Chapter 19

When Barbie threw herself into her seat, emulating the way Kevin always did, she made a cute little sound to accompany her warm thighs touching the cold wooden chair. Her mother smiled knowingly.

“Ready to put some clothes on now?” Helen asked her daughter, pointedly, as if she’d been waiting for her daughter to come to her senses.

“That’s not her call right now,” Gerald reminded his wife. “And from what I’ve heard since Barbie got back from the store, she’s not going to be given the luxury of dressing however she pleases any time soon.”

Then he turned his attention to Barbie. “As for you, I’m very disappointed in you, young lady. I don’t know what they’re teaching you at that new school of yours. I would never in a million years have thought you capable of actually setting out to upset your mother. I watch you guys, and I can assure you that I don’t miss a thing, Miss Shock-Your-Mother!”

Gerald had heard both what Kevin had accused Barbie of and her response. Then he’d been right there when his wife asked Barbie if she was ready to put some clothes on but had misunderstood his wife’s comment.

He’d thought she was angry and was gloating about the fact that Barbie now had no choice but to wear just a shirt and panties at home. He wanted to support his wife and ensure Barbie learned her lesson so he took a page out of his own son’s playbook and backed his wife’s comment like a good father should.

“I think you’ll be wearing that little homemaker outfit of yours around the house for at least another week or so just to teach you that it never pays to think you can outsmart your parents! I’m surprised that Joe hasn’t already had enough of your little games, Barbie!” Her dad said, very proud of himself for putting his foot down. He didn’t see Joe’s reaction.

“Daddy! That’s not fair! Joseph was already a meanie-butt to me at the grocery store. You know he made me carry ALL the groceries in the store and didn’t carry any himself. If he was a gentleman, he wouldn’t have LET me carry anything!” She pouted as she was very familiar with seeing her sister do.

“It’s okay, dad. I’m learning a lot about responsibility already. For example, I never realized Barbie was so sneaky until today. She’s always been the perfect little angel, but here she is, running to daddy to complain that I made her appreciate being on restriction. I’m a little surprised she didn’t cry to mom that women should never be held responsible for their actions, too. Of course, mom wouldn’t buy her act anyway, would you mom?”

“Women have to work twice as hard as men to get half the recognition, Barbie,” her mom counseled her daughter before launching into a diatribe about manipulating people instead of accepting the consequences of messing up.

“I’m sorry, but sometimes you have to lay in the bed you’ve made for yourself,” she finished, feeding off her husband and working herself up to the point where she sounded like she ultimately agreed with her husband even though her original intent had been to allow Barbie to go put on a pair of whatever slacks her son had picked out for his sister.

Joe felt very pleased with his sister. A little pouting and a wee bit of complaining had gone a long way to cementing his parents judgment that she was finally showing her true bratty colors.

“Don’t worry, Barbie. You don’t need to get a cold butt from your seat right away. You weren’t given permission to sit anyway,” Joe assured her that she still had jobs to do before she could eat. “You let mom make all this food while you were off lollygagging around town, clothes shopping. The least you could do is insist mom sits down and let you dish dinner and ensure everyone has everything we need. Why should that be mom’s job all the time?”

Barbie knew an instruction when she heard one but couldn’t resist the urge to add just a little more fuel to the fire as she got back to her feet. “See daddy? I’m going to die of starvation if I don’t eat right now!” She said, sounding like a completely spoiled brat. Ariel had used that ploy enough in the past that it just seemed like a perfect opportunity to try it out for herself.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Barbie! You won’t starve if you have to wait for five minutes!” Helen had said the very same thing to Ariel on many occasions. However, she was a little annoyed at Barbie now. The idea of making her daughter wait was becoming more appealing by the moment.

“So, we’re getting a waitress to serve us now?” Kevin grinned at the idea that he could treat his sister like the waitresses he tormented when they went out to eat.

“Barbie is not a waitress, Kevin. Do you see her wearing an apron?” Ariel asked sarcastically. “No, you don’t. That’s because she’s only doing this because she has to. Do you want help, sis?” She asked, sounding like she was suddenly Barbie’s best friend and didn’t want her feeling like she had no one in her corner.

Barbie placed a plate of food in front of her sister then leaned closer as if to talk privately to her. “That’s okay, Pinkerbell, I got this,” she told her sister, using an expression Joe often made use of. “They’re all just jealous I’m so pretty and smart. They’ll forget soon enough, and I’ll be getting my way again before you know it,” she quietly said with a smile as if only intending her sister to hear, even though everyone else clearly did too.

