Change of Perspective

Chapter 1
Whole Story

This isn’t the most original of ideas, nor a sweeping epic like my last one. It also isn’t as dark. Just a short simple mental AR tale.

**

“So you really want to do this?” I asked my flat-mate, Jake.

He nodded. “She said it would really help me if I’m going to volunteer at the place. Getting to see it the way kids see it. It will be a real once in a lifetime experience.”

“It just seems like overkill to me.”

Jake gave me a serious look. “Jeff, if you don’t want to do this I won’t go through with it. I’m sure there are other places I can volunteer.”

I shook my head. “No, no, this is the place with the top programme and I already told you I’m fine with having to keep an eye on you a little bit more. That doesn’t bother me. I just wondered if you were cool with it, really. I mean, seeing the world through a toddler’s eyes sounds a little creepy to me.”

“Well it’s not like I’m going to turn into a snot-nosed little tyke. She said the contacts will just help me relax a bit, feel more like I belong there so I’m not so self-conscious.”

Jake had received the courier bag with his outfit the night before and was now preparing to don the contents. He’d wanted to volunteer at the local daycare centre for some time now. He was studying the psychology of early childhood as part of his Master’s degree studies. The Top Ten Kids care centre just down the road had an excellent reputation apparently. Jake had talked to them about an internship and they told him there was just one requirement. He had to spend a few days seeing the place as one of the kids.

When Jake first told me about their request I laughed out loud, thinking it had to be some sort of joke. “How on earth can they expect you to play around like some kind of little toddler?” I asked.

That was when he explained about the contacts. I’d heard of such things before, but only in academic journals about research being done on them. I wasn’t really clear on how they worked, only that they allowed the wearer to enter a sort of waking trance state which could make them very suggestible in general or also deliver special suggestions to make them not want to smoke or drink or be less angry, that sort of thing. They were being tested as a cure for all sorts of addictions.

But this time the contacts were said to help shift Jake into a more toddler-like mindset. That was why my cooperation was necessary. They warned Jake that he might have reduced thinking abilities and toddler emotions and mood-swings even while not at daycare. He needed someone to watch out for him at home, basically keep him safe and cared for.

“So you won’t be throwing any tantrums then?” I asked, half-joking.

He shook his head. “No, of course not. I just might feel a little bit moodier than normal she said. Fewer inhibitions, less forethought before doing something that might be dangerous.”

“Fewer inhibitions? Do I need to warn the neighbours that you might be streaking around the neighbourhood? I’ve seen the neighbour’s little boy run around nakie-bum a couple time, right down their driveway and along the footpath. You sure you won’t be joining him?”

Jake laughed and shook his head. “I don’t think that’s quite what she meant,” he said.

I nodded, knowing that Jake was a very modest guy, always wearing long jeans and good collared shirts. He had quite a few pairs of good shoes too, but not one set of jandals. Of course that was about to change. The courier bag contained his outfit for the day. It was designed to make him fit in with the other boys. He’d got a big frown as he pulled out the jean shortalls with an applique yellow ducky on the bib and a bright red shirt with Big Bird across the front. At first he seemed relieved there were no light-up sneakers or Disney cartoon sandals but then he read the note which explained there was no footwear included because he would be expected to attend barefoot as most of the boys preferred to play in their bare feet and they asked parents leave the little ones’ shoes at home.

I had to admit that he actually looked kind of cute wearing the whole outfit this morning. It really made him look like an oversized toddler. It was past eight o’clock and it was time to get him going now. He held the little container the contacts came in, looking a little bit nervous himself.

“Well I guess you might as well get it over with,” I said.

“Here goes nothing,” he said with a little nod, unscrewing the lids and placing the contacts on the tip of his finger one by one and slipping them onto his eyes. I watched closely as he finished and blinked, letting them adjust.

“You feel any different?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I… I don’t think so. Oh…” he said, trailing off, his eyes widening a bit, like he saw something in the distance.

“What?”

“There’s these colours floating around the edge of my vision. It feels…relaxing. Yeah, like I was kind of nervous before. But now I’m not.” He giggled lightly. “I’m not nervous at all in fact. I feel kind of giddy. The colours are soothing.”

“You ready to get going then?”

