I don’t remember all the events of this particular incident. Mom and I were getting ready to go out for the day to see mom’s best friend Toni and her daughter Linda, who was a year younger than me. Mom had told me this was going to be a ‘dress-up event in which I would have to wear a dress shirt, bow tie, dress shorts, and jacket so she could show me off to everyone. I had taken my morning bath and was in the living room with Mom. Mom had just ironed my dress shirt and handed it to me to put on, as well as my shorts.  I put the shorts on without any problem. Then I put the shirt on – it was very fancy and had long tails front and back. I didn’t think it was an issue because Mom would tuck them into my pants in a minute. I remember chatting with mom as she buttoned all the shirt buttons, helped me tuck in the tails then zipped me up. Mom finished by putting on my bow tie. I thought I was ready to go but then Mom noticed something wrong with my shorts. I thought they looked fine but Mom was a perfectionist and told me to take them off again – I think they weren’t ironed to her expectations. I dropped them to the floor and she picked them up, placing them on the ironing board. Mom told me to get my dress jacket and shoes while she finished ironing my shorts. I really didn’t want to wear the jacket and argued with her. Mom wasn’t having any of it. She gave me ‘the look’ and scolded me for arguing and talking back. I sensed that a sore bottom was imminent and I got it into my head that no way was I going to be spanked for this! I immediately ran into my own bedroom and hid in the closet. I was sitting on the closet floor when I heard Mom come into my room. After a few minutes, she walked out again, and I naively thought that this had ‘worked’ and Mom wouldn’t be able to find me. In reality, of course, she knew exactly where I was, and that my spanking could wait a few minutes while she went back to finish ironing my shorts! After a short while, Mom came back into my room, my shorts in her hand. She opened the closet door and saw me sitting there on the floor.  I looked up and gave her my best ‘puppy dog’ look of mute appeal. All she said was: “Eddie, come out now.” There was no further place to run, so I had no choice but to obey her. “Why are you hiding in the closet?” she asked. “Because I thought you were going to spank me,” I replied. She neither confirmed nor denied this, but it was pretty plain to both of us that a spanking was firmly on the agenda for me. Mom sat down on the bed and told me to come closer. “Eddie, you must never run away from Mommy again, do you understand?” This would have been the right time for me to apologize properly but all I came out with was: “OK.” Mom looked at me for a few more seconds, as if thinking hard. I think she was concerned that if she put me across her lap, as she normally did to punish me, my shirt and bow tie would get all messed up, and she wouldn’t have time to fix everything again before we had to leave. Eventually, she told me to turn away from her and face the closet. While I stood there, she put her left arm across my chest and slowly smacked my bottom five times over my shirttail. This was unusual as mom usually gave me far more smacks, depending on the offense. Indeed, when I had been very naughty, I would be unable to keep count. I think Mom must have really found this spanking position awkward, but there were no complaints from me! Finally, Mom said: “Right – now get dressed unless you want a much harder spanking!” I did as I was told, and by the time I was ready, I looked like her Little Lord Fauntleroy. Mom combed my hair and took a good look at my hands to make sure they were clean. Then we left the house and got into the car.