Chapter XLVII

Sunday morning, I woke up wet. Sam changed me out of my diaper and gave me a bath. Then she dressed me in a fresh rainbow diaper that felt thicker than usual. More like my night-time diapers. But even the thickness of a diaper was soon lost in the routine. All this... it was normal now. I didn't need to think so much about everything.

Sam dressed me in a frilly day-dress and white ankle socks. She tied my pink hair back in pigtails and decorated the top with a headband. We even played with glitter make-up to help my cheeks sparkle! Then she took me downstairs, sat me in front of the TV, and gave me my morning sippy cup.

Normal. It was all so normal. Until Cora stood in-between me and the TV.

"Darling, I have a special surprise for you today, and you're going to have a lot of fun and make a lot of happy memories." She had, in her hands, three brightly colored gift bags, each had a tag and on tag was a name. "I've got you gifts to share, too, but we're running a little behind, so I'm glad you're dressed exceptionally cute. Make sure to thank Sammie with a kiss on the cheek, and hurry along."

She said a lot, but it didn't really convey anything. Though as Mommy prodded me off the sofa, I realized very quickly that we were going out. Sam waited by the door with a bag for Cora. A diaper bag. It was obvious, even to someone like me who had never owned one. Then Sam helped me slip on a pair of black buckle shoes. I kissed her once on the cheek as a thank you, as I was instructed. Sam gave me a weird look.

"What...?"

"Come, darling." It was unusual for Cora to be in such a hurry, so maybe this had come together at just the last minute - or, perhaps even more likely - she wanted to spur a sense of spontaneity.

"No, no. Back here."

I paused in place on my way to the passenger-side door. But Cora was insisting I get in the back. I puffed out my cheeks and went over to her.

"I always sit in the front, though! Why do I gotta sit in the back now?"

"Because you're a little girl now, and little girls aren't allowed in the front seat." Which was clear and proper logic in this case, and she had a lot of extra and very embarrassing things to add to that if she needed to. But Nattie was getting very good at being a Momma's Girl.

"But..." Mommy raised her eyebrow and I pouted in defeat. Mommy knows best. "Fine," I muttered and went to get in the back seat. But I froze in surprise. The back bench of her sedan wasn't the same as before. On this side of the vehicle, it looked like the seat had been removed and replaced with... with a special seat. A seat that looked remarkably like a car-seat. My cheeks burned red.

"I don't need that!"

"I'm pretty sure that you do, darling!" She motioned to the car seat, the adult sized car seat, which was almost as padded as Natalie's ass, and then gave her a light swat on that part of her body. "Up you get, come now."

"This must have cost a fortune," I said with a hint of annoyance and a great deal of awe. The carseat was crafted not only for an adult, but also for the car itself. It replaced the seat with its size and shape. But as I climbed in, I didn't struggle at all to get situated into place. The whole thing was tilted far enough back that my head was nowhere near the ceiling and my feet were nowhere near the floor. There was even a little tray for snacks on the side, and a cup-holder for a sippy. And as I looked up at Mommy, the butterflies in my stomach spun into a whirlwind. Oh.. my.. gosh.. the feelings were indescribable...

"There's my girl, right where you belong." Cora was beaming, positively giddy and glowing as she passed the strap up between her little girl’s legs and pulled it taut against her diaper to buckle in the two shoulder harness straps of the seatbelt, just like an actual toddler's car seat.

I reached down and played with the lock, but... it had some weird mechanism I couldn't quite figure out. Something Cora probably memorized. So I sat back in the comfortable chair and leaned my head against the side of the car-seat. It had a soft cushion right where my head touched... easy to fall asleep on long car rides. I kicked my feet lightly, freely swooping through the air, and felt myself melt in place. This was... so... wonderful...

It wasn't a small investment, not one that could have been made on a whim, but none of what the Gladstone's had put into Natalie had been cheap. Even hiring Sam just to make sure she'd stay, that was an ongoing cost - but what was money if not to be enjoyed? What was happiness if you couldn't make it yourself? Cora slid into the front seat of the car and adjusted the mirror so she could see her baby girl, and then waved in the reflection like it would amuse her. Today was just getting started.

When I put my toes out as far as they could go, I could kick the back of Mommy's chair. I'd do it sometimes, just to cause a fuss, just to get her attention. But Mommy and I didn't talk half as much as when I sat in the passenger seat. After a while of playing, I got bored. I put my head to the side and closed my eyes. I let the sway of the car lull me into a semi-sleep. Relaxed. Happy...

* * * * *

The gate of the estate was wrought iron and the house was bigger even than the Gladstone estate - a different style of architecture, too, because it had been a long enough drive for that to have happened. There were a number of cars out the front, all expensive looking to boot. This was the house of someone very very wealthy.

"We're here, darling."

I looked up at the house with confusion. Home? No, a different house. But just as big. Or bigger. I looked through the tinted windows and tried to figure out where we were. But I'd never been to a place like this before. "I thought we were going into the city," I muttered sleepily. "Why are we here...?"

"You'll see, darling." Cora opened the backdoor of the car and unbuckled her little princess, lifting her out under the arms and setting her down next to the car. "These gift bags have names on them, my little miss, so don't you open them." This playdate was a while in the making, and for a spell, Cora thought it might not happen, that Natalie would be too willful for it to work, that she might even run away before any of this. And yet, here they were.

I looked down at the three bags in my hands and tried to glance at the name cards. Immy? Frannie... And I couldn't quite see the last one. Then Mommy closed the door and held out my pacifier. The one I'd so carefully picked out at the store. I felt myself blush.

"Ahh,” Cora prompted, and after a small moment of blushing hesitation, Natalie opened her lips just enough for the binkie to be pushed between them. Plop. "There's a good girl. Now you're gonna be a good girl, aren't you? And you know the only rule here is for you not to ask about changes, okay?" She adjusted her daughter’s dress and fussed over her hair for a moment, and then held her hand to approach the door.

"I can't go--" Talking with a pacifier in my mouth was a lot harder than I thought. To make matters worse, I was so embarrassed that I could hardly raise my voice. I set the bags down on the grass and took the pacifier out of my lips. "I can't go into someone's house with a pacifier in my mouth. That's... that's so weird!"

“Darling, have I ever taken you down a path that hurt you?" This was another way of saying how Mommy knew best. And honestly, at this rate, Cora was worried Natalie was going to spoil the surprise. Be a good girl!

"But... but I can't--"

"Natalie."

The way she said my name, like my mom would when I was a little girl. It made me freeze in place.

"I am handling this. Now be good."

I didn't want to be good! I didn't want some stranger to see me with a pacifier in my mouth! But Mommy... she would never hurt me. I had to trust her... I nodded my head and put the pacifier back in my mouth. She could see my discomfort, right? She knew I didn't want this... right?