He was late and he knew it. It was quarter past four and he should have been in from school at three thirty. Robert entered tentatively through the back door. He could hear voices. He peered into the living room and saw Aunt Harriet pouring tea for herself and Susan Henderson. What was she doing back here? Susan and her parents had moved away from the area two years ago. Robert blushed as he remembered how he used to tease her about her glasses, her tall statutr and general ungainly manner. She, he recalled, never retaliated with jibes about his lack of height.
Quietly he removed his shoes. His feet hovered over the pale blue furry slippers with the little bunny rabbit motif that Aunty insisted he wear indoors.
âRobert, is that you? Come here at once!â
He jumped nervously at the sound of her voice then recovered his composure.
This time, he thought, I will show her I am an adult and can stand up for myself. Forgoing his slippers he straightened his shoulders drawing himself up to his full four foot ten; since the death of his parentâs, he had grown not one inch, and entered the room.
âWell, where have you been until this time young man?â
âI am almost eighteen Aunty. I think I am old enough to decide what time I arrive home from school thank you.â He said in his still unbroken, shrill voice.
Pleased with his act of defiance he turned on his heels and made for the kitchen. He had nearly made it through the door when he felt her hand upon his shoulder. She spun him around to face her.
âDonât you dare talk to me that way. Showing off in front of a guest, well I know how to deal with naughty boyâs who think they are all grown up and donât have to wear their slippers just because they are nearly eighteen.â
She sat down, grabbing his arm as she did so and pulled him over her lap. Pulling down his trousers and underwear in one movement she proceeded to give his bare bottom a sound nursery style spanking.
Quickly, his bottom turned crimson red and his indignant cries of embarrassment for her to stop became frantic pleadings for forgiveness.
âPlease Aunty I am sorry for being cheeky,â he wailed.
As he flailed wildly on his auntâs lap, Robert could see Susan, her teacup poised, grinning broadly as she witnessed his spanking.
Aunty stood him down. âNow go and apologise for being a show off naughty little boy to our guest, go on.â
Aunt Harriet ushered him toward the sofa until he faced Susan.
Between sobs he managed to gasp, âplease, I am very sorry for being a show off in front off guestsâ
Aunty prompted him, âand a naughty little boy,â
âAnd a naughty little boy,â he repeated obediently.
Susan burst into laughter, âyes I can see you are a little boy!â She said, staring in a myopic manner at him through her thick spectacles.
Horrified, Robert realised his trousers and underpants were still tangled around his ankles.
Aunty effortlessly picked him up and deposited him upon her lap.
âThis is just the kind of behaviour I was telling you about Susan.â Aunty said to the myopic young woman sitting opposite.
âWhy are you such a disobedient little boy?â She said exasperated, pulling up his clothes, ânow go and put your slippers on and sit quietly with your milk while the grown ups talk.â
Robert slunk away, shuffled his feet into his slippers and sat self-consciously on the sofa as far away from Susan as he could and drank, the only thing apart from water Aunty would permit, his milk, "so good for growing boys".
Robert was still annoyed and indignant. Grown upâs indeed. Susan Henderson was younger than he was and Aunty was treating her as a grown up and him as a child.
âSo Susan,â he heard his aunt say, âI think that is all settled. I trust you will find the room suitable.â
âOh I am sure I will,â Susan said, then looking at Robert added, âI hope Robert doesnât mind me inconveniencing him?â
âRoom. What room?â Robert queried with a look of puzzlement on his face.
