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Mary and Daphne #195

I had a question, so I asked Mary. She knows things. I mean, I know more things, but I don’t know all the things. When in doubt, I ask Mary. So I says to Mary, “Mary,” I says, “are we being old right now?”

She peered over her tablet to look down at me cuz we were sharing a big soft chair at a cafe. “If we are, it’s in a good way. Why?”

“Sitting in a café on a Sunday afternoon with your spouse reading separate books feels suspiciously like something old people do...

Mary and Daphne #194

Tinga-linga-ling… Tinga-linga-ling … Tinga-linga-ling.

Based on the latest intelligence reports, nothing in our house makes that sound.

Tinga-linga-ling… Tinga-linga-ling … Tinga-linga-ling.

Off I went to investigate. Suzy’s collar has a little bell, but it’s not such a clean ring. Even if it were, unless she learned how to ring it – which is possible cuz she’s the best dog ever and stuff – it couldn’t be her.

“...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 13

Jamie had been hungry when Becky got back from the store and had talked her into letting him nurse just a little, promising it wouldn’t spoil his appetite. Now she was preparing dinner, and he was sitting on the back porch in his beach chair with his feet propped up on a partially deflated beach ball and thinking he’d be pretty good at island living. He could picture himself relaxing in the sand and maintaining a low-grade buzz of breastmilk and frozen cocktails made with fresh fruit and ...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 12

Jamie woke up inside to the sound of running water. He could tell Amanda had him in her arms from the way she felt different than Becky, thinner, firmer, and more slender body.

“Hey,” he said as she stretched and yawned.

“Hey, Jamie Bear. Figured you’d want a bath to get all that salt and sweat off you.”

“Thanks. Where’s Mom?” Amanda set him in the water.

“She ran to the store to get more stuff for dinner. Four extra people to feed.” She started wit...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 11

“I’ll get it,” Jamie volunteered. They were on their way back from a walk on the beach.

“You sure,” Becky asked.

“Yes, Mom, I can go back to the bungalow on my own. I’ll be right back.” He was just getting more water for the three of them. The beach was private in the sense that the bungalows were spaced far enough apart that they each effectively had their own beachfront. Jamie walked quickly over the dry sand, heated by the sun enough to almost burn the soles of ...

Learning to Be Billy Ch. 5

“What do you think they’re talking about in there,” Lily asked.

Mrs. Klein had come back downstairs from tucking Billy in, reminded Isabel not to shout, and asked Emma to come with her to the other room. She didn’t seem mad exactly, but she was giving off disappointed-mom vibes.

“I wonder if she’s going to tell her to go home,” Harper speculated.

“She won’t … I didn’t mean to get her in trouble,” Isabel said. “I just … This is all her fault,” sh...

Mary and Daphne #193

I am Daphne. Hear me squeak.

I roar most of the time. Pretty big roarer. The MGM lion? That’s me doing the voiceover. Really.

It’s just that sometimes I also squeak. It’s Mary, this person I married, who makes me do it. She has a way with me. A gay way (cuz we’re way gay).

Rifling through the cabinet under the bathroom sink is so fun. It’s like a treasure hunt, and the prize is the toiletries you bought when you were running low, forgot you bought, and then bought ...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 10

“It’s supposed to stop raining tomorrow,” Becky said hopefully. It was a deluge outside. “Come sit with me.” Jamie got down off the chair he was standing, looking outside at the rain. He could hardly see the beach. It wasn’t a bad storm. Just a lot of water falling from the sky. Manda flipped off the TV.

“Let’s play a game,” Manda suggested. She opened a cabinet under the TV where there were cards and board games. Jamie was ambivalent about playing games with bigs as i...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 9

“Whadduya think,” Becky asked when they had settled into their bungalow. They had a bit of private beach in back, and behind them a paved trail led toward the main building where they could eat at the restaurant, swim at the pool, or join activities, and the rest of the property backed up to a state nature preserve.

“It’s terrific, Mom,” Manda said as she came in from the porch. “This is awesome.” Becky had wanted to make this a special trip and hadn’t tried to do it on ...

Mary and Daphne #192

Know how you’re visiting a relative or friend with little kids and the kids wanna show you their rooms, and you go look because you can’t say no but you also really couldn’t give a heccin hoot? Yeah, that.

Despite the ageplay turn our domestic discipline lifestyle took circa a while back, Mary and I actually don’t have many ageplayer friends. We haven’t played with many. There’s Tommy, the otherwise pleasant gentleman who turns into the most annoying pre-teen when he slips i...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 8

“Anyone with a child, little, or who needs extra time is welcome to board at this time,” the gate agent said into her microphone as the passengers milled about. This was Jamie’s first ride on anything that flew since his trip to the dimension, and he’d been unconscious for that, his first ride on anything that flew.

