Lizzy’s Turn (pt. II): It Takes a Village

The following weekend, the four girls met for lunch before the SSA meeting. Over tacos and enchiladas, they tried to relax and forget about their nervousness.

Lucy turned to Stella, “You know what Liz said after I told her about … you know … out meeting with Sensei?” She put her arm around her younger partner, grinning affectionately.

“Let me guess,” Stella grinned back. “Something along the lines of ‘Does that mean I’m off the hook?’”

Eyes widened and mouth open, Lu and Liz couldn’t believe what they had just heard. “How’d you know, Stel?!” The college girl asked incredulously.

Stella and Cat burst out laughing. “Tell them, baby,” Stella winked at her younger girlfriend, patting her thigh under the table.

Blushing, Cat said, “Well, after Stel told me about it, I asked her ‘Does that mean Liz is off the hook?’ I mean since Lu did the same thing and all.” She looked at Lu hopefully.

The two Tops shook their heads simultaneously. “Naughty brats think alike,” Stella quipped.

Lucy snorted, “No, sorry to disappoint you girls, but Liz is definitely NOT off the hook.” She cast a stern but loving glace at her younger girlfriend.

“So what’s gonna happen at this meeting?” Liz asked nervously.

Lucy and Stella exchanged a look of uncertainty, but they tried to be reassuring for their girlfriends. “It’s probably just lady spankos sitting around talking and stuff, you know just like AA meetings.” Lucy said trying to sound casual.

“But we wouldn’t know anything about AA, would we?” The college girls pointed out.

“Yeah well, good point. Think of it this way, it might be fun, girls,” Stella put in, “to meet like-minded women and talk about dd and spanking, and for us to learn how to handle naughty girls more effectively.” She winked.

“Meanie,” Cat stuck her tongue out at her older girlfriend.

“Bu-but, that Sensei, she sounded a bit um… scary.” Liz wrinkled her nose.

“Well, she WAS very strict if I recall correctly.” Lu looked at Stella.

“I agree.” Stella nodded. “But she was always fair and kind-hearted.”

Lucy gave Liz a kiss on the head and said, “Don’t worry baby. Stella and I will take good care of ya girls, okay?” She ruffled Liz’s hair fondly.

After lunch, the four women walked to the Colonial Revival architectural style building in the center of downtown. Built in the late 19th Century, the grand Georgian structure was a reminder of the town’s colonial influences. It had been the City Library for as long as anybody could remember.

They walked in through the heavy front door and found the stairway leading to the basement. The room they were looking for was located at the end of a wide corridor. The door was ajar. The four women stopped, looking at each other.

Taking a deep breath, Stella pushed it open slowly.

Inside, there were about a couple dozen women milling about, arranging chairs in a circle. They were of various ages, sizes and colors and everyone seemed friendly and comfortable being there. Dr. Osaki saw the four young women right away and bounded over. She hugged each of them and then introduced them to a petite woman with auburn hair standing next to her, “This is Maddy, my partner.”

Maddy shook their hands and winked at Cat and Lizzy. “Got a surprise for you girls.” She pointed at a woman not far away.

The two college girls followed her finger and saw a familiar face in the crowd. With a sharp squeak, they quickly went to hide behind their girlfriends’ back.

Stella and Lucy looked quizzically at Sensei, who broke into a chuckle, “Ah, let me introduce Dr. Kato to you.” She beckoned for the stats professor and her partner to come over. “Stella, Lucy, meet Lynn Kato, my college roommate. And this is her wife, Reagan.”

Dr. Kato shook Stella’s hand, “It’s so nice to meet you, Stella, and thank you for … um, taking care of Cat in this most unfortunate incident. I was pleased with how you handled her.”

Stella blushed and said sincerely, “Thank YOU, Dr. Kato. Please, I apologize for Cat’s mistake. Thank you for your kindness and help in this matter.”

“You are welcome.” Dr. Kato turned to Cat and winked, “You better behave in my class next semester eh?”

Nodding, Cat blushed and smiled shyly.

Then Dr. Kato turned to Lucy, “You must be Lucy. Nice to meet you.”

Lucy held out her hand, “Nice to meet you too, Dr. Kato. I’d like to apologize for Lizzy too.” Her younger girlfriend was standing behind her, shifting from foot to foot.

Dr. Kato gave Lizzy a hug and said kindly, “Glad you can all come today.”

A tall elegant woman called everyone to the chairs and the meeting started. She clearly was the facilitator and was in charge today. She smiled at everyone and her eyes stopped at the four new comers.

“Please introduce yourselves, ladies. First names only please, or nicks if you wish.” She said pleasantly.

