A story for Daymare, with a bonus photo pastie.
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"Becoming a better person often involves a great deal of growing up," Stella said to the dozen women seated around her, "So I hope you guys can forgive me for how I acted in highschool."
"Of course," Mallory said, waving her hand. "We've all changed. That's the point of a reunion."
“And besides”, Mckayla said, “We were all kids, and were all kind of dumb in our own way.”
“Still,” Stella said, “I just wanted to get that out there, in case there was any resentment. I didn’t really consider the feelings of others.”
Mckayla leaned forward with a smile. ”You're obviously a good person, and you’ve done so well for little Gemma."
They all glanced down at the former friend, who had never quite grown like the rest of them. She sat in Stella's lap in a protective hug, with the cutest little pink butterfly pacifier which matched the pink panties which poked out from her short green dress, which did little to hide that they were stretched over a diaper, with white plastic visible at the edges.
"Yes well," Stella smiled, “Being a single mother meant having to rush my career, and I learned to grow up fast."
"Trust me," Jane said, "Husbands aren't all they're cracked up to be."
With that she gave a bounce to the 'boy' in her lap, and there was an audible crinkle. Only, he looked a bit different to others his size generally did. Slightly more mature in proportions somehow.
Camilla emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of carrot cake slices.
“My daughter helped me make these,” she said, “And I promised her we’d give them to Mommy’s friends to see what they thought.”
A few women reached for the carrot cake. Huge bras strained under the weight.
“Mm, delicious.”
“And how old is she now Camilla?”
“Oh, still three.”
“And so big to be helping Mommy with the baking!”
“It’s a far cry from her attempts a few years ago. Wasn’t that one of her problems? Constant unhealthy eat outs?”
Camilla blinked, and her eyes looked distant for a moment.
“Oh, yeah, I suppose that was.”
They munched on the carrot cake, eyes lighting up.
Camilla looked about. “Does anybody need more coffee?”
“I’m good.”
“I could use a refill.”
“Straight black?”
“With one sugar.”
“I’m on it.” Camilla said, and took the order back to the kitchen.
"And where are you working now Stella?" Mckayla asked, sipping at her coffee.
“Do you know the big fitness centre down on Main?”
“With the huge topless guy on the outside? Do I.”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Well I run it. Sort of own it, once I’ve paid it off to the bank.”
“Oh congratulations.”
“I could use some more exercise myself,” Judy mused.
“You should come in,” Stella said. "I’ll personally give you your first workout. Plus, we have swim classes," she said, nodding to the ‘twins’ in Judy's lap. They were decked out in pink and white lacy dresses, with matching big bonnets, and lacy satin panties which stretched over obvious diapers and gave the illusion of them wearing undies. ”And how old are you two now sweeties?"
"Well…"
"Uh…"
They seemed to suddenly almost regret not being pacified like the others, though their voices were still high and sweet like all immature types.
"They're in their terrible twos," Judy said.
Stella nodded. She suspected it was more like early twenties, but that was a form of terrible twos in itself when it came to immature Littles, when many of them fell for the delusions of TV and thought that they could be grown up with careers and such.
"Of course," Judy said, "Mommy has been teaching them that even two isn’t too young for manners. Isn’t that right girls?"
"Yes Mommy!" they both cried in unison.
Where had Stella seen them before? They almost looked like those two small-time popstars who had gone missing about two years back.
"And what do you do now Judy?"
"I manage music venues, and sometimes bands."
"Ah. Do your girls sing?"
Judy beamed. "We are working on something to launch soon."
She gave the twins a proud bounce. "Why don't you girls show the ladies?"
They listened as the girls sang a duet about how they'd one day grow up, but would always be young at heart and would miss these days the most, of dollies and tea parties and not having to worry about stupid boys. The crowd clapped. It was quite good.
Jane laughed at the line about not having to worry about stupid boys, despite her own boy in her lap. She gave him a big bounce.
They had the other girls and boys congratulate the twins on their performance, removing pacifiers when necessary.
Only Mallory kept her girl asleep, where she was bundled up in a sky blue blanket and sucking on her pacifier. It was the sort of pacifier which toothless newborns used for their gums.
“Well we have swimming classes for their age group,” Stella said, lowering her coffee cup, “And we have some special swim diapers, which are locked on tight to help with big pottiers or naughty little hands trying to take off diapers.”
Judy smiled. “Perhaps we will.”
“I can’t believe you’re running a gym.”
“We’ve all grown so much, yet are all kind of the same.”
“I think we’ve all matured a bit and become more compassionate.”
“Do you guys give to any charities? I used to think it was dumb, but-”
“I’m trying to save the bees.”
“And I want more equal representation.”
“I give to Kinder Rescue International. They’re doing amazing work in some of those weird countries.”
“Oh they’re amazing.” Donna agreed, and smiled down at her own girl, who looked a bit older than the rest, though only barely given all the curls in her brown hair and the denim shortalls bulging between her legs which probably did little for any figure she might have had.
“Yeah I donate to them too.”
“Me too.”
“Oh I don’t just donate,” Pam said, “I outright put in an acquisition order!”
“To order what?” Rachella asked, eyes blinking as she tried to figure out the unfamiliar charity.
Pam looked down at the blonde girl in her arms with a beaming smile. “I always wanted to adopt.”
“Oh!”
“Congratulations!”
“And,” Donna said, jumping in, “Some of them are slightly older kids and are less likely to be adopted.”
“They must be so naughty by then.”
