This short story is an entry in the 2003 Soc.Sexuality.Spanking Summer Short Story Contest and is copyright by the author and commercial use is prohibited without permission. Personal/private copies are permitted only if complete including the copyright notice. The author would appreciate your comments
Category: Period (late 1960's)
Whistling Dixie
By
Courtney <Courtenesca@aol.com>
"Why don't Daughters of the American Revolution indulge in group sex? ...They don't want to deal with all those Thank You cards!"
Uncomfortable silence. Some half-hearted giggles tittered through the garden.
"Portia! You rapscallion! How's it you're scandalous, as well as bein' amusin'? Look, the Daughters of Dixie are blushin' like mother's prize roses!"
"Amusing is in the mind's eye, Maybelle. My niece, Portia, never learned proper self control."
The honey-blond laughed at Aunt Priscilla's apparent disapproval. "Auntie, Maybelle knows me--and STILL finds me quite entertainin'. ...It's a joke! Like those jokes, Linda Bird and Lucy Baines." Portia's satisfied smirk rankled the discerning assemblage.
"You dare besmirch Lady Bird's girls? If you weren't blood, I'd have you banned from the Daughters of Dixie! Portia, your mother'd never forgive you living in the godforsaken North. I won't pay for another finding yourself month--until you return to the Southern Way."
"Aunt Priscilla, the Southern Way and I don't mesh. Expelled from Old Miss. Demonstratin' against the war? Tulane was: ugh. But just loved Na'wleans....
"...Where else but the depraved North? Listen, Maybelle, those Yankee boys ain't half-bad in bed. Thought I'd give you the heads-up -- if your mama ever lets you off her leash!"
"Portia, I'm all for findin' oneself, but I'm not on a leash! I adore bein' a Daughter of Dixie. You did too, once. Remember our Coming Out Ball? The Debutante Cotillion? ...Now, you've changed so -- you're some Radical or somethin'. Sorry, but I'm not the type to travel far from home." Maybelle supported her old friend, but the gulf between them widened.
"See, Portia? Maybelle's perfectly happy and quite involved with her club responsibilities. Why can't you be more like her?"
"Because I'm like ME, Aunt! I'm not a some windup doll like Lady Bird's chicks. The White House witless! I'm sick to death of bein' compared to them! Don't you have one ounce of individuality, Aunt Priscilla? Can't you think for yourself, without calling a vote with the Daughters of Dixie?"
"Portia, I'm not witless, and am quite capable of decisions. In fact, I've decided on a course of action; a family matter. The Daughters of Dixie are family, too. Ladies! Your kind attention, please?"
Portia threw a questioning look at her friend; Maybelle studied the sparkling China pattern. "Portia's been a member-in-absentia some time now. As sisters under the skin, the Daughters of Dixie have supported me through good times and bad. It's my duty to take responsibility for Portia's impudent behavior. Without further adieu, Portia will receive her overdue comeuppance: The Southern Way!"
Amidst approving applause, Maybelle and her mother grasped Portia tightly between them. Honey-blond hair flew as she was summarily bent facedown over the tablecloth; her summer dress, slip, and girdle quickly dispatched.
"Aunt Priscilla!" Portia blushed blood-red. "You wouldn't?!"
"We felt -- since your ignominious departure from Old Miss -- this would work nicely." Priscilla's white gloves expertly displayed Portia's wooden sorority paddle.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
...The South will rise again?
Portia's southern end did rise again. And again!
The End
© Copyright Courtney, 31 July 2003
Reviews
Ted <quixotoes(at)aol(dot)com>
Well executed dialogue, period color, and predictable comeuppance makes this entry as welcome on a hot summer day as a mint julep. I thought the «...The South will rise again?» ending might have been more pointed, in an obvious manner, without the question, but just the fact of the matter at hand.
Jon <mrheadmstr(at)aol(dot)com>
A delightful tale! I read this twice, with several days between, to be sure it really deserved my highest rating. The second reading was even more impressive than the first, as I caught more of the subtleties of the conversation.
I could just SEE this happening, and hear it as well! Portia's southern end rose, again and again and again, and the Daughters thrilled to every thwack. Including LBJ's two girls as examples of Southern rectitude was an inspired stroke. I well remember some of the commentary on Lady Bird's choice of causes to champion - she wanted more flowers planted along roadways.
What an empty yet typical example of the use of the power of the First Lady to get important social causes the attention they deserve. Just the kind of thing Portia railed against, and the other Daughters would have supported. No wonder Portia got the paddle!
Haron <haron(at)newsguy(dot)com>
The author did a good job getting into the spirit of the time/place in this story. The details, from the names to the moods, to the vocabulary, work well, leading up to the believable, if not desirable for the main character conclusion.