Josie unlocked the door and went inside.

"Rain!" she called. "Come into the living room, please."

Rain obeyed. She and Josie sat together on the sofa.

"Have you... have you decided how to punish me, Mom?"

Josie looked at her adopted daughter... her daughter, and said, "Sunshine, before I punish you, I have to apologize to you for leaving my gun
where you could get it. I'm very, very sorry."

"Everybody makes mistakes sometimes," Rain answered.

Josie was amazed at and impressed by the child's mature outlook.

"I went to see Joe, and I told him the truth," Josie said.

"Was he very mad at you?

"I think he was more disappointed than angry."

"Did he... did he punish you?"

"Yes," Josie said. "He suspended me without pay, instead of just giving me the time off, for as long as you are suspended from schoo, plus one more week.
So, this is going to be your punishment. You are grounded for as long as you are suspended, plus one week, and during that time you will get no allowance.
Fair enough?"

"No," Rain whispered.

"No? Sunshine, I think I'm letting you off very easily. Taking my gun, even though I should not have left it out, was a very wrong thing for you to do."

"That's just it, Mom! It's not ENOUGH of a punishment. I killed Dante! I KILLED him!"

"Rain, listen to me. I am not punishing you for what happened to Dante. That part was an accident."

"I know, Mom, but you should still give me a really big punishment for taking your gun."

Josie thought for a minute.
"I saw a TV program years ago where a girl shoplifted to get into a club, and her mother asked her what she thought her punishment should be," she said. "So I
think that's what we'll do. What do you think your punishment should be? And remember, what happened to Dante has nothing to do with it."

"I know," Rain said, "but if I hadn't taken your gun, he'd still be alive.

"And no punishment can change that," Josie said. "So do we cancel your punishment, or do I let you decide what it should be?"

"Just for taking your gun," Rain said bitterly, "I should be punished every day for the rest of my life."

"That's a bit drastic," Josie said.

"Mom, can I really decide my own punishment?"

"Yes, but only if it helps you get through this."

"Okay," Rain said. "I'm grounded, with no allowance, like you said. Besides that, I shouldn't have any dessert during that time, and I should go to bed
right after supper every night."

"Sounds reasonable," Josie said.

"Plus," Rain went on, "I should have something that hurts... I mean really hurts."

"What do you mean?" Josie asked, afraid of what the answer would be.

"I mean.." Rain crawled over Josie's lap. "I mean you should spank me very, very hard."

Josie gulped. Then she said,"All right, Sunshine, I will."

She raised her hand.
####

The tv show mentioned in this chapter is "Our House," created by James Lee Barrett.
The episode referred to is "Artful Dodging, written by Joel J. Feigenbaum.