Lost and Found 8

Chapter 8

The TV people had set up again in the living room. Milton had somehow stalled them long enough to give Tilden time to get everyone dressed in what Tilden considered appropriate clothes for an interview and to reassure his parents that the questions wouldn’t be too invasive. Luke thought that was unlikely, having remembered the previous interviews and the abundance of questions on spanking. He couldn’t imagine this would be any different. 

That horrible Fiona was here again, smoothing her hair down and arranging Tilden’s family in front of the fireplace. “It’s a pity you don’t have a Christmas tree. It would make a lovely background for your little family.”

“Unlike the stores, we prefer to put up a tree in December, not before Thanksgiving,” Tilden said, not hiding his irritation as Fiona moved the furniture around, trying to create the perfect homey atmosphere. “We live here, and we like how the living room is decorated.”

“Is your son always this testy?” Fiona asked Tilden’s mom.

“No, only before breakfast on Sunday.”

“He’s like his mother.” Arthur tugged on the ends of his bow tie as he crossed his legs. “He doesn’t like anyone messing with his house or his things. You should have seen Dorothy with the movers last time. I think they all aged five years before they left. She inspected every box and supervised the wrapping of all the furniture.” 

Tilden must have dressed Arthur because his shirt was ironed and the tie matched, but Luke caught a glance at Arthur’s socks. One was gray and one was black; Tilden was probably silently groaning, especially since his dad was wearing worn slippers with a torn sole rather than real shoes.

“So,” Fiona said, smiling brightly, “do you think your son takes after his mother more than you?”

“His mother, of course,” Arthur said. “Do I looked organized? Tilden was born organized. He did inherit my ability for languages. Did you know he could write in three different alphabets by the time he was ten? I used to find him sprawled on the floor with my foreign language dictionaries in front of him, painstakingly copying out the words. When he was five, we had refrigerator magnets in both Russian and English.”

“We had a Greek and Arabic set also,” Tilden added. 

“Don’t forget the Hebrew set. Our refrigerator used to look like the United Nations,” Arthur continued. “Once he could read, we used to have contests on who knew common words in more languages. The loser had to take out the trash.”

“I always lost.”

“Not once you were older, son. Remember when you learned the word for table in thirty languages?“

“I think taking out the trash would’ve been easier,” Mike said.

“Where’s the challenge in that?” Tilden laughed.

“I hate to interrupt this fascinating reminiscence, but I’m sure our audience is more interested in your parents’ first impression of your partners than how to say table in Russian,” Fiona said, again giving them a wide, fake smile, her perfectly white teeth shimmering in the glare.

“Stol,” Tilden, Mike, and Luke said simultaneously.

“Dorothy dear, can I call you Dorothy?”

“You will anyway. TV hosts have no manners,” Dorothy said frostily. “Do you have a question?”

“What do you think of your son’s two partners?”

“I think they’re lovely.” Dorothy gave Luke and Mike a warm smile.

“Don’t you find it—how should we say this—a little unorthodox?” Fiona cocked her head and flashed the cameras a false smile.

“My son is more than capable of loving two men. He has a very full heart, and I’m glad he can share it with these two beautiful young men. If everybody was orthodox as you describe it, life would be a boring place.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Tilden whispered and wrapped an arm around each of his partners.

“Could you speak up, please.” Fiona waved her sound man forward.

“Spasibo, mamochka.”

“And in English, please.”

“Don’t you like foreign languages, miss?” Arthur asked. “That would be a real shame because this family has a long tradition of foreign language learning and teaching. My father taught foreign languages and translated numerous famous works of literature. His grandmother helped develop a written language for several native tongues of the Americas. It was groundbreaking at the time for a women to be involved in such work. Unfortunately many of those languages have been lost. It’s tragic when a language loses its last native speaker. A whole culture and history vanishes into thin air.”

“Arthur, I’m sure it’s fascinating,” Fiona interrupted with a false smile and batted her long eyelashes at him. “Our audience is more interested in your reaction to your son’s new partners.”

“We are delighted to have them in our family.”

“But aren’t you concerned about your son having two young partners and wielding authority in the relationship?”

“Oh, you mean it’s not what the Jones’ do? I was just telling you about our long heritage of being on the cutting edge of society. According to our family legend, William and Patrick, two supposed brothers, who traveled to the shores of the new world prior to the Revolution, may not have been brothers. I am proud of our son.”

“It doesn’t bother you or your wife that he spanks his partners? It seems pretty kinky to me,” Fiona said with a wink.

“He’s a top. I’m not. Do you discuss your adult children’s most intimate relations?”

“My children are still young.”

“Oh, my apologies. I thought you looked older, or did you marry late?” Arthur gave Fiona a sweet, innocent smile.”

“Dad,” Tilden groaned.

“What, son? I thought it was a fair question.”

“Don’t set a bad example for the young people, dear,” Dorothy said. Luke could tell she was doing her utmost to keep from laughing.

