In-Between Chapters 8 and 9 by Sofia Hammerstein

Cameron Sylvester has grown up always hoping he'll live up to the heritage of his mother's family height. She was a ten-foot-tall Big, after all, and his father was a tall Mid, which meant it shouldn't have been a question that he would grow out of the Little category of height early on. A bright student, he's been at the top of his class in science and math throughout his academic career! Looking toward his high school graduation and towards college, he's received scholarships to attend Emerson University. it's a question of inches if he'll be left to the fate of being a Little with a limited future or manage to make a future as a short 'Betweener.' Even as a Betweener, the question remains to be seen if he can be a normal adult or if he'll be left 'In-Between.'  (A Tale from the Diaper Dimension)

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The Legal Stuff: In-Between © 2020-2026 By Sofia Hammerstein
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
 

 
 

Chapter 8: Plus One
 

I HAD A total of six weeks off for my holiday break, and I began my first full day at home by just enjoying sleeping in! Just before lunch, Dad knocked on my door and got me out to go shopping with him at the local mall. I found several pairs of new jeans and some shirts at a large chain store before heading to a shop that specialized in Mid and Little dress apparel. Since I was probably really about done growing, Dad paid for a nicer suit and had it altered to fit me perfectly. The tailor pointed out there were three inches of extra material in the legs he could let out down the road if I needed it, though.

We’d also found a couple of new dress shirts and ties to go with it for when I needed to dress up around Addy. As much as I knew it set Dad back a bit, he encouraged my relationship with her and knew I would need some nicer clothes to date her. We found some cool new shoes while we were out as well.

I hated being in my hometown at that point, though! Since I had been short of the mark until the last month of school, almost all of my friends growing up had been Littles. Unfortunately, whenever we went inside a store, I would see another friend being pushed in a stroller, pulled along with a cutesy monkey backpack leash, or held in an infant carrier on some Big woman’s chest.

Most of them looked miserable and embarrassed to see me. The worst was when a Big from my graduating class, Kristin, saw me and said, “Cameron! Wow, what a big boy you’ve become!”

She was a bitch in high school, and I would have just ignored her, but she deliberately came over to us pushing a stroller. I felt sick to my stomach as I figured it contained another of my best friends, Tyler. He wasn’t dressed as a ‘he,’ though. Instead, it took me way too long to recognize him with the pigtails and short dress proudly displaying a yellowed diaper. One of those stupid locking pacifiers was stuffed in his mouth with drool dripping on one side down his face onto a waiting bandana bib. I saw scars on his legs that told me he was at least as bad off as Beth.

“Hi, Kristin…” I said politely and looked down at Tyler, “Hi, Ty.”

“Oh, it’s not Tyler anymore; it’s Trinity! When I adopted him, Tyler just didn’t work anymore with her new apparel. We had everything fixed up for her to be a good girl last week!”

He looked miserable, “Oh… well...” I stammered, and then something snapped, “I’m sorry, Tyler, that you got stuck with this bitch. I can’t do anything for you right now,” I looked up at her, “but I hope she gets her due in time somehow.”

She went to grab my arm, but my dad was beside me and said, “Miss, we’re not Littles, and if you don’t behave yourself and walk away, we’ll have to call the police.”

“Watch yourself, brat,” she said to me.

Dad and I walked away from her, “Cam, you can’t go off like that….”

“Sorry, I…”

“I know… stupid Amazons…” he said to me.

“Yeah,” I said.

I spent the next week pretty much only hanging out at home, playing video games since I had no desire to run into more former classmates. During that time, I received my final grades for the semester. I was extremely proud to have ended up with nothing less than a ninety-eight in any of my classes! I began my college years with an email congratulating me on my Dean’s High Honors List award for the semester.

I also spent time texting Meg, Laura, and Stacy about what they were up to. Stacy obviously wasn’t going home for the holidays but mentioned working on a big project. Ever since she had saved her ‘sister’ and herself from that insanity by being kidnapped, she’d been pretty driven to work on something. She had asked me some random technical chemistry questions a few times because she knew I was good at it.

Meg and Laura ended up at home with their parents, and Meg mentioned it was a relief to escape the diapers and their horrible Nest Mothers. Meg had been having more and more problems with making it to the bathroom, so she said she was doing her own potty-training boot camp while she was at home. Laura didn’t mention anything about potty training, so I figured she was probably still going through training pants fairly regularly…

A week before Christmas, I was dressed up in my new suit, pressed red shirt, matching tie, and dress shoes that gave me a three-inch lift concealed cleverly by the polished black shoes. When Dad and I saw the quality and cleverness in how well-camouflaged the lifts were, we both got a pair!

