8 Birthday Baby

Ava wasn’t sure what she was expecting when her apartment manager told her that he’d signed for a non-standard envelope, but it wasn’t a handmade envelope crafted out of pink textured paper. The slightly wobbly calligraphy – penned in purple glitter gel – left little doubt as to from whom the letter had come. A silly giggle snuck out from between Ava’s lips as she took the elevator up to her apartment. In a show of great restraint, she left the envelope on her mail table next to the front door while she greeted Mango and put away her bag.

“Welcome home! Home! Home!” Mango flitted around Ava excitedly. She fed him a chunk of mango which he greedily gobbled up.

The distraction earned Ava enough time to curl up on her couch and catch her breath. Though her apartment was tiny by any standard, coming home was always a relief. Shabby with age, the historic brick building nevertheless had a lot of charm. More importantly, it was a space Ava didn’t have to share with a roommate or anyone else. Simultaneously set up to be easy on her physically, and a space she could be herself, it was her ultimate refuge. Oliver would say that it was too comfortable – that it discouraged Ava from going out.

“Well nuts to him.” Ava said, turning the letter over in her hands. “I have a fancy invitation and a comfortable place to live.”

“Macadamia! Macadamia!” Mango rushed to a perch on the back of the couch, cocking his head hopefully at Ava.

“You just had a treat.” Ava admonished, spoiling the discipline by rubbing Mango’s neck at the same time. “Be a good bird.”

“Good bird! Best bird!” Mango made his stuttering laugh and soared away to his favorite window perch.

“Most spoiled bird for sure.” Ava smiled and finally opened the envelope, pulling out a letter on fancy rough-edged paper. The writing was done in simple block lettering, with pink glitter-gel ink that was hard to read on the cream colored page. Squinting, Ava was delighted to discover that she was cordially invited. It would have been such a disappointment to get so fancy a letter and not have the invitation be cordial.

It was not a particularly big surprise to discover that she’d been invited to Briana’s birthday party. No one but her new, frenetic friend would have sent a letter like the one Ava was holding. Not to mention that there weren’t many reasons for a fancy invitation at the end of March. The surprise that set Ava’s heart thumping was the postscript after Briana’s rainbow colored signature.

P.S. Please come as a Little. If you have any Little friends, please bring them. So far the party is almost all Bigs! It’s my first Birthday as a Little and even more than Presents I want to have Littles to celebrate with. Call me if you’re not sure about this request! 603-274-2627

Ava licked her lips nervously. Meeting new people – lots of them by the sounds of it – in her Little getup was a tall order even if the party was set somewhere private. But the invitation had specified the local mini-golf place, which made what Briana was asking absurd. Hesitantly, she dialed Briana’s number, unsure if she was planning to ask for more information or simply turn the invitation down.

“Hi Ava! This is a nice surprise. Oh my gosh, did you get my invitation, is that why you’re calling?” Briana’s conversational rush was every bit as powerful on the phone as her tackles were in person. Ava chuckled, waiting a beat to see if Briana was actually done talking.

“I did, it’s really pretty, though the pink lettering was kind of hard to read.”

“That’s what Mom said too, but it’s my birthday and I should get to use whatever kind of glitter pen I want.”

“That’s fair. It’s the fanciest and prettiest birthday invitation I’ve ever gotten.”

“You’ll come, right? Please say you’ll come. You don’t have to bring a present or anything.”

“I don’t mind getting you a present but – I’m nervous about your request at the end of the letter.”

“Don’t worry, Mom rented out the minigolf place, so there won’t be anyone there who’s not part of the party – besides a couple of employees I guess but you won’t have be Little in front of them.”

“Even if it was at your house I’d be nervous, I’m not going to know anyone there. Is it okay if I come in regular clothes?”

“If – if you don’t feel comfortable being Little, I understand.” Briana didn’t sound like she understood at all, she sounded on the verge of tears. “You wouldn’t be the only Little though, my Sib will be there, and my friend Arthur, and a new friend that Monserrat introduced me to. So there’ll be at least five people in diapers.”

“Uh – you want me to wear diapers – not just dress in Little clothes?”