Jake was staring off in the distance for a moment. “Going?” he repeated.

“To daycare silly,” I reminded him.

Jake smiled now, and it looked like a real one, like he was actually excited at the idea of going to the daycare. “Yeah, let’s get going!” he urged.

We headed out the door and I was amazed to see Jake skip right out to the car, heading straight from the back door and standing boldly in full view of any neighbours or traffic in his shortalls. I headed out and took my time finding the keys, waiting to see if he showed any signs of bashfulness, or grew aware of his outfit. But there was nothing. He just gazed about, as if truly seeing the world through new eyes.

As we got in the car and he settled right into the back seat I said, “You like your special outfit Jake?”

He looked down at his clothes again, the ones he’d been aghast at just half an hour ago. “They’re not bad actually,” he said. “They’re pretty comfy.”

“You like Big Bird?”

He gave me an accusing look. “I’m not really a baby Jeff! Don’ be silly!”

I chuckled and started the car.

**

When we arrived at the daycare centre Jake seemed even more pleased to be going there. “You looking forward to playing with the other boys?” I asked, jokingly.

But now Jake seemed to nod earnestly. “Playing will be fun,” he agreed.

“What kind of stuff will you get to do?”

He put a finger to his lip, thinking about it. “Umm, finger painting, story time, circle time… umm, colouring and free play.”

“Sounds like it will be a busy day.”

“Uh-huh!”

I giggled. “Okay, let’s get going.”

I walked Jake into the brightly coloured play area. A woman in a purple blouse and jeans welcomed us inside. “Hello there, I’m Emily Brown. I run this place,” she said to me, shaking my hand.

“Hi there, I’m Jeff, his flat-mate and I guess his guardian now.”

She nodded. “Yes, thank you so much for agreeing to help him out.”

“It’s okay, I just wanted to give him the chance to have a little fun this week,” I said, watching as Jake gazed around the playroom before us, not listening to our conversation.

“Did he take well to the contacts this morning?” she asked, noting his glassy-eyed look.

I nodded. “I guess so. Well, he went straight to the back seat and he didn’t seem to mind people seeing him in his outfit, or his bare feet. Jake’s never liked going barefoot before, have you buddy?” I asked, prompting him.

Jake looked up, his eyes unusually blank. They flicked down to his feet, then back to us. “I’m barefoot now,” he stated neutrally, just giving us the facts.

Emily Brown chuckled. “You sure are Jakey,” she cooed in a sickeningly sweet, cloying tone. “I bet it’s much more comfy being at barefooted isn’t it?”

It was such an awfully condescending way to talk to a man, with that silly sing-song. I was sure Jake would give her one of his cross looks. But instead he smiled, and it was this silly, childish grin like I’d never imagined a grown man could have. “Bare feet are comfy,” he agreed, wiggling his toes in the carpet.

My mouth hung open. I’d never thought I’d hear Jake say something so silly. But Brown just nodded and then reached out for his hand. He gave it to her easily, happily. He seemed comfortable with having someone else in charge of him. “We’ll take you over to join the older pre-schoolers today Jakey,” she said cheerily. “They’re making pictures of their homes. Does that sound nice?”

Jake nodded honestly. “I like to colour,” he told her.

“Then you’ll have lots of fun today sweetie-pie,” she cooed to the smiling twenty-something man in the Big Bird shirt. Turning to me she said, “You can pick him up at three. But you need to know that the effects of the contacts only grow with time. He may be a bit more dependent this afternoon than he was this morning.”

“Really? Hmm, it’s just, we were planning to have dinner with a friend of ours tonight.”

“Oh I’m sure you can still do dinner, but you may need to keep a closer eye on Jakey by then. And you’ll probably need to warn your friend about the contacts and Jakey’s behaviour.”

I nodded, saying goodbye to my flat-mate and wondering what she meant by more dependent. As I walked out I did take a glance at the play area Jake was being led by the hand over to. There were half a dozen kids already there and sure enough each of them was barefoot, two other boys wearing bright overalls just like his. A woman was bringing her children in as I left. A little boy of three or four was tottering alongside her, hand held tightly by hers, wearing a cartoon t-shirt, baggy shorts and bare feet. In her arms was a smaller girl, probably about two, wearing a red t-shirt and a pink pull-up but nothing over it. At least Jake wasn’t trying to be one of her friends I thought.

