"Daddy, I'm going now." Erin Lindsay popped her head into Hank Voight's office.
Hank looked up from his desk and stood up. That Erin was calling him 'Daddy' at work was evidence of just how awful she was feeling, and the sad look in her pretty eyes confirmed her emotions. Hank kissed Erin's forehead.
"All right, honey. I'll call Mommy and tell her you're coming. Text me when the plane lands, and be a good girl for Mommy."
"Yes, Daddy." Erin responded obediently.
Hank watched as Erin walked out of his office, duffle bag slung over her shoulder. He went back to his desk and picked up the phone to call his little girl's mother in New York City.
"Hey, Hank." Olivia greeted when she saw his name on her caller ID. She made a face when she sampled the food she had just made and reached for a take-out menu.
"Hi, Liv. Just a head's up, Erin is headed your way." Hank's rough voice came over the line.
"Has she been misbehaving?" Olivia inquired as she scanned the Chinese restaurant's menu. Erin wasn't due to visit her for three more weeks.
"No, not at all. She's been very good. Nadia died."
"Oh, God." Olivia dropped the menu onto the counter and gave Hank her undivided attention. Nadia was Erin's friend that she had been trying to help get clean.
"Yeah. She just needs some Mommy love. I told her to take as long with you as she needed. Her job will be waiting for her. Fair warning, she was quickly slipping into 'little girl world' when she left here. I wanted to keep her here with me, but I can't take off work to be with her right now, so it's better if she's there with you rather than in her apartment by herself."
"I can always use me some Erin love. I'll have her room and all her things ready for her. I have the next couple of days off, and I can take more time if I need it. Any idea when I should be expecting her?"
"She got on a plane this morning, so she should be there sometime this afternoon."
"Thanks for calling, Hank. Bye."
Olivia hung up the phone and made her way into the bedroom that was Erin's whenever she was in town for a visit. She stripped the bed and replaced the sheets with Erin's special pink ones. She made sure that Erin's teddy bear, her special pink and blue blankie, her coloring books and crayons, her storybooks, and all of her other toys and other accessories were easily accessible. She then made her way to the bathroom and easily located Erin's special pink bath towel, her favorite scented bubble baths, and her bath toys. Olivia loved her little girl very much and took her responsibilities as Erin's Mommy very seriously. Mommy's apartment was Erin's safe zone to completely relax in a world free of adult worries and adult responsibilities. Mommy was in charge and took care of everything. All Erin had to do was be a good little girl or she would be spanked very hard on her bare bottom over Mommy's knee.
Erin heaved a huge sigh of relief when the cab pulled up in front of the familiar apartment building. She paid the driver, entered the building, and rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. Tears were streaming down her face by the time she walked down the familiar hallway and knocked on the door.
"Oh, baby," Olivia cooed tenderly when she opened the door and immediately welcomed her distraught little girl into her arms, closing the door behind them and locking the rest of the world outside, "Mommy's here, sweetie. Come on, let's go to your room."
Olivia guided Erin into her bedroom and placed Erin's duffle bag at the foot of the bed. She could unpack it later. She didn't try to make Erin stop crying as she gently stripped the younger girl of her shoes and socks, jeans, t-shirt, bra, and panties. The first time Mommy had tried to undress her, Erin had blushed sixteen shades of red and tried to cover herself. Now she simply stood still and let Mommy take care of her as Mommy brought her across the hall into the bathroom. Like any young child, Erin trusted Mommy to know what was best for her at any given moment. Wherever Mommy led her, she would go. Olivia quickly drew Erin a warm, soothing bath.
"Rose, lavender, or strawberry, my love?" Olivia asked kindly.
"Lavender, please, Mommy." Erin requested amidst tears, proving that she was a polite little girl even when upset.
"Lavender it is. Let's get you in the tub, sweetheart." Olivia filled the tub with the lavender scented bubble bath, filling the whole bathroom with the comforting scent, and gently helped Erin step into the tub and sink back into the soothing warmth.
Erin gradually stopped crying as Mommy lovingly washed her hair and her body. She didn't feel like playing with any of her bath toys today, she just wanted Mommy to take care of her. Olivia wrapped Erin in her pink towel, re-dressed her in a warm, cozy pair of pink pajamas, and blow-dried Erin's hair, combing it into two pigtails so it would be out of Erin's face.
"Mommy, can I have grape juice, please?" Erin asked quietly, starting to calm down a little bit.
"Yes, of course you can, honey. Let's go to the kitchen and Mommy will find your special cup."