“Please Ava? Arthur is nervous too, it’s okay to be nervous, Mom and Dad and Grandma and I have been working super hard on making sure that everything will be okay and nobody will have to be embarrassed. Everyone there is my friend and either wears diapers or has changed one of mine.”

Ava’s poor heart was beating fast enough to make her dizzy. Briana’s party sounded like a terrifying embarrassment-fest – or a magical time to rival any of the Green Fairy’s ABDL events. Her brain was already busy shredding her excuses – she’d worn a diaper around non-ABDL staff people before at the fetish nightclub’s events, she’d met strangers while dressed Little when she’d been dating Leah, and it’d been ages since she’d played with other Littles.

She had no defense against Briana’s begging with her own brain refusing to back her up. With a quaver in her voice, Ava managed to say, “Okay, I’ll wear a diaper and dress Little – but not like a onesie or anything.”

“OHMYGOSHYES!” Briana’s sudden shout made Ava flinch away from her phone. “You’re the best Ava! It’s super awesome and brave of you to say yes. You coming to my party Little is the best present ever, really.”

The Little girl’s tearful gratitude melted the last of the cold fear in Ava’s heart. She squirmed down into a lying position on her couch, snagging a shark stuffie from under the coffee table. “Well I have to get you a real present anyway. I didn’t know it was your birthday so soon, what do you want?”