**

It was a warm sunny day and when I returned to pick Jake up I could see parents carrying out other little ones who were now stripped down to just their diapers or pull-ups. The older children at least seemed to still be dressed, so that was a relief. Emily Brown was right there at the front to greet me again.

“Welcome back Jeff, good to see you’re right on time.”

I nodded. “So did he have a good time?”

“Oh my yes! He’s been just a delight today. He’s getting on very well with the other children. I think he’s very promising.”

I was glad to hear this might all be worth it. She sounded impressed, so maybe he would have the internship.

“Now I have to warn you that he has taken quite well to the contacts and you’ll find him a bit less mature than this morning when you dropped him off. Also, he’s doing so well that I’ve asked him to move to the little ones’ room tomorrow. So he’ll be in with the two year olds.”

This really took me aback. He’d never mentioned anything like that being a possibility. “And he’s okay with that?” I asked.

“Definitely. He seemed quite excited about the idea. But it means he’ll need to leave the contacts in until he goes to sleep tonight. They need to keep working on him longer to prepare him for that. Also I have something for you,” she said, reaching behind the counter and producing a small bag. “This is his outfit for tomorrow. He might not be quite ready for it now, so don’t take it out until tomorrow.”

I took the bag from her, kind of wanting a peek myself, but holding back. “Okay then,” I agreed.

“Wonderful, let’s get your little buddy.”

Jake was down on his hands and knees in the middle of the carpeted play area, pushing a toy fire-truck around in circles with a look of intense concentration on his face. He was even making siren noises for it!

“Jakey honey, time to go!” the woman called.

Jake looked up and saw me, grinning broadly and hopping to his feet. He made a bee-line for us, for me actually and it was almost like he was going to…

“Hi Jeff, I had the bestest time! I made pictures ‘nd coloured, ‘nd we got all messy wid the paints!” he babbled at a mile a minute, throwing his arms right around me and cuddling me in the tightest of hugs.

I wasn’t sure how to react. I definitely had not expected him to give me a hug, especially not one that seemed filled with such love and closeness. It wasn’t a hug between friends, it was the hug a little boy gave to his daddy, to his protector and carer. I managed to close my arms loosely around him, feeling myself blush as other children and daycare workers looked at us. I patted his back gently, hesitantly.

“Well that’s umm, good Jake. I’m glad you had so much fun buddy.”

Jake smiled and finally released me.

“Why don’t you show Jeff what you made for him,” Brown suggested.

Now Jake’s smile faltered. He blushed a little, looking ashamed for the first time. “No Miss Bwown, that’s okay,” he whispered in a tiny little voice.

“Don’t be silly Jake, you were very proud of it earlier,” she reminded him, taking something from a pile of papers and handing it to him. “Here you are sweetie, show it to him.”

Jake held up a crumpled piece of A3 paper with a childishly drawn house on it. There was many colours, crude lines and lots of glitter but I recognised it as a house at least. “I drew this for you,” he whispered.

I held back my laughter because I could see how embarrassed he was. “Oh, that’s great buddy. We’ll have to put it on the fridge,” I said, unable to resist the jibe.

Poor Jake blushed beet red, letting me take the drawing from him.

“Well you have a lovely dinner tonight,” Brown declared, heading back to the play area.

Jake walked quietly with me to the front door. I started into the car park and was about to ask him something when I realised he wasn’t there anymore. I turned around and saw him still standing just beyond the doors, looking nervously at the small car park and extending his hand towards me. I turned around and went back. “You okay Jake?” I asked.

“Don’ cross roads by myself,” he said seriously.

“Oh, okay,” I said, taking his hand.

He smiled now and skipped along beside me. “How come you can’t do it yourself?” I asked.

“Need a gwown-up,” he replied with a noticeable lisp.

“But aren’t you really a grown-up too?” I asked, wondering how major these changes were.

Jake looked confused a moment, but then nodded. “Yeah, but not right now. The contacts make me feel too little. I don’ feel like a gwown-up no more.”

“Okay then, I can understand that. I guess it will be nice when we can take them out and you can feel all big again.”

He nodded vigorously. “Den I can do stuff on my own again.”