Fiona regained her poise and continued her questioning. “You are aware that your son spanks his partners?”

Luke could feel his cheeks reddening. It wasn’t a state secret, he kept telling himself, but still...

“My son’s intimate relations with his partners are his private affairs,” Dorothy said. “We would never interfere unless requested, or they were unhappy. They are very happy, and I trust Tilden’s friends.”

“Speaking of friends, you are aware of Tilden’s relationships with his housemates?”

“I wish we were all blessed to have the type of friends Tilden has. His friends are truly family.”

Luke couldn’t help but smile. Tilden’s mom was holding her own with horrible Fiona, and the frustration was evident behind the host’s polished exterior. 

“What a lovely family you have,” Fiona said in a cloyingly sweet voice.

“And what terrible TV,” Arthur added with a laugh. “I’m afraid we don’t do anything exciting—no swearing, no hair pulling, no punching each other out. We’re a nice normal family.”

Luke could bet that Fiona was muttering under her breath, “With a top for a son.”

“So, boys, what do you think about your new in-laws?” Fiona asked brightly.

Luke looked at Mike; he hated questions about family. Luke liked Tilden’s parents, but what did he say? They seemed nicer than his own father. His dad would never defend him the way Tilden’s parents had unless there was some financial gain in the process.

“We like them,” Mike said. “They’re fun, and they keep Tilden distracted. We can get away with murder when they’re here.”

“Brat.” Tilden ruffled Mike’s hair. “Just wait til they leave.”

“So have you altered your discipline strategy when your parents are here?” Fiona asked.

“Do you discuss intimate topics with your parents or perform intimate acts in their sight?” Tilden asked, his voice growing cold. “I’m sure you do not, but back to your question. Nothing has changed because of my parents’ visit. We have nothing to hide.”

“Luke, do you agree with your partner’s assessment?”

Luke could feel his cheeks turning a flaming red. Tilden had no problem setting him straight when he and Mike had their little shoving match. Tilden had been discreet, but Luke was sure Tilden’s parents had figured it out. But Luke didn’t want to announce it to the world. Somehow giving voice to that aspect of their relationship was more difficult than the actual spanking. 

“Oh, so you’ve been in trouble while his folks are here?” Fiona leered.

Luke could feel his cheeks turning even redder. 

“Didn’t we have this conversation before about inappropriate questions?” Tilden said and tightened his arm around Luke. “I’m more than happy to stop this interview right now.”

Fiona smiled and held up a manicured hand. “I know you are very protective of your young partners.” Luke could hear the emphasis on young and cringed. “You signed a contract providing access during the filming of the show. I don’t think you want to be in breach of contract.”

Tilden smiled, but it was a chilling smile, not the smile that lit up his eyes and made him look like an overgrown teenager. “I don’t think you want to threaten us. The welfare of my family comes first, and I believe any court in this land will uphold that. Now do you have any other questions?”

Fiona licked her lips; her lipstick was too red and too thickly applied to be attractive. “Next week you have the first group outing at the house. How do you plan to protect your partners during the outing?”

“That’s my secret. We tops have to keep a few things in reserve.” Tilden flashed his partners a genuine smile, his eyes twinkling.

“We have a group get together,” Mike said. “Cool. How come we didn’t know about this? Are you keeping secrets from us?” Mike gently punched Tilden’s shoulder.

“No, remember that’s why my parents came before Thanksgiving. We have the schedule that said to keep Thanksgiving weekend open. It just didn’t say what to expect.”

“It should be fun. No homework for a weekend.”

“The same rules apply,” Tilden said softly.

“You’re a party-pooper,” Mike complained.

“Yes, I am. But you wouldn’t want it any other way, would you?”

“No,” Luke said and snuggled closer to Tilden.

“Protection from the savages,” Tilden teased and kissed his young partner’s forehead. “I’m sure we’ll have a good time.

“The perpetual optimist,” Mike said with a raised eyebrow. “I’ll be on such a short leash I won’t be able to breathe without your permission. I can see it now.”

“Yep, I’ll handcuff you to me and put a collar on you.” 

“Yuck,” Mike said and made a face. “I’m not into bondage. 

“Then don’t tempt me.” Tilden smiled and winked.

“In all seriousness,” Fiona said, breaking up the teasing, “are you boys concerned about being in company of other brats with such a strict top?”

“You haven’t met Milton,” Mike said with a grin. “Tilden’s easy.”

“Behave,” Tilden mock growled. “I could make your life a lot more difficult.”

“You wouldn’t.” Mike stuck his tongue out. “Ti lyubish menya.”

“Lyublyu.”

“In English, please,” Fiona said, irritated. “I think the question I asked didn’t violate any of Tilden’s high moral principles, and I deserve an answer, not babbling in Russian.”

“Stick to the fluff style of interviewing,” Tilden said easily. “You’re not intimidating, but I have no problem with Mike and Luke answering the question. Interacting with others in a power exchange relationship is an important part of their education.”

