Learning to Be Little Again by Meredith O'Reilly

matter? I know that you don’t like spankings, but I forgave you. There’s no need for any more tears.”
    I looked up at him and asked, “So… you still want… to play with… me?”
    Shock registered on his face for a moment before he asked, “What? Sweetie, did you think because I just gave you a spanking I was going to stop seeing you?”
    I sadly nodded my head. I didn’t want him to go. He was perfect.
    He shook his head. “Baby girl, you’re little. You made a mistake, and I punished you, I forgave you, and now we move on. I’m not going to leave you. Unless you want me to?”
    “ No !”
    “Okay then. I’m not going to leave you unless you ask me to.”
    “Promise?”
    “I promise.”
    “Okay,” I said sighing, letting my shoulders release the tension I didn’t realize I was holding. He’s not going to leave. He’s going to stay with you, I kept telling myself.
    “Good. Now please eat your food, sweetie pie.”
    “Okay,” I said and did what he had suggested earlier. Turns out, I didn’t taste the asparagus as much as before when I ate it with a forkful of meatball or spaghetti. Pretty soon, the asparagus was all gone, along with the rest of the food that was on my plate.
    I felt so full. In reality, I knew that there hadn’t been that much food on my plate, but since I hadn’t been eating as much as I should, a kid’s portion felt like a Thanksgiving Day feast to me.
    “Someone was a little bit of a messy eater today,” he chuckled.
    I looked down at myself and noticed a few red spots on my bib, but nothing too messy. I looked up at him confused, and then noticed that he was blotting his shirt with a napkin.
    I started to laugh as I realized he was referring to himself. “Maybe you should wear a bib too!”
    He looked at me and said, “Maybe I should, but how then would people be able to tell which one of us was the daddy and which one of us was the baby girl?”
    “Ummm… They would know because… you’re taller!” I said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind as I continued to giggle.
    We both laughed and it made me feel happy and that I could let go a little more. If Robert could openly laugh at himself, that went a long way in showing me what kind of person he was.

Chapter Ten
     
     
    It was music to my ears to hear Juliana laughing. When she did, it made her look years younger and less on guard. I hoped that one day I could put that look on her face permanently, instead of only seeing it on occasion.
    I still couldn’t believe that she thought I was going to leave her just because I’d given her a spanking for not eating her vegetables. I made a mental note to reassure her so she knew I would always be there for her.
    “What do you want to do now?” I asked her as I finished putting the containers of food away in the refrigerator. I glanced at the clock. It was just about seven forty-five. I planned on putting her down to sleep at around nine fifteen. So, we had plenty of time to play together.
    “We could watch TV again… if you want to,” she suggested, looking up at me hesitantly.
    “That sounds perfect. I also have a few toys that I brought with me that we could play with when we watch TV.”
    “Okay!” she said, nodding her head rapidly.
    I quickly went back into her bedroom, grabbed several of the new Barbie dolls I’d bought for her, and carried them back out into her family room. I placed them on the coffee table.
    “Are these all for me?” she quietly asked, staring at the dolls.
    “Yep. I know how much little girls like playing with their dolls.”
    She hesitantly took one at first as I turned on the TV. Tonight, I found a marathon of Arthur episodes.
    “I don’t like this show,” she said the minute she saw me put the remote back down on the coffee table.
    “I do. Come sit down next to me so we can play,” I said, patting the spot on the couch next to me.
    She did as she was told and I saw her wince. Her bottom must still be awfully