“Yeah, you won’t make me anymore silly pictures for the fridge.”

He pouted, it was almost adorable. “I know that’s stupid. I just didn’ think about it when we did it.”

“It’s okay buddy, I understand. Hey, your feet okay, the pavement looks hot.”

He glanced down at his bare feet on the pavement. “No, they fine,” he said.

I got him in the back seat, glad he could at least do up his own seat-belt. I was beginning to really worry. “So you want to get those contacts out now, put ‘em back in next morning?”

He shook his head. “Miss Bwown says I gotta wear ‘em all day, so I’m ready to be real little tomorrow.”

“Okay then,” I agreed, not wanting to argue with him in this state.

When we got home I let Jake relax and watch some cartoons. I was pretty amazed to see him actually choosing to put on Nickelodeon and watching silly little kid cartoons lying on his stomach, swinging his legs behind him. I got him an ice block for a treat and he made a pretty good mess of his face with it.

“So are you gonna get changed?” I finally asked him.

“Huh?” he asked, confused.

“You’re still wearing your silly little kid outfit Jake.”

“It’s comfy,” he answered.

“Okay, but we’re going out to dinner with Liz remember? You can’t wear that.”

Jake frowned. “Oh… oh yeah. Okay, I’ll change,” he agreed.

I was glad that was settled but ten minutes later I found Jake still in his shortalls, sitting cross-legged on the floor kind of picking at his toes.

“Jake, what are you doing? I asked.

He looked up innocently. “Lookin’ at my toes,” he replied simply.

“Why?”

He shrugged. “They kinda funny.”

“Well, I thought you were gonna change.”

He nodded. “What am I wearing?” he asked me.

“You want me to choose your outfit?”

He nodded, totally serious.

“Well, okay. I’ll lay it out on your bed.”

He nodded and returned to playing with his toes, like this was perfectly normal.

I laid out a good polo shirt and khakis cargo shorts for Jake to wear, then called him in to change. He padded into the room, didn’t even really look at the outfit and started to strip down right in front of me. He was down to his tighty-whities in no time, then started pulling on the shorts.

“So that’s okay to wear?” I aked him.

He shrugged, not caring what I put him in apparently. It occurred to me that I’d missed the chance to really pull a joke on him. I could have taken him to dinner in his shortalls. That would have been a laugh.

Finally Jake was in his much more adult clothes, looking close to normal again, except for the ice cream still stained all around his lips. Finally I realised that I’d have to clean it off him, wetting a paper towel and wiping my flat-mate’s face clean while he stood there obediently, like this was normal.

“Okay, let’s get going before we’re too late,” I said, heading for the door.

Jake nodded and trotted right after me. I pulled on my shoes and socks and headed out the door, unlocking the car with the key fob. Jake hurried past me, like it was a race, giggling as he reached the back door. That was when I noticed he hadn’t put any shoes on. I sighed, shaking my head.

“Jake, you forgot your shoes mate.”

He looked down at his bare feet, then back at me and shook his head. “Nope, didn’ forget.”

“Well then where are they?”

“In the house. I don’ wan’ ‘em.”

I furrow my brow. “You don’t want them? Well what are you planning to wear to dinner?”

“I’m goin’ barefooted,” he replied cheerily.

“Jake, you can’t go to a restaurant barefoot.”

He pouted again. “Why not?! I wanna!” he sulked.

“People don’t do that Jake. They wear shoes to go place like restaurants.”

He shook his head defiantly. “Nuh-uh! Miss Bwown said little boys c’n go barefoot lots of places. She says it’s good for little boys to go barefoot, cuz it makes ‘em comfy and cute.”

I had to admit that it was true little kids went barefoot in public a lot, even to the restaurant we were headed to tonight.

“Are you sure you really want this? I’ve never seen you even leave the house without your shoes Jake?”

He nodded. “I like the feelin’ of barefoot. Is just better. I don’ know why grown-ups wear shoes so much.”

“Okay then,” I agreed, giving him a huge grin.

“Thanks Jeff!” he chirped, throwing his arms around me without warning and giving me another tight hug right there in the driveway.

“That’s okay buddy. As long as you’re okay with being a barefoot little boy, I’m fine with it too.”

