Page 1 of Mindy
Prologue
“Hey, Little one…” The soothing female voice infiltrated Mindy’s mind, slowly bringing her out of a deep sleep. She recognized the voice as Nurse Kay’s, so she was only confused about where she was for a moment.
Her brain computed she was in The Nurturing Center where she’d moved about eight weeks ago. As she blinked her eyes open, however, she was surprised to realize she wasn’t in her crib in her private nursery. It wasn’t morning. She was in the main nursery where she spent most of every day playing with other Littles while waiting for a forever Daddy to adopt her.
“Is naptime over?” she asked needlessly as she rubbed her eyes and stretched in the baby seat.
“It sure is, sweetie.” Nurse Kay tickled her bare foot as she smiled.
Mindy looked around. The large nursery was almost empty. There were no Littles. The only people were the three grownups staring at her. All three of them were sitting on the floor next to her seat.
Mindy pushed slightly more upright so she could look around better. “Where is everyone?”
Dr. Farwell, the main doctor at The Center, spoke next. “You had a very long nap, Little one. They’ve all gone back to their own nurseries for the night.”
She blinked in confusion as she turned her attention to Eleanor. The kind woman worked in the main nursery every day. She made sure all the Littles were well supervised and fed. There were others who worked there, but she was in charge.
Mindy swallowed. “How did I sleep so long? Why didn’t anyone wake me?” She started trembling, nervous. Something was off.
Eleanor sat to her right side, and she reached out to take her hand to give it a squeeze. “You were tired, sweet girl. Don’t you worry. You’re not in any trouble.”
“Why are you all here then?” She sucked in a breath, wondering if maybe someone had finally shown an interest in her and wanted to adopt her. “Did a Daddy choose me?”
Dr. Farwell’s brow furrowed slightly as he answered her. “Have you met with any Daddies, Little one?” he asked gently.
It kind of hurt her feelings because he knew the answer to that. Nothing happened in The Nurturing Center without his knowledge. “No.” She tried not to sound snotty. She looked down at her hands and fidgeted them, mumbling, “Maybe someone liked me without talking to me.”
Maybe I’m pretty. Maybe I’m desirable. Maybe a Daddy knew at one glance he wanted me and didn’t even need to discuss it with me.
Mindy knew none of that was true, but she could dream.
“Is that what you want, Little one?” Dr. Farwell’s voice was always calm and reassuring, but it was uncharacteristically careful tonight. “What if I told you a Daddy had asked for you? How would that make you feel?”
His questions confused her. After all, finding a Daddy and living happily ever after as his Little girl was the entire reason for her existence and why she’d gone through the program here at The Center.
She was Little. She’d known that for a long time. Much longer than her stay at The Center. She’d known it for years. She’d kept that feeling to herself for several years before finding and joining a fetish club where she could finally be herself without worrying about being judged.
Now she was here. The promise of a forever Daddy had been part of the lure. The decision hadn’t been difficult. She’d basically divorced herself from her family a long time ago. She didn’t have close friends or relatives she cared to speak of.
She hadthis. She loved being Little. The opportunity to do so fulltime and live in her authentic skin had been something she could not pass up.
“That’s why I’m here,” she whispered in response, her lip trembling as she glanced from one caregiver to another. Were they kicking her out? Was she so unwanted that they didn’t see any hope for her?
Nurse Kay was sitting to her left and stroked her leg. “You’re here to tap into your inner Little and learn to live in that space fulltime. You’re here to find acaregiver, sweetie.”
Mindy slowly nodded. “Isn’t that what I said?”
Nurse Kay’s brow was slightly furrowed in concern. “Your caregiver doesn’t have to be a Daddy. Have you ever considered that?”
Mindy stared at her for a long time, processing, thinking, panicking. She could picture her mother glaring at her wide-eyed, disgust her only feature. The disappointment. The total lack of acceptance. The hostility. And then the abandonment. The humiliation. The betrayal.
It all came back to her now, making her shake. Tears came to her eyes. She squeezed them shut, but she couldn’t make the pain go away.
“Mindy?” The voice belonged to Dr. Farwell. “Little one… Are you okay? Talk to us. Tell us what you’re feeling. We’re all here to help you.”
She held her fists over her eyes. “I’m supposed to want a Daddy. That’s how it is.”
ChapterOne
