, you obviously weren’t thinking. I know you know better than to use something that does not belong to you. Don’t you?”

Debbie nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I sorry,” she cried.

“Well, you’re about to become a lot sorrier in the next few minutes. I’m very disappointed in you, Deborah,” Daddy said.

That made Debbie cry even more. It was one thing to do something naughty, but to disappoint Mommy or Daddy always made us feel worse. Daddy looked at Mommy. She picked Debbie up and held her for a few minutes.

“Honey, you did something wrong, and you’re going to be punished for it, but I still love you. You know that, right?” Daddy asked gently.

Debbie turned from Mommy’s chest and nodded at Daddy. “I know,” she said quietly.

“Okay, then. Christine, I’m going to leave you to deal with Debbie. I’ll be upstairs. After you put the little ones to bed, Missy will be waiting for you in the corner of our room. You can deal with her lie, then.”

Mommy nodded. “Okay, David. And hon? Go easy on Katie; she’s so little. I don’t know if she really understood.”

He started to walk away. “Well, that’s what I’m going to find out right now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daddy came upstairs. We were right where he told us to be. I had helped Katie put on her pajamas and we had both washed our faces and brushed our teeth.

He came in and sat down on the edge of Katie’s bed. “Girls, come here,” he said. We walked to him.

He motioned for us to sit opposite him on Debbie’s bed. “Kaitlyn Rose, do you have any idea how much trouble you and your sisters are in, young lady?” he asked rather sternly.

Katie nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”

“Please tell me,” he directed.

Katie took a deep breath. “Debbie finded monies and we spended it, but it not belonged to us. And we buyed lotsa candy and eated it wifout permission.”

Daddy sighed and nodded. He was amazed that she was able to grasp everything that we had done.

“That’s right. And are you supposed to spend money or use something that doesn’t belong to you?”

This time Katie shook her head. “N-no, sir,” she said.

“So you know why I’m going to spank you, right?” Daddy asked.

“Y-y-yes, Daddy, I s-s-sorry!” Katie cried.

“I’m sure you are, but you know an ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t get you out of a spanking. Come over here, Kaitlyn Rose.” He turned to me and said, “Melissa, I want you to go to the corner of my bedroom and wait there for me. Understood?”

I looked at Katie standing next to Daddy’s side and the tears just fell. “Daddy, please don’t spank Katie. She just went along with me and Debbie. She even told us to give Mommy the money.”

But Daddy shook his head. “Melissa Erin, I told you to go. Now!” He smacked my bottom once with his hand in a way to push me out. I cried and ran from the room.

~~~~~~~~~

Daddy pulled Katie’s pajama bottoms and panties down and pulled her over his lap. He raised his big hand and started to spank her bare little bottom. He didn’t spank very hard but kept it going for several minutes. She was completely hysterical by the time he finished.

When he was done, he set her on the floor and pulled her panties and bottoms back up. Then he pulled her into his lap and let her cry over his shoulder. “There, there, babygirl, it’s all over. Shhhhh!” he said in comfort.

“I s-s-sorrrry, Daddy!” Katie cried.

“I know you are. And it’s all over. I forgive you. Shhhhh!” Daddy held Katie for a while until she stopped crying.

Meanwhile downstairs, Mommy had waited until Debbie calmed down. Then she set her on the floor and asked Debbie if she knew why she was being spanked. Debbie nodded.

“Tell me,” Mommy said.

“Cuz I finded and spended Billy’s money an’ I not aposed to,” she said.

“Anything else?” Mommy asked.

“We buyed candy?” Debbie questioned.

“Yes, that’s right. You know Daddy and I don’t allow you girls to have sweets like that without permission. You are in very big trouble, Deborah Nicole. I hope I won’t have to repeat this lesson any time soon.”

With that, Mommy pulled Debbie’s pajama bottoms and panties down and pulled her over her lap. She started to spank her bottom hard, over and over. She didn’t lecture since she figured they had done a lot of talking already.

{Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!}

Mommy spanked one cheek, then the other, over and over, until Debbie was wailing.

“OWWWW, Mommmmmmmieeeeee, I s-s-sorrrrrry!” she cried.

“Good,” Mommy said, continuing to alternate cheeks. “Then we won’t have to repeat this again anytime soon.”

Mommy gave Debbie five more smacks to her sit spot.

{Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!}

Then she let her up.

Debbie rubbed her bottom and did the all out well-spanked little girl dance around the den, crying all the while. “Mommy, that hurted!” she said loudly.

“Yes, I know it did, sweetie, but it’s all over now. Come here!”

Mommy held her arms open and Debbie ran into them crying. Mommy cuddled Debbie for a while until she calmed down again.

“I love you so much. I don’t want you doing anything like this ever again. Okay?”

Debbie nodded and snuggled in Mommy’s arms. Before she fell asleep, Mommy stood up and brought Debbie upstairs.

She went into our room. Daddy had just finished cuddling Katie. He put her down on her bed and took Debbie from Mommy’s arms and laid her in her own bed. “Good night, girls,” he said after kissing them and walked out the door. He gave Mommy a quick kiss and then came to punish me, while Mommy tucked Katie and Debbie in.

