Always Mommy's Little Girl (Age-Regression)

Chapter Eight

Ella POV:

I manage to catch up with Autumn right as the cashier scans our last item. My arms are tired from holding Mina, so I place her in the cart, instructing her to not stand up. The last thing we need is Mina falling out of there.

She's already covered in bruises and has a cast on her leg, I'm pretty sure people think we abuse her. I've already gotten a couple nasty stares from several people in the store. I've let it brush off my back and I'm hoping that nobody calls child protective services.

That would be a hot mess.

"Sorry about that." I apologize to the cashier.

He looked fed up when I placed those items on the conveyor belt. "It's okay, ma'am. It's my job." He replies wearily.

Meanwhile, Mina is trying to grab bars of chocolate off of the shelf. I don't think she's been into a store in years. She wants to eat everything in sight and it breaks my heart.

The total for our stuff comes out to almost six-hundred dollars. I mean, my two breast pumps were the most expensive items. Those things are most definitely not cheap.

Autumn hands over her debit card while I try to wrangle in our cranky baby. She needs a nap and some food. It's been a few hours since breakfast and I can tell she's hungry. I've only known Mina for less than a week, but I can already distinguish what a lot of her body language means.

Once our items are paid for, we high tail it into the parking lot. Mina is a few minutes away from a temper tantrum. Honestly, I can't blame her. She has to be overwhelmed.

"Shhh, it's okay. We're almost to the car and then we'll get something to eat." I whisper as I lift Mina out of the cart.

Autumn scrambles to load the groceries into the trunk and I climb into the back with Mina. She's trying so hard to be good right now and I'm extremely proud.

"Let's buckle up so we can go get some chicken nuggets. You want nuggies and fries?" I comment, trying to distract Mina from her impending tantrum.

"Yes." Mina says on a hiccuping cry.

Yeah, she's most definitely tired.

Autumn hops into the front seat and quickly pulls out of the parking lot, heading to the nearest Burger King. We don't eat a lot of fast food, but we're making an exception right now.

Our food is ordered quickly by Autumn and we wait in the slow line for it. During that time, Mina's crying turns into a full blown tantrum. She tosses her head back and wails.

We get our lunch and Autumn pulls into the back of the parking lot to give us some privacy. I reach over to unbuckle Mina's seatbelt, then pull her onto my lap. I've read that skin to skin contact can help with tantrums and anxiety, so that's what I'm going to try now.

I toss off my shirt, then repeat the process with Mina's clothes. She's wearing a onesie so I have to pretty much take everything off. Once she's only in her diaper, I unhook the front latch of my bra, then press her close to my chest.

Mina continues to cry for a little bit longer, but stops after a few minutes. She's sniffling and rubbing her eyes. She experienced a lot of new stuff today, it's reasonable that she was overwhelmed.

"Mommy's right here, babygirl. I got you." I whisper as I look up to see what Autumn's doing.

She's staring at Mina with so much affection and sympathy in her eyes. I know that she wants to do skin to skin with Mina too. There's just not enough room in this car for her to do that.