"Okay, so now we need three eggs. Do you want to crack them or should Mama do it?" Olivia pulled the eggs from the refrigerator and closed the door.
"Me! Me! Me!" Amanda grinned excitedly, kneeling on a chair at the kitchen counter wearing an apron to protect her clothes with her long blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her bottom was still tender from her spanking a couple of hours ago, but she felt happy knowing that she was forgiven and she felt safe knowing that Mama was still lovingly in charge.
"Go for it." Olivia smiled.
"Ewww! Egg guts!" Little Mandy giggled watching the eggs drop into the bowl.
"That's my good girl." Olivia praised, fishing a small fragment of eggshell out of the bowl with a fork.
Little Mandy beamed at Mama's praise. As a child, Amanda had never been allowed to help bake a cake before and decided that it was great fun baking a cake that wasn't even for anyone's birthday. The cake was finally in the oven and chaos suddenly ensued when Little Mandy decided to flick some flour at Mama's nose. Before long, Little Mandy and Mama were engaged in a full out war with flour and sugar all over the kitchen and themselves.
"Oh no! The Mama monster is back!" Mama teased, catching Amanda around her waist and tickling her belly.
"Not the Mama monster!" Amanda squealed hysterically as she was tickled, but she was relishing every single second of Mama's attention and affection.
Little Mandy was rescued from the Mama monster by the sound of Mama's phone ringing. Olivia patted Amanda's belly affectionately and released her from her arms with a kiss to her temple. Little Mandy struggled to calm her giggles.
"Benson… yes, sir."
Mama never called anyone 'sir' unless it was work calling, and Little Mandy just waited to see what would happen. She really didn't want to be a big girl right now if she didn't have to be. Olivia groaned internally as she listened to what the man had to say, already knowing that this situation was going to end very badly.
"Do you have to go to work?" Little Mandy asked when Mama hung up the phone.
"No, I don't. That was Mama's boss calling to tell me something. Now, you and Mama both need a bath, so let's get cleaned up and then Mama will tell you about that phone call."
"We look like ghosts!" Little Mandy giggled, looking down at herself covered in white powder.
Olivia gave Amanda a bath and took a shower then spent some time cleaning the kitchen. Then Olivia took Amanda out to the big, comfy rocker and sat down with Amanda cuddled on her lap.
"Okay, so Mama got a phone call from work, right?"
"Right." Little Mandy agreed, snuggling into Mama's arms.
"Well, that was my boss telling me that he needs me to go to California for three days next week for a big, important police conference."
"Can I go too?"
"I'm afraid I can't take you with me, sweetie. You have to stay home because 'big girl' Amanda has to stay here and go to work." Olivia explained gently and braced herself for the waterworks.
"Mama, don't leave me!" Little Mandy burst into sobs as fear gripped her heart.
For the next several days, Little Mandy was stuck to Mama like velcro at every available opportunity and spent far more time than usual being tenderly cuddled and babied in Mama's arms. Olivia offered constant reassurance that she wasn't abandoning Amanda; she would be back in three days and then after that she was taking a week off from work so it would just be the two of them all week and Mama would cuddle her as much as she wanted. Olivia arranged for Amanda to stay with her best friend Dani and Dani's Daddy while she was gone so that she wouldn't be alone in their apartment and if Amanda decided she wanted to be 'little', she had supervision. The day arrived and Olivia's heart broke as she had to leave Little Mandy sobbing in Dani's arms and catch a plane to California.
"Hello, lucky man who got to stay home with the babies while I had to endure such a crappy conference." Olivia grumbled when she returned to New York and went to pick Amanda up.
"Come on in, grumpy. Mandy! Mama's back!"
"MAMA!" Little Mandy jumped into Mama's arms, overjoyed and overwhelmed with relief that Mama had come back for her just like she said she would instead of dumping her on someone's doorstep.
"Oh, baby, Mama missed you!" Olivia held Amanda tight and kissed her.
"Mama, don't ever leave me again!" Amanda buried her face on Mama's chest, clinging to Mama for dear life.
"I'll try not to get roped into anymore out of state conferences. Were you a good girl while Mama was gone?" Olivia rubbed Amanda's back.
Little Mandy looked up at Dani's Daddy, not quite sure how to answer the question.
"Well, we had a couple of time-outs yesterday, but that's over and forgiven as far as I'm concerned." the man smiled kindly. Olivia had specifically told him not to spank Amanda if she got in trouble, given her fear of physical punishment at the hands of a man.
"Mama, are you going to spank me for getting in trouble yesterday?" Little Mandy asked on their way home.
"No, baby, I'm not. Whatever happened, it's in the past and forgiven."
Olivia quickly realized that she probably should have spanked Amanda when they got home, if for no other reason than to let her cry out the tension that was clearly building inside of her. Over the next several days, Little Mandy threw several tantrums, even going as far as to pull apart Mama's $200 string of pearls, sending the beads flying everywhere. Olivia picked Amanda up, sat down on the bed, and dumped the struggling blonde across her lap. It was in this position that Little Mandy eventually exhausted herself, stopped kicking and struggling, and stopped screaming.
"Calm down. Just breathe, baby." Olivia reached underneath Amanda's t-shirt to rub her heaving back while Little Mandy dangled over her lap panting heavily.
Little Mandy struggled to catch her breath, blinking back tears. She had too many emotions inside of her and she didn't know what to do with them all. She'd tried to be a big girl while Mama was gone, but her fear of abandonment had been kicked into overdrive and gotten the best of her. At Dani's house, she'd been put in the corner at least three or four times for her disrespectful tongue and deliberately smashing a glass figurine. She was convinced that Mama was gone and was never coming back, and now that Mama was back, Little Mandy needed something she couldn't even describe. Luckily, Little Mandy had a very smart Mama who seemed to understand exactly what her little girl needed and pulled down Little Mandy's pants and diaper, raised up her hand, and brought it down sharply on Amanda's bare bottom.
"I love you, Mama." Little Mandy whimpered through her tears as Mama spanked her bottom.
"I love you too, sweetheart. Very much. Mama will never abandon her sweet little Mandy."
It was exactly what she needed to hear in that moment and Little Mandy sobbed in relief.