Done Adulting Vol. 1 Ch. 50 (Patreon)

Amanda arrived shortly and was surprised to see Jamie sitting at the front desk. He felt his heart flutter when he saw her. Deliverance! Jamie wanted to get down and jump on her, but he felt the stool would fly out from under him if he tried it.

“Hey, buddy!” She wrapped him up in her arms and gave him a wet kiss. “Mmmmwhuh! What are you doing out here?”

“Keeping me company. It gets boring out here with no one to talk to,” Denise answered. Amanda smiled at the two of them. As painful as leaving him that morning had been, that’s how good picking him up felt.

“Do you need anything from inside?”

“I don’t think so.”

“I’ll let April know you picked him up,” Denise volunteered.

“Thanks.”

“Thanks, Denise. It was nice talking with you.”

“You too. See you tomorrow.”

Jamie’s had mood instantly improved. Amanda was just as happy to see him.

“Your friend’s been waiting for you all day too, buddy.” He was about to ask what friend when they got to the car and he saw his bear strapped into his car seat.

Jamie let out a big breath. “Thank you. I missed you.” Amanda liked what he said but not how he said it.

She got him strapped in and pulled out of the parking lot. Jamie knew everyone was back out on the playground. He wasn’t the least sorry he wasn’t with them.

Amanda wanted to hear everything but didn’t want to push it. Finding him hanging out with the receptionist and hearing the tone of his voice were dismaying. It was obvious it hadn’t been the best day.

“Wanna go home, or we can go anywhere else you want,” she asked, looking at him in the rearview.

“Like where?”

“Well, I was going to meet Mel later to go get some school stuff. I can call and see if she’s free now.” Jamie liked that idea. He hadn’t seen Mel since their lunch together, but he liked her, and he did sort of have a crush on her. He couldn’t help it.

“Okay!” He didn’t mean to sound so excited. The day was definitely getting better. Amanda called and arranged to meet Mel.

“Where are we going?”

“A store called Bullseye.”

That sounded odd. “What do they sell?”

“A little of everything. Maybe we’ll even find something for you. Good thing we’re going now too. Probably be a zoo when school gets out.”

They pulled into the parking lot of what looked to Jamie like a big box store. Jamie held Amanda’s hand across the parking lot, and they waited in the café near the entrance for Mel. “Do you want anything?”

“Some water?” Amanda returned with water in a baby bottle.

“Sorry,” she said, looking embarrassed on his behalf. “They’re out of little cups and have a store policy about littles and regular cups. I’ll start keeping a bag for you in my car.”

“It’s okay. No one will care.”

“You’ve got to be one of the most easy-going people I’ve ever met.”

“Accept the things we cannot change, right?”

“Is that a saying where you’re from?”

“Part of a prayer, actually.”

“Mind riding in the cart? We’re going to need it.”

“No. Kinda prefer it today.” He didn’t want to put in the effort of keeping up with his long-legged big sister and her friend. They walked over to get a cart and were met by Mel coming through the door.

“Hey,” she said coming in.

“Thanks for being able to meet us so soon.”

“No problem. I was leaving my last class when you called. How’ve you been, Jamie? Staying out of trouble?”

“Doing my best. It’s nice to see you again.” Jamie blushed. He didn’t know her. He just thought she was pretty, and she had been kind to him, talking to him like any other person. They made their way to the school supply section. It had been picked over pretty well.

“I always think I’m going to be able to finally take my notes on my tablet and never can,” Mel said while trying to find a notebook that wasn’t way too small or way too big.

“You remember better if you write it by hand anyway,” Amanda reminded her.

“Any good classes this year?”

“That psych course, remember?”

“O yeah! That’ll be interesting for you.”

“What about you?”

“I’m trying to murder my last gen ed credits this semester. Saved up all the worst for last.”

“Any of it hard?”

“Only in the sense that it’s so boring to me I don’t want to actually study it, but I’ll get over that.”

“Need anything, Jamie?”

“Um, now that you mention it, I could you use some more colored pencils.” Into the cart they went.

Figuring they may as well since they were there, they went down each aisle picking up any run-of-the-mill household things they needed, followed by a run down the grocery aisles.

Amanda pulled some little food items off the shelf. “Want a cookie?”

“Always,” Jamie brightened. He didn’t know what they put in this stuff, but he’d be fine if they just sold it raw. Jamie was hooked. “Will you share one with me?”

“Sure.” Amanda opened the package and broke a cookie in half. Jamie’s disappeared almost as soon as it was in his hand. Amanda took a bite and looked like she’d bit into a rotten onion. She forced herself to swallow, her body wiggling as she fought back the urge to spit it out rather than ingest it.

