I was a little angry. I wasn't upset that she didn't show up to walk Maggie. I was upset, however, that she didn't call me. I was worried. I knew in my head that it was likely she was fine. But in my heart, I was worried. I kept telling myself to calm down. I could not lose control of my emotions when I saw Faith. And what the hell was this? I had never gotten upset like this with other submissive women. I punished them, sure. But I didn't allow myself to get angry. Well, there was that one small difference ... I was completely in love with Faith. And it tore at my heart strings that she didn't call me to tell me something had come up.
When I heard her tap on the back door and walk in, I took a deep breath and counted to ten. And then I stopped counting when I saw her. She was all smiles and excited, although that isn't what caused me to blink when I saw her. She was beautiful. She had makeup on, not overdone. And she was in a beautiful dress. My heart was melting. I heard my inner voice telling me, "Don't be such a wimp. She needs punishing!"
"You look lovely," I said, as unemotionally as I could. "Is there a special occasion?"
"My mom wanted me to dress nicely for my graduation pictures. But I wanted you to see me first. I wanted to show you my dress." She smiled again.
Christ. I hated to have to scold her and remove that smile from her face. And then a thought came to me. This was an opportunity for another lesson. And I smiled. It was even more important that I not be angry.
"You really do look lovely, Faith." Ok. Here it goes. Be prepared for tears. "I wondered where you were this morning. Maggie missed you."
She had completely forgotten. I could see it in her face. I saw guilt, but more importantly, I saw regret. "I imagine you were involved with whatever your Mother had planned."
She looked at the floor. "Yes, Master. She had me trying on dresses until we decided on this one. I completely forgot." She looked up at me, her lower lip trembling. "I'm so sorry, Master. I should have told Mom that I had to walk Maggie."
"Faith, there will always be times where there are conflicts and other things that get in the way." I hesitated for a moment. "But you should have called. I was worried. Very worried. I thought for sure that you would call me if you could not come over. When you didn't call, ....." I stopped talking.
She ran to me and pressed her face into my chest and began to cry. "I'm so sorry Master." She struggled to speak between sobs. "I never ever want to hurt you. I love you."
"Shhhhh, my love. I know you love me and I know you never meant to hurt me. But you were a little careless. You were thinking of yourself and not of me. That cannot go unpunished."
She looked up at me, just a touch of fear in her eyes. "You are going to punish me?"
"Don't you think I should?"
She hid her eyes in my chest again. "Yes. I deserve it. What is my punishment? What do I need to do to make this right?"
"Take your panties off."