Chapter XIII

Cora led the way out of the restaurant, weaving through fancy tables, until we were alone on the street. "That was weird," I said plainly. "Who were they, anyway?" "Cora!" A woman hurried down the street, two shopping bags in her arms, with all the grace of a drunk penguin. Cora gave me a look and put her finger to her lips. I understood the instruction: no talking. "Cora, oh gosh, I knew you'd be here! I was uptown, and--" The woman stopped, looked at me, then up at Cora again. "Who's this?"

"This?" Oh. Cora smiled with all the pride of an actual parent. "This is Nattie, she's our little princess project." It took a moment for the woman to click what that meant, and then realization swept over her face. "Oh. OH! Like Im-" And Cora didn't let her finish that comparison. "Nattie, this is Fliss - she's my friend." "Best friend," Fliss interjected, and Cora laughed. "Yes, darling."

Princess project? What was that about? I opened my mouth to greet the strange, eccentric woman - Fliss - but then I remembered the rule. No talking. I looked at Cora for an answer, who seemed to ignore me. So instead of introducing myself, I gave Fliss a tiny wave and a half-smile, just like the women in the restaurant. Now I understood: the half-smiles were nervous smiles. But what did they have to be nervous about? "Well, it's nice to meet you, Nattie." Natalie, I nearly corrected her, but I held my tongue. Ugh, this was so annoying!

"Are you hungry, Cora?" Fliss asked, and Cora mercifully shook her head with a smile. "Actually, we just ate," "Oh poo. Okay, how about coffee? Nattie could get a chocolate milk?" And that comparison suggestion made Cora smile noticeably brightly. "You know what, Fliss? That sounds lovely. Do you know a place nearby?" "Obviously! Who do you think I am?"

Chocolate milk? Why couldn't I have coffee? I loved coffee! But I wasn't about to break the one rule Cora gave me. So I looked on in frustration as Fliss led the way down the block, into a coffee shop. I saw a sign for the restroom and tugged on Cora's blouse. When she looked at me, I pointed at the bathroom.

"You can hold it until we're at home, darling, we won't be awfully long." Why, though? Well, Cora explained that one, too. "We can't have a dress as pretty as yours, on a girl as pretty as you, going into just any public restroom, can we?"

I looked up at her incredulously. Did she just tell me no, that I couldn't use the bathroom? I could hardly believe it. With budding frustration, I tugged harder on her shirt and pointed again to the bathroom. This time, I gave her as stern an expression as I could.

"Natalie," This time Cora's voice was sharp, not playful, not open for negotiations. This was her 'you keep this path up and you're in trouble’ voice, the voice that was close enough to the sound of her husband’s tone of finality. Honestly, it sounded almost foreign coming from Cora. "Be good, darling. Now come, we mustn't keep Fliss waiting."

I felt my stomach drop out from under me. My chest ached. My ears were ringing. Her voice sounded like Mr. Gladstone, and it brought back all the fear and anxiety of work. Then I was reminded about Monday, about another spanking. I felt like crying. Cora took a step forward in line and I followed her quietly.

And there it was - the dividing line of what was acceptable behavior for Natalie and what wasn't. And following her to the cafe? That was expected. The place was small, too, barely a little hole in the wall, but the tables out front were patina'd and glorious, and had pretty little umbrellas over top. Fliss couldn't wait to gush about them. "Did you know they got these from an Italian bakery that's over 200 years old? How classic, right?" Cora laughed and set her purse down on one of the tables to claim it. "Let's hope their coffee is just as good, Fliss" "Cora, have you MET me? Trust me, chicaboo."

Fliss went to order while Cora and reserved a table. The second Fliss was out of earshot, I started speaking only to be cut off. "Not now, Natalie." "But, she's--" "My personal life is a delicate balancing act, and I need you to continue your silence until we get home." "But..." "I'm glad we understand each other." I looked up at Cora with a mixture of resignation and irritation. This wasn't fair...

"Coffee, coffee, chocolate milk, three vanilla slices." Fliss announced as she sat down at the table with the pretty silver platter teetering with cups and little plates. This wasn't the estate restaurant, but it was pretty presentation nonetheless. "Now I know you said you ate, but you have to try these 'nilla slices, they are to die for."

I passed Fliss a small, thankful half-smile. But she wasn't paying any attention to me. I took the chocolate milk and sipped it gently, though I wasn't a huge fan of chocolate or milk. It was pretty good though. Cora started talking about another woman whose name I didn't recognize, and Fliss kept that conversation going for a while. I took a bite of the cake next, and my eyes sparkled with delight. Wooowww...

