Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 42

Hey folks! Sorry I've been quiet lately. My big annual work project wrapped up, and it was a sprint to the finish! And now I'm about to go on a much needed 2-week vacation. It's a very active vacation, but I do intend to write some new chapters while I'm gone. I wanna know what's happening with Daphne and Sandy too!

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“When can we go to the pool again,” Jamie asked Becky at breakfast.

“When you can get wet again. Two weeks. Sorry.”

“Stinks,” Jamie replied. “I can’t do anything outside either.”

“You can, you just need to come in before you get sweaty.”

“It’s summer. That’s being outside in five-minute bursts ... in the shade.”

“We’ll just need to find some fun indoor things to do.” Sometimes Becky thought a girl would’ve been easier. Dolls, tea parties. Jamie was an active, even sometimes rambunctious little. Or perhaps she just felt that way because she was getting older. But she wouldn’t trade Jamie Bear for anything.

Jamie picked at his breakfast and pondered what he could do all day, not counting things that would get him in trouble. “I’ll go shopping with Manda,” Jamie volunteered.

“You really want to,” Becky asked.

“Sure. I don’t mind helping.”

“She should be back soon.” She’d left early to sign her lease. Jamie had approved the apartment, a one-bedroom at a complex that had repeatedly assured them it was little-friendly in its outlook and environment. It even had a playground. Amanda had given the leasing manager a full run down on Jamie so she could weigh in on whether Jamie would be happy there and whether they’d be happy with Jamie, and she trusted his word but more importantly those in the online reviews and of the residents she’d cornered and questioned.

“Where does she need to go to get stuff,” Jamie asked.

“Well, I’m going to buy her a new bed. She needs some basic living room furniture. Kitchen stuff. Everything, really.”

“Oof. Where do we start?”

“Are you sure you wanna come shopping? It’s never really been your thing.”

“Can I help pick out the bed at least since I’ll be sleeping on it?”

“Yeah. Let’s do that today, and then the three of us can go get lunch. Sound good?”

“Mhmm.” Jamie finished his breakfast and waited patiently for Becky to finish hers. This was real now, happening. Any chance that it wouldn’t was being signed away as he sat there thinking on it. “I’m sorry,” Jamie said.

“About what?”

“That Amanda has to grow up. I don’t want her to either.”

“Oh, Baby Bear.” Becky reached over and gently plucked him from his chair, bringing him to rest on her lap. She pressed him to her, one arm around his narrow frame and her hand resting on his soft hair. She sniffed. “I’m sad, but I’m so proud of her. It’s time.”

“And Mom,” Jamie said uncertainly, “I know it would be easier if she wasn’t my guardian and I wasn’t going to live there part of the time, but...” He sighed, he wasn’t sure how to say this. “I’m glad she’s my guardian; I like that you’re both my guardians. This is gonna be hard. On all of us, but I’ll try to make it easier.”

Becky held her breath to let the swell of emotion pass. Jamie felt it. She knew what he meant was he would try to minimize his own needs, like when he had first arrived. He wouldn’t ask for anything except reluctantly, wouldn’t share his feelings unless asked. It was out of a misguided desire to not make himself a chore for them. She hadn’t liked it ever before then, and she didn’t now.

“You make it easy,” she said, “just by being you. I want you to just say what you feel, and don’t ever hold anything back to try to make us feel better. Promise? Do you promise me if you have a feeling you need to share that you’ll share it with us?”

“Okay. We can be sad together,” Jamie said, “like you always say. We’ll share our sadness.” If that’s what she wanted, he could do that. He could try at least.

“Such a good bear,” she replied. “You bring me so much joy.”

“Mommy, stop it. You’re gonna make me all teary.”

Becky sat back so they were no longer pressed against each other. “Are you ready for your sponge bath?”

“Yes, please.” Jamie couldn’t remember why he had ever wanted to be allowed to bathe himself, or he remembered but saw now how mistaken he was. His people’s soapy hands running over him was one of the best parts of his days. He and Kazoo had that in common, but then, they are both bears, after a fashion. Becky picked him up and carried him toward the bathroom.

She sat Jamie on the rug while she ran a few inches of hot water, one of Jamie’s favorite things in the world. She felt bad for him, unable to swim or even take a proper bath. Jamie laid back before she could ask. With a few rips, she unfastened his diaper and opened it, revealing his diaper area.

“Oh my goodness,” she said as she up reached for the box of wipes she kept on the toilet tank. “You got a poopy butt this morning.”

“No, I don’t.” He’d know if he did, obviously.

“Yes, you do. Yes, my poopy bear does.” She lifted him by the ankles and passed the wipe over his crease. Jamie lifted his head and saw she was right. He grimaced. That was happening sometimes, just a little bit, just a shart, in his sleep, and sometimes he didn’t even notice when he woke up. If it was so small he didn’t even notice, surely that didn’t count. He just slept very hard, that’s all. And why not, when he played hard all day? I’m a little and it’s what littles do, Jamie justified himself.