“Kay!” he chirped, letting me go and climbing back into the car.

**

Lone Star was one of those American-themed family restaurants. It had a kid’s play area in one corner with a ball pit and some simple slides, while the other side of the restaurant was dominated by an old-fashioned bar. Thus it catered to a diverse crowd. Jake and I came here from time to time and generally sat at the bar, or at least close to it. But as we walked into the restaurant today I knew that wasn’t going to be the case.

There were a few families and couples waiting to be seated when we walked in. I noticed the eyes flicking down to Jake’s bare feet, then looking away, trying not to stare but clearly disapproving. Jake didn’t seem to notice the stares at all. He wasn’t paying any attention to the grown-ups. Instead he was looking at a little boy of about seven or eight who was sitting on the waiting bench between his parents. He was wearing a green Ben Ten t-shirt and baggy colourful board shorts and was just as barefoot as Jake, no sign of discarded shoes or jandals anywhere.

Jake pointed right at the boy and announced to me, “See boys c’n go barefoot here!” at a volume that assured everyone in the room heard him.

The disapproving looks were gone. Everyone now thought that Jake was a retard. Now there were some looks of pity, but mostly of understanding. Little boys could go barefoot, and so could unfortunate young men with little boys’ minds. The barefoot little boy on the bench even smiled and told his parents, “Look, that boy’s barefoot too.”

None of the staff said anything about Jake’s lack of shoes. A perky young woman told me that Liz was already here and seated. I felt bad about getting there so late, but she’d have to understand when she saw Jake.

The woman led us across the restaurant, a few people glancing at Jake’s feet as we walked. I wondered what kind of looks we’d have gotten if he’d been in his full pre-schooler glory in Big Bird shirt and shortalls.

Liz looked up from her iPhone as we approached, giving us a little wave, then noticing Jake’s lack of shoes and becoming confused. We slid into the booth facing her. Liz was a good friend of ours going pretty far back. She’d been away for a few months doing contract work overseas though. This was supposed to be her welcome back dinner.

“Going a bit casual Jake? Did you lose a bet?” she asked, knowing how completely out of character this was.

Jake shook his head, seeming confused. “I didn’ lose no bet,” he insisted.

Liz instantly noticed the poor grammar and pronunciation he had. He seemed to have completely missed her joke as well, oblivious to the sarcasm.

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” she asked more directly.

“I don’ like shoes no more. They’re all tight and hot on my feets and Miss Bwown says I don’ gotta wear ‘em cuz I’m a boy now,” he explained.

Liz looked at him like he’d sprouted a second head. Then she turned to me, seeing from his happy expression that he was not going to give her any better answer. “Okay, what’s the joke here?” she demanded from me.

“It isn’t a joke. Jake is trying out for an internship at a daycare centre near where we live and they wanted him to try being one of the kids for a few days, see things from their perspective.”

Liz looked unconvinced. “Well he’s taking it a bit far isn’t he? I mean walking around barefoot in public like this? There’s no one from the daycare watching you here Jake,” she assured him.

I was about to explain further when the arrival of our waitress interrupted me. She was a pretty young blonde with a name tag reading “Ginger.”

“Hello there!” she chirped. “Can I get you started with any drinks?”

Liz put up her hand. “Definitely,” she declared. “I’ll have a gin and tonic. The way this night is going I’ll need it and more.”

Ginger chuckled politely and wrote the order down.

“I’ll just have a Coke,” I told her.

She nodded and then looked at Jake, who was sitting there gazing about the restaurant, oblivious once again.

“Jake,” I prompted, nudging him.

He looked over at me, not seeming to understand.

“What do you want to drink?”

He looked up at the waitress, who was trying to appear infinitely patient. “Milk,” he said simply.

The waitress blinked. “Just a glass of milk?” she asked.

Jake nodded, then seemed to think it over better. “Chocolate milk?” he asked, looking hopeful.

The waitress giggled and nodded. “Okay then, one chocolate milk.”

Jake beamed. I’d never imagined he could be so delighted about chocolate milk.

“Okay, I’ll be right back with that,” Ginger told us, heading off.

Liz was not looking impressed. “Chocolate milk? What are you five?”

Jake pouted, his eyes looking at the table. “No,” he said in a sukly whisper. “I’m really a big boy.”