“How can you not like a cookie – especially that cookie,” Jamie asked. Amanda responded by taking his bottle and sucking a mouthful from it, wanting badly to spit it, too, out on the floor, but she swallowed.

“Sorry,” she said. “You like those?”

“Yeah! More for me, I guess.”

“Exclusively for you, definitely. I guess little food is for littles.”

Jamie got a sly grin on his face. “Should we offer one to Mel?” Amanda laughed.

“No, I like her and want to keep her around.” Mel came back from wherever she had gone with her own cart filled with a few more items.

“Want to go see if they have any cute clothes?”

“Sure. You don’t mind, do you, Jamie?”

“No, not at all.” They crossed the store to the clothing section. Big box clothing, but then, college students on a budget. As they browsed, Jamie started to get uncomfortable. It was past that time of day.

“Do you like this,” Mel asked, holding up a light but vivid blue blouse.

“Yeah. I like that color on you.”

“Jamie, what do you think?” She held it against herself for him to see.

“Very pretty. Almost matches your eyes.”

“See, who wants a regressed little when they can be friends with guys like this,” Mel said. She collected a few other things and went into a dressing room. Amanda kept browsing, and Jamie kept squirming. He could only squirm so much in the seat of a cart. Discomfort was turning into an emergency. Amanda noticed.

“What’s wrong?”

Jamie couldn’t have blushed any harder. He hadn’t considered this when he woke up from his nap or when he said he wanted to go out instead of home.

“I …” He exhaled audibly through his nose. He couldn’t say it or look her in the eye. Amanda put two and two together. She leaned in so only he could hear her.

“Even if we left right now, we wouldn’t be home for 20 minutes. Can you just … go?”

“Can I use the men’s room? Or the ladies’ room?”

“There’s no such thing as a little-sized public toilet.” Jamie groaned, mostly but not only in disappointment. The urge to go was strong; perhaps it was the daycare-quality lunch he’d had. “Why don’t you go now, before Mel’s done? We’ll go straight to get you cleaned up.”

Jamie’s shoulder quaked a little in embarrassment and hurt. In months, this just hadn’t come up outside their home. “Okay,” he said in one of his sad voices. All around not a great day.

Amanda steered them toward the dressing room and knocked gently. “Mel? Jamie and I will be right back. We’ll come find you.”

“Okay,” Mel said in response.

Amanda headed toward the family restroom at the front of the store. She couldn’t exactly give Jamie privacy, but she could not talk to him or look at him while he did his business. Halfway to the restroom, Amanda exclaimed, “O shoot!” She turned around. Jamie was slumped against the rail with his forehead in his hand. “I’m sorry, Jamie. I don’t have your bag with me. Stupid of me,” she cursed under her breath.

“It’s okay,” Jamie said with a long sniffle.

“O, you sweet boy. No need for sniffles. We’ll just get what we need here.” She took him to the little aisle and got a package of the same diapers he wore at home for daytime and a package of wipes. Jamie squirmed and slumped again.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Jamie answered in a miserable voice. He kept his eyes on Amanda’s shoes as they walked back to the restroom.

“It’s really okay, Jamie. We’ll get you cleaned up in no time.”

“I know; it’s just … here.” He kept his gaze on Amanda’s shoes, but her thought he could feel eyes turning to him, knowing what he’d done. Big-box stores are even bigger when giants shop there. The restroom seemed far away to Jamie.

“Look up for me, baby.” Jamie did. “No one is even looking, see? No one cares.” No one was looking at them as they walked past; they were doing their own thing.

“Do you have your pacifier with you?” Jamie had forgotten about it. He pulled it from his pocket. “Put it in. Trust me.” Reluctantly, Jamie did; he didn’t like the idea of using in public, but her did trust her. “Even better, right? Camouflage. No one is judging you anyway, and with that in, you look just like any regressed little. No one will think anything of it at all.” Jamie did look up just long enough see and put his head back down anyway. It wasn’t just others seeing that bothered him.

The family restroom consisted of several private stalls with floor-to-ceiling doors, fans, sinks, and self-cleaning changing tables. It was private and clean, and so was Jamie in a few minutes. Amanda threw the diaper into a chute that led to an incinerator and washed her hands in the sink in the stall.

She helped Jamie sit up and lifted him on to her hip. He wrapped his arms around her and put his head on her breast while some tears ran down his cheeks. She wasn’t surprised exactly, but she hadn’t expected him to be so upset. He’d been changed at the park; he’d been changed at daycare. This was much more private, it was Amanda doing it, and no one in the store even batted an eye, assuming anyone sensed what he’d done anyway. Clearly it wasn’t just embarrassment or even humiliation. Was it – Amanda searched for the word and found none – a loss of status in Jamie’s own eyes? A sense of debasement?