When Addy arrived in her awesome car, I could see a couple neighbors staring as I greeted her. I noticed she hadn’t worn heels – I guessed it was an attempt to not be any taller than me than she already was. She was dressed in a stunning red dress that closely matched my shirt. She gave me a hug and a quick kiss on the lips before I said, “Come in and meet my dad really quick?”

“I’d love to!” She said to me.

I led her to the front door and held it open while she ducked and walked inside. Our house was sized for Bigs for my mom but was older, and the door frames were shorter than the newer standards. The ceiling in the living room was thankfully tall enough for her to stand comfortably, and I introduced her to my dad.

“Dad, this is Addison Harris,” I smiled, “Addison, this is my dad, Roger Sylvester.”

My dad held his hand to her, “Please call me Roger; it’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

She smiled down at him, “Same for me!”

We made some small talk for a couple minutes before Dad embarrassed me, “Any chance I can get a picture of the two of you?”

“Dad…” I hissed.

Addy just laughed, “Sure, Mr. Sylvester.”

We sat on the couch where I sat beside her, and she put her arm around me. I turned the glare into a smile before pulling Addy’s hand, “Let’s go before my dad decides to do anything else!”

She laughed, “I’ll have him back before midnight.”

“Have fun,” Dad said.

“Ugh…” I complained when she began backing out.

She laughed, “I thought it was cute. Your dad just wanted to have a memory of us together. Nothing wrong with that.”

I rolled my eyes but said, “I guess.”

As we passed Beth’s house, I saw her being carried in just a onesie and a diaper back inside the house from their car by her dad. It looked like she was asleep as she sucked on a pacifier. I’d caught a couple other glances of her, but per her dad’s wishes, avoided going to their house. I’d ordered a more advanced shape sorting toy for her that was made for Littles… and listed as appropriate for twelve months plus. I hoped he’d be okay with her having something more complex to stimulate her brain. Of course, the pieces would still be too big to fit in her mouth per safety guidelines.

“Who was that?” Addy asked, being way too perceptive.

“You remember my friend Beth?”

She nodded, “She was the one you were really close to, right?”

“Yeah… she was close to demeriting out and gave herself up to Student Services instead. Her dad fought to be able to readopt him himself.”

“Well, at least she’s with her own daddy?”

I shook my head, “Yeah, but for her to go home with her dad, the judge ordered a bunch of ‘treatments’ done to her to help ensure he properly cares for her and to prevent him from letting her grow up ever again.”

“Oh…”

“I went and saw her the day I got back. She’s still in there… but...”

“But I can see why that would be hard,” she said and reached a hand over to squeeze my shoulder.

We drove silently before she said, “Look, I need to warn you about my parents’ company…?”

“That they cater to studying products to be used on adopted Littles?” I said, looking at her.

“Well, I’m not surprised you know that… Yeah, our company tests products for everyone to be used with Littles. I’m… I’m personally not proud of it. I definitely hate some of the things that are done to Littles by them. And… I know you are short enough that you’ve been through some of it, I’d guess, growing up. I didn’t want you walking in there without at least a warning. My parents will not approve of us dating, and I’m sure my mom will especially try and get you riled up a bit.”

I looked up at her, “Then why’d you invite me?”

“Because I’m dating you, I love you, and I couldn’t give a damn about them.” She smiled as she said that.

“Thanks,” I told her. “I don’t understand why, but thank you.”

We drove for a while before coming to the nicest hotel in the city. It cost a fortune to stay there a single night, and I knew they had a large ballroom where most of the city’s biggest formal events were held inside. She pulled up to a red-carpeted entrance, and both of our doors were opened by valet attendants. The man who opened my door gave me a shocked look before saying, “Welcome,” to me.

Addy approached my side of the car and said, “Well, shall we?”

“Sure,” I told her.

I was glad she didn’t want me to hold her hand since that would have meant awkwardly reaching up like a toddler. Walking beside her, I would have the best chance of appearing as a partner… rather than… yeah.

We walked through the entranceway and down the hallway to the ballroom, where someone stood checking invitations. “Oh, good evening Ms. Harris! It’s so good to see you!”

“It’s nice to see you too,” she greeted the young woman at the door. “My father’s treating you well?”

“It’s great being his assistant,” she told her with what I felt was genuine enthusiasm. She looked down at her sheet, “This said there’s a plus one?”

“Hi,” I told her.

