As he helped carry groceries into the house Josh knew all this — Indeed, it was foremost on his mind. Stealing was at least as bad as lying, he was sure of that. But dad wasn’t home and wouldn’t be home for another week. Would his mom let his punishment wait a week? Not likely. She certainly had no qualms about paddling the children when they misbehaved. But she always paddled in private and never spanked bare. Oh, she’d pull your pants down all right, but she always allowed the offending child to retain some sense of dignity by letting him or her keep their underwear on. Why was his mother calling everyone together like this?