A Trip to the Playa (Chapters)

The interstate highway was a pair of grey strips, surrounded by rows of trees in their full summer green. From the bus’s elevated deck, the lounge’s couch was a great place to watch the scenery. Keeley took a seat and wished that view offered something more interesting than trees. Looking out the windshield from the lounge didn’t offer visuals other than a long strip of road. The empty passenger seat next to Vidette, on the other hand, would let Keeley look everyway but behind the bus.

Vidette put her arm out, stopping Keeley before she could reach the passenger seat. “Stop there for a sec, baby girl.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Nika,” Vidette called back to the kitchen. “If you’re going to let her roam around, can you put the gate up please?”

“What are you talking about?” Keeley got no answer from Vidette and turned to Dominika with a questioning look. Her nanny left the breakfast dishes and met Keeley at the front of the bus.

“Let me scoot by you, hon.” Dominika unlatched a thin panel behind the passenger’s seat and pulled a folding gate out from the compartment. As she latched the panel, Keeley felt her cheeks grow hot.

“You put in a baby gate?!”

“Safety first, Little girl.” Dominika patted Keeley’s rear patronizingly. “While we’re driving, we don’t want you past the playpen without permission.”

“What do you think I’m going to do, fall down the stairs?” Keeley sputtered.

“Not with the gate in place you won’t. Be a good girl and sit on the couch or in your playpen until I’m done with the dishes. You and I can sit together up front later.”

Dominika returned to the kitchen, leaving Keeley to stare at the waist-high gate in disbelief. In terms of embarrassing, infantilizing things her nannies had done, installing a baby gate was near the top of the list. I’m surprised they don’t have child locks on the kitchen cabinets. As soon as the thought struck her, Keeley realized she didn’t know for certain if the cabinets had child locks or not. She retreated to the couch without glancing back to find out.

Back at the window with the addition of a fine pout, Keeley leaned on the back of the couch and stared out without registering the continuous scroll of green. A wedgie in her pullup reminded her that she was going to have to wet herself and get changed again, probably before too long. Humiliation and helplessness made Keeley squirm.

If someone had asked her how she’d like to be taken care of, Keeley would never have suggested what her nannies were doing to her. She couldn’t deny that for all the emotional and physical discomfort that came with her nannies’ baby game – she did feel cared for. Being made helpless made it easy for them to find things to do for her. But is the care I’m getting worth all the frustrations?

Grumpily, Keeley considered throwing a tantrum. It was rare she got to throw a proper one. Her mother’s reaction to tantrums had been dire, and her dad ignored Keeley more than usual while she tantruming. She hadn’t gotten to throw more than a tiny tantrum at the beach house – unless she counted the night she got drunk, which Keeley did not.

The only time I get to really be a brat is when Zach and I are partying. Nobody can say anything because we’re bankrolling all the drugs. Keeley sighed and pushed away her anger. She knew how Dominika would react to a tantrum, and Keeley didn’t want to ruin her nice morning with a big spanking.

“Enjoying the scenery, baby girl?” Dominika put her arms around Keeley from behind.

“No. It’s just dumb trees over and over.” Keeley saw no need to moderate her tone. Grumpiness was clearly distinct from tantruming, after all.

Luckily, Dominika seemed to agree with Keeley, and gave her a squeeze instead of admonishing her. “Let’s play a game. Can you spot a word on a sign that has an A? If you see it first, I have to find a different A word, and you start looking for words with a B. First one to Z wins, you can only get one letter per sign.”

“That’s a baby game – Amsterdam!” Keeley pointed at the exit sign looming up next to the bus.

“Good job!” Dominika kissed Keeley on the cheek, sending a happy glow through the Little girl. Nice as Dominika’s praise was, it didn’t change the fact that they were playing a game for little kids. Not that Keeley was going stop playing – losing at a baby game would be even more embarrassing.

Dominika got her A off a real estate sign, because of course she was on the lookout for boring signs. The joke was on Nika, because calling Keeley’s attention to that sign earned Keeley her B and sustained her lead. Not only that, but the next sign – “Coaches for Sale” – had a C but no B. Keeley was blowing her nanny out of water on the sign game!