She looked down at me in surprise and instantly knelt down. “Addy, why didn’t you tell me you adopted!!! He’s adorable!”

Addy, to my annoyance, laughed but swatted her hands away. “He’s not my Little; he’s my boyfriend.”

“Whaa???” She did this weird fish-staring thing going back and forth between us. “Does your father know…?”

I looked up at Addy, curious for that answer myself, “He will soon, won’t he…?” She smiled.

“Umm… well… good luck?” she told her.

“Come on, Cameron, let’s get meeting my parents out of the way.”

We walked together into the room, and I saw a very tall woman and a man standing near the entrance greeting guests. It was quite the resemblance from Addy to her mom, but I had already memorized their pictures from online articles. Mrs. Harris was by far the tallest of the giants in the room! It was like she had been born to be a CEO with the very presence her confident body language gave off in a stunning sparkly silver dress. Her hair was a vivid red that Addy had already said was from a salon treatment. Her eyes fell on Addy, and she began making her way over to us, pulling along her husband.

Mr. Harris was a little shorter than Addy and still one of the tallest giants in the room! He was balding from what I could see, while the sides of his hair had turned a very respectable gray. As they approached, I saw her mom looking for her plus one before settling her eyes on me.

“Plus one? Addison, you know Littles must be dropped off at the daycare?”

Addy put her hand on my shoulder to reassure me. “He’s not a Little, Mom; this is Cameron, my boyfriend.”

“You’re wha?!?” her mom turned a vicious shade of red on her face, and it was clear she was not a happy person.

“Pleased to meet you; I’m Ryan Harris, Addy’s dad,” he spoke over and leaned over to shake my hand. “Normally, it’s good practice to meet the boyfriend before you declare him as such?” Her dad said to Addy with a smirk in his voice. He apparently wasn’t too bothered by it.

On the other hand, her mom said, “Addison, this is not acceptable!” Addy’s mom told her in that whispered voice every mother has that lets you know you’re about to get your butt blistered as a child.

“Mom, he’s not a Little. He is, in fact, a Mid and the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. You liked my grades, right?” Her mom continued glaring, “He’s the reason I did so well this semester. He’s brilliant!”

“Aubry, please, we can talk about this later. Your outrage will bring more stares than they’re being a couple…?”

She looked around, and it brought my eyes around to see he was correct. “You’re right, dear,” she told him. “Addison Elizabeth Harris, we will be discussing this at home tonight!” she told her in a low voice and then turned to walk to the other side of the room, dragging her husband in tow.

“Well, that went well, sis!” I looked up and saw a much shorter copy of Addy but with blonde hair. “Hi, I’m Danica,” she told me with a smile, bending down to shake my hand. She touched my nose lightly, “He’s a cutie Addy,” she told her.

“Thanks…” I found myself saying, along with Addy, while rolling my eyes.

“So why don’t we go find a quiet corner so that you two can tell your baby sis all about you dating? This sounds juicy enough to make Mom forget about the detention I got last week!”

“What did you do?” Addy asked as we followed her sister across the room.

“Carly, I think I’ve told you about her… she was being a total witch to that Little girl Jilly who’s in our grade about an accident she had. I saw Carly drop something in her drink when she wasn’t looking…?”

“So, what did you do?”

“I might have borrowed some of the experimental potty-b-gone powder from the lab…?”

“You didn’t?” Addy said with a smile.

“Of course, I didn’t… I would never do anything like that. I’m Mommy’s little angel…” she smiled, but it faltered, “well, I was until Matty came along.”

“Trust me, you’re still the angel,” she told her. “So, what happened to Carly?”

“Well, let’s just say that she went to see the principal and received a new uniform for school.”

“How’d you get busted?” I found myself asking. I could appreciate a giant who wanted to help instead of joining in on the fun.

“I didn’t technically, but they think I did it. Since they can’t prove I did it, I’ve just got detention for a month.” She squirmed, “If they could have proved it, the principal said they would have enforced the same uniform on me.”

“Worth the consequences?” Addy asked.

“For her, yes! She had it coming!” We had come to a tall table with three chairs away from everyone at the edge of the ballroom. “Why don’t we all sit down, though? My big sis hasn’t told me you’re a Mid. All she told me was that she fell in love with the most gorgeous guy who’s really smart…?”

We were there for about a half-hour talking with her sister. Addy explained to both of us she figured if the explosion was going to happen, it was better to just get it out of the way in public rather than her mom trying to cover it up. I was a little annoyed, but at the same time could completely understand. I was half her size… I knew it would look awkward to the Bigs… and I knew it looked uncomfortable to the Littles, some of whom, like Beth, were not that much smaller than me.

