History Lessons

by Fiona Wilde

  Chapter Five

  "Come on, you stupid car!"

  Lucy turned the key again, her frustration growing as the engine of her aging Volkswagen chug-chug-chugged without turning over.

  "Damn!"

  "That's a bad word, Mommy."

  She looked into the rearview mirror to see Keegan's disapproving expression. Were she not so anxious she would have laughed. But this was no laughing matter.

  "You're right. That is a bad word, honey. Mommy's sorry. But she can't get this d--darn car to start and now she's going to be late!"

  She slammed her fist down on the steering wheel.

  "Great," she said.

  "Does this mean I'm missing school?"

  "No," she said. "We can walk to school."

  "But it's raining!"

  Lucy had been so distracted by her car problems that she hadn't even noticed.

  "You're right," she said.

  "You said you were going to get an umbrella at Target last time it rained," Keegan said. "Did you?"

  Lucy could almost feel the Bad Mother sign flashing above her head.

  "No. No, honey, I didn't. Mommy forgot. It looks like we're both going to stay home today." She tried to brighten her tone. "But you know what? We could make animals out of model clay and watch that new Elmo movie!"

  "I was going to be cookie helper today," Keegan said, tears filling his eyes.

  Once a week, a different child was chosen to help Ms. Stanford bake cookies. It was a very big deal, and today as supposed to be Keegan's day.

  "Look," she said. "Let me see what I can figure out, OK?"

  She picked him up from his car seat, holding onto his Thomas the Tank Engine lunch box as she did.

  Inside she put him in the foyer and went to the phone. Her evening sitter was out of town, and there was no one to call for a ride. A cab was out of the question; the fares were outrageous and the city bus had already run.

  The idea of enduring a day of her son's disappointment was nearly too much to bear, but she had no choice. With a lump in her throat, she called Hartford House and waited for the receptionist to answer the phone. She was surprised when Warren Ellis answered instead.

  "Mr. Ellis?"

  "Yes."

  "It's Lucy."

  "Hello, Lucy. The receptionist called in with the flu so I'm manning the phones until someone else can be pulled off of another assignment. You have the schedule with you. Can you be here a little early today?"

  She sighed. Her bottom was still sore from the switching he'd given her the day before. What in the world would he do when found out she wasn't coming in.

  "I don't know if I can make it in at all. My car won't start."

  "Your car?"

  Lucy considered telling him that she didn't have a horse, but didn't want to risk another spanking.

  "Yes. It won't turn over. And I don't have a ride to get myself to work or to get Keegan to school."

  He was quiet for a moment. "Where do you live, Lucy?"

  In town. On Parker and Vine. It's a little white house with a wrap-around porch.

  "I'll be there to pick you up in twenty minutes."

  "Mr. Ellis, you don't have to..."

  But he'd already hung up.

  "I really wanted to make cookies." Keegan was sitting at the kitchen table, crying.

  Lucy walked over to him. "And you'll get your chance. Mr. Ellis is going to take you to school and then take me to work."

  "Really?" Keegan brightened, then looked confused. "Who's Mr. Ellis?"

  "He's my boss," Lucy said.

  "Is he nice?"

  "He's...serious," Lucy said. "So be on your best behavior. He doesn't like silliness, so no funny voices or pulled faces or anything, okay?"

  "Okay," Keegan said.

  Warren Ellis pulled up exactly twenty minutes later. It seemed odd to see him getting out form behind the wheel of a small SUV, especially given that he was dressed in full garb.

  "He looks like he came out of a storybook," Keegan said as he stared out the window.

  "We dress up at work," she said. "You know that."

  "Even the daddies?"

  Lately Keegan had taken to calling all adult men 'daddies,' which bothered Lucy. But today she didn't feel like correcting him.

  "Yes, even the daddies," she said, opening the door.

  He didn't say anything at first, but just stood there taking her in as if seeing her for the first time, and Lucy realized it was because he'd never seen her in her street clothes. She always changed when she got to Hartford House. This morning she was wearing a t-shirt, low-rider blue jeans and Keds. Her hair hung in two loose braids that fell in front of her shoulders.

