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Linda Monroe sat in her living room, impatiently. The perfectly white furniture and walls weren’t helping, only making her more bored as she waited. Why didn’t she put more color in this room again? It was all black and white. Bo-ring!
Gerald and the kids weren’t there and wouldn’t be for several hours. Linda had kicked them out with some bullshit excuse about wanting to be alone. She didn’t exactly want to be alone, but she didn’t want her family there for what she was about to do.
Being the hottest, baddest bitch in Hatchetfield—maybe even the world—wasn’t easy. There was also motherhood. Being a mother to four beautiful blond boys was stressful! Her kids have recently been scaring off their nannies. Linda...could understand that, actually. She didn’t always like all of her nannies when she was a kid. But still, she longed for the simpler life of being a kid and not having to worry about anything other than what toys to play with.
That’s why she had gone online where she had found a website where she could pay for somebody to come to her house and take care of her while she regressed. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d regressed, but it would be the first time someone took care of her while she did. She was a little nervous, though she wouldn’t admit that. She didn’t know the name of the person coming over. She just hoped it wasn’t anyone she knew that would blab her business to everyone. In a town as small as Hatchetfield, that wasn’t likely, but she could still hope.
The doorbell rang.
Linda stood and walked to the front door, opening it. She immediately slammed the door in the face of the person who stood there.
Of fucking course it would be Becky Barnes .
The doorbell rang again.
Linda pulled the door open so fast she almost ripped her arm out of its socket. “No,” she said. “No, no, no. I did not ask for Becky Barnes to be at my door. You can go.”
“Listen, Linda, I wasn’t expecting this either, but you did already pay for this. You know the site doesn’t do refunds.”
“I don’t care! You think I’m worried about the money? I could buy the entire website if I wanted to! I will not be little in front of Becky Barnes .”
“Well, it’s either me or you’ll have to travel to Clivesdale for a caregiver. I’m the only one in Hatchetfield registered on the site.”
Linda gagged at the thought of traveling to Clivesdale.
Becky didn’t necessarily want to be Linda’s caregiver, but the other woman had booked her for some reason. She didn’t like the thought of leaving a little alone when she needed to be taken care of.
“It’s only 3 hours,” Becky reminded. “Why don’t we give it a try, and if you want me to leave early, that’s okay.”
Linda sighed. “Fine. Come in. Take your shoes off. I don’t need you tracking mud through my house.” She walked back to the couch and sat, hugging her knees to her chest.
Becky crouched in front of the little and smiled, going into ‘caregiving’ mode and trying to forget this was Linda Monroe.
“Do you want to get changed into something more comfortable? I brought some stuff with me.” She held up her bag. On the website, Linda had said she didn’t have her own little gear. “You can get changed by yourself if you’d like.”
Linda held her hand out for the outfit Becky picked and went up to her room to change.
“I look ridiculous,” she said when she returned. She was wearing a pink My Little Pony t-shirt and light blue jeans.
“I think you actually look kind of sweet,” Becky smiled.
Linda rolled her eyes. She would. She probably looked like one of the kids she took care of at the hospital. She didn’t say that, though, for once actually holding her tongue.
Linda sat on the couch as far away from Becky as she could be. “So what now?”
“Well, do you have any toys you’d like to play with?”
Linda glanced in the direction of her children’s toy chest in the corner. Usually when she regressed, she would just borrow one or two toys from them, but they didn’t really have much she was interested in. Her kids were mainly into action figures and hot wheels these days.
“No.”
“Would you like to see the ones I brought?”
“I guess.”
Becky slid off the couch onto the floor and started taking toys out of her bag. She pulled out My Little Ponies, Barbies, and a couple stuffed toys, specifically a dog, a cat, and a unicorn.
“I know it’s not that much, but I think we can still have fun with this!”
Slowly, Linda joined the caregiver on the floor and tentatively reached for the cat. Its gray fur was so soft!
Linda’s stomach growled, making her jump and Becky laugh.
“Why don’t you play with some toys for a bit, while I go make some lunch? Is there anything specific you would like?”
“No. The kitchen is through there.” Linda pointed. “Don’t get lost.” Her house was a bit of a maze.
“Got it.”
After eating the grilled cheese Becky made, it was back to playing. Linda was a little hesitant to play. She didn’t think Becky would tell people about this, but she was still a little worried. Plus, there was the fact that Becky fucking Barnes was her caregiver. She’d never really liked Becky and now she was supposed to let her take care of her while she was little and vulnerable? Sure, she could kick her out at any time, but she really didn’t want to be alone, even if that meant being around somebody she didn’t like.
“What should we play?” Becky wondered. “Do you have any ideas?”
Linda shook her head.
“Hmm? How about...astronauts! We can take the ponies to space! Or…pirates?! Or princesses?”
Linda’s face lit up a bit at that. “Princesses? Can I be the princess?”
“Sure!”
“And you be a dragon!”
“Okay!”
“And you have to kidnap me from my palace, and take me to your cave. ...Who’s going to save me?”
Becky held up the stuffed dog. “The doggy can save you. Does the doggy have a name?”
Linda thought for a moment. “Spot. This is Precious.” She held up the kitty she’d been clinging to since Becky took it out of her bag. “That’s Sparkles.” She pointed to the unicorn.
“Spot, Precious, and Sparkles. Very good names. Well, go get in your palace, princess!”
Linda’s lips twitched up into a small smile. She ran to the couch, adjusting the cushions to look like a throne.
After 3 hours, Becky’s phone went off.
Linda’s face fell. “Oh. Right.” She cleared her throat and tried to force herself out of her headspace. Gerald and the kids would be back in an hour or so.
“Looks like it’s time for me to go,” Becky said. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“It...wasn’t awful .”
Becky rolled her eyes playfully. She started packing up the toys she’d brought, but Linda held onto the cat.
“Why don’t you keep that one, Linda?”
Linda’s face reddened and she pushed the cat away from her. “Not necessary. Take it. I’ll go get changed so you can take these clothes back, too.”
Linda leaned against the front door, standing opposite from Becky. She was back in her usual, boring black and white wardrobe.
“Well, if you need me again, you know how to get in touch,” Becky smiled. “I had fun with you, Linda.”
“I...had fun too. Don’t expect me to thank you.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Goodbye, Linda. See you next time.”
Linda wanted to ask what made her so certain there would be a next time, but Becky was already in her car. Admittedly, Linda was going through her mental calendar, trying to decide when she should book Becky again.
Linda went back inside.
Sitting on the couch, was a gray stuffed cat, smiling up at her.
Linda gave a small smile back and picked it up, hugging it and petting its soft fur. She’d have to find a good hiding place for it so Gerald and the kids didn’t find it.
“Let’s go find you a home, Precious.”