Eventually, an announcement was made that dinner would be served, and we went to sit down with her parents. Another couple was introduced as Desiree Fields and her husband, Trent Fields. Both were Bigs, but Desiree was only about ten feet tall, and her husband Trent was just nine feet tall. I was more than slightly surprised that there would be someone else so short at the family table. Still, it turned out Desiree was Mrs. Harris’s personal assistant. Obviously, she felt an obligation to her at this party to be a good host and thank her.

We were seated at a circular table with Mr. and Mrs. Harris sitting together, with Desiree at Mrs. Harris’s side. Her husband, then me, Addy, and Danica wrapped it back around. A small discrete cushion had been found by the wait staff, who helped prop me up to where I could put my hands comfortably on the table with my seat scooted in by one of them. The seating arrangements guaranteed that Addy’s mom looked straight at Addy and me the whole time!

“Well… Cameron, is it?” she asked; when I nodded, she continued, “What is it you hope to do with your life for a career? Your short stature will surely limit your possibilities?”

I shrugged, “I’m currently a chemistry major, Ma’am. My plan is to apply to law school, though, once I complete my degree.”

“My, that’s ambitious. If you want to be pre-law, why not poly sci or economics for your major?”

It took a great deal of effort, but I smiled despite her withering look, “Those are the traditional routes, but I don’t want to just be any attorney – I want to focus on patent law or industrial trade law, I think. Having a degree in chemistry means I can understand all of the science behind the lawsuits without having to call a separate expert all of the time. My grandfather suggested it would also stand out more when I apply to law school.”

“Interesting,” she said. “How do you think your short stature will affect you in court?”

“I’m not a Little, so it shouldn’t affect me. Even then, there are Little attorneys. Emerson has Professor Marshall, for instance.”

“Doesn’t he wear diapers, though?”

I shrugged, “From what I understand, he was kidnapped years ago and, due to his mistreatment, never could fully potty train again.”

“And just when was the last time you wore a diaper, young man?” she asked pointedly.

“Mother!” Addy and Danica hissed in stereo. I watched her husband put his hand on her arm, but she swiped it away.

“Honestly, ma’am, it was when I was thirteen, and every kid under seventy-two inches in the school got stuck in diapers for six weeks because a Big decided to spike the food for our lunch with something that made us all lose control – even some larger Bigs ended up diapered though after that. I was lucky that I must have gotten a small dose because I was fine within a couple weeks. Another friend of mine…” I couldn’t help but picture Tyler, “had about six months of hard work to get over it. Most of our classmates did, but a few never regained control,” I told her honestly.

I paused and debated but decided, ‘What the hell?’ “Look, Mrs. Harris, I know that Addy and my relationship isn’t one you would traditionally see. My mother was ten-feet-tall though, and my dad is only eight-feet, so I grew up without that difference seeming like a huge deal. I know Addison is twice my height, and I know that I look a lot like I could be a Little at first glance. I am legally five inches past that designation, though, and I love your daughter. Addy’s smart, kind, beautiful, and she’s… she’s crazy enough to like me for who I am. I don’t know how to bring you around, but I promise I love your daughter. As long as we are together, we will be partners in helping each other out.”

She glared at me enough that I feared she would give into her Big instincts, stand up, pick me up, pull my pants down, spank me until I had an accident, and then be off to diapers for the rest of my life. Something in her façade cracked, though, and I soon saw something of a grin or a grimace. “Well, I don’t approve, but I do admire your chutzpah. Don’t hurt my daughter,” she warned me. Then added, “And keep in mind if you do ever make it far enough that a marriage is in the cards, there will be a prenup!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, ma’am,” I told her with a smile.

She gave me another withering glare, but food began arriving, and everyone became distracted. It was a delicious meal, in all honesty! At one point, her mother walked to a podium to speak, and Addy leaned over, “I’m both sure that you’re insane and proud of you for standing up to my mother like that.”

I smiled and enjoyed the short kiss she leaned over and gave me. Her mother thankfully didn’t see that, but her dad did and clearly wasn’t sure how he felt about it. The evening never really got away from… awkward. There was some dancing after dinner, but it felt like I was a little kid dancing with an adult during slow songs, so we only danced to fast ones. I hated being considered ‘cute’ and had too many of those comments throughout the night. In the end, I decided her dad was okay, her baby sister was pretty cool, and her mom… well, she was the CEO of a huge company that made it their business helping to exploit Littles… and it showed!