  "My mommy told me not to make this face at you because you're serious." Keegan stepped forwards and put a finger in each corner of his mouth, stretching it wide as he crossed his eyes.

  "Keegan..."

  Lucy took her son by the shoulders and looked up at her boss.

  "Sorry, Mr. Ellis," she said. "He's just four. He doesn't know any better. This is Keegan, by the way. He's my son."

  "So I gathered," he said. "The resemblance is remarkable."

  "Your shoes are shiny," Keegan observed and now Warren Ellis smiled a little.

  "Gentleman always keep their shoes shiny."

  Keegan looked down at his own shoes. "I don't think I'm a gentleman. My shoes are dirty. But they light up!" He jumped up and when he landed the edge of his sneakers flashed.

  "Yes, they do," Warren Ellis said.

  "OK, hot shot," Lucy said. "Let's go."

  "I'll need to grab the car seat," she said. As she did, Warren Ellis walked over to her car and lifted the hood.

  "Do you know anything about cars?" she asked.

  "Not really," he said. "But the last time mine didn't turn over it turned out to be the fuel pump."

  "I'll have the mechanic come tow it to the shop today," Lucy said.

  "Well, don't worry too much about it. Until it's fixed I don't mind giving you a ride to and from work."

  "And school?" asked Keegan.

  "And school," Warren Ellis replied. "Education is very important."

  "My mommy says that," Keegan replied.

  "Come on, you."

  Lucy got the car seat and walked over to Warren Ellis' vehicle. After a few moments, her son was loaded and on his way. Warren waited in the SUV while Lucy took Keegan in, where he was instantly whisked off for cookie baking. It did her good to see him smiling so broadly.

  "I really appreciate your doing this for us," Lucy said when she got back to the vehicle.

  "Well, I can't manage without you today," Warren said and Lucy grew quiet. What had she thought? That he had gone to fetch her because he liked her?

  She grew quiet.

  "Your son is a sharp young man."

  Lucy smiled. "Yes."

  "Where's his father?"

  The question blindsided her.

  "I'm not sure I'm comfortable answering that question given your old-fashioned view of the world," she said. Her heart beat hard as she gave the response. Would she offend him with her bluntness?

  "Try me, Miss Primm."

  "It was a one-time encounter. A writer for some magazine." She paused. "It was out of character for me, Mr. Ellis. I'm not a sleep-around. I've not....well, I've done nothing like that ever since."

  "I hope not," he said.

  "I told you," she said defensively. "I'm not a sleep-around."

  "You think I'm judging you, don't you?"

  Lucy looked out the car window. "Aren't you?"

  "No. I've made my own mistakes. I'd be a fool to look down on you for yours."

  It was the most human thing he'd ever said to her.

  "Did you ever wish he'd come back, find you and Keegan. Maybe offer marriage to you?"

  Lucy laughed at this. "No. I don't think he'd be interested in Keegan or me. He seemed like the type of person who was only interested in a relationship with one person - himself. I'
d hate to interfere."

  Warren Ellis laughed- actually laughed - at this.

  "I've run into a few of those types myself. You're lucky at least to have Keegan. As you've probably guessed my idea of the perfect mate is, well, nonexistent in today's society. I'll probably die alone."

  Lucy looked at him. "Mr. Ellis, if you don't mind my saying so, that's a horrible thing to say!"

  "Horrible? If anything is horrible it's that we've gotten so far away from the simple truths that make relationships work. Honor. Order. Loyalty. In a perfect world, that man who fathered your son would have proposed marriage on he spot, or at least followed up to see if your night together produced a child he would be responsible for."

  "Marriage?" Lucy shook her head. "He was a stranger, Mr. Ellis."

  "So? Plenty of strangers married in the old days. Marriages were arranged and couples often met just days or weeks before they were wed. And those marriages endured."

  "Women in those days had no way out, though," she said.

