“Just a taste,” she said. “So that you will know.”
I thought for a minute that she was talking about the juice that was all over the cane, my juice. Then I realized that she was telling me that she wasn’t going to beat me very hard—this time.
“Don’t move.”
Easy for her to say. I took the rag in both hands. It was something to hold on to. I let my head hang.
The first stroke put me into like shock. It was awesome. The pain grew for awhile after. She let me feel it for a few seconds, hissing through my teeth. I jerked, just a little, then got back into position.
“Raise up a little. Offer it to me.”
I did it, wondering how many more there would be.
She gave me ten. A few minutes, that’s all it took. How long is a few minutes sitting on a hot stove? I was blubbering, screaming, I didn’t
