A Trip to the Playa (Chapters)

Keeley couldn’t believe her phone alarm was going off while it was still dark. Especially considering that it was August. Despite the summer heat outside, she was swaddled in blankets and pajamas. Mom believed in keeping the house super cold at night and claimed it was healthy. The cold hadn’t given Keeley any health benefits that she’d noticed, she was pretty sure it was a case of her mom being crazier than her nannies.

The alarm went off again. My stupid nannies set multiple alarms? Keeley hurled the phone at her bathroom door and tucked her head under the blankets. She was too sleepy to know how many more minutes of shut-eye she managed to steal, but it wasn’t enough. Vidette and Dominika were relentless when they arrived, with horribly loud non-morning voices.

Fighting against wakefulness, Keeley whined when Dominika pulled her blankets away. She managed to keep hold of Gordo, her stuffed rat, but Bertha the plush whale bounced away with the comforter. Going limp seemed like a good strategy, and Keeley had reason to be happy with the results.

Sure, her nannies had taken advantage of her limp state to exchange her pullup for a diaper and swap her pajamas for what were probably dumb baby clothes, but Keeley hadn’t had to open her eyes yet! That indignity came when Dominika and Vidette hauled Keeley bodily out of bed and set her on her feet.

They put a pacifier in her mouth – Not that I wanted to talk anyway – and tucked Bertha into her free arm. With a vigorous pat on the diaper, Dominika sent Keeley out of her room, arm-in-arm with Vidette. There were already servants up, but they didn’t register to Keeley’s sleepy brain. She concentrated on putting one footie-pajama clad foot in front of the other until she was outside and confronted with a massive vehicle.

The RV that her nannies had procured for the trip was as big as Dominika’s ego and as ostentatious as Vidette’s party dresses. The nannies herded Keeley aboard and past luxury furnishings that she barely looked at. In the back of the RV, Vidette helped Keeley into a bed that was built into a wall. At last, her nightmare of pre-dawn activity was over.

A thump followed by a lock-clicking sound was suspicious enough for Keeley to peek at what Vidette was doing. There were padded bars separating Keeley and her nanny. A crib, really? Keeley rolled her eyes before she closed them, making sure that Vidette wouldn’t miss her annoyance.