âRobert, Susan will be lodging with us for a while. Her rent money will come in handy so in the meantime you will have to sleep in the attic room.â
âBut thatâs not fair,â he cried out petulantly, âitâs a stupid room and I donât want to swap bedrooms. Let her use the stupid attic room instead.â
Aunty looked cross. âThatâs quite enough, off you go up there now and do your schoolwork, itâs all neat and tidy. Supper will be at six as usual.â
Susan patted his head condescendingly âNever mind Robert the college is near your sixth form isnât it? That means I will be able to walk you home from school, we donât want you being late and getting another smacked botty do we?â
âWalk me home! You shall do no such thing, tell her Aunty.â
âNow Robert,â she began, âSusan has kindly offered to help you get home on time instead of wandering the streets, so I think it would be churlish of me to refuse, you know how I worry for you being out all alone.â
Robert was about to give his opinion on this devastating news, but his Aunt held up her hand to indicate the conversation was finished and he marched huffily upstairs.
He was familiar with the attic room, for it had been his room when he first came to stay with Aunty. His old bed was pushed in the corner, under the sloping eaves to afford more space.
He worked diligently until ten to six. Hungry now, he snapped his books shut and was about to begin his usual suppertime routine when he remembered Susan was, for the time being, a member of the household.
He paused for a moment, made his decision, then made his way downstairs.
Robert could see no sign of Susan as he approached the dining room. Aunt Harriet was setting the table.
âWhat on earth are you doing down here still dressed,â said Aunty with astonishment.â
You know the rules; you must be dressed in your pyjamas ready for bed by six o'clock. Upstairs and put your pyjamas on at once!â
âBut Aunty I donât want to wear my pyjamas this early anymore, not while she is staying here.â
Aunty looked cross as she lectures him. âYour bedtime routine will remain the same throughout Susanâs stay. If you're not careful I will bring your bedtime forward to eight o'clock instead of nine, so I donât want to hear another word, go and get your pyjamas on now!
âNo I wonât! Robert stamped his tiny slippered foot.
Aunt Harriet, moving surprisingly quickly, picked him up and he found himself perched on her frilly, white-bibbed, apron lap.
âSmacked botty time I think for you young man.â
Robert squirmed in an attempt to escape her grasp but her superior strength made this impossible as she gripped his waist tightly. In a blind panic he tried placating her in a manner that had worked previously.
âPwease Aunty,â he began in a syrupy tone.
âIckle Wobert doesnât want to put his jimmy-jams on yet. Itâs too early. He wonât be late or a cheeky boy again, pwomise.â He spoke in a whisper, ashamed of having to resort to baby talk at nearly eighteen-years-old in an attempt to avoid an over the knee spanking from his Aunty.
Aunt Harriet smiled and patted his head; she knew his little game, nevertheless she relented and forgot about the intended spanking.
âCome along now no more of your silly, babyish arguments, its pyjama time for you immediately. I am sure Susan has no objection to a naughty little boy eating his supper dressed in his jimmy-jams ready for beddy-byes. Have you my dear?â
Robert turned his head, Susan stood at the doorway, smiling serenely at him perched on his Aunties lap.
âOf course not, rules are rules after all.â
Robert looked crestfallen. Susan would have heard him using his baby talk voice to Aunty.
âI shouldnât worry too much Robert,â said Susan blinked at him through her unflattering spectacles as he sat on his Auntâs lap.
âI expect I will see you dressed in your pyjamas quit a bit during my stay. Hurry back now, supper is almost ready.â
Fuming inwardly, Robert pulled on his pale blue, dinosaur patterned pyjamas bottoms. He quite liked these pyjamas, they werenât as childish as the other pairs Aunty had made for him, although annoyingly she always made them from a pattern for girls pyjamas that were two sizes too large for him. He never fastened the top button that highlighted the sweet little Peter Pan collar and the lack of a fly opening in the pyjama bottoms could be troublesome when it came to the bathroom.
As always, he fumbled with the buttons on his pyjama jacket as his fingers refused to become familiar with the female fastening.
His pyjama jacket was still flapping unbuttoned as he took his place at the table beside Susan.
âTsk child, let me help.â She brushed his hands away and before he could protest she swiftly buttoned up his pyjamas, finishing with the hated top button. There now little one, you look very sweet in your dinosaur pyjamas, I hope they donât give you nightmares in bed.â She ended the sentence with a loud roar that was supposed to imitate a dinosaur.