Keeley stalled a bit at the letter K, though the Mohawk river got her past that hurdle. Q was a brutal letter, allowing Dominika to easily catch up to Keeley. When Keeley finally spotted a sign for Quilts she pushed her nanny over on the couch.

“Quilts, quilts! I got it!” Keeley’s triumph was short lived. Dominika yanked the Little girl down on the couch and mercilessly attacked her sides. Caught off guard, Keeley had no tickle resistance – she was reduced to shrieks and giggles.

“No, Nika stop, stop, I hafta…” Keeley thrashed out from under her nanny but it was too late – the bladder pressure she’d been ignoring was gone, leaving her with a wet pullup.

“Did you have an accident, baby girl?” Dominica asked, panting.

“It’s not an accident! You make me use them.”

“Uh huh. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.” Dominika took Keeley’s hand and lead her not to the changing table, but to the bathroom across from it.

“Um, Nana? I already went.”

Dominika pulled Keeley’s shortalls and pullup down, putting her on the toilet before answering. “I’m making sure you’ve got all your potty out. Try and potty for me, baby girl.”

“That’s not – I don’t have to – what’s this all of a sudden?” Keeley squirmed on the toilet, feeling hot from her cheeks to the back of her neck.

“Do you need help?” Dominika put a hand over Keeley’s bladder and pushed.

“No I don’t!” Keeley batted Dominika’s hand away – and since her Nanny wasn’t going to give up, tried bearing down. She wasn’t sure if the few drops that hit the water had embarrassed her further, or if they were proof that she’d been right about being done.

Either way, Dominika stood Keeley up and wiped her down, ignoring Keeley’s offers to wipe herself. The diaper game’s new wrinkle left Keeley confused and annoyed. Being put on the potty – the toilet – was easily as humiliating as having a diaper changed. The comfort level was way less than being changed on the table, however.

If Dominika noticed Keeley’s withdrawn attitude, she didn’t comment on it. Instead, she sat Keeley down at the dining booth for lunch. Louis’ famous bacon wrapped dates and quinoa salad restored Keeley’s spirits, as they always did. After lunch, Keeley and Dominika went past the baby gate to share the passenger seat and chat with Vidette.

“Where even are we?” Keeley peered at the road. Her knowledge of New York state was fuzzy – while she recognized the city names, they didn’t fall into a mental map for her.

“We just passed Rochester. Lake Ontario is off to the right but you can’t see it from here.” Vidette said. “Buffalo is coming up next.”

“Oh, then we can see Lake Erie at least.” Keeley leaned happily against Dominika. It’s been ages since I’ve been to Erie.

“Sorry kiddo, the interstate doesn’t have a view of the lake.” Vidette sighed and twisted in her seat, audibly popping her back.

“Nana, can’t we go on the highway that goes by the lake? Please?”

“I’m not sure if we have time. Nika?”

Dominika swiped the screen open on a tablet that was fixed to the passenger’s seat. She fiddled with the navigation the tablet was running and nodded. “It’ll only add a half hour. We can easily make our dinner reservations. Do you want to take a break to stretch your legs before we switch roads?”

“Yeah, I think there’s a rest stop coming up…”

“Nanas! What dinner reservations? Where are we going to eat?”

“Don’t interrupt, sweetie.” Dominika swatted Keeley’s rear. “We have reservations at a steakhouse in Columbus.”

“We’re going to eat in Ohio?” Keeley wrinkled her nose.

“I know, I had the same reaction, but our first day of driving ends just past Columbus. We have a private dining room reserved at Herbert’s Wood Fired Grill.” Vidette shrugged.

“Private dining…” Keeley grabbed Dominika’s arm for reassurance. “You’re not going to make me use a high chair – or a diaper – or…”

“Baby, it’s okay.” Dominika stroked Keeley’s hair. “We have a cute outfit for you that is not a onesie. It’s Little but not too obvious. There won’t be any high chair. We did have them prepare a special meal for you though.”

“What’s the special meal?”

“A surprise from me.” Vidette said with a grin. “Also, you don’t have to wear a diaper but you might want to. The dinner’s going to last two or three hours. You can wear a pullup, but it might leak.”

“No! No diaper! You said I didn’t have to.”

“I just said it again. You can change your mind later if you want. Three hours is a long time for you to be in one pullup.”

