The Easter Egg Hunt (5 page)

“Mom!”
Julie wailed in frustration.

“Meggie,
I think it’s time we head home.”
 
Noah
thought it prudent to leave before Meggie lost her temper completely.  “We
have all those Easter baskets to fill,” he reminded his wife.

“Yes,
we do.”  She got to her feet and handed David to his Mommy after kissing
his little cheek.  She and Noah ran upstairs to kiss the girls goodbye,
and then Megan kissed her daughter and said, “I love you, Julie Ann.”

“No
more speeding, daughter,” Noah warned, hugging her.  They both said
goodbye to Jeff and then headed for home.  Noah waited until Megan pulled
into the garage door before opening his car door.  It took several trips
to unload both cars and Megan’s craft room was so full it was overflowing. 
She was putting finished baskets and the filled plastic eggs in Julie Ann’s old
room, and they would probably fill Jacob’s room next.  The Easter project
grew each year!

Megan
suggested they get comfortable and Noah didn’t argue.  He knew his wife
well, and she was going to spend a few hours at least working on decorating and
filling baskets.  If he helped her, then she would consent… willingly… to
going to bed at a reasonable hour.  He didn’t want to have to order her to
bed.  He knew from past years she would just lie awake half the night
fuming if he did that.  Better to help her play Easter bunny.

Chapter
Four

Megan
was frowning as she attached a rubbery bunny to the handle of an Easter basket. 
“What did Jeff have to say for himself?” she asked when he sat on a stool
beside her and waited for instructions.  Meg was very particular about the
baskets and how they were filled, and he permitted her to boss him around, just
as he did when they decorated the house for Christmas.  It really didn’t
matter to him where the decorations went, and his pleasure came in seeing her
so happy with the results.

“Do
you want me to put grass in these baskets?” he asked, and when she nodded, he
got to work.

“Not
quite that much, honey,” she said.  “Take about a fourth of that out. 
Yes, that looks better,” she approved.  “What did Jeff say?” she asked
again.

“That
Julie Ann had three speeding tickets in the last five months and he promised
her the last time that he would spank her if she got another.  She got the
third one and tried to hide it from him, so he spanked her like he promised,
and he gave her lines to write.”

“Three
tickets!” Megan exclaimed in disbelief.  “That little brat didn’t tell me
she had
three
of them, or that Jeff
warned her he would spank if she got another!”

“You
aren’t upset with Jeff, are you?” Noah asked.

“No,
not at all.  I think he stopped too soon, given how testy she was,” Meg
answered, and then said, “Did you know that both of our kids know you spank me?”

“No!”
He was shocked.

“Oh
yes, she informed me that she didn’t want to be like me and have a husband who
spanked for every little thing!”  The criticism hurt her feelings.

“Do
you think I am too hard on you, Meggie?” He reached out to grab her hand in his
and force her to look into his eyes.

“No,
I don’t.  I know you love me, and spanking is one way you show that. 
I hope that Julie Ann realizes that Jeff is showing her love, too.  I
scolded her,” she confessed.  “I know we agreed not to interfere, but a
part of me thinks we were sent there tonight for that precise purpose.” 
She shook her head, “I can’t believe he waited until the third ticket to come
down on her…!”

“That
was pretty much my reaction, once I realized I didn’t need to stomp him for
being mean to our little girl.  Jeff had a valid reason to spank Julie
Ann.”  He held up a basket for inspection and smiled when she nodded in
approval.  “I’m getting good at this, Meggie,” he boasted.

“You
have a great teacher,” she giggled.

********************

The
meltdown came on Thursday, just as Noah knew it would.  Megan put so much
of herself into making the Easter Egg Hunt and the luncheon/party afterwards
absolutely perfect that she made herself crazy with worry.  When he came
home from work Thursday evening, she threw canned soup and crackers at him for
dinner and bade him hurry and eat so she could get to work.  When he tried
to calm her down, she snapped at him, and when he gently scolded, she lost her
temper and picked up his bowl of soup and dumped it down the garbage disposal
side of the sink.  “I told you I don’t have time for this!” she yelled at
him.