“Their education?” Fiona asked, lifting her plucked eyebrows into her hairline.

“Yes, their education,” Tilden repeated. “They live in a very special relationship. A relationship that is unusual and which many submissives jump into unaware of the full implications of a power exchange. I wield enormous power, but so do they. Other submissives are the best teachers. It is by interacting with each other that a submissive truly understands this relationship.”

Fiona sat back and smoothed her skirt. Luke could tell that Tilden’s lecturing had disturbed the flow of her questioning. “So, Luke,” she said, “your partner has given a passionate argument that he’s not more strict than other tops and welcomes your interaction with fellow brats. I’ve interviewed several other couples from this program, and I can assure you that Tilden is the bossiest top I’ve met. Most of your companion brats wouldn’t tolerate his strictness. How does that make you feel?”

Luke leaned into Tilden and breathed deeply. His top—he still felt like he needed to pinch himself when he said it—was a calm, steady presence as his side. Mike was wiggling, clearly wanting to add something, but Tilden whispered a demand for restraint in his ear. “I like Tilden the way he is. I feel safe with him.” Luke tried to keep his voice steady. He wasn’t going to let that women know that she flustered him.

Tilden kissed the top of Luke’s hair. “You’re mine.” He turned and repeated, “You’re mine,” to Mike before kissing his forehead.

“How touching,” Fiona said, “but will you remember this when you’re in trouble for something that’s OK for the other brats?”

“Probably not,” Tilden said with a smile, saving either boy from answering. “But we’ll work it out. That’s what we do.” Tilden stood up. “We weren’t expecting you this morning, so if you’ll excuse us, we’d like to have breakfast.”

Fiona nodded and turned to speak into the camera. “Tilden, our only top involved in a threesome, has promised to keep his brats on a short leash even when they meet the other brats at the house next week. I, myself, am fascinated to find out if they can handle seeing the freedom their friends enjoy. I don’t think they’ll be as calm as they were today.”

Tilden herded everyone back into the kitchen before they could hear any more.

“Stop your border collie routine,” Dorothy said with a fond smile. “I’m more than capable of handling that woman.”

“I’m sure you are, Mom. It’s just habit.”

“I know, honey. I’ve seen Milton do it. It must be a top thing.”

Milton was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee, surrounded by a sea of papers. “I’ve got yours here somewhere,” he said to Mike as reached under a pile of papers. He folded it and handed it to Mike. “You write well, and Luke, I can’t give you a grade, but it was a good paper. You’ll do well next semester.”

Mike unfolded his paper. “Holy shit,” he murmured. “I got an A from the toughest grader on campus.”

“Watch your language, young man,” Milton said, but he was smiling. “I think my reputation exceeds reality. I gave several A’s on this paper, and I could have given one more if we hadn’t had a slight problem earlier in the year.” Milton reached out and tousled Luke’s hair. “Don’t sell yourself short, boy.”

“Thanks, Milton,” Tilden said

“It’s my pleasure to see students do well.” Milton gathered his papers into a stack. “Are they about done in there?”

“I think Fiona was wrapping things up,” Tilden said.

Luke realized that Milton was eying the stairs. He’d sent Sheldon upstairs earlier, and he must have wanted some privacy to take care of business.

“Why don’t you go to have tea at the the bookshop? I’m sure everyone’s hungry,” Milton said.

“And you’d like to have some privacy,” Tilden said with a laugh. “I think we can manage that.” 

“Arthur and I would like to go into Boston to do some shopping, and I’m sure you boys would like some time without the parents in your hair,” Dorothy said.

“Mom, you’re not in our hair.”

“Oh, yes, we are, honey. Plus we need to Christmas shop now that there are more family members.”

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“I know, Dad, that’s why the computer was invented. Mom’s hellbent on her shopping expedition. The car keys are in the mud room. Do you know how to get there?”

“I’m sure your mother has it all mapped out with turn by turn directions,” Arthur said dryly. “She likes to be prepared.”

“Sounds like someone I know,” Mike said.

“Someone in this family has to be prepared,” Tilden teased and made a grab for Mike who ducked around the table.

“No fighting in the kitchen,” Milton said, snaring Mike and landing a teasing swat on his hip. “Behave, boy. Did getting an A make you too big for your britches?”

“No, sir,” Mike said, trying to sound innocent and contrite.

“Do you think I believe that tone in you?” Milton asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, sir.” Mike’s face suddenly clouded over, and his tone changed. “I wish Steve was here. He’s never seen us play. He was so scared this morning.”

“Playing with me, brave boy.” Milton kissed Mike’s forehead. “You are a good boy. You’ve learned a lot since Trent and I dragged you out of that party.”

“Don’t remind me,” Mike groaned.

“Go visit with your friend. I need to have a chat with Sheldon, and then we’ll be over.”