Amanda shifted Jamie so she could hold him with both arms and gently rocked him, patting his bottom and cooing to him just above a whisper. Her phone beeped; she ignored it. He just needed a minute. He picked his head up and blushed, now embarrassed at suddenly crying. Jamie took his pacifier out of his mouth, and said, “I just … I’m okay now. Sorry.”

Amanda brushed a tear from his cheek and swept his hair back in one motion. “Don’t you ever say sorry to me because you need to cry. Ever.” She kissed his flushed forehead and moved him back to her hip. She took a paper towel from the dispenser and held it up to his nose. “Blow.” Jamie did and felt much better. She took another one, wetted it, and cleaned his face. “There. Handsome like you always are.”

They went back into the store, and she put Jamie back into the seat of the cart. He put his pacifier back in, which Amanda didn’t remark on, and she checked her phone. A text from Mel: “Found your cart. Take your time.”

Amanda texted back: “DON’T say anything about it.”

Mel responded: “I’m back in the clothes.” Why would she say anything about it? They went and found her.

“Did you like anything you tried on,” Amanda asked as they approached.

“I’m keeping the blouse. The rest was meh. Do you need anything?”

“No, don’t think so.”

“Want to take a look at the little’s department?”

“What do you think, Jamie?” Feeling emotionally exhausted, Jamie just shrugged.

You can judge how much a society really cares about something by the amount of retail floor space it gets. The little’s department was big. Very big. The two women poked around while Jamie daydreamed.

“You sure there’s not anything you want,” Amanda asked. Jamie looked around.

“What about there,” he said, pointing to some activewear. “My regular clothes get pretty uncomfortable when I’ve been running around.”

“See,” Mel said, “We’ll turn you into a first-class shopper.” A few pairs of gym shorts, some quick-dry t-shirts, a pair of running pants, and some ankle socks.

“That’s kind of a lot,” Jamie said.

“Don’t worry. Mom will pay me back. Is that everything?”

“Woah!” Mel interjected. “How can you do your brother like that?”

Amanda laughed but felt self-conscious. “What?”

“We’re not even gonna walk through the toy section?”

Amanda joined in with an exaggerated response, smacking her forehead. “You’re right! I am being such a space cadet today! Thank goodness we brought you along. Right, Jamie?”

Jamie chuckled and took the pacifier out of his mouth. “Very lucky.”

They browsed the toy aisles slowly. “Anything look fun?” Nothing much did, and then Jamie spotted the electronics section.

“Do they sell stuff for littles over there?”

“Sure,” Amanda said, wheeling the cart over. They had tablets for littles and other handheld games. “Did you have something in mind?”

“Well …” Jamie was still getting comfortable asking for things. Old habits die hard. “It’s kinda really loud at daycare sometimes.”

“Ah,” Amanda said, “Got it. Let’s get you hooked up.” She headed toward a display of little’s headphones. “What kind do you like? Over the ear? On the ear? In the ear?”

“In, if they’re soft.” Amanda read a few packages. She felt like spoiling him more than usual on such a tough and draining day, for him but also for herself.

“Excuse me,” she said to the clerk. He walked over. “Can we take a look at some in the case?”

“O,” the young man said, “We got a connoisseur on our hands?”  Jamie looked him over. Looks like a hipster and smells like weed, Jamie thought. I could get along with this guy.

“Can we see those?” Amanda pointed to a pair. Wireless, active noise cancelling, silicone earpieces, sweat-proof and won’t fall out when being active. “What do you think?” She handed Jamie the box.

“They seem perfect, but are you sure?”

“If it will help you enjoy daycare, Mom won’t mind at all.”

Mel chimed in. “Think your mom would mind if I said they’d help me enjoy daycare? Those are nicer than mine by, like, a way lot.”

The clerk chimed in. “You gonna need something to play on ‘em?”

“Uh, yes, I guess we are. What do you have?”

They walked to another case. “We carry Pear products and SumSing and some off-brand stuff.”

“In for a penny, right? Is that the latest uPod?”

“Dude,” he said to Jamie, “You’ve got her wrapped around your finger,” though he said it for Amanda’s benefit, not realizing Jamie could understand him as well as she could.

“O,” Amanda said, ruffling his hair, “He knows. You can share my uTones account.”

“Thank you, really.”

“Don’t mention it,” Amanda said, “seriously, to Mom. I’ll break the news to her later.” Mel couldn’t stop herself from cracking up. “And with that, I think we’re done.”