  "Maybe the way out has gotten too easy today," he countered. "If a man establishes order early on and lets his wife know there are rewards and consequences she doesn't suffer the kind of unrest she would in a less structured environment."

  Lucy rolled her eyes. "Mr. Ellis, you talk about women like they're children. At work you treat me like a child."

  She'd not meant to make the last statement and grew quiet.

  "No, I don't."

  "Don't what?" she asked.

  "I don't treat you like a child and I don't think women are children. I think man is the head of the house. In marriage the husband is the head and as the director of Hartford House I'm the head there."

  Lucy started to observe that she was the only one who'd gotten spanked but thought the better of it.

  "You above all the workers has a reason to succeed and advance," he said. "If I'm harder on you, Miss Prim, that is why."

  It felt odd having an unasked question answered.

  "The spankings hurt, Mr. Ellis. Is there any way you'd consider some other penalty for me?"

  "You fear them?"

  She nodded. "Yes sir. More than anything."

  "That's why I must use them," he replied. "Different things work for different people, and a trip over the knee is quite effective for someone like you."

  They were pulling into the back lot of Hartford House now. Lucy felt it was against her best interest to argue with Mr. Ellis. His tone had been definitive. She'd just have to work even harder to follow the rules.

  She began to unfasten the seatbelt, only to find that it was stuck.

  "Sorry," he said. "I should have warned you. That darned thing sticks some time."

  He leaned over her manipulating the buckle. Lucy could feel the muscles under his jacket. His arms were lean and strong. She blushed and was relieved when she finally heard the click of the latch and the belt slid loose.

  "Thank you," she said.

  He smiled. "You're welcome."

  * * *

  The rest of the day went smoothly. Lucy found herself more willing to enforce the rules among co-workers who had once been her peer and was pleasantly surprised to find that after the initial oddness of becoming their supervisor had passed, they treated her with a friendly respect.

  She was proud of them, and proud of herself for striking the balance between being friend and boss.

  "Hi!"

  She was doing some paperwork after lunch when Missy came up to her.

  "What got you this morning?"

  "Car trouble," Lucy said.

  "Sucks." Missy took a seat beside her. "Do you mind? I'm still on my lunch break."

  "By all means! I'm glad for the company." Lucy smiled at her.

  "How's Keegan?"

  "Precocious," Lucy replied.

  Missy grew quiet for a moment.

  "They said Mr. Ellis brought you to work today."

  Lucy looked up at her friend, trying to read her face. Missy was trying to look and sound casual, but Lucy instantly knew that this was no idle chit-chat. The rumors were already starting. She laid her pen down.

  "Look, Missy," she said. "My car broke down this morning. I called in but Mr. Ellis told me we were short-handed so he came to get me. That's all there was to it, understand?"

  She sighed. "Are we still friends, Missy?"

  Missy looked hurt. "Of course we are."

  "Then stop treating me like a sideshow," Lucy said. "If you have a question, then ask me directly. Don't come here pretending to be my friend when you're just on a fact-finding mission for the gossip guild."

  Missy stood. "You know, Lucy, you've really changed. You used to tell me everything."

  "In this case, there's nothing to tell," Lucy said. "And even if there was, a true friend wouldn't ask me for the wrong reasons."

  Missy looked away, her face reddening and Lucy knew right away that she'd been correct in her suspicions.

  "Ladies, is something wrong?"

  "No sir. I was just leaving." Missy stood and curtseyed in an obviously perfunctory manner to Mr. Ellis, who watched her go.

  "Problem?"

  "No," Lucy said.

  He studied her and she felt herself growing uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

  "You wouldn't mislead me, would you, Miss Primm? You wouldn't mislead me, knowing the consequences?"

  She shook her head. Lucy did not doubt Warren Ellis' power, but there were some things he could not do. For instance, he could not heal the rift that was growing anew between her and Missy. Nor could he stop the gossip she was sure would spread from Warren Ellis' picking her up and taking her home.

  It was almost time, in fact.

  Lucy finished the assignment chart for the next day and made one last check of the stations to makes sure everyone was stocked with supplies. Two school groups were set to come in the morning and she wanted to make sure everything was ready.