When she dropped me off at my house later that night, she said, “You know, Cameron, it is unusual for us to be together, but I love you for you so much I don’t care about your size.”

“As I love you,” I told her.

We kissed on my front porch for a long while before she said, “I’d invite you to our New Year’s party at my house, but I think we should let my mom slowly get used to the idea of us dating rather than immediately antagonizing her again.”

I laughed, “That’s fine; I think I need to find some stilts to dance better with you!”

She smirked, “I could just hold you while we’re dancing slow songs.”

“I don’t mind the idea of being held by you,” I told her honestly, “but I think that would be a sign of weakness around your mom.”

She sighed, “Yes, you’re right.”

“I’ll see you in a few weeks,” I told her with a smile and a hug.

“See you then,” she told me.

I watched her drive off like the crazy girl she was in her sports car before I walked back inside my house. Dad had stayed up and wanted a recap. We drained a pot of coffee talking together that night before finally heading to bed.
 
 

Chapter 9: Bells
 

ON CHRISTMAS EVE, my mom’s parents were supposed to arrive to stay with us for the holiday. Mom had been the second youngest of their four kids. When she died, it became a tradition for them to come and stay with us at Christmas and celebrate while looking after us on that tough holiday. At times it had been with my aunt and uncles coming with my cousins too. Still, this year they were all away on opposite sides of the country with new grandkids for the older two and a job my youngest uncle couldn’t leave that year.

I always had mixed feelings when they arrived! I loved them both, but Grandma Suzy had never seen me as amounting to anything other than her adorable baby grandson, who would never grow up. Just last year, we’d gone out as a family for dinner, and they’d insisted on driving. Grandma had opened the back door and insisted that I ride in a rear-facing car seat she installed! Presents of babyish clothes, stuffed animals, and even a stroller one year when I was thirteen made me dread her visits. Grandma was even taller than Mom had been, being about eleven-and-a-half feet tall, and she was what I would call a ‘typical Amazon.’ If it weren’t for Dad doing well in his career, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see her adopting both of us after Mom died. Any time she visited, which fortunately was mainly only at Christmas, I could depend on being picked up as soon as she walked in the door and carried around like a doll for most of her visit.

Grandpa Frank was a few inches over ten feet tall but a lot more reasonable about my size. He would always try and run interference for me, and I did my best to stay closer to him so she wouldn’t feel the need to constantly hold me. He was pretty good about saying, “Now Suzy, Cameron isn’t a baby or a Little…?”

Last year she argued that I was eighteen and still hadn’t passed the six-foot mark, so I was a Little. That afternoon we’d been shopping, and Dad had to talk her down from buying me at least some Pull-Ups to protect the rental car!

Strangely, despite that, I couldn’t help but love them, so I didn’t tell Grandma to just get lost. There had always been something about when she held me that made me feel safe… and honestly really reminded me of my mom, who I still missed! I had seen pictures of Mom when she was younger and compared them with Grandma; besides her darker hair, Mom had been like a miniature version of Grandma. She even had the same eyes that I remembered my mom had.

Dad had always insisted on the house being absolutely spotless before they came, so we’d spent a week deep-cleaning every room. I’d tossed many old clothes and childhood toys from my room on our run to the dump this past week. It had driven me crazy as a young kid when Dad went psycho for the pre-visit cleaning! As I got older, though, I realized that as a Mid himself, he was worried Grandma would make a case that he wasn’t mature enough to take care of me – or himself – and force me… or both of us to go with her so she could properly ‘take care of us.’

Fortunately for both of us, that had never happened, but I understood his caution more in the last couple of years!

It was afternoon, and they had called to say they were just boarding the plane to come. “Dad, I’m going to run Beth’s present over to her house!”

He looked up from the plate he was washing in the sink. “You sure that’s a good idea? I mean, I know you bought something that should be considered appropriate...”

I looked at him and said, “I have to at least tell her Merry Christmas, Dad…?”

“You sure it’s Addison that you’re in love with?”

“Dad…” I sighed, “If Beth had crossed the finish line… Yeah, I probably would have wanted to go out with her at some point. But she’s always been my best friend more than anything else. It really hurt when she disappeared. I understand her dad is worried about being watched, but I’m just being a good friend and bringing a present for the baby?”

He turned and hugged me, “I’m sorry, Cam, I hate that this world is like this. Go take care of that, but don’t overstay your welcome. I need you back in an hour at the most.”

“Sure,” I told him, grabbing my coat to walk to her house. A couple of inches of snow had fallen two days ago, but it mostly melted. You could see little piles in the shadows, though, and the icicles dripping water from Beth’s house were probably as doomed as she had been in life. I rang the doorbell and waited a minute.