Briana was adorably bashful about asking for a present, constantly assuring Ava that she didn’t need to bring one. It took accusing the Little girl of being annoying and bad at birthdays to get her to make a few tepid suggestions. While the conversation wandered to all the exciting things that the mini golf place had to do – a lot more than golf, apparently – Ava planned a trip to the Ardenthill Medical Supply. The store’s back room was a hidden ABDL treasure trove that would be sure to have something that even a baby girl who had everything would love.

~~~*~~~

As she entered the Wonderland Family Funplex, Ava had a sudden desire to turn and run. She might have too, if Briana hadn’t convinced her to bring along a Little friend on top of all her other requests. It was the most bossed-around Ava had ever been regarding a birthday party – at least since she was Little in age as well as at heart. Briana was lucky she was so earnest, so cute, that she could get away with insisting on having her party just her way. It didn’t hurt that she was rich enough to rent the entire building out either.

“You okay?” The Little girl at Ava’s side asked. Inka was a White woman, dark of hair and solid of body, being more athletic than most of the ABDLs Ava had met. She hadn’t shared Ava’s hesitancy about the birthday at all – in fact she’d squealed in delight when she heard there was a birthday party for Littles. Consequently, she was dressed a lot less conservatively than Ava, wearing a tutu, tights, and a baby blue sweater in contrast to Ava’s shorts and T-shirt.

“Nervous.” Ava chuckled and adjusted her grip on the present she and Inka were carrying between them. Though light, it was big enough to be awkward. Wrapping the three foot by three foot by one foot box had been an adventure and a half.

Inka rolled her eyes at Ava. “You’re the one that invited me, remember? Come on, I know you’ll have fun once we get started. It’s the same every time you go to the Green Fairy.”

Ava had to nod in rueful agreement. The building seemed to be populated almost exclusively by party guests. The one employee Ava had seen so far had taken her name and Inka’s at the door to let them in – and otherwise had been profoundly disinterested in them. I’m excited, really. Maybe that’s part of the problem. It’s not just being outed that I’m worried about, I’m worried about the party not living up to the hype too.

With Ava’s anxieties temporarily tabled, they found the Little of Honor easily enough. Briana was decked out in ten shades of pink, with glitter liberally painted on her face. As if that wasn’t enough, she had faerie wings on – the wings glittered too, of course. She and Inka were wearing the same tutu, which both of them immediately burst out laughing about. In comically stark contrast, a White woman in all black was standing behind Briana. She had a matronly hand on the Little girl’s shoulder and enough black makeup on to play the lead in a vampire movie.

“Ava, thanks for coming to my birthday party! Who’s this sharp-dressing person with you?”

“Happy Birthday Briana!” Ava grinned as the irresistible pull of Briana’s good cheer yanked her mood upwards. “This is Inka, a Little friend of mine.”

“Nice to meet you, Inka! Ava, Inka, this is my mom, Veronica. Neither of you know many people here, so I’ll make sure to introduce you to everybody.”

“Hello, good to meet you both.” Veronica couldn’t have been much older than Briana – though in the current context she was easily believable as a mom. Certainly, she had an air of maturity that instantly made Ava conscious of the diaper under her shorts. She found herself wanting make a curtsey, or some other sign of deference.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Ava blushed, getting an indulgent smile from Veronica in return.

With introductions out of the way, Briana wasted no time in hugging Ava and Inka both. The look Veronica gave them as she put the latest present in a pile of wrapped gifts was every bit as loving and indulgent as Ava could have gotten from her own mother. Whatever the age difference, Veronica seemed to have the mom thing down. Meanwhile, Briana went breathlessly from hugging Ava and Inka, to thanking the pair for her present, to grabbing them by the hand.  Tsunami Briana lead them inexorably into the Funplex, barely giving Ava time to look around.

What glimpses she managed to take in while she navigated her crutch reinforced the Little feeling that had started with meeting Veronica. Three kinds of minigolf were available, indoor, outdoor, and blacklight. They were threading their way through a big arcade that was saturated with the smell of popcorn and pizza. Most exciting of all, at least for Ava, was the Laser Tag arena. She stopped short to gawk at it before Briana pulled her away to meet a tall, broad-shouldered Black man. He was in shortalls with a telltale bulge on his rear.

“Ava, Inka, this is Arthur. Arthur, this is Ava and Inka. Arthur is Little too.” Briana smiled proudly.

“Uh, hi.” Arthur’s adorably bashful blush seemed to demand more than a monosyllable response. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned in to hug Arthur. To her delight, he enveloped her in his huge arms and hugged right back.

Briana’s eyes were sparkling with delight of her own – or happy tears, it was hard to tell. She promised Arthur that they’d return before dragging Inka and Ava off again. In the course of their whirlwind tour of the Funplex, Ava was introduced to a taciturn White woman that Briana called Dad, a group of women that were apparently Briana’s roommates, an older White lady Briana called Grandma, and more. The faces and names blurred alarmingly, Ava hoped she could stick with Inka, Briana, and the first few people she’d met for the rest of the party. Inka looked as overwhelmed as Ava felt – and by the worried expression on Briana’s face, she must have been showing her introduction fatigue too.

