Chapter 22: Reaping a Dark Harvest

Dad with Edsel. My father, Earl G. Denlinger, stands beside his Edsel automobile as a young man. When I first discovered this photo in Los Angeles, I was fascinated. His energy, his youthfulness, was something I had never seen before. Photo sourced from family archives.

I recall one disturbing conversation I had had with a girlfriend in the decade that followed London. She was a fervent evangelical Christian, and she truly loved me. I was still uncertain.

Marriage was much on her mind.

During one intense makeout session, I finally whispered in her ear my greatest fantasy, that I wanted to spank her. I could see the idea excited her, and she told me that for her birthday, she would submit to a “real spanking.” She knew what they were, since she had been punished as a child, as well.

What made it even more twisted, and thus even more spicy, was her faith. If we got married, she believed her marital role required that she submit to me in real life. But ultimately, this brought up questions i…