Beth’s dad held her on his hip, “Oh, hi, Cameron.”

“Hi, Mr. Fehler. You had mentioned it would be okay to give a gift to Beth for Christmas?”

He bounced her up and down, and it was then that I noticed she was wearing only a pink sweatshirt with a unicorn on it and a spotless diaper that must have just been changed. The sweatshirt looked like it had gone ten rounds with a couple of different colored baby food jars.

“Come on in, Cameron. Beth, can you say ‘Hi’ to Cameron?”

She blushed and leaned into her dad oddly, almost uncoordinatedly. “Hi Am,” she still couldn’t seem to get a ‘C’ sound out of her mouth. I remembered he said they had done something else to her tongue while working on her teeth…

“Hi Beth,” I told her, “Merry Christmas!” I said as Mr. Fehler sat her down on the ground sitting up. She plopped forward and managed to crawl over to me. I reached down and gave her a hug, sat down, and pulled her onto my lap. With my growth spurt, I had a head’s height on her and put my chin on her head.

“Erry Ismas,” she said to me.

“How has your break been?” Her dad asked me as he gave me a head nod towards the camera. I took that as a warning that I needed to be careful.

“It’s been good; my grandparents are coming here shortly, so I thought I would just drop off Beth’s present.”

“You had a good sense of timing; I just finished feeding Lizzie her nummy lunch.” He sighed, “Of course, she didn’t seem to appreciate it,” he motioned to her front.

I looked at the kitchen table and saw a jar of peas, another of carrots, and some mac and cheese concoction sitting with their lids on but a little still in each. I felt my stomach tie itself in knots as I considered being forced to eat baby food for the rest of my life like she was.

“I can see that,” I told him. “Beth has always been a bit of a messy eater, though, hasn’t she?” I tickled her side for the cameras and was rewarded with giggling. I hugged her again.

“Well, she needs to get her nap in now,” he said.

“No, Ap!” She told her dad with a whine.

“How about Cameron feeds you your bottle?” he suggested diplomatically.

She looked up at me with eyes that clearly didn’t know what she wanted to do. I could see the embarrassment by the red of her cheeks, but there was a look of longing too that I felt was asking me to. “Pease?” she asked me quietly.

“Sure,” I told him.

A few moments later, he handed me the bottle and picked her up, and I followed them upstairs to her room… ‘Not room…’ I admitted, ‘Nursery.’

I looked down at the baby bottle in my hands and felt like I was holding a grenade. It wasn’t the kind we had when Beth and I were babies; this was for a Bigs toddler. It was like a liter bottle of Coke. The nipple was large and would fill my mouth quite easily. I blushed at holding it but knew I had to be ‘Big’ in my behavior and not consider it a big deal.

The door had her babyish name of ‘Lizzie,’ which she hated as a teenager, in carved baby blocks. The nursery was covered in unicorns, which was actually not that different from when she’d been a teenager. She’d always been obsessed with collecting glass unicorns, but there were only plushy ones now.

“Why don’t you sit in the rocking chair, and I’ll hand her to you?”

I climbed up. Beth wasn’t much smaller than me, but she was skinnier and two-thirds my weight before everything happened. I suspected she was a little heavier now from the ‘healthy’ diet she was being fed. He draped her over my lap, and I used the arms of the chair to help support her. I looked at her beautiful face that opened and showed me the smile with no teeth remaining. It was like a horror movie knowing the depression and everything she must be going through. I hesitated as I brought the bottle to her mouth but pushed the nipple inside and held it for her. She placed her hands on top of mine and sucked what I assumed was formula from the bottle. We looked into each other’s eyes while she nursed it, and I watched liquid and bubbles travel through the bottle. Mr. Fehler disappeared for a few minutes, and she pushed the bottle away.

“Am you no ome ba, dan” she struggled, “danjuh.”

“Beth…” I complained.

“No, no mo,” She said, pulling the bottle back into her mouth. Tears ran down her face as she drank, and I felt her diaper warm on my leg.

When the bottle was empty, her dad reappeared, picked her up, burped her gently, and then placed her sleepily into the crib after checking her diaper. He nodded for me to follow him. He walked with me outside, “Cameron, you really can’t come back here… She’s got a case worker that reviews the video. She saw you in the film the other day, and I have a feeling that if you reappear too many more times, she will declare you... to need help too.”

I sighed, “I guess that doesn’t surprise me, sir. Look, take care of her please… but if you ever get a chance to undo…?”