“I’ll bring a change in case, okay baby girl?” Dominika pulled Keeley close.

“Okay.” Keeley huffed and snuggled into her Nana’s embrace. They’d driven in silence for ten minutes before Keeley wondered why she hadn’t asked to not wear a pullup or a diaper. My nanas would say no anyway, Keeley thought, quickly dismissing the idea.

On their way into Buffalo, Dominika revived the alphabet sign game. She gave Keeley a coloring-book map of the United States and a box of crayons as well. Between checking signs for letters and coloring in each state for which she spotted a license plate, Keeley was a busy girl.

Driving through downtown Buffalo to get to the highway cleared the rest of the sign game, which Keeley easily won. Her slacker nanny had barely gotten to P by the time Keeley reached Z! The abundance of cars in the city helped Keeley fill in a lot of her map too, though progress there slowed way down once they were on the two-lane highway.

Keeley watched the water whenever the trees permitted a view of Lake Erie. Her nannies were chatting about business stuff – Keeley immediately tuned that nonsense out. The hum of the bus’s engine and the peaceful water had Keeley in a drowsy cuddle with Dominika. After a pullup change, Dominika put Keeley in the playpen for a nap. Keeley  had no objection and promptly made a blanket nest.

~~~~*~~~~

Waking up under a pile of blankets and stuffies made Keeley want to ignore her nanny’s persistent calls. It was the prospect of fancy food that convinced Keeley to crawl out of her nest and stumble down to the bedroom with Dominika. She let her nanny strip her naked, not questioning that Dominika put her on the potty.

“Are you sure you want to wear a pullup at dinner?” Dominika bent Keeley over and wiped her crotch clean. “Nobody will see a diaper under your outfit, and you won’t have to worry about leaks.”

“I’m a big girl,” Keeley insisted, with a sleepy yawn.

“Of course you are, sweetie.” Dominika kissed Keeley on the forehead. “Pullup it is. You’re going to be fully babied out tomorrow though, the whole day.”

“I am?” Keeley stepped into the pullup Dominika was holding, bracing herself on her nanny’s shoulders.

“There’s not much happening tomorrow on the road, we’re driving from Ohio to Nebraska. It’s a good day for it.” Dominika pulled pastel yellow tights up Keeley’s legs and patted her rear.

“Okay nana.” Keeley lifted her arms to accept the pink polka-dot dress Dominika was offering. She didn’t want to spend a whole day like a baby – obviously – but there was no use arguing with her nannies. It’ll be harmless enough in the bus anyway, and it sounds like we don’t have any stops. I can’t imagine there’s anything interesting in Ohio or Nebraska.

As Dominika put a hairband with a bow on it in Keeley’s hair, she blinked at the bedroom mirror. Her dress’ top was cut for a woman, but the skirt was way too full for a grown up dress. A bow to match the one in her hair adorned the top of her skirt. She fiddled with the skirt, and glanced down at Dominika. Her nanny was putting Keeley’s shoes on, which gave Keeley a chance to smile at the mirror unnoticed. The girl in the mirror looked like a Little princess – dressed far more frivolously than Keeley’s mom would have allowed. I can’t believe mom bought me my first pantsuit when I was five.

“What do you think?” Dominika asked.

“It’s pretty.” Keeley belied her casual tone with a quick spin to make her skirt poof out. Dominika’s beaming smile was a joy to see. It wouldn’t do to encourage her nannies too much, but it was fine for them to know when they picked something nice.

Without warning, they arrived at the steakhouse. Vidette had apparently picked a place that was right off the highway. Keeley hoped that didn’t spell doom for the quality of its food. The restaurant’s décor didn’t encourage her much either. It was a mess of old photos, sculpted wood, and over-fancy carpet for a place that was serving food. They want to look like old money really badly – too bad they don’t know that being old money sucks.

Keeley was shocked out of her restaurant critique when her nannies seated her at the head of their private table. Dominika always sits at the head of the table. The three of them were seated end of a table for twelve while nice but overly solicitous staff hovered around them. Idly, Keeley wondered how much her nannies had overpaid for their dinner.

“The menu is already set for the most part,” said a waitress, as she presented Keeley with a small menu. “As the guest of honor, your friends wanted you to choose the appetizers.”