"It's good, right?" Fliss grinned, licking her spoon, and Cora even cracked a smile even though she had no interest in her own slice. "She's so darling when she's immersed in things, Fliss, you should see her when her favorite show has a new episode on Netflix, she's so excitable." Which was true only by virtue of the fact that since the alcohol incident she'd been restricted to Netflix Kids and there was only a limited variety of things on there that weren't condescending or downright infantile.

It almost felt like Cora was making fun of me. Was she? Or was this just a game for her, since I couldn't talk? Either way, when we got home, I'd have to have a conversation with Cora. And I sure wouldn't be going to any of her "fancy lunches" ever again! But wow, the cake was good. I finished the whole slice before Cora even took a bite, and then I downed the rest of my chocolate milk with a bleary smile, lost in the moment.

"Oh, um," Fliss began, gesturing at Natalie, and Cora followed her gaze and quickly sprung into action, slipping a napkin from the table into her hand and catching the chocolate milk running down Natalie's chin at the last second, before it could drip onto her dress.

I stood frozen as Cora wiped my face with the napkin. When she pulled it away, there was chocolate milk on the cloth. I felt a burning blush come over my cheeks and I sunk further into the chair. "Be more careful," Cora told me, and I nodded ever so slightly.

"We must be going, Fliss, Natalie has had a long day," Even though it was four in the afternoon at best, "and you know how they are at her age." Fliss took a moment to process and then smiled and laughed a bit. "For totes. I need to get all this shopping home to Meg anyway, so I'll see you later? Oh and eat your cake!"

Fliss gave Cora a hug goodbye and took off down the street, in the opposite direction from which we had come. I waited until she turned the corner, before letting my frustration get the better of me. "Why are you embarrassing me in front of your friends? I already have to walk around dressed like this! And you act like I'm a kid!"

"Is this embarrassing to you, darling?" Cora asked, with a genuine tone of surprise. "Being fawned over, loved, appreciated… causing people to smile just by being around you, is that embarrassing? Being a bright light in this dreary world of ours, is that embarrassing? I wasn't treating you like a kid, Nattie, I was treating you like a treasure."

...well, I didn't expect that response. Cora was always so hard to predict. And the moment it took me to collect my thoughts was all the time Cora needed. "Now please, no more talking until we get home. It's very important to me." I looked at her with anger and confusion, then fell back into my chair with only mild irritation. She seemed so sincere... it was hard to believe she would intentionally upset me. She had always been so nice. So maybe I should let her have this one...

"Thank you for being so good, Natalie." That came after ten minutes of walking quietly, and Cora spoke with upmost confidence. "I'm actually so pleased with you today - indiscretions aside - that I'm going to get you a reward, my darling. It's a little bit to walk, but I think after eating all that cake it's probably for the best." She could have called for her car, to be honest, but Padded Sells wasn't that far to walk, and she was hoping her denial of Natalie's bathroom request would have some ramifications soon.

The only entertainment during a walk is conversation, and I didn't have that tool in my toolbox anymore. So the thirty-five minute walk uptown was incredibly dull. My thoughts drifted away from me, to work, to Sam, to how different my life was this past month. I let my boss spank me, for crying out loud! But I let my last boss fuck me, so I guess this counted as a road to improvement. When we finally stopped, I was so unprepared that I bumped right into Cora. We were at a strip mall on the north end of the city - I'd been here a few times. Where were we going, anyway?

"Here are are, darling." The sign on the frosted glass was subtle, understated - simply the words "Padded Sells" with a baby-pin hanging from the 'e' in sells. There was nothing else to indicate what the place sold inside, but Cora was about to brief her little charge. "If you'd like anything once we’re in, you just point at it twice, okay?" But maintaining her silence? That was important. Especially here.

Padded Sells? A baby store? I'd passed by the storefront in the past, but the windows were covered with white paper or something. I'd never once thought to check it out. But Cora was waiting for an answer, so I nodded my head. Obviously she wanted me to continue my silence.

The door opened inward and inside that door was another, one that required knocking on. A woman answered and she smiled upon recognition of Cora, and welcomed the two of them inside. And as for what was inside, well... it was a little bit surreal. Clothing that was familiar? Yes, obviously. But not sizes that were familiar, oh no no. There were rompers, onesies, dresses in all sorts, but in adult sizes. Before Natalie could focus too much on those details, though, Cora ushered her over to a wall filled with squares like a T-shirt display would be; only the contents of each were different prints, styles, and thicknesses, of adult sized trainers.

Something was wrong. I went through an Alice in Wonderland door or something. Everything was way too big. But the woman at the register wasn't too big. The countertop wasn't too big. Just the clothes. Baby clothes. LOTS of baby clothes. But for... adults? I stared, dumbfounded, until Cora pushed me through the store to shelves of underwear. But not underwear. I didn't understand, not at all, until I noticed the floral print of the training pants I wore to work yesterday. Then it all clicked. This is where she got them. This... this giant baby store!