Noah
got to his feet and took a wooden spoon from the ceramic jar on the counter
beside the stove.  He took her hand and pulled her over to the kitchen
table and bent her down over its flat surface.  Of course, that took a bit
of effort since Megan was truly out of control and in no mood for a spanking.

“No! 
I don’t have time for this, Noah!  Let me go!”

“You
are out of control, Meg, and this will settle you down, just like it does every
year,” he tacked on as she twisted and almost freed herself.  “Now settle
down before this turns into a punishment instead of a reminder,” he warned.

Megan
cried out as the spoon made contact with the seat of her jeans.  She was
angry with Noah for wasting her precious time, but he held her down and
continued to pepper her seat with stinging spanks.  She burst into tears
of frustration, and Noah continued the spanking, ignoring all of her arguments
as to why she shouldn’t be spanked right now.

Noah
knew from experience that a spanking would settle Meg’s nerves.  He didn’t
need to be harsh, just firm, to get her attention.  Finally Megan was
saying ‘sorry’ and he asked if she’d had enough.  Her reply was ‘yes’, and
that quickly the spanking was over.  He held her close and let her cry for
a few minutes.

“I’m
sorry, honey.  I don’t know why I let this get to me every year, but I do,
don’t I?” she admitted, feeling very small and very foolish.

“It
was a day later this year.” He kissed her.  “Are you all better now?” he
asked.

“Much. 
Oh, honey, I’m sorry I dumped your dinner!  I’ll make you something else,”
she offered.

“No,
I’ll call in a pizza, and we’ll work until it gets here.  We’ll finish up
the baskets tonight, and that leaves tomorrow to color the eggs and load the
cars and take everything on site.”

“You’re
right.  It will be fine, as long as it doesn’t rain.”

“It
rained a few years ago, and we moved it inside and everyone had a great time. 
Remember?”

“Yes. 
I’ll stop fussing,” she promised, snuggling closer. 

“Did
you remember to ask for help setting up the tables and chairs?” he asked,
remembering one of the first years she hadn’t done so, and he and Jacob and
Julie Ann and her then boyfriend, Jeff, had literally run to get it all set up
before others arrived.

“I
remembered!” She giggled.  Noah asked her that question every year.  “Honey,
I do appreciate you so much.  I couldn’t do all of this every year without
your help.”

“And
you help me with the office Christmas Party, which I couldn’t do without you,
either.”  He hugged her once more, and then asked, “Veggie?”

“Sounds
wonderful,” she agreed, and then winced when he gave her a playful smack on the
butt when he released her to go and pick up the telephone to order their pizza. 
Her poor butt was smarting right now, but tomorrow there would only be a faint
tenderness to remind her that she was spanked.  Thankfully, Noah knew she
needed to calm down and he took care of the matter without letting things
escalate into a huge fight.  She loved the man… and she truly hoped her
Julie Ann learned to love Jeff in the same way.  Although she’d talked
with her on the telephone a couple of times since Monday evening, nothing
further was said regarding the incident, and Megan didn’t bring it up. 
After all, it was a personal matter and Julie Ann and Jeff would need to sort
it for themselves, just like she and Noah did in the early years of their
marriage.

She
hurried upstairs and starting working, and Noah joined her as soon as he called
in their pizza order.  They worked companionably while they waited, and
when they heard the doorbell, Noah ran downstairs and paid the delivery person
and tipped him well.  He carried the box upstairs, along with paper plates
and napkins and cans of orange soda.  He brought one for Megan, too, even
though she rarely indulged.  But, they both loved soda with their pizza,
and since her sugar was under control, he thought it would be acceptable.

“You
do spoil me, honey.”
 
She smiled in
satisfaction as they stopped to eat.  “Thank you.”

“You’ve
been doing so well staying out of the candy, Meg.  I’m proud of you,” he
admitted.  “I know it’s not easy to prepare all those eggs and all those
baskets and not indulge.”