Olivia rooted through her cupboards until she located Erin's pink sippy cup and filled it with Erin's favorite juice. While she was doing that, Erin disappeared into her bedroom again and reappeared holding both her blankie and her teddy bear, Candy. She climbed up onto the couch and waited for Mommy to join her. When Olivia sat down, Erin climbed into her lap and covered them both with the blanket, clutching Candy to her chest. Olivia smiled lovingly and cuddled her little girl close to her heart.
"Here, baby. We can cuddle for as long as you want, but you need to drink." Olivia gently pressed the sippy cup to Erin's lips. She and Hank both worried that Erin didn't eat or drink enough when she was upset or sad.
Erin obediently drank her juice. She spent the rest of the afternoon safely in 'little girl world'. She colored, read storybooks with Mommy, ate mac and cheese for lunch while watching cartoons, built with her Legos, and made up silly stories about Candy riding a magical unicorn to save the princess locked inside the Lego tower. Olivia found every opportunity she could to shower Erin with tender words of loving encouragement and praise.
"Mommy?" Erin chirped over dinner.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Olivia smiled lovingly, cutting up Erin's hot dog for her.
"Can I have a bedtime spanking tonight?" Erin asked.
"Why do you need a spanking, sunshine?" Olivia asked curiously.
Erin shrugged. She had been a good girl all day, but it had been a long, stressful few weeks back home in Chicago with Nadia, and Erin just needed to know that Mommy was still lovingly in control. She needed to feel Mommy's loving control over her. She needed a sore bottom to wash away the soreness in her heart over losing her friend. 'Little Girl' Erin couldn't quite express all of these feelings properly, but fortunately Mommy instinctively understood what Erin was asking for.
Erin sat on her bed, waiting for Mommy to come in and give her a sound spanking. It was only 8:20 and quite early for 'Big Girl' Erin to be going to bed, but 'Little Girl' Erin had a strict 9:00 bedtime. If Erin were being punished, she would have to stand in the corner with her hands on her head and her bottom on display while she waited for Mommy to come in and spank her. She would have tears in her eyes and rocks in her stomach. But tonight, Erin simply sat on her bed and waited patiently, holding her teddy bear and her blankie.
"All ready for bed, baby?" Olivia smiled as she walked into the room and sat on the bed wearing her own pajama pants and tank.
"Yes, Mommy. I already brushed my teeth and everything." Erin smiled proudly.
"That's my good girl. Mommy is going to give you a spanking now, so stand up, please." Olivia pulled down Erin's pajama bottoms and guided her little girl across her lap before beginning to spank her panty-clad bottom with her strong right hand, delivering medium-force smacks all over Erin's bottom and sit-spots.
Erin closed her eyes and tried to relax as her Mommy lovingly spanked her, occasionally letting out a small squeak when a spank landed on the back of a tender thigh. Erin's bottom was glowing a healthy shade of pink when she felt Mommy pull her panties down and tenderly rub her bottom for a moment before resuming the spanking, this time a little bit harder than before. Erin quickly found herself in tears as her bottom became cherry red and sore. She reached back and placed her hand in the small of her back for Mommy to hold. If she were being punished, she would be pleading for Mommy to stop, but on this occasion, she simply waited for Mommy to decide when the spanking would be over. Mommy was in control.
"I want you to lay across the end of your bed for me now, sweetheart." Olivia spoke tenderly to her little girl, stroking Erin's hair.
Erin stood up from Mommy's lap and rubbed her bottom, crying as she walked to the end of her bed and assumed the correct position. Olivia went to Erin's dresser and got out the paddle.
"Thirty spanks, baby, then it's all over." Olivia placed her left hand on the small of Erin's back to help keep her in place.
Erin was lying limp across the bed and sobbing by the time the last spank landed. Olivia scooped her up and sat in the rocking chair that Erin loved to be rocked in after spankings. Olivia cuddled her little girl close to her heart as they rocked. Erin clung to her for dear life as she sobbed and cried.
"Such a good girl." Olivia cooed tenderly in Erin's ear, stroking Erin's hair.
"I love you, Mommy!" Erin sobbed out.
"I love you too, sweetie. There, there. It's all right."
When Erin stopped crying and was starting to fall asleep, Olivia carried her over and tenderly tucked her into bed on her stomach with her blanket tucked around her and Candy tucked under one arm.
"Sweet dreams, baby girl." Olivia lovingly kissed Erin's forehead and turned on Erin's unicorn night light before exiting the room.
Erin fell asleep with a smile on her face, knowing that her Mommy loved her very much.