“Believe me, I know Cameron… I never wanted anything but for her to grow up and have a happy life.”

I sighed, “Thank you… as bad as everything is for her, at least she’s loved. Maybe I can swing by for Christmas again if you’re still living here next year?”

He nodded, “The heat might be off by then,” he told me as he held out his hand.

I shook it and walked back home in a fouler mood than I had hoped I’d be in. I barely acknowledged Dad’s greeting as I walked back upstairs to my room and sat at my computer. My phone dinged, and I saw a message from Addy. I ended up chatting with her via video for a half-hour before Dad said, “Cam, your grandparents are leaving the airport now.”

“Thanks,” I told him, looking back at Addy on the screen.

“Cam?” she asked with a smile.

I blushed, “It was his nickname for me growing up.”

“Hmm… Okay, Cam, sounds like you need to go,” she smiled.

I groaned, sticking my tongue out. “You’re right. Love you; I’ll talk to you tomorrow sometime.”

“See you then,” she told me with a smile. “Love you too!”

I cut the connection and walked downstairs to the living room. Dad and I sat for fifteen minutes before a large SUV pulled behind his car. I took a deep breath before stepping outside to greet my grandparents. Grandma was the first out of the car and greeted Dad first since he was in front. “Roger, it’s good to see you!” She wrapped him in a tight hug straight into her breasts.

“You too, Suzy,” he said awkwardly.

I looked up at her as she walked towards me, “And who are you? You can’t be my little Cameron? Your dad said you had shot up a few inches, and he wasn’t kidding!” She picked me up like I was still a toddler and hugged me tight before kissing me on my forehead. “It’s so good to see you, Cameron,” she told me.

“You too, Grandma,” I told her. I hoped I was getting heavy enough that she wouldn’t carry me inside, but a few inches just weren’t enough for that. My head still only came up to the belt that held her slacks up, and she could easily carry me just like I was a little kid.

After everything that day, I wasn’t overly fond of this arrangement, “Grandma, why don’t you put me down so I can help Grandpa with your luggage?”

“Hmm… I guess you are getting to be a big boy after all, aren’t you?” She kissed me on my nose and did place me down on my feet.

I returned to where he was unloading the suitcases and was enveloped in a hug from him. “It’s good to see you, Grandpa,” I told him with a smile.

“You too, Cameron,” he said and squeezed me tight. “You really have done some growing up this year, haven’t you?”

I shrugged, “Almost six-and-half feet tall now, not that big compared to you and Grandma.”

“No, but I was worried you’d never cross the Little line,” he said with a smile.

I grimaced, “I was too.” They had three large suitcases at my chin height, standing on their wheels. Besides them, there were several carry-on bags of a more reasonable size. Grandpa said, “Why don’t you grab those? I’ll grab these two, your dad can grab that one, and your Grandma can grab her makeup bag there…”

I nodded and pulled the two smaller suitcases up the porch and into the house. It was a bit more daunting to carry them up the stairs to our guest bedroom, but I managed to just do it, even though I was nearly sweating and dropping them by the time I reached the top. Meanwhile, Grandpa and Dad carried the other ones like they were nothing!

I let them unpack and walked to my room to grab my tablet. I looked around my room for a moment before going downstairs to sit on the living room couch. I had a novel I’d started reading the day before. I figured I’d wait for them to finish unpacking before we had the dinner that Dad had started working on earlier.

It wasn’t long before Grandma was back down and sat on the couch beside me. Given that it was a couch meant for a Big, she had no problems sitting on it. I was just getting ready to finish a chapter, so I was a bit annoyed when she reached over and picked me up to put me on her lap sideways so she could see me.

“So, how’s my big college boy been? Have you been good or been partying all the time?”

I sighed, “Grandma, I’ve always been a good kid. I haven’t been to one party this year… well, unless you count my girlfriend’s parents’ company’s Christmas party last week.”

“Girlfriend? That Beth girl you always hung around? She lives just down the street, doesn’t she?”

I grimaced, “No… Beth’s always been just a friend. My girlfriend’s name is Addison.”

Grandpa came in right then, “Go you! Do we get to meet her?”

I shrugged, “She said she might run over here tomorrow if she can get away from her parents. From what she said, her mom pretty much only cares about the new Little they adopted.”

“Little? Her parents are big?”

I laughed, “Grandma, her parents make you look short.”

“And just how tall is this girlfriend?” Grandpa asked.

“Here, I have a picture of the two of them,” Dad said, coming in with his larger tablet. He showed them the pictures from the other night.