“I’ve
been really tempted a few times,” she admitted.  “I just think of you and
how much you love me, and it helps.”

He
smiled, and offered her another piece of their pizza.

They
finished up the baskets, and Megan insisted they recount to make sure there
were enough, and each one had a family name on it.  Megan asked him to do
the counting and read the names and she checked them off the list, smiling when
they were done.  “Only one mistake, and it was a double, so we are fine,
Noah.  I’m so relieved.  The eggs are stuffed with candy and money in
a few.  There are three special eggs… and all we need to do now is boil
the eggs and let them cool so they can be colored and decorated tomorrow. 
Do you think that Julie Ann and Jeff and the girls would like to help color
eggs?”

“Call
and ask, and maybe Jeff will help haul this stuff over to the site,” Noah
answered.

Megan
called and Julie Ann asked Jeff if they could help out and he readily agreed. 
Noah heard Meg promise McDonald’s for dinner, and he grinned.  Nothing
like bribery…!
 
She called Jacob
next and asked about his plans and promised him McDonalds, too.  “We have
reinforcements, Noah!” she smiled happily, and he knew it was the prospect of
family time that pleased her so much.  Of course she always planned an
Easter celebration for all of them on Sunday after church, complete with an
Easter Egg Hunt for the little girls, and baskets for the adults.  Megan
loved Easter, and the house was decorated, inside and out, to reflect that
love.

The
kids all arrived early and Noah was there to greet them.  “Mom is on her
way; she’s picking up dinner,” he added.

“Did
Mom go overboard as usual?” Jacob asked with a grin.

“Of
course she did,” Julie answered.  “It’s Easter!”  She looked at her
father and asked, “Dad, she didn’t get the girls a lot of candy this year, did
she?”

“No,
honey, she didn’t,” Noah answered.

“Really?” 
It was obvious Julie Ann didn’t believe her Dad.  “I’ll be happy if she
simply cuts it in half,” she added.

“There’s
Mom now,” Jake said, and went to help her carry in the McDonald’s bags.

“I’m
glad you’re all here.” Megan smiled happily.  “Noah, will you get paper
plates?”

“Gramma,
I want nuggets,” Rachel announced.

“I
know you do, sweetie,” Megan said, and Noah was once again amazed that she knew
exactly what everyone liked best, and even remembered to leave the ketchup off
their daughter’s sandwich and get extra cheese on Jeff’s double cheeseburger. 
Jacob was happy she got him extra fries and a milk shake and Noah noted that
the little girls loved their Happy Meals.

“Are
we having ham for Easter, Mom?” Jacob wanted to know.

“Yes,
honey, we are.”

“Will
you have extra?” he asked and Noah immediately realized he was trying to ask
his Mother something else that had nothing to do with the ham. 

“Do
you have someone you would like to invite to dinner, Jacob?” Megan asked her
son.

“If
it’s all right,” he replied.  “I’ve been seeing someone for a while now
and I thought it might be a good time to introduce her to my family.”

“Of
course she is welcome, son,” Noah spoke up.  “What is her name?”

“Carrie
Lake.  She works in another department at the hospital, but we’ve been
having breaks at the same time, and I asked her out to a movie a few weeks ago. 
I really care about her and would like for you all to meet her.”

“Have
you met her family yet?” Julie Ann wanted to know, feeling protective of her ‘little’
brother.

“It’s
just her Mom.  Her Dad died when she was little and Cyndi hasn’t
remarried.  “Carrie doesn’t have any siblings.”  He looked at his
sister and said, “Carrie lives at home, so yes, I’ve met her Mom.  She’s a
nice lady.”

“Of
course you can ask Carrie to dinner, but won’t her Mom be lonely?”

“No,
she has to work Easter.  She’s a nurse, too, and works in the ER.”

“I
was going to tell you to bring her along,” Megan said.

“That’s
nice, Mom.  I’ll tell Cyndi you said that.”  Jake was obviously
pleased.