The clerk had to walk them to the front because the headphones and player came out of the case. Amanda and Mel couldn’t see him checking out Amanda’s butt, but Jamie sure could. “Hey!” Jamie barked, glaring at him. “You don’t check out someone’s sister right in front of him!” Basic etiquette. Amanda stopped and turned to look at him, her ears red. Mel’s chest was heaving and despite her efforts to hold them in, guffaws were escaping as grunts and uncontrollable shaking.

“I … uh … heh …” he sputtered.  “I think … uh, you can take these, yourself. Sorry.” He handed over the headphones and player and walked away as quickly as he could. Mel had no reason to hold it back anymore, and Amanda neither. Jamie found it funny, too, but he wasn’t joking when he said it.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean … I know you don’t need me to.”

“Thanks anyway. You’re a good brother, Jamie.” And it was cute how protective he was of her.

Now that school was out, the place was getting full. They picked a checkout lane. Mel went first and waited for them. Amanda handed the checker the headphones and player, who said, “Jason is supposed to bring these up to me himself.”

“O, he did,” Amanda answered, “He got most of the way here, and then he had to go be somewhere else.”

“Huh.” The checker winked at Jamie. “Someone must have behaved really well to get presents like these.” The checker rang everything up and got to the wipes and open bag of diapers. “And I see someone must’ve got caught unprepared, huh, fella?”

Jamie frowned, and Amanda saw red. “Excuse me,” she said, louder than she meant to, “Did you use the toilet during your last break?” The woman stopped cold. “O, sorry to offend. I just thought I’d ask since we’re not respecting people’s privacy.”

The checker turned a different shade of red than Amanda and finished her job silently. Mel looked a little stunned herself; she hadn’t ever seen Amanda bark at someone like that.

When they got out of the store, Jamie told Amanda, “I don’t think you needed to do that.”

Amanda put her hand on top of his on the rail of the cart. “Probably not, but I did anyway.”

“Thank you.”

“Any time.”

Mel smiled at them. “You two are really something, the way you take care of each other.”

“Well, you do that for the people you love, right Jamie?”

“Right. We should do this more, the three of us.” Did I just ask Mel out, Jamie wondered.

“I’d like that. It’ll be fun.”

Amanda got Jamie and their purchases loaded into the car. Mel helped and waited until Jamie’s door was closed before saying, “Alright. I know we make fun of Donna for being little crazy. But he is just … ugh! The tenderest, funniest, sweetest, most adorable little guy! And o my god! The purple pacifier really seals it. Just … ugh. I finally get what people mean when they say they wanna gobble a little right up.” Amanda listened and felt proud.

“Anyway, thanks for inviting me along,” Mel added.

“I’m glad you could come. I think Jamie really likes you. You can little-sit anytime.”

“I’d like that. See you on campus tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you.”

“Cool. Bye.” Mel walked to her own car, and Amanda got into hers.

“What was that about?”

“Nothing, just school stuff. Ready to head home?”

“Definitely.” It had been a very long day.

An up and down day for both of them. For Jamie, it had been one of the most eventful days of his months here. Amanda reprimanding that woman was surprising. She hadn’t needed to be so aggressive, or really say anything at all. He’d been thinking it over, and using his diaper that way in public seemed like just one more barrier surpassed. In the end, it hadn’t been the catastrophe he’d made it out to be in his head. Amanda had made it much easier. Still, some things are easier to say when you’re not looking at a person, so riding in the backseat seemed the the right moment.

“Manda? About that thing we talked about a couple days ago?”

Amanda didn’t need to think to know what he was talking about. “Yeah?”

“Can I still change my mind later?”

“Of course. Whatever makes you happy, we’ll make it work.”

“Well, uh, I trust you. Let’s … leave things the way they are and do it your way.”

“Okay.” That was the perfect response. She didn’t need to belabor it. She did wish, though, that she could tell Mel, if only to see her swoon again, but this was between the two of them and would stay that way unless and until Jamie decided otherwise.

When they pulled into the driveway, Becky was parking her car in the garage. She lit up to see them pulling in.

“Hey, you know what would make Mom really happy?” Amanda parked and let Jamie out, and he ran to Becky and jumped up so she had to catch him. She wrapped her arms around him just like Amanda had and kissed him all over his face.

“Did you miss me, Jamie. Huh? Tell me all about your day.” She looked like there was nothing that could have made the day better than Jamie leaping into her arms. Becky winked to Amanda and turned to go inside.

Once they were in the door, Amanda said, “By the way, Mom, you owe me $500.” Just rehearsing.