I Can't Tell You

"Josh, come here please."

"What's up?"

"Do you know what this charge is for?" David asked, holding out a credit card statement.

"Shit." Josh said, a frown appearing quickly.

"Shit? Do you know what it's for?"

"Yes, yes I know what it's for, but I can't tell you."

"I think you'd better tell me. A charge for $178.34 is something that needs explaining."

Josh looked at the bill, then at David and said, "Just give me the bill and pretend you never saw it, okay?"

"No, no way. What's going on? Did you charge something, realize it was too expensive and return it and the credit hasn't appeared?"

"No," Josh replied quietly, not meeting David's eyes.

"Then what?" David asked, a bit of impatience showing in his voice. "Josh, just tell me."

"It's your birthday present. It's supposed to be on my account, not the household account," Josh said, staring at he floor.

"Your account? You don't have an account, we only have this account."

"I opened one at Christmas, remember?"

"Yes, and you over spent once you had it, so we closed it."

"Well, I had to have a way to get you a birthday present, so I called and reopened it. Since the account had been paid in full and on time, they were happy to reopen it." Seeing David's less than happy expression he added, "I was going to close it as soon as I paid off the balance."

"And just how were you going to pay it off? Our weekly 'free money' is only $30.00 each. Even if you didn't spend a dime for a month that wouldn't cover the bill."

"I know, I know," Josh admitted, as he plopped down on the couch and put his head in his hands. "I was going to spread the payments over three or four months. I was going to bring my lunch every day, and just say I was saving up but not tell you what for." A wry smile crossed his face. "You like me to save."

"I love it when you save, but not when you lie to me. And you'd be paying interest every month. And," he added, "don't think I forgot about you spending so much. Our birthday limit is $75.00; this is more than double that."

"I know," Josh said, his face turning red.

"There's only one thing to do. You'll have to take the present back and pay off the credit card with the refund."

Josh gulped. There was no way he could think of to say what had to be said, so he just blurted out, "I can't take it back. It was a clearance item. No return, no refund."

"What!" David exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry. It was such a good deal."

"Ok," David said, "what did you get me that was such a good deal? Where is it?"

"It's at Becky's. I knew I couldn't hide it here. Can't I not tell you what it is? After all it's your birthday present, and it's only four days off."

"I see. I guess we can leave it as a surprise, but that doesn't mean you're not in deep trouble."

"I know."

"Let's get this over with," David said, as he pulled down Josh's jeans and underwear and pulled him over his lap. "You do not overspend on gifts just because it's a good deal. You do not take out a credit card without discussing it with me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, really."

"I know." With that David began spanking Josh, and didn't stop until he was sure the lesson had been brought home and wouldn't soon be forgotten. As soon as he was done, he pulled Josh into his arms and soothed his crying, running his hand through Josh's hair, and rubbing Josh's back. "Are you ok sweetie? Come on, talk to me."

"Better," Josh sniffed. "I am sorry..."

"No more, it's been taken care of. I love you, and everything is settled."


Four days later...

"Close your eyes," Josh said laughing. "You can't look till I say you can."

"Ok, ok. Eyes are closed."

Josh took him by the hand and led him onto the backyard deck. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

As soon as he opened his eyes David saw Becky and Matt. They started singing "Happy Birthday" and Josh joined in, making David laugh. "Thanks all of you," he said.

"And now, with no further ado, your present," Josh said, waving toward Becky and Matt, who stepped aside to reveal a gas grill, topped with a big red bow.

"Oh, my," was all David could say. It was the grill he'd been looking at for over six months, but he couldn't justify paying $250.00 for it. "You, you got me my grill."

"Yep, you've been all but drooling over it for the last few months. I saw it marked as clearance a while back and snapped it up as fast as I could."

"You are the best," David said, giving Josh a bear hug and a kiss. "And you two, you've been hiding it, I take it?"

"Yes, it's been living in the basement," Matt said.

"And," Becky added with a laugh, "I've seen him eyeing it more than once."

"Okay, enough with the chat, let's fire this up and see how it works," Josh said as he opened the doors and brought out wood chips and utensils.

"I'll get the steaks," Becky said, heading for the kitchen.

******

"That was a great birthday. Thanks so much hon."

"Glad you liked it. I just couldn't not buy the grill."

"Well, I have a present for you."

"What? My birthday is a long way off."

"Come on upstairs and you'll find out. I guarantee you'll like it.


The End

Can I

Can I

It was an early spring day that made you want to do nothing at all, Josh thought. They’d done the all the chores and were sprawled on the couch, just happy to have the afternoon to themselves.
“David?”
“Huh?”
“Can I have a puppy?”
“What? No.”
“Can I have a cat?”
“No.”
“Can I have a rabbit?”
“NO! What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” Josh said with a grin.
“Can I have”
“No. You can have a swat.”
“Don’t want one; had too many yesterday.” After a few seconds of silence he smiled and said, “Can I…”
David leaned over and grinned wickedly, saying, “You can have one thing this afternoon, but you have to come upstairs with me to get it.”
“That’s all I wanted,” Josh replied, quickly getting to his feet, following David up the stairs.