That a crib would make an appearance seemed inevitable, and a crib was still a bed. Keeley made a comfy nest in her blankets and curled up around her stuffies. She took advantage of her diaper to relieve the last bit of discomfort she was feeling, and promptly fell asleep.

~~~~*~~~~

Keeley woke to soft roaring sounds. The rhythmic noises, combined with her wet diaper and crib bars, had Keeley mentally back at the beach house. She stretched and shifted, arranging her butt comfortably on her squishy padding and waited for her nannies to come get her. The RV went over a bump, shaking Keeley’s mind fully awake. She was sleeping in a wall alcove the size of her mattress, with enough height to sit in but not stand. Crib bars covered the open wall completely, caging Keeley in.

As a reminder of the night she’d almost killed Dominika with a thrown bottle and had been locked in her crib, it was devastating. An ashamed cry wailed out of Keeley. Crying without restraint felt primal and cathartic. Dominika arrived on the other side of the crib bars gratifyingly quickly.

“Baby girl, what’s the matter?” Dominika slid the crib bars down and reached in to stroke Keeley’s forehead.

“I’m sorry I was bad! I don’t know what I did to get locked in, but I’m sorry nana!”

“Sweetie, calm down! You’re not bad and you’re not being punished. Nobody locked you in. The bars just latch when they’re up, and you can reach the latch from both sides, see?” Dominika raised the bars a bit and ran her fingers over the simple push-latch.

“Oh.” Keeley sniffle-snorted and wiped her sleeve across her snotty nose. “I woke up and it was like the beach house and I thought – I’m sorry I’m dumb.”

“Hey now, no more putting yourself down. The crib bars are because you’re a baby girl, but also so you don’t fall out of bed while we’re driving. We didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Nana.” Keeley swung her legs out of her crib and reached for her nanny.

“Aww, honey. Are you going to be a baby today?” Dominika’s answering hug was fiercely tight. The hug made Keeley feel wanted, which in turn made her weak all through her torso.

“No, I want to be a big girl! I wanna wear pullups and hang out with my nannies.”

“You SEEM a lot more little than you were yesterday, but maybe that’s the way you woke up.” Dominika laughed. “And the fact that you’re a potty pants.”

“No fair. I have to use my diapers if you put me in them, don’t I?”

“That’s true. I’m teasing you anyway. You’re very tease-able.”

Keeley responded by pouting as cutely as she could. To her delight, Dominika’s expression cracked immediately. It was difficult to wait to smile until Dominika was hugging her again, but Keeley had the sneakiness to manage it.

“Let’s get you changed, cutie.”

“Into a pullup, right? Please nana.”

“I don’t know…” Dominika said with exaggerated reluctance. She pulled Keeley to her feet and opened the door to what looked like a smushed-up bedroom in Keeley’s quick assessment. “Will you be a good girl for me today?”

“I’ll be the best girl for you nanny Dominika. I want to have fun and hang out. I want you to like me.” Keeley blushed as soon as the last part was out of her mouth. She’d been too eager; her lingering sleepiness had her filter askew.

“Keeley.” Dominika’s serious expression matched the way she’d dropped the cutesy nicknames. “I love you, and I like you. I don’t think you have any idea how much. This baby game isn’t something I would play with just anybody.”

“Nana! You’re going to make me cry again.” Smiling through a storm of emotions, flaming cheeks, and tear-filled eyes, Keeley cuddled up to Dominika and kissed her on the cheek.

“You’re going to do the same to me if you stay that sweet.” Dominika’s voice was thick with emotion as she mirrored a kiss to Keeley’s cheek. “Let’s take a break from feels and work on your wet diaper.”

Giggling euphorically, Keeley followed Dominika through the bedroom door. The back half of the RV was a narrow hallway that opened up halfway to let light in through lots of windows. Up ahead she could see a kitchen area, a dining area, and a lounging space with couches. Up at the front, Vidette took a quick look back to wave at them from her driver’s seat that clashed luxury and industrial aesthetics.

At her right elbow was the object of their current activity, a changing table just like the beach house had had, wedged between the bedroom and another walled-in area. Keeley was surprised to find herself totally without resentment as she climbed onto the changing table. I guess I feel like I got to agree to the baby game this time. I’d still do without the diapers if my nannies would let me, but it’s silly to hate on the changing table. That’s where I get out of my wet diapers.

Wasting no time, Dominika stripped Keeley of her pajama bottoms and wet diaper. Keeley looked up and out the window, watching the clouds go by. It was a much nicer experience than the closet-like changing area at the beach house, even if there was less room overall. She especially appreciated that the lower half of the windows were frosted so that no one would see her getting changed. Even truckers wouldn’t sit high enough to peer down through the window’s upper half.

Dominika didn’t seem inclined to put a shower on the morning’s list of activities. She wiped Keeley’s diaper area clean, washed her face with a washcloth, and gave her armpits the same treatment. Dry shampoo got Keeley’s hair under control. Keeley approved of the hair treatment, considering how much of a beating her hair had taken from spending the previous day in her pool.

True to her word, Dominika put a pullup on Keeley and sat her up, otherwise naked. “What kind of Little girl clothes do you want to wear?”

“Do you have overalls?” Keeley bounced on the changing table excitedly at Dominika’s nod. “Can I wear those and a t-shirt? That way I could still go out of the bus if we stop.”

“Sure sweetie.” Dominika ducked into the walled off area in front of the changing table and came back with a pair of pink overalls, a baby-blue t-shirt, and a pair of socks with kitties embroidered on them. “I’m surprised at how eager you are to play. I thought we’d have to work on you for a few days like we did at the beach house.”

“I got to choose it this time.” Keeley lifted her feet for the socks before sliding off the changing table into the overalls. “Some of the beach house trip was – rough – but I like how you take care of me.”

“I – I’m sorry we pushed so hard at the beach house. We didn’t think you’d agree to play with us no matter how we explained it.”

“I probably wouldn’t have. That doesn’t…” That doesn’t make it right, but you forgave me for throwing a bottle at your head, so besties forever, Nika. Keeley shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’re playing now and I’m glad.”

“Me too. Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the bus.” Dominika began with the room across from the changing table, the RV’s bathroom. She couldn’t resist adding a quip about how Keeley wasn’t going to need that room much. Har. Har. Past the bathroom, changing table, and storage room were the kitchen and dining room, across the hall from each other. Keeley shot back a quip about how she wouldn’t need to use the kitchen area either, and got a good-natured swat on the butt.