The nannies looked like a pair of cats who’d swallowed canaries. Keeley rolled her eyes, before favoring them with a warm smile. It was sweet for them to call her a guest of honor, even if they were being upper-class dorks about it.

“We’ll have the shrimp cocktail, the blue cheese potato chips, an order of the pretzel onion rings, and some crab cakes.” Keeley handed the menu back to the waitress without looking at her. She might not like high society, but her mom had ensured that Keeley could navigate fancy affairs in her sleep. A restaurant in Ohio was easy mode compared to a country club in upstate New York anyway.

“Good picks.” Vidette smiled eagerly. “Now, a toast. To a well earned vacation with our favorite girl!”

They all lifted their champagne flutes – Keeley’s drink was a slightly different color than her nannies’. Her suspicions were confirmed by the sweet taste of sparkling cider. She stuck her tongue out at her nannies and laughed. “Thanks Nika, Vi.”

“We love you, sweetie.” Dominika reached over to squeeze Keeley’s leg.

Conversation flowed pleasantly over appetizers and bubbly drinks. As guest of honor, Keeley banned all work and business talk, with Vidette seconding the motion. It was heavenly to catch up on her nannies’ social lives and families. The food was good too, and the staff were polished. No-one’s glass was ever more than two thirds empty.

“Trish is excited to start at ABDU. Last time we talked, she confirmed she was going to Rush too.” Vidette handed her appetizer plate off to the small army of waitstaff that were clearing the table.

“She’s going to join a sorority?” Keeley pouted. “They’ll ruin her.”

“Trish hasn’t committed to my sorority pick yet, but if she goes with Delta Lambda Gamma they’ll do nothing of the sort.” Dominika tasted the glass of wine the head waiter handed her, nodded, and motioned for him to pour for Vidette.

“I don’t want Trish to be a sorority girl. Even if it’s your sorority.” Keeley sighed. “I like that she’s different.”

“She’s a confident and strong-willed woman, I wouldn’t worry so much about her.” Vidette accepted her glass of wine and a plate bearing a gorgeous steak. “Especially since her supposed girlfriend never visits her.”

“That’s not fair.” Keeley ducked her head, concentrating on the plate of ravioli that had been set in front of her. The smell of them picked at old memories of Keeley’s.

“Vidette could have said many less fair things, and you know it.” Dominika nodded to the waiter. He quietly informed her on the best way to get the staff’s attention before withdrawing with the rest of the staff, to give the diners some privacy.

“You have to help fix it.” Keeley waited out Dominika and Vidette’s incredulous expressions until the last staff member was out of the room. “You’re my nannies, its your job.”

Vidette laughed. “Be careful what you ask for. If it’s in our job to fix things with Trish, we can fix things with Zach too.”

“I’d love to fix his little red wagon.” Dominika grumbled.

Keeley shrugged. “You don’t let me hang out with him when you’re being my nannies anyway.”

“Vidette is talking about a long term fix to the Zach problem, hon.”

Keeley crossed her arms and stared down at her plate. Her kiddie plate with its stupid raviolis, instead of the nice steaks her nannies had. What’s the point of coming to a steakhouse and not getting steak? “You don’t understand.”

“You’re right, we don’t.” Vidette said. “We’d like to, though.”

“Zach is – a jerk, and a druggie, and he’s not always nice to me.” Keeley shot Dominika an annoyed look as her nanny loudly scoffed. “But he’s hot, I’ve known him forever, and he makes mom and dad really mad.”

“Baby girl, did it not occur to you that your parents wouldn’t like Trish either? She’s nice to you, not a drug addict, and I promise your mom will hate her.” Vidette took a bite of her steak and sighed happily.

“That’s the point! Zach is from a super nice family. Mom and dad could never insult his parents by kicking him off the property for good.” Keeley trembled, wiping at her eyes. They were filing faster than she could clear them. “They can’t take him away.”

“Keeley, sweetheart.” Dominika got out of her chair and pressed her napkin gently to Keeley’s eyes in turn. “We wouldn’t let them take Trish away from you.”

“Why do you think we want her to attend ABDU and join a sorority?” Vidette asked. “Do you know who the Delta-Gs are connected to in New England?”

