... part 3
I put on my fur coat, and closed it all the way up. I also put on one of my fur hats and my leather gloves. At this point Tatiana was already immobile, tightly bound in her sleeping bag. Yet she struggled. She would soon reach the point of exhaustion. It was a hot day. At least it was a hot day for me wearing my fur coat. I'm sure it was unbearable for Tatiana. But I wanted her to learn her lesson. Whenever I went to attend to her with some drink or food, I would remove my fur coat, hat, and gloves. I was sharing in some of her punishment, but didn't want her to see me like that, vulnerable. It took Tatiana a good two hours to settle down. She wasn't enjoying her ordeal, but she was calm. It must have been brutally hot inside the sleeping bag. She was wearing two pairs of leggings, two turtlenecks sweaters, a puffer vest, a short down coat, snow pants, a long maxi down coat, snow boots, gloves and mittens. And all of that inside of a mummy style sleeping bag. My heart faltered, but I was determined to make her see that her dress code wasn't excessive. But I needed to have her understand what being dressed excessively warm really was like.
Releasing Tatiana later in the afternoon, she was drenched in sweat. She was happy to gain her mobility back, but otherwise seemed very serene.
"Come on dear, let me release you. You must be exhausted. I hope that you learned your lesson, your dress code is actually not so bad. And if you obey your mother, you wont have to go through this again."
"Actually, I think I felt asleep in the sleeping bag. I was very hot, but there was nothing else I could do."
"Oh yes, you did sleep soundly for quite a while. Now go on and take a shower."
As the days went by, Tatiana kept up her routine. She was doing well in school, and I had plenty of time to continue writing my novels. Tatiana did complain that it took her very long to take off her snow pants and coats when she got to school, so I went and spoke with the principal and explained to her the situation. She was very understanding and issued an exception for her so that she could keep her snow pants and her coat on during classes. Tatiana was actually glad that she could now keep on her snow pants and the lighter coat. She was even glad that she now had some free space in her locker.
I know it was hard for her being the warmest dressed person at school and any where she went, but she managed, and obeyed my wishes of staying bundled up... except for some Friday afternoons...
------
A random Friday afternoon, in late January Tatiana came in defiantly into the house. She came in carrying her long Canada Goose coat in her arms. Other than that Tatiana had been dressed as I had hoped, including her snow pants, short down coat, gloves and mittens. She dropped her long coat on the bench near the entrance, and stormed off to her room.
"There, I'm done for the week. Go ahead and punish me." She said as she walked to her room, not bothering to take off any of the outer wear she had been wearing.
Saturday morning I had to oblige and put her in the sleeping bag. Tatiana struggled as I pulled the garment over head and zipped it up leaving only her face visible. She also struggled as I pulled the straps tight, forcing me to pull harder to ensure there was no slack. The end result, her arms were tightly pinned to her side. Only then did she calm down, and I could see a sense of relaxation take over her.
The blue months of winter gave way to spring, and Tatiana kept on the routine, behaving like the daughter I knew I had, except for some Fridays in which she ditched her dress code but abided by the prescribed punishment come Saturday morning. Never mind the fact that one Friday, as I was staring out the window I caught Tatiana removing her maxi down coat, just steps away from the front door...
Epilogue
"Mother, I can't find my silver boots..."
"I've put them away, dear. Together with your other boots and coats. Today's the first day of summer. And school's out, you're not going out, are you?"
"I think I got used to being bundled up... Do you think I could... Get my winter boots and coats back? Maybe just to wear them around the house?"
"Dear, your mother is happy you've finally come around. I will go upstairs and take down your snow boots and your winter coats. And while we're at it, do you want to go to the mall to see what coats are on sale? It's the end of the season anyway, I'm sure we'll find some bargains."
"Sure, but as long as you also get yourself a long a warm down coat... Deal?"
... finis !
