✅ The Last New Start [NaNoWriMo2021]

134. The Young Ones

Tess sat on the couch and laughed as Gabby started to braid her hair again. Or to do something with it, anyway. She wasn't sure why she needed to have her hair up, but Gabby said it would look cute, and Tess wasn't going to argue. As soon as she was littler, all the big decisions were so much easier. She could just relax and let things happen around her.

She couldn't wait to see what Gabby was actually doing with her hair, right now she could just enjoy the feeling of being looked after. The gentle brushing and stroking was really pretty soothing, and she made a real effort to be gentle even when she was pulling at the little tangles in Tess's hair.

"What do you think, sweetie?" Gabby asked, and for a second Tess was wondering what she was talking about. She was kind of zoned out, in an almost meditative state, where she hadn't even been thinking at all. "About me and Ffrances getting married? We're going to be a real little family, so you'll have two Mommies."

Tess giggled at that. She thought calling Gabby 'Mommy' would be kind of weird, but it seemed like refusing would always make her sad. Tess couldn't bring herself to say the word, but she also wouldn't complain when Gabby was supposed to be having such a good day. And the more she thought about it, the more she realised that there wasn't anything spectacularly weird about it. She'd seen a lot of ads online lately for books tagged as 'ddlg', which seemed to imply a girl being treated like a little kid, and almost all of the synopsises described the girl's love interest as her new Daddy. So maybe it was just the same thing; using 'Mommy' as an affectionate term for the person looking after you. It wasn't quite as weird as calling her 'Mum', and Tess told herself that she wouldn't argue against 'Mommy' if Gabby wanted to say it. It just didn't feel natural for Tess to say it herself.

"Do you think you'll like having two Mommies?" Gabby asked, and Tess could see that she was hoping to hear the word repeated. And Tess wanted to make her happy, after everything she'd done to help, but she still couldn't make herself do it. She nodded instead. "Well, I guess we're not really your mothers. But I think you're too little to worry about those details. To a child as small as you, it's natural to call the adults taking care of you 'Mommy'. Isn't it?"

"Yeeeah..." Tess said slowly, trying to think of anything that could go wrong. But she knew that looking for problems wasn't her job. Right now, she was supposed to be trying not to think. This was a special day for Gabby and Ffrances, and she wanted to show them booth how grateful she was for them accepting Spike into their home. There was one easy way to do that: "Yes, I am that little. Thank you, Mommy."

All the worries about the term and its connotations had just dropped away. Gabby was Mommy, Ffrances was Mommy, even Spike could be Mommy. She didn't need to worry about remembering the right name for everybody now, she could just learn one name. She found herself laughing at how easy it was, and when Gabby giggled back she could tell that she was just as delighted.

"All done!" Gabby said, a few minutes later, and Tess smiled again.

"Thank you Mommy! Can I look?"

"Ohhh, I think your new style would be better as a surprise, wouldn't it? Why don't we make it a little game. Let Ffrances tell you what she thinks, and then you can try to guess what it looks like."

"Yeah!" Tess said, and she couldn't help laughing. It was such a silly idea, but she could easily imagine a child getting excited. And as soon as she thought about how much fun it would be, she felt smaller than ever. She still knew she wasn't a baby, but she could play the part. And she could enjoy watching just how much her reactions changed. Hypnosis really was an interesting thing to learn about. And this state of mind, enjoying the scene that Gabby wanted her to play out even if it was for very different reasons, was the perfect moment. A moment that made everybody happy, and that was quite an achievement. Something to be proud of. And something Mommy should be proud of too. "Thank you, Mommy!"