Chapter 53

Vangie was pounding on Colleen's shoulder and the two women were hugging each other, oblivious to the fact that they were both nude. They were in the library at Jan's watching the Pro Bowl game and cheering for Cathy. Vangie winced as she sat down. Her ass was black and blue from daily sessions with Maureen and her paddle which had replaced the whip Jan had used on Cindy.

When dinner was over each day, Vangie would give a recitation of her day's mistakes and shortcomings. Jan would determine the number of punishment strokes and then she bent over while Maureen hit her as hard as she could with the requisite number of blows.

When she finished, Vangie would kiss the paddle and say, "Thank you, Mistress Maureen, for helping me to be a better slave!"

It was only through a special dispensation from Jan that she was watching the Pro Bowl. For the previous two weeks — with the exception of the wedding — Evangeline had been worked from dawn to bedtime without a break. Although she was still sleeping on the floor in the kitchen, she was scarcely aware of it. When she lay on the floor and wrapped herself in her blanket, it was more akin to losing consciousness than it was to falling asleep.

As she watched the game — the first football game she had ever seen — she was so proud of Cathy! The announcing team of Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, and Dan Dierdorf couldn't say enough about this remarkable woman. Dierdorf had interviewed Cathy before the game and it was this interview that sent Maureen scampering to rescue Vangie from the kitchen to see it.

She was amazed to see her daughter with the blacking under her eyes and wearing football shoulder pads that raised her shirt nearly to her ears. Nevertheless, she looked exquisite. She gaily spun around to show Dierdorf how she had her hair pulled back in a pony tail and how well it fit under her helmet. She even put it on so he could see how it looked.

During the game the announcers often referred to the interview and to the touch football game played in the rain the day before the Super Bowl. Then they showed Cathy and Ken kissing on the sidelines with the comment that they were the only husband-and-wife combination in football history. The tone of voice changed dramatically in the third quarter when Cathy came on the field to punt but threw a perfect touchdown pass instead. Then she followed with the long kickoff over the receivers' heads and then made the tackle on the subsequent kickoff.

Dierdorf just whistled in amazement as Cathy came knifing between blockers to take the ball carrier down with a perfect open-field tackle at his ankles. They saw what Cathy herself had not seen: The ball carrier had to be helped off the field. He was dazed from hitting the ground so hard.

Then there was her punt. Vangie screamed when Cathy went down hard, but then bounced up. She noticed the opposing player even trying to brush off her uniform and saw her grip his hand. Dierdorf remarked, "Now that's real sportsmanship! Johnson got carried away, but he's too smart to go after the punter deliberately. He knows the man can get seriously injured, but he also knows that it brings the ball back for a first down.

"Cathy Bradley knows it, too, and knows it was an accident. She puts out her hand to shake! Now that's class!" They pointed out that, in spite of the biggest rush of the game and one of the toughest of the season, Cathy got off a sixty-eight-yard kick and put it out of bounds at the one.

Vangie didn't really know what the announcer meant but it was obvious that whatever it was, it was good. Maureen did know and started to explain the play. Before she could though, on the next play Ron Jackson intercepted the AFC pass and coasted in for a touchdown. Finally, there was the last-second field goal that was only one yard short of the all-time NFL record for distance.

Vangie wrapped her arms around her friend and said, "Colly, I'm so happy for her! She was wonderful!" Suddenly her face fell and she jumped off the sofa and left the room.

When she returned, she had the paddle and she gave it to Maureen saying, "Mistress Maureen, please give me ten strokes for rudeness and familiarity toward Mistress Janice's guests."

She bent over with her hands on her knees and waited. Her teeth were clenched because she didn't want to get additional strokes for screaming. She knew it was a real danger because her ass still hurt so much from the evening's discipline. She smiled to herself thinking that it was getting even worse now that she had lost a lot of weight and her asscheeks were so much more firm. Maureen certainly knows how to use the paddle, she thought. She gets it flush on my entire bottom!

Vangie didn't know that by spreading the blow across the largest area Maureen was reducing the impact — and was doing it intentionally.

The spanking began and it was agonizing! When the full ten strokes had been administered, Vangie kissed the paddle with tears of pain running involuntarily down her cheeks and said, "Thank you, Mistress Maureen, for helping me to be a better slave."

Maureen noticed that although tears were flowing from Vangie's eyes as she said it, she was actually smiling. Then the girl saw Vangie's eyes cloud over and she suddenly collapsed to the floor. Colleen was beside her in an instant, and feeling her forehead. She realized that Vangie was burning up with fever! Maureen ran for Janice while Colly went to the kitchen for a damp cloth.

Jan joined them a moment later and felt Vangie's forehead. She shook her head and the two Callahan women lifted Vangie between them and carried her upstairs to a vacant bedroom. They didn't know it was Cindy's old room. Jan pulled down the bedcovers and they lay Vangie on the bed. Then Jan called the doctor and learned that there was a vicious virus running around the area.

Although it wasn't normally dangerous, it was frightening in its manifestations. It began with high fever and often went through a series of cycles of fever and chills. She was advised that if the patient could take aspirin it would help with the fever; otherwise, just use cold compresses. To Jan's surprise, Maureen — now known in the house as Mo — asked to stay with her. It was already well past midnight and the women normally retired earlier.

Mo, nude like the rest of the women, padded downstairs and took a cold pack out of the freezer and put three more in to chill. She brought it back to the bedroom and put it across Vangie's forehead. Then she just lay on the bed reading a book and keeping an eye on the woman. She couldn't concentrate on her book so she turned off her little book light and just lay there in the darkness. The previous week had been like nothing she had ever experienced in her life. She had hated Vangie Collins for as long as she could remember. And yet ... And yet ... the woman couldn't do enough for her.

The first morning she had awakened in her wonderfully comfortable bed and found Vangie on her knees beside her bed just waiting with a glass of orange juice and a pot of coffee. When the question of discipline arose and Jan said she was tired of swinging a paddle, Mo had volunteered. She had enjoyed it the first few times: She was getting even for her mother's abasement. But after hitting her, Vangie looked so sincere when she thanked her for the discipline.

She's not a masochist, is she? she remembered wondering. Now she was certain she was not. It was something else. It was almost as if Vangie loved her... My God! That's it! she thought. Vangie really loves me — and loves Mom! She really does. She wants to be punished for what she did to my mother and loves it when I wield the paddle. With that thought, Mo dropped off to sleep.

She was awakened later by cries from beside her in the bed. Turning on the light, she found Vangie huddled in a ball, shivering. She looked like she was freezing to death. Mo turned out the light and moved close to the woman beside her. Taking her into her arms, Vangie's body felt like ice with goose bumps all over it.

Mo thought for a moment, rolled Vangie onto her back and then lay on top of her. The combination of her weight and her body warmth soon caused the older woman's shivers and teeth-chattering to subside. Mo rolled off her but kept her arms around her tightly. She was surprised when Vangie reached out and held her tightly, as well.

The fever lasted through the next day. At times, in spite of Maureen's efforts to cool her forehead with ice-packs, she became delirious. In the first episode of delirium, Mo called to her mother who came running. They heard Vangie cry out to Colleen and beg her forgiveness, "I was so cruel!" she screamed. Then, in spite of being in delirium, she cried uncontrollably. Again, Mo got in bed and in spite of the woman's fever, held her close. The contact seemed to quiet the poor woman down and she stroked Mo's body as she lay there.