“My sweet little kitten,” Daddy murmurs, patting my back exactly as one might a fussy baby as he carries me to the cafe where we’re supposed to meet Auntie Cat. “I promise as soon as we finish with our next appointment you can have a nap.”
The word “appointment” will forever have alarm bells ringing in my head for as long as I live, but I’m too exhausted to protest. Maybe after I have something to eat I’ll have the energy, but for now all I can do is whimper as I cling to this man who is somehow both my damnation and my salvation in one.
A soft gasp greets us as Daddy pushes open the door to the cafe. “Oh, Evander. What’s wrong? Is she sick?”
“No, nothing like that. Just naughty,” Daddy assures Auntie Cat with a quiet laugh.
“What did you do to my poor little niece? Come here, sweetheart.”
Just like that, I’m plucked from Daddy’s arms as Auntie Cat holds me close, swaying gently as I wrap myself around her with a deliberately pitiful whimper. Risking a glance over her shoulder, I meet Daddy’s amused gaze and he raises an eyebrow as if to silently tell me he isn’t buying what I’m selling.
Maybe he’s not, but Auntie Cat certainly is.
“Your ‘poor little niece’ learned a very hard lesson today about the kind of language Little girls are allowed to use. Isn’t that right, kitten?”
Instead of responding, I sniffle loudly and bury my face in Auntie Cat’s neck.
“Poor thing. It’s hard adjusting to life in a new place with lots of new rules, isn’t it, sweet girl?”
Another quiet, pitiful sniffle. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, hopefully you’ve learned your lesson and your Daddy won’t have to punish you for using any of those yucky big girl words again.”
There’s an undercurrent to her tone that tells me I may have miscalculated a bit. While she’s plenty sympathetic, it’s clear she is also on Daddy’s side in this fight. “Yes, Auntie Cat.”
“That’s our good girl. Now, let’s get something in that tummy of yours before we head to your next appointment.”
“No more appointments,” I whine, wrapping my arms even more tightly around her neck. “I wanna go home.”
“Poor Little girl. Evander, why don’t you go order her some food while I give her a bottle. I’m sure she’ll feel much better after some milk.”
I don’t want a bottle, but I also don’t want to risk upsetting the person coddling me, so I don’t argue as Auntie Cat carries meover to a table surrounded by large, comfortable chairs. All of the tables have the same chairs, I realize, clearly built for a Daddy or an Auntie to hold a Little one on their lap as they eat.
There are also plenty of adult-sized highchairs scattered around the room, and the whole setup is enough to have me sitting up, my gaze traveling the cafe. Honestly, it’s kind of impressive, all the little details they’ve managed to include all the different places on this island of depravity.
Even being trapped here against my will, I can appreciate the work they’ve put into building this place.
Auntie Cat shifts me so I’m cradled in her arms rather than wrapped around her, and she places a rather cavernous purse on the table. From which she pulls a fresh bottle of milk as she beams down at me.
“Here you go, sweet girl.” She presses the nipple against my lips and I reluctantly open my mouth. “A fresh bottle of Auntie Cat’s milk, pumped just for you this morning.”
The words click in my mind at the exact same time the sweet taste of her milk coats my tongue, washing away the remnants of Doctor D’s naughty girl potion. This isn’t just any milk that they happened to put in a bottle for me.
It’s breast milk. From an actual human person.
But not just any person. From one of the richest women in the world, who is currently holding me Iike an actual baby as I drink her milk from a freaking bottle.
I was wrong before. There’s no way I’m going to win a Pulitzer for this story because not a damn person in the world will believe this is true. Hell, I’m questioning my own reality and I’m the one living it.
I’m going to need even more proof than I originally thought to back up this story.
The question is… what kind of proof would people actually accept? And how the hell am I supposed to get it when I can’t even sneak out of bed at night without Daddy knowing?
Evander
By the time we finish lunch, Natalie is seeming much more like herself, though she still refuses to leave Cat’s lap. Apparently I’m being punished for my part in her humiliation back at Doctor D’s office, which I find more amusing than I would ever admit, at least to her.
Even when we leave the cafe, she insists on clinging to her Auntie Cat’s hand instead of mine. Cat, of course, is delighted by this, so I let them have their moment as we make our way over to the Cozy Cradle.