“I know it’s a lot of people but there’s only two more, and one of them is my big sib.” Briana said anxiously. “Then we can go have fun.”

“I just uh – need to take some medication really quick.” Inka gave a strained smile and slipped away toward a bathroom before Briana could stop her. Seeing Briana’s face cloud, Ava quickly squeezed the Little girl’s hand.

“Melody is your sib, right? What do you mean they’re your big sib?”

“They have a job and a fiancé and stuff. Plus, they wear pullups, not diapers like us – I mean like me.”

“You were right the first time, see?” Ava gently butt-checked Briana, gigging at her friend’s surprised expression.

“I wasn’t sure if you were going to wear them.” Briana sighed happily and hugged Ava. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t either, but I’m glad I did.”

“If you need a change, there’s stations set up in the bathrooms. I know my mom would be happy to help you.”

“Oh uh – maybe, we’ll see. I don’t know if I’ll even need to go.” And if I do, it’s not like I can’t sneak off to the bathroom. I’m not going to have an accident, that’s for sure.

“Silly, of course you will, the party is going to go for hours!” Briana seemed to have her full equilibrium back, tugging Ava away toward the dance arcade machines.

“Melody!” Briana scurried over to a blue-haired White person who stood a bit taller than her, but looked almost as Little in their shortalls and bright blue sneakers. “This is Ava! She just needs to meet you and Fabi, and then she can finally go play.”

“Hi Ava, it’s good to meet you, Briana has been talking about you a bunch.” Melody had totally different manner than their little sister, calmer and more mature. After being immersed in Briana’s frantic energy, Melody seemed older than Briana – and Ava as well.

“Oh, really? What’d she say?”

“It was hard to translate, it was half-baby, half-uwu-speak.” Melody smirked teasingly, doubling down on their amusement when Briana stamped her foot.

“Anyway this is Fabi – Fabiola.” Briana pounced on a White woman as she came down from the dance machine’s dais. Fabi had her dark hair in pigtails and was obviously diapered under her purple dress. “She wears diapers all the time, just like me!”

“Briana!” Fabi whined, though her expression was barely embarrassed. “Just for that you have to help me convince my Daddy to open the ice cream.”

“The Birthday Girl is on it! I’ll be right back, Ava!”

Melody chuckled as Briana trundled away with Fabi. “Don’t worry, she wouldn’t really ditch you this fast, she’ll be back.”

“That’s good, my other friend is already gone somewhere.” Ava shifted nervously against her crutch. “This looks fun, but it’s really overwhelming.”

“I’ll look out for you.” Melody offered out of nowhere. Before Ava could reply that she didn’t need looking after, Melody had put an arm around her shoulders and Ava found herself leaning in. “I’m more of a Middle than a Little and I watch out for my Little sis all the time. Worst comes to worse, we’ll get my Mamá involved.”

“Your Mamá?”

Melody pointed to a Hispanic woman with stunning shoulders in an orange and gray athleisure outfit. “Rosa. She’s the best.”

“Are you engaged to your caregiver? Uh, sorry if it’s none of my business but Briana said…”

“That’s fine.” Melody chuckled. “Yeah, we’re engaged. I can see why Briana likes you so much, you have the same filter that she does.”

“But – Briana doesn’t have a filter – Melody!” Ava’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“Hey, no being mean to my guests, sib!” Briana pulled Ava away from Melody, glaring up at her sibling pugnaciously.

“Just teasing her about being like you, Bri.” Melody ruffled Briana’s hair, ignoring her indignant squawk.

“Be nice or I’ll tell Mom.” Briana stuck her tongue out at Melody, before swiftly turning to Ava. “All the introductions and stuff are finally done, do you want to be my partner for the first mini-golf game?”

She has all these friends here – and she wants to play with me first? Ava grinned and squeezed Briana. “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Briana squealed with glee. In moments, Ava found herself at the heart of another storm as Briana barked demands at her caregivers to get the blacklight golf set up. While the Little girl’s bossy energy did get her and Ava situated at the start of the dark golf course quickly, it also got her a swat from her dad. In the echoes of the sound of a hand swinging under Briana’s tutu to land precisely on her padding, Ava was glad there were some constraints on her new friend.

Someone put a slushie that in Ava’s hand, it glowed radiant red in the blacklight. She sipped it and shivered, not at the ice but at the sheer intensity of the sugary syrup. Either the Funplex had the best slushies ever, or someone had cranked up the sugar for Briana’s birthday. It was fruit punch too, which she figured was Briana’s doing. Ava felt a little wild cackle escape her lips.

“Are we playing for points, or are you too much of a baby to keep score?”

“Oh that’s how it’s going to be?” Briana grinned, her teeth flashing like a special effect in the blacklight. “How about a drinking game? Every stroke that one of us loses a hole by, she has to drink a quarter of her drink.”

“But this isn’t alcohol, it doesn’t matter except for – oh, you think you’re going to make me have an accident?” Considering the size of the slushie Ava had been handed, she should have been cautious. She ignored such trivialities, there was an arrogant baby to show up!