After the brief intro, the lady asked for a round of applause for the new comers. Then she reiterated the anonymous nature of SSA by saying, “What transpires in this room stays in this room.” Everyone nodded.

Then the room became lively.

Stella and Lucy were amazed to see that everyone was so relaxed and uninhibited when they talked about disciplines and spankings. They rattled off terms like tops and bottoms naturally, with no hint of embarrassment whatsoever. One woman said something naughty and her partner swiftly swatted her on her bottom and everyone laughed.

It seemed people were at different stages of the dd journey, some seasoned like Sensei and Maddy and Lynn and Reagan, whereas others were beginners. Their concerns were also very different.

A young woman with a Northern European accent, clearly new at dd, shared that she had recently entered a long distance top/bottom relationship. “I’m in college,” she started her story, “and I’d like to work on my time management skills, bedtime and procrastination issues.”

Everyone nodded, encouraging her to continue.

“But I was wondering how this can work. You see, I feel like I’m the one in charge ‘cause I’m the one who picks and chooses what and when to tell my Top, so in a sense I’m the one who decides on the outcome.” She took a breath and looked around. “My second question is, because of long distance, I have to, eh, spank myself,” she said a little uncertainly. “It feels a bit weird to spank myself. Besides, what if I cheat? Like when my Top says ‘a hard swat’ and I give my bottom a pat?” The young woman finished with a mischievous grin.

Everyone agreed those were great questions and they all chimed in to respond. Someone pointed out that the fact the college girl had sought out the SSA and had taken the time to come to the meeting showed that she was taking the dd relationship seriously and wanted it to work. Sensei added that essentially she WAS in charge of her own discipline because if she didn’t take it seriously, “it would be a waste of time for both you and your Top. It’s you who want to make improvement, right? Your Top is only there to help you.” The college girl nodded in agreement. Another woman said that while self-spanking was certainly not for everyone, but “if you are not able to be in a face-to-face dd relationship, then long-distance can certainly be a viable alternative for some people.” They then gave her some practical tips in online relationship safety and how to spot red flags in a LD discipline relationship. They encouraged her to use Skype as a useful tool of interaction with her Top.

The young woman seemed very pleased with the responses. She smiled, “You guys have given me so much to think about!” She promised to come back and report on how things were going.

Cat and Lizzy listened intently, fascinated at the young woman’s questions and everyone’s enthusiastic responses. Self spanking, the girls looked at each other and giggled. Not for us. They felt very lucky that their loving partners/tops were right there with them. Both girls moved closer to their toppy girlfriends and put their arms around their shoulders appreciatively.

Next, a middle-aged couple, one with long wavy hair and the other a cute crew cut, started to share. They said they loved the dd concept and felt it would benefit their relationship. They had tried a few times with varying degrees of success. “But what we really would like to know,” the crew cut said while tucking her arm through the long hair’s elbow affectionately, “is how to make this discipline thing work effectively between two equal partners, like us.” Then she chuckled and told a story. “For example, yesterday my love was over my knee getting a sound spanking for not keeping her promise, right? As I was swinging my arm diligently hard, in the middle of her ows and leg kicking, I mean, out of the blue, she turned around and asked me ‘Hey, can we have sushi for dinner?’ That totally did me in! I mean I ended up laughing so hard that we just couldn’t get back to the serious business.” She gave her partner a kiss on the cheek and they both grinned.

Everyone giggled and laughed. Sensei and Maddy nudged and winked at each other nodding. Clearly they could relate. “Well,” Sensei put in after the room became quiet. “Sometimes a moment of humor is a nice and welcoming break in a tense session, particularly for the bottom, but for the top too.” She glanced at Maddy affectionately. “But once the moment passes, the top needs to take a deep breath and bring the bottom back to the business on hand, no matter how uncomfortable that might be.” Maddy nodded and added, “I think it depends on how serious the couple wants the dd relationship to be. Sometimes a light moment is just a Bottom’s way of diffusing a very intense situation.” Speaking from personal experience of course.

A lively discussion ensued with lots of helpful suggestions. A few others shared their funny moments too.

Then the four new comers were surprised to see a young woman bring out a cane from under her chair. She held it in front of her and asked for advice on how to use it properly, “My partner wants me to try this on her but I’ve never used it before. I’d like to learn how to use it safely and not hurt her.” Stella perked up because she’d never used a cane either. The woman looked around the room and asked, “Perhaps someone can make a demonstration of its proper use?”

Sensei turned to Maddy and winked. Maddy blushed, mouthing “Don’t you dare!”