He was excited and had barely sat still on the ride to the airport, and it occurred to him that this, too, was a change brought about by becoming a little, this exci...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 7

On my way, Jane texted Becky as she got up from the spot she’d saved for them on the pool deck. Since it was a private swim club, Jane had to go meet Becky at the gate for them to come in. She was confident she could leave Rosie with their things for a few minutes alone. It wasn’t like she ever got up to any mischief anyway.

“They’re with me,” Jane said as she approached the gate office. Becky handed over two bills to cover their admission. “I like that hat,” Jane...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 6

Stacy did her best to calm herself down. She was failing. She re-read the notes from her conversation with the attorney she’d contacted, and she found them less reassuring each time. When she adopted Ella, Stacy never foresaw something like this happening, and neither had the Department of Human Services or, apparently, the law. The lawyer offered a lot of speculation and refused, as good lawyers do, to offer anything definitive. Stacy was a smart, professionally successful person, and even...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 5

“So what are we not going to do again,” Manda asked Jamie. He stood in front of her as she sat on the sofa, her hands on his shoulders, trying to look suitably contrite and not overly happy to be out of the corner.

“Leave the yard without asking permission,” Jamie replied, trying his best to sound earnestly ashamed. “I’m sorry.” He’d walked over to the neighbor’s house to see if Amy was home yet. If she was, he was going to invite her over to play football with him. If...

The Best Babysitter In Town Vol. 2 Ch. 12

“Gordy, could you come to the kitchen, please,” I called out. I had a suspicion, and if I was right, I could maybe put a stop to Gordy’s mood swings for the weekend or at least a stop to the constant awkwardness. Maybe not, but worth a try cuz it was starting to go from mere annoyance to me not wanting to hang out with him. I’ve had charges that I didn’t want to sit for, but none of them were my friends, and even if Gordy was just another babysitting job, all this would still be way...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 4

Jamie sat in his playpen once more watching Becky rush around getting ready for company. Like always, she put him out of the way, though he thought he’d have been equally out of the way in his nursery. He sat in his playpen with a coloring book, content except for not having a pencil sharpener with him. Growing frustrated at the too-thick lines messing up the design, he decided to watch the Becky Show, as he and Amanda secretly called it, her harried ritual when getting ready for a party. A...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 3

“Morning, Jamie,” Ella greeted him. It was Jamie’s last day at daycare for the summer; Amanda’s last final was that afternoon. As they had the past several summers, Ella and Jamie would be spending three days a week together at Jamie’s house under the watchful eye of Becky and Amanda, an arrangement that made the two of them happy and saved Stacy some money.

“Morning,” Jamie said glumly as he fell into the chair next to Ella’s.

“What’s wrong?” Ella knew Jamie...

Mary and Daphne #191

Their doorstep was ordinary, so that was a good sign. Or a bad sign. One of the two. Probably. I’m decisive like that and stuff.

“I’m not nervous; you’re nervous,” I said preemptively to Mary, who I swear was taller on the afternoon we met Jo and Ann at their house. Either she was taller or seemed taller, or she was standing up straight. Her parents instilled all these good habits in her, like standing up straight. It’s kinda gross actually, now that I think on it, the way s...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 2

“Hi, Stacy.” Stacy wasn’t expecting her friend and Department of Human Services employee at her office. It wasn’t as a friend but as the latter that the sight of him made her nervous. They rarely saw each other except at mutual friends’ events, and it was through one of those friends that Ben had approached Stacy eight years ago about adopting Ella. That he was here and unannounced surely meant nothing good.

“Ben! What’s going on,” she replied unsteadily.

“Sorry ...

Done Adulting Vol. 2 Ch. 1

The three of them were sitting at the dinner table, the dishes already cleared away. “So,” Amanda said, “at the end of the summer, I’ll be moving out.”

Jamie had sat glumly through the entire conversation. It wasn’t a total surprise. He’d seen the signs, like catching Amanda looking at furniture online. Her graduation was coming up in a few weeks. While it had never been discussed with Jamie, he knew at some point Amanda would be moving out. She was 24 now and couldn’t l...

Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 141 (Final chapter)

Several months later…

Dear Cheryl,

Thank you for the arrival day gift! Everyone says PEGOS are the same as LEGOS, but they’re NOT. I can tell because they don’t have the same name. That’s just science. I’ll send you a picture of what I build first.

Can you believe I’ve been here a year? Everybody just left my arrival day anniversary party an hour ago. Know what I was doing exactly one year ago? Sobbing on Amanda’s chest. I didn’t think I...