It only took two wipes, and Becky pulled the diaper out from under Jamie before rolling it up and dropping it in the pail. Jamie was surprised no one had introduced the diaper genie to Itali, at least that he knew of. “All clean.”

Becky held out her hands, and Jamie reached for them. She pulled him into a sitting position and then lifted him straight from the floor and into the tub, setting him gently on his butt. Jamie sighed and wished he could lay back in the hot water.

“Can I have some more water, please?” Surely it could come just an inch or two higher and still leave his stitches dry.

“Just a little,” Becky replied, turning the tap back on.

———————

“You’re sure,” Becky asked.

“Are we sure, Jamie,” Manda relayed the question to him. They’d tried nearly every mattress in the store, arriving at the conclusion that they both liked mattresses of medium firmness, just like eighty percent of other shoppers. But that still left plenty to try. Jamie, as he almost always was, was easy to please, but Manda had been a true Goldilocks. Actually, worse than Goldilocks, who only needed to try three to find what she liked. And she kept asking Jamie his opinion, and whether he was sure of his opinion, and when he tried to just go along, she wouldn’t let him.

“Positive,” Jamie replied. He really did like this mattress a lot.

“I’ll throw in a mattress protector for it, too,” Becky announced.

“Mom,” Amanda said quietly. “Can’t we just do that at Bullseye?”

“They’re better here, and don’t worry, no one will know it’s for you. Think it’s for you, I mean! Haha.” Jamie bit his lip at his mom’s Freudian slip while Amanda blushed furiously. Almost ten years since she’d stopped bedwetting, but it was still a somewhat sensitive topic.

“Who’s ready for lunch,” Becky asked. They tried a new place for lunch that they had heard about, a restaurant that seemed to take an all of the above approach to cuisines. Everything sounded good.

“Why don’t we get a few things and share,” Amanda suggested. “You okay skipping the little menu, Jamester?”

“Yeah.”

“You can have some milk before your nap when we get home.” That sounded just fine to Jamie.

“So what else do we need to get,” Jamie asked. He didn’t mind shopping when they actually needed some specific stuff, and he kinda liked shopping for household things.

“Everything, I guess,” Manda answered. “Plates, cups, silverware, pots, pans, towels, a couch. What do you want?”

“Me?” He hadn’t really thought of that. He didn’t really want anything.

“Of course.”

“I dunno. I figured I would just take what I need back and forth.”

“No way! It’s your home, too. You’re gonna need some things there.”

“How about,” Becky suggested, “we make a corner of the living room all yours. Your playpen can be there, and we can get you a cute rug. We can go to A Little This, A Little That this weekend.”

“Okay ... We don’t have to do it all at once.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that we don’t have to get everything this weekend. Maybe we can just space it out a little until I, um, have a better idea of what I want, is all.” He was thinking about the money, especially not knowing what kind of hospital bill Becky was going to get for him. She had little insurance for him, but he was sure it wasn’t as comprehensive as health insurance where he was from. Bigs were all on a single payer system. Littles were insured separately, like pet insurance, though Jamie hated the analogy.

“Yeah,” Becky said, “We can do that.” That made more sense anyway. She wondered why he said it though.

Becky served Jamie from their different dishes, which made it easier for him since the table was so large for him and he couldn’t easily reach. She couldn’t resist the opportunity, though, and kept offering him bites from her fork, which he kept accepting.

“Are you excited, Manda,” he asked.

“Kinda. It doesn’t feel real yet. I guess when I move in it will feel real.”

“Probably true for all of us,” Becky said. “Bite?” She proffered a forkful to Jamie, who leaned over and took the morsel off her fork. “Yummy?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said before letting out a yawn.

“Food making you sleepy,” Amanda asked.

“Mhmm.”

“And it’s not even little food. You’d be asleep if it were.”

“He’s still healing. Maybe we should reinstate morning naps every day, not just some days.”

“I don’t need that,” Jamie yawned.

“Said the sleepy bear.”

At home, Becky undressed Jamie trying not to wake him up, but he did anyway.

“Are we home already,” Jamie asked.

“You fell asleep in the car before we even got out of the parking lot. Want some milk?”

“When I get up.”

Becky pulled his shirt off over his head and slid his shorts off. The elastic waistband made it so easy to undress him. She sat down in the rocking chair and laid him against her chest, tickling his back with her fingernails. He nuzzled into her and sighed as he fell back asleep.

Becky gently rocked the chair. It would be time soon to talk about how Jamie would split his time between their homes, but right then she just wanted to enjoy the sleepy little boy resting against her, sharing his warmth.