“You’re on, Briana. I hope that diaper of yours is as thick as it sounded from the spanking you got.”

“How dare you?!” Briana giggled in mock outrage. “That was one swat. Fine, you go first, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“What I have is a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over my undergrad job at a minigolf park. Skills that make me a nightmare for a potty pants like you.” To the sound of Briana’s bell-like laughter, Ava expertly chipped her luminescent golf ball up the track and along the thrumming white neon lines. It walked a perfect circle around the depression that marked the first hole and dropped in. Briana’s laughter abruptly stopped.

“Hole in one.” Ava winked at Briana. “Most people probably get this one in three. Ready to drink half your slush?”

“You misunderestimate my powers!” Briana gave her ball a mighty whack, sending it careening past the hole.

Ava snorted, enjoying the sight of a true mini-golf amateur. The first hole was always designed to humble people like Briana, to teach them that you didn’t hit the ball as hard as you could. A strike like the one she’d just made would send it bouncing around the hole’s backstop and into the air. Folding her arms smugly, Ava watched the ball fall, shrugging as it luckily stayed in the hole’s boundaries. Her shrug turned to a frown as the ball bounced back toward the hole, rebounded off an ankle-high wall, and slipped neatly in.

“Was that luck or do you think you’re sharking me?” Ava asked in surprised admiration.

“Hmm? I’m just a birthday baby, it must have been luck.” Briana’s eyes twinkled mischievously.

“Oh, it’s ON now. From now on we have to call trick shots or the stroke doesn’t count.”

“Prepare to be destroyed!” Briana raised her club, Ava clashed hers against Briana’s as if they were about to duel with blades.

“Okay girls, that’s quite enough.” Veronica put her hands on the back of both girls’ necks, prompting them to look up at her with quite similar expressions of contrition. “It’s fine for you to get excited and have fun, but no swinging those clubs around for anything other than their intended use, understand?”

“Yes Mom, sorry.” Briana hung her head.

“Yes Ms. Rasmussen.” Ava bit her lip and felt herself sink into Littlespace more deeply than she had in ages. Veronica could have spanked her in that moment, and she wouldn’t have protested. Luckily, Briana’s mom had nothing more than that mild admonishment for them. She released both girls and sent them to the next hole with a pat on their padded butts.

Ava surveyed the next course as best she could in the increasing darkness. The first hole still had a bit of light from the entrance helping golfers out, but by the second the course was pitch dark anywhere it wasn’t lit by neon or reflective tape. Lines of yellow and pink tape wound to the right, but the hole – lit up by white neon, was at a funny angle to the tapes. It’s on a different level than the start of the course, maybe – a foot higher?

Setting her elbow in the brace of her crutch, Ava lined up a shot. Briana was waiting patiently behind her, without any quips or teasing. Ava raised her club – and set it down immediately as she realized her error. “Uh, this one will be a bank shot, it’s going to hit the blue wall and the orange one.”

Briana giggled. “Oh, you remembered.”

“You were going to just let me hit it without calling my shot, were you?”

“Hey, it’s your rule. If you can’t remember it, maybe you’re a baby.”

Ava giggled, taking a big sip of her slush. She should be saving those for any potential losses, she knew. The super saccharine fruit punch was just too good to let melt, however. Besides, it wasn’t like she was actually going to lose any holes to the over-arrogant birthday girl.

“There’s only one big baby here, and I’m not letting her win just because it’s her birthday.” Ava tapped her ball expertly, watching it roll down the guide tapes – bounce off the blue wall, then the orange, and drop straight into the hole. A cleaner and more serious shot than the first one she’d taken. She was pleased to hear Briana grunt in frustration at Ava’s second hole in one.

“Birthday girls don’t have to have people let them win. They have birthday luck! Plus, as  Princess of Cloudland, I have my honor to uphold.” She squinted at the course, lining up her shot. “Four bounces, orange, blue, orange, pink, and in.”

Ava held her breath as Briana gave the ball a swift smack. It hit the orange wall first, then the blue, careened to the corner of the orange wall – with enough margin that Ava couldn’t call a foul – hit the pink wall, and went on a curving path toward the hole. All the air rushed out of Ava in a huge “HAH!” as Briana’s ball went into the hole’s depression and came right back out, rolling to a stop two feet away.

“I hope that slushie tastes good, Princess. You’re going to be drinking a lot of it.”

Defiantly, Briana stomped up to her ball and tapped it into the hole. She took a huge drink of her slushie, locking eyes with Ava as she did. “It’s raspberry and it’s delicious!”

Both girls collapsed into giggles. Briana retrieved their balls and helped Ava up – the two of them walked with their arms around each other’s waists to the next hole. Despite the small entourage of caregivers with them, and the next set of golfing party guests behind them, Ava felt like she and Briana had fallen into their own little world. She set her lambent blue ball next to Briana’s neon pink one, and grinned.

“Simultaneous this time?”

“You’re on!”