“She’s beautiful!” Grandma said, “But isn’t she too tall for you, Cameron? Is that a good idea? Or… are you looking for a mommy?”

I looked up at her, “She is my girlfriend, not my mommy. I admit it’s unusual, but it worked for Mom and Dad, and we love each other enough that size doesn’t matter.”

“Well, she is gorgeous,” Grandma admitted, “and she did have a very handsome date,” she said, squeezing me tight.

“How are your grades?” Grandpa asked me; I could tell he was changing the subject.

“My lowest grade was a ninety-eight,” I told him. “I made the Dean’s High Honor List.”

“Good job!” He said, “So the dating isn’t dragging down your grades?”

I laughed, “The grades are what led to the dating.”

Before I could get dragged into anything more conversation-wise, a timer went off in the kitchen, and we soon ate dinner. Dad and I had to deal with a way too helpful Grandma at times, but she mostly behaved until it was time to go to bed.

She was someone who would never break with tradition, so she gave me a present to open on Christmas Eve. My mom had done it before she passed away, and Grandma had taken up the torch when she was gone. I knew it would be something with pajamas that would make me feel embarrassed, but even then, I felt obligated to open it for my mom’s sake. I tore off the red wrapping paper with green cartoon Christmas trees. Inside I saw there was a plaid-colored bundle of cloth. It was in a surprisingly boring shade of red and black pattern. I pulled it out and opened it, seeing it was a one-piece footed pajama set. Until you made it to the feet, they were actually something I could see a college kid wearing around the dorm.

The reindeer feet, though, kind of took that away. They had red noses and little antler pieces sticking out above each foot. I noticed, too, that there were bells on them that made a little bit of noise even as I held them. They were sure to jingle every time I took a step!

“Umm… thanks, Grandma,” I told her.

“Keep looking inside there,” she told me.

I looked over to the side and saw a container of some hot chocolate meant for Littles and a copy of an old Christmas cartoon that aired yearly on an old disc. We had a player, but Dad and I rarely used it since everything could be downloaded or streamed.

I sighed but said, “Thank you, Grandma; I appreciate it.”

She picked me up and hugged me before setting me down and jokingly giving me a swat on my butt. “Go put them on; I want to see you wearing them. Then we can have some of that hot chocolate and go to bed.”

I looked suspiciously at the hot chocolate and noticed that it was endorsed by SafeFoods, Inc. Having a bad feeling about it, I said, “Umm… Not to be rude, Grandma, but Dad and I picked up some hot chocolate the other day that I think we all might enjoy more. The Little stuff is too sweet, honestly.”

“Oh…” she said, taken aback, “Well, I don’t disagree about Littles liking their sweets more… Let’s try this other stuff you have then, Roger.”

I gave him a pointed look, and he said, “Sure, give me a little bit. I think it’s got to be made with milk. Takes a bit to get put together. Cameron, go put on your Christmas jammies, and I’ll have it done shortly.”

I hoped he read the ‘thank you’ in my eyes and the swearing about the pajamas. Even as I carried them up to my room, they jangled! I brought myself to put them on and felt like I was suddenly more like Beth than myself… ‘At least there are no diapers involved…?’ I thought grimly.

I walked down the stairs for the walk of shame to show my grandmother the pajamas. Just as I expected, with every damn step, you could hear me walking. “Well, no worries about you sneaking down to peek at what Santa left you, huh?” Dad joked.

I would have strongly considered flipping him off if he was a friend. Instead, I said, “Haha… funny, Dad.”

At least Dad came through with the hot chocolate, and Grandma kept trying to figure out the secret ingredients of the new mix. He later told me it was vodka… Grandpa had quietly suggested it!

I very carefully dumped the Little stuff out later that night. When I went to bed that night, I sat in bed on my phone and researched it. It was sweeter, so I wasn’t lying about that. I was also right to avoid drinking it because it seemed to have something inside of it that caused bedwetting in most Littles…
 
 

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you did so and press the Kudos button! I should be posting a few times a week until this is fully posted here on BC. The full novel is complete (65 chapters plus Epilogue) and published on Amazon if you wish to be impatient though!

All of my published works have AI read audiobooks available for them. I’ve spent some time tweaking pronunciations, and they’re pretty good when you can’t afford thousands to pay for audiobook creation! They’re a $1.99 addon to the $5.99 price on Kindle. If you’ve already purchase the book it should come up as only $1.99. They’re also available on Audible directly, but that’s $9.99 versus the cheaper price! https://www.amazon.com/author/babysofia