“Maybe,” Donna said, “But I think my girl can handle being about four or five. They didn’t have good records on her, so estimated the same. She had a daughter of her own, who was adopted out to some friends of mine, and by all accounts they were just as bad as each other. But she can handle some basic chores.”
“Wow. I didn’t think anybody that size could handle more than rattles.”
Donna laughed. “They’re very basic chores.”
Camilla reappeared with the coffee, and some light cookies which she placed down on one of the coffee tables.
“The kids can have one of these if they’re old enough,” she said, “But they may cause some big poopies.”
With that she departed back to the kitchen. Several of the littles eyed the cookies with conflicted faces.
“Have you guys heard from Celeste?”
“Oh she’s doing some research or something.”
“Quantum computers I think?”
“No, other worlds, if you’d believe it.”
“Waste of time. There’s no such thing. She should work on something practical like better air conditioning.”
Mallory coughed, rocking her sleeping girl in her arms. “I’ve spoken to her. I can assure you her research is legit.”
“Do you have any proof?”
She smiled, rocking her girl. “I’m not supposed to say. It’s all very hush hush.”
The sleeping girl mumbled something behind her pacifier. Mallory clicked her fingers in a curious way beside her ears, and the girl drifted back off to sleep with a small moan and the muffled sound of expanding plastic.
“Sorry,” she said, “Something we said must have set her off. But Mckayla, you haven’t told us what you’re doing!”
“Well,” she grinned, “I’m a teacher!”
“Oh congratulations!”
“Wow. I’d never have picked it. Oh, no offense.”
“Oh none taken.” Mckayla laughed. “I’m not a real teacher like you think. I just help at preschool. It’s barely above babysitting.”
“Oh it must be hard though. Even one or two kids is a lot.”
Mckayla nodded. “Well my daughter goes there,” she said, nodding to the Asian girl in her arms, whose features didn’t at all match Mckayla’s auburn hair and freckled, wide face. “So it’s sort of like being a stay-at-home parent but being paid for it.”
“What a lucky girl! Getting to see your Mommy at preschool.”
“And getting to be taught not to be naughty,” Mckayla added, giving her girl a firm bounce.
“Is she naughty?”
“Oh you wouldn’t believe it,” Mckayla scoffed. “But we saw a special hypnotist who has helped her learn not to sneak into a school to try to steal diapers, and definitely not to touch them.”
Mckayla’s daughter was blushing terribly, and a few of the other Littles gave her strange looks. Though some of them almost looked guilty themselves.
Mckayla looked down at her daughter from behind. “How long has it been since you’ve touched your diapers Libby?”
“Six months and two days, Mommy...”
“And how long will it have been tomorrow?”
“Six months and three days…”
“And how long will it have been by Christmas?”
“One year, Mommy…”
“And by next Christmas?”
“Two years Mommy…”
“That’s right. And by then you’ll have become a very good girl won’t you? Without any naughty thoughts?”
“Yes Mommy…”
Judy leaned forward over her twins. “It’s for your own good Libby.”
“Yes ma’am…”
Mallory’s girl grunted in her sleep, and there was another muffled sound of moving plastic beneath her blanket.
A few of the women chuckled.
“If you need to go change her Mallory...”
“She can wait. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you guys.”
“Hey Mallory, are you and Tristin still?”
“Yeah. We don’t really want to have a traditional marriage though, you know?”
A few of the group nodded.
“Well if you guys have been together for this long,” Stella said with a shrug, “You’re doing better than some people who made it official anyway.”
Pam leaned forward, with her arms wrapped around her own blonde girl.
“I’m of the opinion that couples who divorce young were proven to be very immature.”
“Isn’t that one of the slogans of Kinder Rescue International?”
“Indeed,” she said, bouncing her girl. “They probably spent too much time with their school sweetheart and not paying attention, so have to go back to classes.”
“Is Allie in school?”
“Third grade. Can you believe it? But she had a bit of an accident, so has been moved back to preschool and is having a bit of baby time.”
“Tsk,” Mallory said, shaking her head. “Well maybe next time she’ll appreciate… Pullups? Training pants?”
“Panties,” Pam said, punctuating the word with silence to make it clear how much of a chance Allie had been given, “But they were so wet that the school nurse threw them out.”
“Well, when she gets out of diapers again I’m sure she’ll try harder at school this time.”
“Indeed.”
There was a knock on the door, and Camilla raced through the living room to answer it.
A moment later she returned with another woman, who was pushing a stroller with three ‘girls’ strapped in, each pacified, and each with a different Sesame Street character on the front of their giant diaper, their legs pushed so far apart they almost bumped the girl next to them.
“Sorry I’m late everybody,” Julliete said, “But we had to wrap up a pony ride at the carnival.”
“Wow!” Rachella said, “They’re old enough to ride a pony?”
“Oh no,” Julliete laughed, “There were plastic ponies on a carousel.”
“Wow! They must have liked that?”
Juliette tilted her head in a half nod. “They’re learning to appreciate what they’re given at a store or restaurant or anywhere,” she said.
She adjusted the manager’s name tag on her work uniform.
“Well come in,” Camilla said, “There’s no over-entitled customers here. We were just discussing how mature everybody has become.”
“And,” Mallory laughed, “Somehow we all have kids. That’s probably what helped us all grow up so much.”
“Oh,” Patricia laughed, “You should have heard my daughter a while ago. She was running for congress, claiming physical age is what marks somebody as mature and could be used for driving and drinking and getting out of diapers.”
All the women in the room burst out laughing at once.
Patricia’s own girl squirmed in her mother’s lap, and glanced down rather than make eye contact with any of the giants.