Robert exploded. âI am not your little one I am a big boy, err⌠I mean I am a seventeen year old man. I am not a child, you are the same age as me so stop treating me like a baby.
âActually,â she replied calmly. âI am a few months younger than you but I have seen you behave like a baby already haven't I?"
Robert blushed, his boldness fast disappearing.
Susan, continued. And by the way, I think I am due a little respect so in future kindly address me as Nanny Susan.â
âNanny Susan! There is no way I am goingâŚâŚ..â Robert attempted to undo the top button of his pyjamas as he raged.
Unfortunately he never got the chance to finish that sentence. Susan grabbed him by the scruff of his pyjama collar and frogmarched him to the door.
âI think this naughty little boy needs a spell on the naughty step to help calm him down,â she said, turning her head toward Aunty as he was sped toward the door.
âYou will spend five minutes here sitting on the naughty step while you think about your bad tempered behaviour,â were the words he heard as the door clicked shut behind him.
As he sat on the doorstep, Robert was appalled to realise he was locked out of the house dressed only in his girls style, infantile, dinosaur pyjamas.
To his added dismay, he heard the unmistakable gabble of girls voices; the main exit for the local girls school was a hundred yards away and most of the pupils made their way home past Roberts house.
He could see them now, four schoolgirls carrying the bulky black objects that identified them as members of the school orchestra. He cursed the after school activity as they approached and pressed himself hard against the door as if that would make him less visible.
The daylight hours were getting shorter and thanks to the dusk they had almost passed by when one of the girls paused at the garden gate. He couldnât help but stare, and as everyone knows, intuitively she looked up and made eye contact.
She called upon her friends to stop and she opened the gate. Robert found himself surrounded by four thirteen year-old schoolgirls who were all taller than him.
âHello little boy, why are you outside in your pyjamas and slippers?â Asked the girl who had first seen him.
Robert was shaking with fear, quickly he came to the decision to act as if he was of an age young enough to be wearing blue dinosaur pyjamas, after all, it would be his catastrophic if the girls were to find out how old he really was. Without speaking he pointed toward the front door.
âWhy youâre shivering,â said one of the girls putting a protective arm around his pyjama-clad shoulder and cuddling him into her, mistaking his fearfulness of discovery for a reaction to the chilly evening.
As she did so she looked closely at Robert.
âYou look very familiar, pet lamb, whatâs your name? Do you have an older brother?â
Robertâs heartbeat accelerated. Did he know this girl? Worse still, did she recognise him? Luckily for Robert, one of the other girls had knocked on the door.
âRobert there you are. Whatever are you doing outside in your jimmy-jams?â
Susan blinked down innocently at the collection of bodies that gathered around the door. âWhat a naughty boy you are hiding from Nanny Susan and Aunty just because itâs your bedtime.â
The girls all began to talk in a babble explaining how they had found Robert outside.
âWhy thank you girls. In you come Robert, itâs off to beddy-byes for you right now. Say thank you to the girls for rescuing you.â
Robert muttered a âthank you,â and hurried inside.
âWell,â said Susan as she returned to the supper table, âdid the naughty step teach you a lesson?â Robert blushed at the embarrassing incident and nodded sullenly.
Aunty looked down at him and shook her head. âSuch a disobedient little boy, when will you learn to behave properly. Go on with you, upstairs to bed , an early night will do you no harm at all.â
Robert was about to protest again, but this time thought better of it and remained silent. He was still shaken and upset over the doorstep incident and instead, traipsed acquiescent, upstairs to bed.
Susan poured Aunty and herself another cup of tea. âStill a lot of work needed on that little boy, she ventured.
Aunty nodded, and patted Susan on the shoulder. âNever mind, I am sure now that you are here we can look forward to a great success.â
âOh yes,â she replied, âI think Robert will be quite surprised when he prepares for school tomorrow!â