Jenny skidded in the loose gravel on the driveway leading to Marie’s house.
She was dressed in a white, sleeve-less, knee-long gingham-dress with a strawberry pattern, and red and white trainers, but no socks.
After having received a rather frantic phone call, urging her to come as fast as she could, she had run as fast as she could all the way from her home and now, so close to the goal, she had become a bit nonchalant.
She raced up the stairs, threw the door open, and came to a screeching halt. In front of her was the most incredible scene: Marie and her brother and sisters, lying on their stomachs on the floor, and a man straddling her friend and in the process of tying her hands together!
He finished what he was doing, got to his feet, and turned to the stunned girl. “Jenny, I presume?” he politely asked.
The surprise of what she saw in front of her meant she, for obvious reasons, couldn’t speak, so she just nodded in response.
“Mm; I suspected as much,” he ascertained. “I HAD hoped to surprise you in a different way, but this’ll have to do. Come over here, please!” When he saw she was about to turn and run out the door, he sighed:”You really don’t want to do that; do you? Not if you want an explanation to all of this; which I suspect you do.”
She forced a single “Why?” passed her frozen lips as she did as he demanded, and he smiled jovially.
He signalled for her to lie down on the floor, straddled her legs, took a length of rope, and tied her hands snugly together behind her back, cinching the rope off between her wrists, before starting his explanation.
“I am their uncle Jim, and when I visit, I always do something which they don’t expect. That keeps them on their toes, you see,” he told her as he, while still straddling her legs, turned around to tie her knees and ankles together.
“I’ve been giving them surprises for as long as any of us can remember, and I haven’t heard anyone complain yet. And somehow, I don’t think I ever will. Right, Marie?” He playfully slapped her bottom and she squealed “HEY!” before saying: “No; of course you won’t, uncle.”
He opened a wardrobe and took out some scarves which he used as gags, before continuing his story.
“Marie and her siblings showed me this great idea on the Net the other day, and we thought it would be fun to involve you too. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Yeah,” Jenny sarcastically thought, “this idea is hilarious! It sure is a pity though, that no one thought of telling me of their plans!” She shook her head.
“Good,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything against any ones will, now would I?” He playfully slapped his niece’s bottom again, and she squealed again.
“O.K, guys” he said, “Now; I’m going to go and get something to eat. When I’m done, I’m going to come back and release you; O.K? See ya!”
That announcement was met by a storm of muffled protests, which he didn’t seem to take any notice of. Instead; he just grinned and walked away.
As Jenny lay there, she heard the others move about. Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder, and Marie mimed: “Don’t worry; we’ll get you free as soon as we’ve taken care of Uncle Jim!” And then they were gone.
She could hear them enter the kitchen, and Jim’s surprised outcry:”What? Are you free already?” What she didn’t hear though, were any signs of struggle. Instead, she heard Marie’s rather astonishing reply to his question where she was: “She indicated to me she wanted to stay tied up for a bit longer, so I left her there.” And then, they apparently all sat down to have something to eat.
Jenny started desperately rolling around on the floor, trying to get her fingers on the knot on the rope tying her wrists together, but it was too well made and too far out of her limited reach.
She was concentrating so hard on her task, she didn’t hear Jim coming until she heard him say: “Some friends you have, huh? Leaving you here like this! Here; let me at least carry you into the living-room, and make it more comfortable for you! You just let me know when you’ve had enough, and want to go home.” She started nodding as hard as she could and tried to say she already had had quite enough, but he seemed to think she agreed to what he was saying, and took no further notice.
As promised, he carried her into the living-room and sat her in a chair. Then he asked Marie to get one of the abandoned ropes on the floor of the hallway, which he fed between Jenny’s arms and body and tied off behind the back of the chair. Then he turned on the TV, and they all sat down to watch.
Occasionally, Jim asked her if she wanted him to release her; and every time she nodded. But Marie, or one of her brothers, always stopped him by saying she wanted to be tied up just a few more minutes.
Eventually though, she did get free.
“I’m so sorry it took us so long to realize you wanted to get out!” Marie excused herself, with the mother of all fake smiles plastered all over her face.
“Oh, I’m sure you are!” Jenny replied, with a smile just as fake on hers. “You do realize this means war, don’t you?”
“Oh great,” Marie beamed, “bring it on!”