Rain woke up an hour later. For a few minutes, she couldn't remember what had happened. Why was she so sad? Why
did her bottom hurt?
And then, the memories came back.
Dante falling.
Dante falling.
Dante falling.
Dante falling.
Dante falling.
Over and over, Rain saw Dante falling.
The spanking hadn't changed that. The grounding, the no desserts, the bed right after supper, the no allowance, none of that could
change what had happened, what Rain had done. She knew that now. She knew that nothing could ever change what had happened.
####
Meanwhile Josie and Gary were talking in the living room.
"I think, now, that it was a mistake to spank Rain," Josie said. "It might even have made things worse."
"You told me that she practically begged you to do it," Gary reminded her.
"I know. I just hope she understands that it was for taking my gun, and not for what happened to Dante."
"You explained that to her, didn't you?" Gary asked.
"Yes." Josie sighed. "but I still feel awful about spanking Rain, because what happened was more my fault than hers.
If I hadn't left my gun out..."
Gary interrupted, "We've been over that already. True, you should not have left your gun out. But Rain knew she wasn't supposed to
touch it."
"I know," said Josie, "but Rain is a child, and when she saw the gun, she couldn't resist the temptation to take it to school, to show it off.
I'm the adult,the mother, the cop, and I'm supposed to be the responsible one. What I did was inexcusable."
"MOM!" Rain called from upstairs. "MOM!"
"I'm coming," Josie called back. She started walking towards the stairs, and then turned back to Gary and said, "After I talk to Rain,
I'm going over to Joe's house and do what I should have done before."
"What's that?"
"Hand in my resignation."