“I don’t know anything about your stupid sorority.” Keeley whimpered. Dominika put her napkin to Keeley’s nose – the Little girl obediently blew.

“We don’t need to get into details on Delta Lambda Gamma now,” Dominika said. “All that matters for this conversation is that there are people sponsoring the Delta-Gs, who’s influence makes Zach’s parents look middle-class. Your parents wouldn’t want to upset them either.”

“B-b-but other than you two, he’s my only friend.”

“Sweetie, don’t you think there’s a reason for that? People don’t like Zach. It would be a lot easier for you to make and keep friends if he wasn’t around.” Vidette squeezed Keeley’s arm gently.

“I don’t know.” Keeley sniffled.

“Nothing’s getting decided tonight. Eat your dinner, baby girl.” Dominika gave Keeley a quick hug and resumed her seat.

Listlessly, Keeley speared a ravioli and stuffed it in her mouth. The taste exploded, illuminating long forgotten memories. Keeley chewed and swallowed, staring at Vidette in wonder. Her mouth was full of the taste of smugly winning against her mother. The sauce texture brought back memories of laughing with Vidette and Dominika while the adults were drinking. Her dish’s aftertaste was a memory of falling asleep with Gordo in her arms, on the long ride home.

The happiest years of Keeley’s life had been in preschool and kindergarten, when her parents and her nannies’ parents had been inseparable. They were constantly going to dinner at a country club on lake Erie, trying to cut deals with important New York families.

Mom’s insistence on a bland upper-class lifestyle was already closing around Keeley at the time, though her mom’s lifestyle aesthetic hadn’t felt like a noose, yet. The Erie Country Club was where she’d first learned how to frustrate her mother in an “acceptable” manner. Keeley’s Mom sneered at the duck-bison-rabbit ravioli the moment the dish was mentioned. Too bad for her that she insisted on Keeley ordering her own food. Keeley ordered the “vulgar” dish every single time.

“How? That country club closed!”

“The head chef here worked there before it closed down, and he’s still friends with the former head chef from the Erie Country Club.” Vidette was smiling fit to break her face in half. “He knew the recipe as soon as I asked!”

“Nana…” Keeley sobbed. Both her nannies were holding her in seconds – she clung to them desperately. She would have held them forever, but it wouldn’t do to ruin her nannies’ dinners. After squeezing them both tightly, Keeley sent Dominika and Vidette back to their seats and tucked into her ravioli.

The overwhelming care they’d shown for her had Keeley desperate to return the favor. She decided right away that she wouldn’t complain about having a baby day and used her pullup without making a fuss. It wasn’t even weird to sit in a wet pullup – not while Keeley was brimming with happiness.

Vidette checked Keeley’s pullup before dessert and offered to change her – Keeley put the matter in her nanny’s hands. Seeing Vidette smile and declare that Keeley was fine until they got back to the RV was a tiny repayment for her nanny’s thoughtfulness. Keeley doubled down by asking Vidette to get her ready for bed.

~~~~*~~~~

The sun was setting when the bus pulled into an RV park for the night. While Dominika was busy extending the bedroom’s pop-out wall so the nannies’ mattresses could lie flat – Vidette took Keeley to the bathroom and washed her up for bed. Keeley didn’t complain about her nine-o-clock bedtime – she joked with Vidette and picked out a cute baby diaper to wear. After Vidette had put Keeley in a soft lavender onesie, she held her nanny as tightly as she’d wanted to at the restaurant.

“I love you, Nana. Thank you.”

“I love you too, baby girl.” Vidette was in no hurry to end the hug, holding Keeley just as tightly, before tucking her into her wall-alcove crib.

“Will you read me a story?”

“I’d love to. You’re being such a darling girl tonight.”

“When somebody does something super nice for me like you did today – it’s the least I can do.” Keeley wrapped her arms around her scruffy plush rat and tucked him under her chin. “Maybe – I could use some help with Zach.”

“We’ll work on that another day.” Vidette ran her fingers through Keeley’s hair. “Ready for your story?”

“Yes, Nana.” Keeley closed her eyes and pulled her nanny’s love around her like a weighted blanket. She was out like a light before the bear in Vidette’s story made it to her train.