Dr. Lynn Kato stood up and walked with her wife Reagan to the middle of the room. The facilitator lady let them use her chair. Reagan put her hands on the back of the chair and slightly bent her body so her backside was sticking out. Lynn took the cane from the young woman and stood beside her wife measuring out the distance. She then raised her arm and tested her swing a few times in the air, the swishing sound sending shivers down Cat and Lizzy’s backs. When satisfied, Dr. Kato brought the cane down onto Reagan’s buttocks soliciting a loud yeow from her.

Everyone was watching intensely when Dr. Kato stopped to explain a few techniques in safely using a cane. She demonstrated by striking Reagan a couple more times. When it ended, the room broke into a thunderous applause for Lynn and Reagan. The two women kissed and hugged before they walked back to their chairs arm in arm, Reagan rubbing her bottom vigorously. There were cheering and high-fives all around.

Though it was their first visit, by now the four new comers were quite comfortable being there. They really enjoyed the amazing ease with which everyone talked about dd and felt spanko sisterhood affinity with the others in the room.

When the facilitator turned to them and asked if they would like to share whatever they felt comfortable with. Lucy hesitated for a brief second. She looked at Sensei, who returned an encouraging smile and nod. Then Lucy turned to Liz, her eyes asking for permission. The younger girl glanced around the room at all the friendly faces before giving her girlfriend a brave nod.

Lucy cleared her throat and told everyone their story. “We’d really appreciate your suggestions on how to resolve this,” she finished by asking for help.

The room was quiet for a second. Then everyone started talking enthusiastically, all at once.

When the room grew quiet again, Maddy stood up and summarized the discussion in a professorial fashion. “Ok, from everyone’s responses, it seems to me there are two parts to a good solution. First, Lucy is asking for Gen’s forgiveness for her own transgression that occurred five years ago. I believe she needs to feel FULLY absolved before being able to take care of Lizzy.”

People nodded and murmured their agreement while turning to look at Dr. Osaki meaningfully. The professor straightened up, took a deep breath and turned her gaze at Lucy, her eyes inquiring gently. Lucy locked her eyes with Sensei’s, whispering, “Yes, please.”

Sensei then turned to Maddy, “Honey?”

The plant pathology professor waved her hand and answered decidedly, “Yes, of course. Let’s find a time for Lu to come over to the house.”

Everyone applauded. Stella breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, but Cat and Lizzy’s eyes grew to the size of ping pong balls and their mouths dropped open. They started whispering and nudging each other, incredulous.

Maddy cleared her throat before continuing, “Now move onto the second part. What about Lizzy?”

The two college students stopped in the middle of their whispering. Lizzy became nervous and Cat leaned over and looped an arm over her friend’s shoulder.

All eyes turned to Lucy. She took some time considering her reply before she said, “First let me thank you all for your help. Liz and I really appreciate all your suggestions and ideas.” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I feel confident that after Dr. O. punishes me and grants her forgiveness, I will be able to discipline Liz properly and effectively for her misdeed.”

The room broke into another applause. Lizzy relaxed. She snuggled into her Top and blushed.

“And I will always be ready to support you, Lu,” Stella gave her best friend a hug.

“And I will be there for you, Liz,” Cat put in helpfully.

Pleased to see the scene unfolding before her, Dr. Kato kindly offered her support as well. “Let me see if I can pull a few strings at school and have Lizzy’s expulsion suspended. I can’t guarantee but I’ll try my best.” Her partner Reagan nodded approvingly. “But unfortunately,” Dr. Kato addressed Liz in a matter of fact way, “you’re definitely going to lose your scholarship for at least a semester.”

Lizzy lowered her head and focused on her feet.

Everyone thought it was fair though they were sympathetic. The crew cut lady immediately mentioned the possibility of a part-time job at the animal clinic where she worked as a vet. Her partner, the long wavy haired woman, also said her school was looking for a college student to work in their after school program.

Lucy and Liz were so touched by everyone’s kindness and support that they were both tearing up. “Thank you everyone,” they said appreciatively.

As the four girls hugged goodbyes to Sensei and others, they felt such a great relief. They knew in their hearts that everything would be all right now that they were part of a great community. It indeed takes a village. They all agreed to continue coming back to the SSA meetings.

A great burden off her shoulder, Lucy felt extremely light-hearted. She hadn’t felt this way for weeks. Now she knew for sure she would have the strength to face the music when the time came. I love my darling too much not to! With a broad smile on her face, she led them all to her favorite ice cream parlor where fancy sweet treats awaited. The two college girls woohooed as soon as they saw where they were going.