Truthfully, Keeley had little interest in the kitchen, even if she hadn’t had her nannies cooking for her. The dining area on her right was much more interesting, with a classy red-leather upholstered booth setup that wrapped around the table in a u-shape. The utilitarian commonness of it would have made her mom scream in disgust. Keeley loved it immediately.

“No high chair this time?”

“We have one packed, but there isn’t room on the bus.”

“You said you wouldn’t make me be a baby in public!”

“Burning Man isn’t really public. You won’t be the only one wearing diapers at the festival.”

“What?” Keeley grabbed Dominika’s arm to keep her nanny from continuing the tour. “What are you talking about? Other adults, wearing diapers?”

“Other Little girls and Little boys – most of them won’t want to be called adults.”

“You mean – this is a thing? Vidette and your weird game is – is…”

“There are lots of Littles in the world, they have nannies and mommies and daddies and caregiver boyfriends and girlfriends that take care of them.”

Keeley gaped like a fish. Trying to process what Dominika had said shut her brain down like a bricked phone. Correctly interpreting Keeley’s dumbstruck expression, Dominika pulled the Little girl along the hall.

“The couches and beanbags on your left are the lounge. You can see the TV on the right, that block under it folds out into a bar. Under no circumstances are you to get into the bar, do you hear me?”

A terrible shiver crawled down Keeley’s spine at the memory of her drunken rampage. She couldn’t nod obediently at her nanny fast enough. “I promise, nanny Dominika.”

Dominika’s expression softened; she caressed Keeley’s cheek. “Good girl. Right past the bar is your playpen. We wanted you up front so you’d be close when you’re playing.”

“How do you like it, Keeley?” Vidette glanced over her shoulder briefly. “We went all out on comfort and baby stuff for the trip.”

“I – I – nanas, I really like it.” Keeley went pigeon-toed, squirming.

There was still the matter of Dominika’s revelation, but she was in no mood to process something that big. Keeley was busy holding back tears at the care and thought her nannies had put into building a bus. Other “Littles” in the world or not, Keeley was sure that there was no way to buy a Baby-RV off a lot. The converted bus was proof that her nannies had spent dozens of hours thinking and caring about Keeley.

“I’m so happy to hear that!” The nannies said in unison. There was as surprising amount of relief in their voices. Dominika gave Keeley yet another hug – the third one this morning, not that I’m counting – and helped her over the playpen’s elastic netting.

“You need some breakfast, and then some Little girl toys to play with. Do you want to start with a coloring book?” Dominika smiled at Keeley’s eager nod and made her way to the kitchen. “After you’ve had a chance to color for a while, I’ll check your pullup, or you can tell me when you’re wet.”

“Um – nanas?” Keeley picked at the padded floor of the playpen, too bashful to watch their expressions. “Do Little girls ever like – potty train and not have to wear pullups anymore even if they still play with coloring books?”

The silence that followed Keeley’s question made her wince. Dominika was the first to answer. “I think you make a delightful baby.”

“Even if that was a possibility,” Vidette said slowly. “There’d be a fourth person to involve in the discussion. Trish.”

Keeley’s cheeks burned in squirmy embarrassment at the thought of her babysitter-turned-girlfriend getting to weigh in on the discussion. She’s not coming on the trip, so I guess that’s the end of that for now. Dismissing her question let Keeley avoid wondering how Trish would feel if she never got to see Keeley in her pullups again. Nor did she have to think about missing out on all the sexy compliments Trish had given her when she modeled those pullups on their online dates.

Instead, Keeley focused on the hollowness in her belly. “Nana, what’s for breakfast?”

“The Little girl breakfast is maple sausages, a blueberry muffin, and apple juice in a sippy cup.”

The hungry growl that issued from Keeley’s stomach saved her the trouble of replying to Dominika. Exploring her playpen revealed that she could see out the windshield if she leaned on the front corner. To her delight, Vidette could reach just far enough to pat Keeley’s head when she leaned out of the driver’s seat.

They were moving down the road at a good clip. Keeley marveled at the huge pedals, various dials, enormous gearshift, and CB radio in front of Vidette. Never the most confidant driver herself, she couldn’t imagine driving a vehicle as big as the bus. It was hard to remember what it looked like on the outside, but she knew she’d walked well over twenty feet from her crib to the playpen.

“I can’t believe you can drive this thing, nanny Vidette.”

“I couldn’t believe it either when I started that CDL class.”

“You got a commercial driver’s license?” How? When?

“It was a pain, but there was no way we wanted to share this trip with a driver. Nika didn’t have time to get one with the business she’s running, so I did it.”

“I practiced a little. I can drive on the highway well enough, just don’t tell anyone.”

Keeley giggled. “I won’t. You nannies are nuts.”

“What do we have all this money for if it’s not to play around sometimes?” Vidette asked.

“Ask my parents.” Keeley flopped on her back. Discovering that the ceiling above the playpen was painted with stars helped with the inevitable sadness that always accompanied talking about her mom and dad. “I don’t know what they think money is good for, except having more.”

“We’re not going to turn into your parents,” Dominika said.

“Even if Nika tries to, I won’t let her become your mom,” Vidette said. “That’s part of why this is a road trip. There’s not enough cell towers to have business meetings in flyover country.”

“I SAID I was sorry about missing meeting your new girlfriend.” Dominika’s tone had the sound of a well-worn argument.

“You literally promised me, and broke that promise. That’s why I didn’t give you a choice on this trip.”

“And I apologized for blowing you off. I wish I hadn’t done it, that’s what an apology means.”

“Maybe someday you’ll apologize enough to make up for not being able to warn me what a psycho Rhonda was.”

Both nannies laughed, in an easy, friendly way. The argument – which had never sounded serious in the first place – evaporated on that laughter. It was as far from the screaming matches that Keeley’s parents had as pullup-clad Keeley was from skank-skirt Keeley. The first one was in a playpen, with nannies that loved her. The second would typically be in a warehouse party, with Zach.

I wish they were my parents. Keeley sighed in gentle melancholy. It was silly to be sad about bad parents when she had her nannies on hand to take care of her. Already, she had trouble believing she’d fought them about restarting the baby game by the pool. She’d laughed and snuggled more in the last twelve hours than she had in the previous twelve days. I still don’t think I need them to take care of me, but it’s good. It’s really good.