Miranda stepped into her son's room. Her eyes roamed the walls, shelves and books, absorbing his essence. She sighed, stood, and started packing up the possessions. Soon his room would be transformed for the next generation, as a nursery for Adam's firstborn, and Miranda's first grandchild. As she cleared his desk she caught her reflection in his mirror. “Not too bad for a grandmother,” she smiled to her reflection. “Still not something I’m proud of though, at my age!” Miranda was a youthful forty-two, thanks to a young pregnancy herself and then the fruitful loins of her firstborn. “At least he finished university before he got his girlfriend pregnant,” she thought. Still, Tia seemed a nice girl, maybe too nice. She would need a firm hand to control him.

Miranda pondered her son and his girlfriend as she continued to pack up old clothes and clear the room for decorating. Adam had a wild side – he definitely got that from his dad. Rudi had always been a handful. Miranda had learned early in their relationship that Rudi had an eye for the ladies. She sat on Adam's desk chair and reminisced. She and Rudi had fought so many times about his wandering eyes. Miranda had worried that he would do more than just look. She recalled the conversation as she had sat with her mother- in- law, having a mid-morning coffee.

“Jackie, I'm worried. I know Rudi loves me, but he will always catch the eye of other girls. What if one of them lures him away from me?” Miranda had looked at her mother-in-law for an answer to her son's wayward potential.

 “Miranda my dear, men are but small boys grown big. They still need our help to understand right from wrong,” Jackie had said. Miranda had not known what she meant. The older woman continued, “I don't know that Rudi ever cheated on his other girlfriends, but these things are best not left to chance. I had the same challenges with his father, and I'm going to share with you the same advice I got from my own mother. Take the upper hand, and keep it. Adam and Rudi are so alike. Give them an inch and they will take a mile. Carrot and stick we called it. Stick was about right, but the carrot was something much sweeter.”

Miranda smiled as she recalled how naive she had been back then. “I'm not sure I follow you Jackie,” she had said.

“It's quite simple, my dear. You've got everything right here for the carrot,” Jackie touched Miranda's lips with a finger, then dropped her hand to Miranda's upper thigh, “and here, of course.”

Miranda flushed, embarrassed at Jackie’s forthright ways. “Yes, I understand all that,” she stammered, “but what do you mean by the stick?”

“Well, that part may take some hard mental and physical work on your part. Come with me. I think this needs a practical demonstration.”

Miranda shivered delightfully at the memories of that afternoon with her mentor and mother-in-law and she clamped her thighs tightly. She had learned some good hard lessons that afternoon with Jackie, lessons she was swiftly applied to her new husband, the first time his eyes wandered again.

A few days later, she and Rudi were at a restaurant enjoying a meal. Rudi had kept eyeing the waitress, a trashy looking girl with dirty blonde hair dragged into a ponytail, and breasts that seemed bent on escape from the flimsy blouse encasing them. That night, Rudi had discovered how much his wandering eyes had cost him, and their relationship had never looked back. Twenty-four years later, the same rules still applied.

Miranda considered this as she sat. She owed Tia the same support her mother-in-law had given her. She thought for a moment, then turned to the desk, found a sheet of paper and began to write a letter to Tia. When she was finished, she went to her own room, opened a drawer and took out the box her mother- in- law had given her all those years ago. She held it, feeling the history of her marriage in that box. She carefully wrapped the box and letter and set the package aside to mail later.

***

Tia and Adam picked up the parcel from the Post Office. They were both intrigued by Miranda’s actions. Back home, Tia opened the box and took out the letter. She began to read aloud:

“My dearest Tia,

I am very pleased to have you in my family. As you begin a new life with my son, you should know that our men have been known to have wandering eyes, and I fear that without strict rules and repercussions, Adam may try to follow suit.”

Tia glanced up at Adam, seeing the apprehension in his eyes - she continued reading.

“I do hope you don't consider me presumptuous, but I wish to pass to you this advice my mother- in- law gave to me to protect and preserve my relationship. As you will soon both have a child of your own, you will want to keep these childish behaviours within Adam well controlled for both of your sakes.

Within this box is a gift to you that has served me well for many years. I think it is fitting for me to pass this to you as the next generation. Rudi and I will easily find a substitute, fear not. Do not be sparing in its the application. Adam knows full well that actions have consequences, and he will not shrink from accepting this. If he does – well, just be sure he knows you have my blessing!

I suggest you begin this practice immediately, so that Adam has a clear understanding of the outcome awaiting him of any dalliance, or other unacceptable behaviour. You may, if you feel the need, make this a reciprocal contract. Rudi and I agreed to this variance some years ago, and I still find it to be most invigorating.

Yours lovingly,

Miranda

Tia put down the letter and lifted the lid of the old box. Inside was a coiled leather belt, the brown hide aged and supple. Sarah unrolled the length and felt the thick strap in her hands. She doubled the belt, fixated on the feel of the soft, aged strap. The leather was supple, thick and wide, with a heavy feel in her hand.

Tia glanced up at Adam, sitting across from her. She saw he was watching her hands fondling the belt. His mouth was slightly open. He coughed as a sudden dryness gripped his throat. Tia caught his eye and saw the glint there as he took in the meaning of his mother's words, words that transported him back to his old room, lying awake as he listened to his mother's voice as she scolded his father late at night. He’d lain there, listening to the snap of this very belt across naked flesh, sometimes twenty or more times, and always afterwards, the creaking bed and his mother’s moans of passion. He had always imagined that belt across his own cheeks. God knows he’d played out so many versions as he stroked himself in time with that lash falling next door. And now he felt his cock stiffen with the realisation that it would very soon be his own own bottom on the receiving end.

Adam reached across the table and held Tia's hands, the belt tight between them. “I confess I flirted with Kristen at the office today,” he said. Tia looked down at their hands. She swallowed nervously, and her voice quavered as she spoke. “Well, I was watching the guys at the gym when I was supposed to be exercising.”

“Seems like Mum’s gift arrived just in time then,” said Adam as he stood.

“Ladies first though. Always better to give than to receive,” she replied, leading him by the hand to their bedroom.