Stone was very happy with her answer. She worked far too hard as it was and definitely needed the freedom to completely immerse herself in her chosen role.
“Good for you, Webby,” he said. The nickname was one he only used when she was securely seated in her Little headspace. It came from her love of all things having to do with ducks including her honorary Uncle Scrooge from the cartoons.
Taking the two-piece suit from her, he folded it neatly and set it on the bed. “How you managed to find not one but two suits in this mess is beyond comprehension.” He quirked his eyebrow and added, “Which begs the question of why you are packing in the nude in the first place?”
“So I can pack everything I’ll need, of course,” she said as if he were too dense to understand.
He wasn’t dense, but he also wasn’t going to get into a debate about how that logic made any sense. Neither was he going to haul a ton of useless items around the airport. A believer that actions spoke louder than words, he continued to “unpack” by adding several things to the discard pile.
It wasn’t until he’d pulled out a hodgepodge of sweaters mixed in with camisoles and t-shirts, several pairs of thick wool socks as well as thin cotton ones that he realized, despite how stuffed the suitcase was, something was missing. Just to be sure, he separated the tops into stacks by style, let all but one pair of wool socks roll to the floor while keeping the thinner ones on the bed, and set jeans, leggings, shorts and overalls aside until all that was left was a rather large pile of plush yellow feathers.
“Well, hello, Mr. Quackers. I’m rather surprised you could even breathe beneath all those clothes.”
Micah’s soft giggle drew his eyes to where her hands were motioning in a “gimme” gesture. Stone scanned the now empty case, acknowledging that she had indeed forgotten to pack the items he’d specifically told her to include. Still he’d make sure it had been deliberately done and not a simple misunderstanding.
“Do you have any other bags?”
“No, you said I could only have one bag so that’s why I got the biggest one I could find,” Micah said. “I can’t go without Mr. Quackers, Daddy. He would be too lonely!”
He tended to agree. Not that the inanimate stuffie would be lonely, but that it was an item his Little girl would definitely need. In fact, he had a feeling she was going to be needing it quite a bit sooner than she’d planned. Moving to the side of the bed, he sat on the edge. “Micah, where is the list I gave you to use to pack?”
“Um, I think I lost it.”
“How is that possible? I gave it to you this morning.”
“I don’t know. I had it and then, well, I didn’t. Maybe it’s in the suitcase?”
Stone leaned over and turned the suitcase around so they could both easily look inside. “It’s not, and you know what else isn’t in here?”
Any questions about her intentions were put to rest when his Little began to squirm. Stone could practically hear the gears churning in her head as her bottom lip disappeared between her teeth.
“Webby?”
“Umm, I’m thinking,” she said.
“Thinking? About what?”
“About how it coulda gotten lost.”
Stone nodded, his fingers running along the stuffed duck’s plush feathers. “That’s good, but I believe we both know how it got lost.”
When her mouth opened, seeing his left eyebrow rise was enough to have it snapping shut again.
“Babygirl, you’re in enough trouble already. I suggest you do some serious thinking about what you want to say next.” Setting Mr. Quackers against the headboard, Stone stood back and gestured for her to come to him.
It was a very reluctant Little who gave a deep sigh before flipping onto her hands and knees and crawling over the expanse of the king-size bed to reach him. Once she was close enough, Stone scooped her up and carried her across the room.
“Daddy, I think I can find it,” she said as their destination became clear. “I don’t need to go there.”
There was the naughty-girl corner in their bedroom and it was exactly where she needed to go. Ignoring her protest, he didn’t slow until he reached the corner which was bare except for a small stool with a top that could be opened. Not needing anything inside her naughty-stool at the moment, Stone pushed it aside before setting her on her feet. Once his arms were free, he turned her to face the juncture of the two walls.
“Nose and nips in, bottom out,” he said, well aware the instruction never failed to make her face turn pink.
She looked back at him imploringly. “Maybe I can be Little tomorrow?”
“Sorry, Webby-girl, it doesn’t work that way. You’ve made your choice, and it’s one I think you really need to stick with. Am I wrong?”
A heavy exhale spoke of her capitulation. “No, Daddy, I just don’t like corner-time. It’s really icky, not to mention bo-oorr-rriinng.”