~~~~~~~~~~~

I heard him coming. Finally. He opened up his bedroom door and walked in. He sat on the edge of the bed and called me out of the corner. I walked to him slowly and stood in front of him. My eyes drifted to the carpet. I felt so ashamed that I couldn’t even meet his eyes.

He put his hand under my chin and raised it so I was looking right at him. “You know what you did today was wrong, don’t you?” he asked, quietly.

I nodded. “Yes, Daddy,” I said. “I should have made Debbie put the money back, or given it to Mommy.”

“That’s right, you should have. But you didn’t. Instead you lied to Mommy and spent the money. And on candy, no less. Something you know that Mommy and I wouldn’t like or approve of. What were you thinking, Melissa Erin?”

“I don’t know, Daddy. I mean, I wasn’t thinking. Well, I guess I was thinking how cool it would be. And then Jasmine and Anna were there, and, and...” I stopped. Even to me it sounded so bad. I took a deep breath. “I just wasn’t thinking good.”

Daddy overlooked my grammatical error and looked down at me. “I hate to punish you, Melissa, you know that. But you must learn right from wrong. And what you and your sisters did today was wrong.”

“Yes, Daddy,” I said.

Then Daddy pulled my panties down and lifted up my nightgown. He laid me over his lap and started to spank me with just his hand. I wondered if the brush would come into play, as it often had lately.

{Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} “You will not {Smack!} use money {Smack!} that you find {Smack!} around the house. {Smack!} You will bring it to me {Smack!} or Mommy or find out whose it is. {Smack!} You will not {Smack!} buy candy without permission. {Smack!} And, young lady {Smack!}, you must never {Smack!} lie {Smack!} to me {Smack!} or Mommy. {Smack!} That {Smack!} is never {Smack!} acceptable. {Smack!} Do I make myself clear?” {Smack!} {Smack!}

“OWWWWWWWWW, yes, sir!” I cried.

“Good,” Daddy said, finishing with a few smacks to my sit spot.

{Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!} {Smack!}

“Then we are done here.”

I was shocked. Before I knew it, Daddy had pulled up my panties, put down my nightie and pulled me into his lap. He was rubbing my bottom and my back and letting me cry into his chest. I had thought for sure I would get the hairbrush. But I didn’t. And I definitely was not going to question it.

“I’m so sorry, Daddy,” I sobbed into his shirt.

“I know you are, baby. It’s all over now. You’re all forgiven.”

It’s amazing how after a lecture and a spanking, I could be forgiven. I never really questioned it; it was just the way it was. And it made me feel better when all was all right again.

I continued to sob. Even though I didn’t get the brush, Daddy’s hand had still hurt, and there had been so many spanks. “Shh, baby, it’s okay, it’s all over now. There, there,” he said, comforting me. “Your punishment is almost finished.”

Almost? Did he say almost? I was about to ask what he meant when Mommy came into the room. Daddy turned me around and wiped my tears away with his hand. He kissed my cheek and looked up at Mommy.

“You ready?” he asked her. She nodded. I was so confused. I really didn’t know what they were doing.

“Melissa, come with me, please,” Mommy said in her ‘I’m not happy’ voice.

I looked at Daddy, who nodded. “Go on, Missy,” he said. “When Mommy’s done, we’ll both tuck you in.”

I went with Mommy reluctantly. Only when we got to the bathroom, and she motioned for me to sit on the closed toilet seat did I realize what she was doing.

Oh right, the lie! She was washing my mouth out with soap. I should have known. That’s why Daddy didn’t use the brush. He knew I was gonna have a second punishment.

I hated soap. The taste of it was so yucky. But that’s what Mommy and Daddy always said about lies. They were yucky and needed to be washed away.

I didn’t even fight her. When she told me to open, I obeyed. It hurt to sit on the toilet seat, and I didn’t want any more trouble that night. After a few minutes, she let me rinse and then she hugged me.

“No more lying, huh, Melissa?” she asked, quietly. I think it had been a rough night for her, too.

“I promise, Mommy. I’m sorry,” I said, hugging Mommy tight.

“Good girl. Come on,” she said, taking my hand.

She led me to my bedroom. I looked at the clock. It was so early...only 8:00, but I didn’t say a word. Daddy came in a few minutes later. I guess he had told the boys they could go down to watch TV. Lucky them.

Both Mommy and Daddy tucked me in. It felt so good to be forgiven. I had really felt bad about my day. I knew tomorrow wasn’t going to be so great either, since I was grounded to my room to finish that book. But at least I had a great Mommy and Daddy who loved me and cared about me enough to show me right from wrong.

I fell asleep thinking how lucky I was. And wouldn’t you know it, that book turned out to be one of the best I’d ever read! Go figure.

The end.