wow. i got home from cancun yesterday, and i’m still trying to process what an amazing whirlwind of a trip it was.

as far as i knew, Madam had planned the trip for two reasons. we were going to visit an old associate of hers who generously allowed us to stay at his home, and Madam was going to conduct my Magazine Punishment Ceremony. that is when i receive the physical equivalent of the punishment points accumulated by all the Magazine submissives, including both staff members and volunteers.

this ceremony covered two months, so the original number had a comma in it.

yes, a comma.

duckie’s butt was scheduled for demolition. i had accepted that i might be spending the flight home hovering several inches above my seat through sheer terror of making contact with it.

but then we arrived in cancun, and i discovered that Madam had planned something much bigger for me. waiting there were two of my oldest and closest friends, tj and eli.

oh man.

i had a pretty crappy adolescence before i moved in with Madam. i didn’t have many friends, and then my parents died. there are parts of those years that remain difficult for me to talk about, even now. but tj and eli were there. they were brothers who lived down the street from me. eli and i were in the same grade, while tj was two years older. somewhere along the way, the three of us became inseparable.

they weren’t merely my friends. they were my brothers.

we spent countless hours at one another’s homes, wandered farther from the neighborhood than we were probably allowed to go, and talked each other into an impressive collection of terrible ideas. we also helped one another escape the consequences of those terrible ideas, although not always successfully. there were secret plans, stupid dares, late-night conversations, arguments that felt enormous for twenty minutes, and jokes that could still make us laugh years later with only a single word.

when my parents died, they did something even more important. they stayed.

they didn’t know what to say, because we were kids and there really wasn’t anything anyone could say. they didn’t try to fix it. they simply kept showing up, pulling me out of my own head and reminding me that there were still people in the world who wanted me around. i honestly don’t know how to explain everything those two did for me without making this sound like the ending of a movie where three middle-aged men hug on a beach while inspirational music plays.

which, now that i think about it, isn’t far from what Madam arranged.

tj and eli continued visiting after i moved in with Madam. eventually, Madam and i moved to europe, and the three of us saw one another less frequently as our lives carried us in different directions. we never lost touch, though. we still text, trade insults, recall stories differently and occasionally remind one another of things that probably should have remained forgotten.

Madam had secretly arranged for them to meet us in cancun. more than that, she had designed the entire trip so i would have plenty of time away from my usual duties to enjoy being with them. we talked, laughed, relaxed and fell into the same rhythm we had when we were boys. for a little while, it felt as though no time had passed at all.

these two men are kept private. they aren’t part of the Femdom lifestyle, and they have no interest in becoming public figures in my very unusual little world. they know how i live, they understand my relationship with Madam, and they support me. that is what we have always done for one another.

they do, however, insist that duckie wear at least a robe whenever they visit.

feh.

they’re worth it.

and yes, Madam still conducted my punishment on monday. friendship may be sacred, but apparently Magazine accounting is even more sacred.

thankfully, the final total was nowhere near that terrifying original number. most of the Magazine boys completed their own punishments, which substantially reduced what i had to receive. several went even further and recorded videos of themselves fulfilling their punishment commands, completely clearing their portions of my total.

thank you, guys. sincerely. my butt and i both appreciate you.

Madam sent tj and eli away for an hour while she handled the ceremony. at least, that was the plan. eli decided he wanted to stay and watch.

so, yeah. that happened.

one of the guys who helped me survive some of the most difficult years of my life also watched Madam turn my bare ass red in cancun. friendship apparently means supporting someone through grief, trouble, major life changes and, when the opportunity arises, sitting comfortably nearby while he gets lashed.

honestly, it wasn’t bad at all. Madam made sure the ceremony was meaningful, but it wasn’t the obliteration i had feared. the punishment was only a small part of the trip anyway. the real purpose was the surprise she had created for me, and the chance to spend time with two men who have been part of my life for longer than nearly anyone else.

i came home with a slightly tender butt, a very full heart and a fresh reminder of just how well Madam knows me.

this trip was supposed to be my punishment ceremony.

somehow, Madam turned it into one of the greatest rewards she could have given me.