  She heard a voice outside the door and walked into the hall with the list. It was Missy and Carla, another worker. They stopped speaking as soon as they saw her.

  "Missy, would you take this list to Mrs. Alder?" Lucy asked. "She's doing the shopping this afternoon so it's very important that she gets it."

  "Sure," she said and walked away with a look at Carla.

  "So," Carla said. "Did you get your car fixed?"

  The question was asked in a tone implying that she didn't believe there was anything wrong with it.

  "I don't know," Lucy said. "The mechanic was busy when I called earlier. If you'll excuse me."

  She hard Carla walk away in the opposite direction and went to change for her ride home. Mr. Ellis was waiting for her in his full garb when she came to the back door.

  "Ready, I see," he said. "Although I prefer you in period clothing."

  She smiled. "Don't tell me you dress like this at home."

  "No," he admitted. "I wear the regular stuff - trousers, sweaters."

  "I called about the car," Lucy said. "It's not going to be ready until tomorrow. I could take the day off."

  "No, Lucy. I'll get you again."

  "You don't have to," she said.

  "Why, is there a problem?"

  Lucy sighed. "Rumors," she said. "Gossips."

  "At Hartford House?" He sounded incensed.

  "Please, Mr. Ellis. It's nothing I can't handle."

  "Lucy, I do not tolerate idle gossip, especially when my name is connected. Or the honor of an innocent. Who's behind this?"

  "Mr. Ellis, please."

  "Lucy..."

  "No, I don't want to talk about it."

  "Lucy...I want an answer."

  "No."

  He sighed and, taking hold of Lucy, bent her over the hall table.

  "Mr. Ellis," she cried. "Please don't...."

  But he ignored her and began to spank her, the smacks building a rapid head through the fabric of her blue jeans.

  Soon she was crying and begging for him to stop.

  "Only if you're
ready to talk," he said.

  "I am!" she cried, wagging her bottom back and forth in an effort to avoid the painful blows.

  He raised her to standing. "Is it Missy?"

  "Yes!" she cried. "I don't know why she's doing this! I don't lord my position over her, Mr. Ellis. I don't lord it over anyone else. I just come here and try to do my job!"

  "That's correct," he said. "And if anyone is treating you with anything other than respect then you come straight to me."

  "And risk being alienated?"

  "If that's what it takes, yes."

  Lucy was rubbing her bottom now and crying miserably.

  "Mr. Ellis, I just want to get along with people. I'm not like you. I need people in my life."

  He looked down. "Who says I don't need people in my life?" he asked.

  "You did," she said.

  "And you believe that?" he asked.

  He leaned down then and kissed her, his lips firm yet soft on hers. Then just as quickly, it seemed, he pulled away

  "Miss Primm," he said, turning away. "Forgive me. I forgot myself."

  Lucy stood there, stunned.

  "No," she said. "It's all right."

  "No, it's not. I'm your supervisor."

  She walked over to him, tentatively. "Yes. Yes, Mr. Ellis. And a very stern one. But you're also a human. And a man. There's no sin in admitting to needing to connect with other people."

  He turned to her, his eyes looking tortured.

  "Perhaps," he said. "But that doesn't excuse my taking advantage of you."

  She sighed. "I've been taken advantage of, Mr. Ellis. I know what it feels like. That's not what you did. It just....happened."

  "Look," he said. "I can understand if you don't trust me to take you home now."

  "Mr. Ellis!" She didn't mean to raise her voice to him. It just happened. He turned and looked and for a moment she feared he might spank her again.

  "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to raise my voice. It's just that you're being rather exasperating. "I do trust you to take me home. In fact, I prefer it if you don't mind."

  He gave a small, relieved smile.

  "Very well then," he said.

  Lucy forgot the spanking then. Relief had replaced her pain, although she wasn't sure exactly why. Was she falling for this tall, strange man?

  Of course not, she told herself. He's your boss and what happened was just one of those weird, spontaneous things that weren't supposed to.