Step father:
I take your hand and off we go for a walk in the woods, hoping that this little walk will settle things between us.
We walk for about 15 minutes, talking about the trees that we see and commenting on their beauty. At one point I say, "The trees are almost as beautiful as you, my son." And you look up at me and give me that adorable smile. Then we chat about some birds that we hear chirping. And we stop to listen.
We walk a little more, and finally sit down. And I bring up the serious subject of our relationship. I explain to you that I am your new daddy. And I explain to you that part of my role as a daddy is to teach you right from wrong. And sometimes, I say, naughty boys need to be spanked to learn properly.
I know, I say, that spankings can sting and that you may not want to be spanked, but they are necessary. And I tell you that you can avoid spankings by being a very very good little boy. You nod and understand, and even give me a smile or two.
Then you get up and come to me, and sit on my lap. I give you a big, huge hug as you sit on my lap. And, to tell you the truth, I am enjoying this moment very much.
The ten year old:
I am glad that you are bring kind to me now and I do not feel so afraid of you.
I like hugging and I like listening to the birds singing but I am impatient and I start to fidget about on your lap so you let me down and I skip ahead of you as we resume our walk in the woods. It is just the two of us, my new daddy and me. It is a pleasant day but the ground is still wet from the rain. It is summer so I have my wellington boots on to keep my feet dry. Other than that I have the white shorts and red teeshirt that you gave me to wear.