“Enough, Barbie! What’s gotten INTO you lately. First, you ruin your clothes, then you sass your mother, and now you’re boasting? We’ve obviously been much too soft on you! I’d put you over my knee if I didn’t have a bad back,” Gerald threatened his daughter.

“I’ll do it!” Kevin immediately volunteered to spank his older sister.

“You will do no such thing, young man! Your father was joking, right, Gerald?” She asked with some uncertainty.

“I’m not completely sure anymore,” he admitted honestly.

“Well, the answer is no. Violence never solved anything, Kevin. Now eat your dinner. It’s getting cold,” his mother insisted.

Barbie had continued to serve everyone, unsure if Joe had any special requirements for her meal. He’d joked a lot about controlling her food but hadn’t actually told her if there was anything she could or couldn’t eat.

She settled for preparing herself a small plate before she took drink orders from her siblings. Without being told, she poured her mom a glass of wine and another drink for her dad. He’d already had two and looked like he was feeling the effects of the alcohol, yet he downed half of his in a single gulp.

Part of her realized her dad had begun to drink more since they’d moved from the big city, and she worried that he always seemed so stressed lately. It was something she’d never paid attention to before, but since Joe had begun to train her, she’d started noticing more of the smaller things about those around her as if paying attention for the first time in her life.

When she was finally done, Kevin changing his mind a half dozen times about what he wanted to drink, she was finally given permission by Joe to sit.

Dinner was somewhat dull and routine once it got into full swing. Ariel chattered on and on about the Cheerios and how much they were learning from the ‘other’ cheerleaders. Kevin had to argue, calling the others ‘real’ cheerleaders, which opened up a heated argument about what being a real cheerleader meant.

Joe and Barbie stayed out of the argument. Neither their mom or dad had anything to add to either, both seeming a little preoccupied. Barbie tried to act like she was ignoring Joe until he drew her into a discussion about the Homecoming dance. Once he got her started, it was like she forgot she was supposed to be a brat and her smile lit up the dinner table once more as she talked about the decorations and band that would be playing.

For Gerald, the distraction was money woes that he couldn’t share. For Helen, it was what her husband had said about laying a hand on his daughter. Helen had been spanked as a child, but the moment she hit puberty, her parents had let her get away with anything. Helen had always thought spanking was barbaric, but now she was beginning to second-guess herself.

She was starting to wonder if a spanking would have been better than acknowledging that their daughter was becoming mouthy, inconsiderate, self-centered, and somewhat annoying, while at the same time, doing nothing to correct those behaviors. Still, she herself had rebelled and had gotten into a lot of trouble in her youth before meeting Gerald, and she’d turned out fine.

She did notice that Joe was able to slip past the bratty exterior Barbie was beginning to erect and wondered if he was going to eventually be the only one able to get her to see the error of her ways even when she didn’t want to. The thought that Barbie would turn out like she was as a young adult worried Helen more than anything else, and she was very relieved that Joe saw past the aloof facade she was projecting while pretending to be an adult.

It suddenly struck her that Joe might quickly be becoming the only one who could effectively deal with his sister. If Barbie stopped following her lead, at least Helen could trust Joe to be there to pick up the pieces when her daughter’s imaginary world came crashing down around her ears.

Part of Helen hoped that it wasn’t already too late to reach her daughter. This restriction had certainly uncovered a part of Barbie that Helen had had no idea was simmering right out in the open. It was Joseph who had said that allowing her to run wild would result in bad things happening, and it was like he had seen the future.

Before she’d even finished eating, Helen had decided she’d give her son some leeway and see if he’d hang himself or set Barbie straight. Helen had unshakable faith in her son doing what was needed to turn Barbie around.

When Helen finished her meal, she got up to start collecting plates, but Joe insisted it should be Barbie’s job while she was on restriction. He pointed out that Barbie was ‘finally’ acting like she was a real member of the family again, and if all it took was a few restrictions, he was happy to keep applying pressure where necessary. Helen beamed at him and agreed, which momentarily confused Joe.

He rolled with it and told Barbie it was time to get off her lazy ass and clean up. “Sorry, I mean lazy bottom,” he corrected himself for his mom’s benefit.

Helen raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. She had to admit that his sister dutifully clearing dishes without arguing back was a relief. Helen did a lot around the house that went unnoticed or unrewarded. It might be nice to enjoy a glass of wine and catch up on a little light reading – that is precisely what she did.