"Randy must have been a really good kid."
"That wasn't the reason. I just don't believe in hitting as a form of punishment."
"Would David do it?"
"No. I'm sure he wouldn't. Besides, you're a good girl. You've never given us cause to punish you. What brought on all this talk? Has something happened?"
Martha didn't answer. Instead she asked, "What did you do to get spanked?"
"I don't remember."
Martha began to push away from the table. "I thought last night you said we were going to be honest."
Cynthia was startled by the young girl's unusual tone and immediately regretted not being forthcoming. She was surprised Martha had taken to heart what her husband said the prior evening. She sat beside Martha and took her hand.
"I'm sorry. I apologize. I'll tell you what I did to be punished, but it doesn't change anything. It was a long time ago. I thought I was being smart," she said. "I snuck out to a place where I was told not to go-a very dangerous place. It was a quarry swimming hole where a child had drowned the summer before. I knew better but the other kids called me chicken. I lied to my parents when they asked me, but a neighbor had seen me there."
Martha nodded her head. "How old were you?"
"About your age, I guess. Ten or eleven."
She looked away. "Did your mother do it?"
"Spank me? No. My father. With his hairbrush on my bare bottom."
"I'll bet it hurt."
Cynthia didn't smile. "Like the dickens." Martha looked up as she continued. "Believe me, it wasn't something I easily forgot. Once was enough."
"He wasn't being mean to you," Martha said-a ten-year-old schoolmarm. "That's what he should have done. You deserved it. He did it because you were bad-and he loved you."
Cynthia sighed, not quite sure how to answer. "I know my parents loved me, but there are other ways to teach children without hurting them, Martha. It was a long time ago. People did things differently-spanking was more acceptable then, but now we know hitting causes anger and rebellion. When a child does something bad, we talk about it-try to find out why-make sure we all learn from our mistakes."
"The spanking worked on you, didn't it? I'll bet you didn't do bad things after that." She added, "And you grew up to be nice."
Cynthia smiled. "Thank you for the compliment." Then she asked, "Martha, is there something you want to talk about? What's bothering you-more than just you're going away?"
The young girl rose. "David's got a hairbrush. I saw it on the bureau."