Role Reversal

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The effects of the economic downturn hadn't been all bad. While only a fool would say that a lack of job security and disposable income were good things per se, circumstances had forced families to pull together. As a result, two or three generations were often living under the same roof, just as in the old days.

Bob and Chloe Anders were young professionals in the lucrative field of Information Technology. With a little help from their parents, they had managed to put a down payment on a new house in the suburbs at the age of only only 28. But then Bob was suddenly laid off; their income was cut in half, and they worried about being able to make the monthly payments.

At the same time, Chloe's mother Jenni was living alone in a condo about ten minutes away, and her job had been reduced to a part-time position. She too was struggling. They talked about the situation one Saturday afternoon at the local Starbucks.

"You know, Mom," said Chloe as she sipped her latte, "we've got a guest room that's just sitting empty. If you moved in, we could help each other out."

"Oh, I don't know, Honey," said Jenni. "I know you two need your privacy."

"Nonsense! We don't have kids, and we've got the master bedroom and bath. You'd have your own bathroom; we hardly ever use it. It just doesn't make sense for all of us to struggle when we could pull together."

"What about Bob?" Jenni asked. "Does he approve of the idea?"

"Are you kidding? He's crazy about you, Mom. And he's scared to death of losing the house. You'd be helping us big-time."

"Well, let's do it, then! I could rent the condo to bring in extra money. We'll be able to make the house payments easily."

After they'd conferred with Bob, it was settled. Jenni put the condo up for rent and had soon moved in with her daughter and son-in-law.

What both Jenni and Chloe had forgotten, however, was how much they'd grated on each other's nerves during Chloe's last two years living at home. They'd gotten along quite well in the intervening years; the distance was the best thing that had ever happened to their relationship. After just a few weeks under the same roof, however, they started getting under each other's skin again.

*     *     *

"Mom!" Chloe called irritably from the kitchen one morning.

"Yes, Honey?" She was upstairs getting dressed for work.

"Did you leave the coffee maker on all night?"

"Doesn't it turn off by itself?"

Chloe rubbed her forehead, sighing as she inspected the burned-on scum at the bottom of the coffee pot.

"No, it doesn't. Would you come down here, please?"

Jenni came downstairs and smelled the burned coffee. "Oh, Lord! I thought they all turned off automatically these days."

"Well, this one doesn't. Look!" Chloe held up the pot for her mom to see. "This thing is toast," she said. "We're gonna have to buy a new one."

"Well, you might have told me," Jenni said, matching her daughter's angry tone.

"You might have just turned it off, since you used it last!"

"All right, I'll pick one up today after work," Jenni snapped.

Chloe sighed. "I seem to remember being spanked once or twice for this kind of irresponsibility when I was growing up," she grumbled.

"Well, that was different, dear. You were young, and you needed to learn."

"Well, apparently you need to learn, too, Mom! Just do me a favor, and be careful with the appliances. You know I'm scared to death of fire."

"Fine," Jenni said coolly, and left the house in a foul mood.

Things escalated from there. It seemed to Chloe that she had to constantly stay after her mother to pick up after herself and just act like a responsible adult. They had definitely switched roles. One evening, when Jenni was at her book club meeting, Bob and Chloe talked over dinner.

"She drives me crazy!" Chloe groused. "She acts like a kid, no sense of responsibility!"

"It's a less-than-ideal situation," Bob conceded. "I hate seeing the two of you going at each other like this."

"Did you see her bathroom today? It was a total wreck! And she left her bed unmade, like she expects me to be her maid or something."

"You two really need to have this out, come up with a solution. Otherwise, things are just gonna deteriorate further." Bob sipped his Merlot and looked at his wife intently.

"It would give me a world of satisfaction to turn her over my knee and give her a dose of the hairbrush, just like she used to do when I acted up."

"Maybe you should," Bob said quietly.

"Huh? You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, how she keeps her bedroom and bath are her business. But I don't like seeing you pulling your hair out day after day. You two should come up with a discipline plan, just like the one between the two of us." Chloe blushed. Before marrying Bob, she'd been quite irresponsible and messy herself. It was his loving discipline that had helped her get over her bad habits.

"You think it would work?"

"It worked on you, didn't it?" Bob chuckled. "Like daughter, like mother, I suppose."

Chloe smiled. "You might be onto something. I'll talk to her."

"Good. I want my happy wife back."

That night, when Jenni came home from her meeting, Chloe asked if she could see her in private.

"Of course. What's up?" the older woman asked.

"Let's go into the den," Chloe suggested.

"Hmm... a private meeting in the den... should I be worried?"

"No, I just need to talk to you alone." Jenni followed her daughter into the den, and Chloe closed the door behind them.

"Sit down, Mom."

Jenni surprised her by doing as she was told.

"Mom, I hate the way things have gotten between us," she said.

"Me too."

"I have a radical suggestion," Chloe said. Jenni looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Bob and I fought a lot our first year together. I'll bet you didn't know that."

Jenni was genuinely surprised. "No, I didn't. You two always seemed to get along just fine."

"Well, that's because we came up with a solution." Chloe pulled a piece of paper out of the drawer in the roll top desk and handed it to her mother.

"An 'Adult Discipline Plan?' You've got to be kidding!" Jenni smiled, sure her daughter was putting her on.

"No, it's no joke. It's what helped keep the two of us stay together, in fact."

"I'll let you in on a little secret, Honey," Jenni said. "Your father and I had one of these agreements when you were growing up!"

"No way! Dad spanked you?" Chloe was flabbergasted. Her dad was the most gentlemanly man she'd ever met; he'd never spanked her once while she was growing up.

"Yes, he did, and it worked quite well. He let me handle the discipline with you, but he always called me on it when I failed to live up to our agreements. There were plenty of times when I had a hard time sitting comfortably."

"Well, I hate the fact that I'm always yelling at you and giving you a hard time, but but since you moved in, it feels like you're the irresponsible teenager and I'm the grown-up!"

"You're right, honey. Truth is, I've been a mess since your dad died." Jenni's eyes glistened. "He loved me enough to keep me in line, but now he's gone, and I feel... out of control. I guess I just don't function well unless there's someone around to turn me over their knee when I need it," she said.

"Well, I love you, and there've been plenty of times lately when nothing would have made me happier than to give you a good dose of the hairbrush," Chloe said with a smile.

"I know I can be a pain to live with. Your dad was a saint."

"Yeah, he was, but it's not like you're bad-tempered or anything like that. You just seem so... irresponsible these days."

"Yeah, I suppose I am." She grinned. "Wanna help your mom get over herself?"

"It would be a pleasure," Chloe said, patting her lap. "Over my knee, Mom."


{End Part One}

© Aunt Carla