Election Night

by Margaret Jane

 

“Holy shit!” She said aloud. “Where the hell did all those people come from?”

Her assistants looked as horrified as she did. Voting had been steady throughout the day and by 9.30pm Violet thought she’d handled her first stint in charge of a polling station very well. Ten minutes later, however, she had a queue of potential voters stretching half way down the street. She knew they wouldn’t get them all processed and issued with ballots by 10pm.

She mustered all her available staff and got them to start organising the queue. Everyone worked flat out but by 10 o’clock at least twenty voters were still outside the Hall and hadn’t received their ballot papers. Violet knew she had no choice but to close the doors. In his run down of the rules and regulations the Returning Officer had made it abundantly plain what her legal obligations were.

There was obvious discontent amongst the disenfranchised - they began to boo loudly and a couple of minutes later when she looked out of the Hall window, a few of them had sat down and more were joining them.

Violet muttered “Holy shit” one more time and dialled the Returning Officer’s mobile number.
“Mr Greer, I’m very sorry to disturb you but I’ve got a bit of a situation on my hands here.” She garbled through the problem. He was curt to the point of brusqueness and said he was at the next polling station and so would be straight there.

Five minutes later he was striding towards the Hall. He cast a scathing glance towards the window where she was skulking and approached the protesting electors. She had no idea what he said to them but within minutes they were getting up and going home; a couple of them even shook hands with him.

Then he approached the Hall.

“Ms O’Keefe, an explanation please.”

‘So no room for small talk then!’ she thought. “Well I felt I had no choice Mr Greer, your explanation of the rules was clear.”

“You obviously weren’t paying attention when I said I expected my officials to exercise discretion within the law and use common sense. Are you telling me you’re completely lacking in common sense?”

Violet wilted before his scorching tone and found she had nothing to say.

“There was no way, for example, that you couldn’t have got these people inside the hall, issued them with ballots and then allowed them to vote after 10pm? No? That didn’t occur to you at all?”

Violet was now blushing so deeply she felt she’d never recover her composure, especially as she knew he was right, she should indeed have thought to do that.

“Right, let’s deal with this disaster. I’ll deal with you later”

Rushing to keep up with him Violet wondered exactly what he’d meant by ‘deal with her’. His mastery of the situation took her breath away.

He swiftly made sure all votes were cast, ballot boxes sealed and dispatched to the count. He spoke to the local journalist and pacified the nosey little runt. He congratulated all her staff and sent them home with warm fuzzy feelings about the job they’d done during the day.

Finally it was just him and her.

“Well Ms O’Keefe, you’re a very lucky young lady. I need to be at the count in half an hour so your punishment, of necessity, will have to be swift.”

Violet gaped at him, “My, my punishment?”

“Yes girl, you don’t think you’re getting away with that fiasco do you? You don’t think a little contrition is in order? Disruption of the democratic process! Any idea how serious that is?”

“But what do you mean, punishment? How can you punish me?”

She was truly perplexed and trying desperately to ignore the tugging sensation in her stomach. He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought he meant? She was unnerved by the way he smiled at her.

“Well I thought that for a start you could bend over for me and I’m going to smack your backside very hard indeed, but as time is of the essence, it won’t be for too long. While I’m doing that I’ll have a think about how to finish off your punishment, I’m sure I’ll find something here to use on you to deliver a harsher message.”

Violet began to laugh and then when she saw his face, stopped abruptly - he was serious.

“But, but you can’t!”

“I can and I will, now bend over, unless of course you’d like me to drag you to the count and explain to everyone just what happened here tonight.”

Violet knew she didn’t want this to happen - she’d never live it down. But could she live with his alternative? It would be momentary, it would be fleeting; yes it was preferable to utter humiliation in front of her peers.

She looked up shyly at him and he held her gaze, raising an eyebrow. Gently, she inclined her head and it became a slight nod. He nodded back at her acquiescence.

“Right, bend over.”

She felt very awkward as well as totally embarrassed. He walked round her bent body and she felt herself begin to shake slightly. She was bent completely double at the waist and was touching her toes. She heard him breathe deeply. He stood to her left side and grasped the right side of her waist. She felt him heft his knee under her where she was doubled, almost as if he was supporting her weight. She was completely at his mercy. She felt him draw his other hand right back and jumped slightly as it connected with her buttocks. It seemed to be incredibly painful. Before she had settled down again another blow struck and then they were falling swiftly, each one a stinging smack. She put a hand to her mouth to stop herself screaming aloud. She rose onto her tiptoes in an attempt to deflect him.

He was not to be deflected. Her spanking continued and despite the fact that he said it would be quick it didn’t seem to be. He could gain a lot of momentum behind each blow because of her vulnerable position and he exploited this to the full. She had lost count of the spanks when he stopped. He gave her no time to recover.

“Straighten up!” He ordered, and she did so immediately, not able to meet his eyes.

She couldn’t have explained how she was feeling, her immediate wish was to put her arms round his neck and kiss him and have him kiss her back; but part of her brain was horrified at the thought and rebelled, cursing him for his brutality.

“Now over to the nearest polling booth. Pull your skirt up and your knickers down. Bend over and rest your arms on the ledge and stick your arse well out behind you.” As he spoke he walked over to an empty desk and lifted a large ruler.

Violet inhaled sharply, she could feel her buttocks throbbing from the spanking, how would they feel when he had finished with the ruler?

When she didn’t move immediately he said menacingly.“Do it now Ms O’Keefe or you’ll regret it."

She moved very swiftly after that. Hoisting her skirt up she was grateful she’d put decent knickers on that morning. Bending over to receive a punishment for the second time in her life and the second time in ten minutes had a very curious effect on Violet. Suddenly and from nowhere the idea popped into her head that this was the most natural thing in the world. It was almost as if she’d been waiting for someone to say “Bend over” in a commanding tone of voice and for her to comply with the command.

She rested her arms on the little wooden ledge and then her head on her crossed arms. There were still some tiny wooden pencils there from voting. She grimaced wryly. Sticking her arse back so it protruded beyond the privacy of the booth needed considerable self discipline on her part but she managed it.

Again she felt and heard him rather than saw him. Momentarily he rested a hand on her flaming buttocks then withdrew it. Without warning the ruler landed on her arse and she jerked forwards a little way with the force of the blow. She had never experienced pain like this. At the second blow she pressed her mouth to her arm to stop yelling. The third followed so swiftly and she had to bite her arm this time to prevent shrieking in protest. Every inch of her backside was on fire and as the blows continued she began to sob despite herself.

She lost count but heard him when he said aloud, “Twenty”. Then the blows stopped.

“Stand up, Ms O’Keefe.”

She turned her tear stained face towards him.

“A smack for every voter denied their democratic rights tonight, my girl.”

But now he smiled at her. She took a hesitant step towards him and he gathered her into his arms, half naked as she was from the waist down.

Violet’s fleeting fantasy from earlier became reality as he kissed her tears from her face and smoothed her hair. Then he patted her bottom and brought fresh tears to her eyes, she was so tender there.

“Now fix yourself up, you’re coming with me to the count. I want you sitting on that nice rosy bottom of yours counting ballot papers until we have a duly elected member of Parliament. Then if you want you can come back to mine and we can achieve our own result. Would you like that?”

Experiencing sensations that were entirely new to her, Violet nodded. There was nothing she had ever wanted more in her whole life.