Did he want to go on sailing? What was he going to do about the void in his life left by Esther's departure? These were just the main matters on his m...nd as he travelled around.Customers found him preoccupied and pensive. To those who asked him if he was alright, or how he was, he gave a non-committal 'I'm okay, thanks.' He continued to wear his wedding ring.After nearly three weeks of chewing over his position, he'd made no progress and decided the only way forward was to just get on with life. I wanted a hole to open up as Kate entered the room and took in the scene. Me standing in the centre of our front room totally naked with red marks around my bum and Sally’s sisters standing next to me with a garden cane. Sally told Kate what was happening and that she was welcome to watch the rest of my punishment. “Could I have a go too?” asked Kate, taking off her jacket. I realised it was no use arguing as it would only get worse. Sally bent me over again while they all watched. My bum. . yes it was.He could hear the chanting again. It was coming from up ahead. Steeling himself, Phil followed the sounds until the corridor terminated in an ominous, black metal door. An arcane symbol of even darker metal was inlaid into the surface.Not. Exactly. Promising.It was where the chanting was coming from though. With some degree of trepidation He approached the door. The metal surface was warm to the touch, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable or dangerous. Phil put his ear against it. . or not. Her predictions for future events proved true.The country WAS going to hell in a hand basket.The idiot oil millionaire did ruin the country and for exactly the reasons she predicted. "Your Captains of Industry will need their intelligent sons to run their Industries, their idiot sons will be elected to high office and ruin the country." If it weren't for the highly educated bureaucrats in the government, the idiots would ruin the country.And then greed raised it's ugly head..