Liz seemed to realise that Jake was legitimately wounded by her comment. Her anger turned to concern in an instant. She looked at me. “You better explain to me what’s going on here, fast.”

“I was trying to before Ginger arrived. Jake’s trying out some of those new computer contacts, the ones that induce a trance state and alter perception or behaviour.”

“Oh yeah, I have heard about those. But I though they were only going through testing in research labs.”

“Well maybe this daycare place is part of a research scheme. I don’t know how but they have the things and they gave them to Jake and he has to wear them to put himself in the shoes of the kids. Or in this case the lack of shoes of the kids.”

Liz looked back at Jake. “Is that true?”

He nodded solemnly.

“How long has he had them on?”

“Just since this morning. I think he mostly feels like a four year old right now,” I explained.

“No wonder he doesn’t want shoes on. My nephew Paul is that age and he’s just the same way. Only time he ever had shoes on his feet is for church and they don’t stay on long there.”

“Little boy like goin’ barefoot,” Jake agreed, seeming pleased to have something to contribute to the conversation.

I realised he hadn’t been saying much at all in fact. I turned and asked, “Jake, is all this confusing to you?”

He nodded. “Grown-ups use lots of big words.”

“He’s actually pretty adorable,” Liz noted.

“He can make quite a mess too,” I replied.

“I bet he can!”

Ginger appeared back with the drinks, even having dropped a curly blue straw in Jake’s milk. He lit up at the sight of it and was quickly slurping away at it.

“Now, what can I get you all to eat?”

Liz ordered fillet mignon and I just wanted a normal old burger with fries. Ginger wrote them down then looked at Jake. He was gazing at the menu, looking uncomfortable. He looked at me and pointed at a word. “What’s that say?” he asked.

I looked where he was pointing. “It says hamburger. Is that what you want?”

He shook his head. “Don’ like ‘em.”

“Well what do you want?”

He looked back at the menu, frowning. “What’s that one?” he asked, pointing again.

“Ravioli,” I told him.

“What’s that?”

“You don’t remember what ravioli is?” I asked, stunned.

He shook his head. “I feel kinda fuzzy ‘bout lots of things,” he admitted.

“It’s pasta with cheese and spinach inside it,” I told him.

He made a disgusted face. “Ugh! Spinach is yucky!” he declared.

Liz and Ginger shared a chuckle. He started pointing somewhere else and I had a sinking feeling. “Jake, how much of the menu can you read?”

“I know the little words,” he said. “That one is ‘and’ and that’s ‘egg’,” he told us proudly. “But the big ones is tricky.”

“Okay then, let me see it,” I said, taking the menu. “How about chicken fingers,” I suggested, recalling I loved those as a kid.

Now he nodded. “Yeah, those are yummy in my tummy!”

We all shared a laugh at the fully grown man rubbing his stomach for us to see.

“Okay, I’ll have those right out,” Ginger assured.

Liz and I had a bit of a catch up about her travels and work overseas. Jake couldn’t really take part in the conversation. He started getting fidgety pretty quickly. I could feel him swinging his legs back and forth at first. Then he began changing his seating position and pushing salt and pepper shakers around like toys. He knocked one over, spilling salt across the table.

“Sorry,” he squeaked while I had to get a napkin and clean his mess up.

“I don’t think those are toys Jake,” I admonished.

He shrugged and looked down again.

He was still for a moment but then the squirming commenced. Next thing I knew he climbed up into the booth seat and stood right up. Everyone was staring at this as I grabbed his hand and yanked him back down.

“Jake, don’t stand on that!” I snapped. “Sit down right now, you’re making a scene.”

Jake sat down quickly, looking like I’d hit him. “Sorry,” he squeaked again.

Liz reached across and patted his hand. He looked on the verge of tears. “Hey, hey, it’s okay buddy. It’s okay Jake.”

He looked up, his eyes watering.

“I know you can’t help it Jake. It’s the contacts. You can’t help being fidgety. You can’t follow our words so being here isn’t any fun is it?”

Jake nodded, looking relieved to be understood.

“That’s okay Jake. I know what we need to do.” Liz looked around and spotted Ginger, waving her over. “I’m sorry, but could we have a kids’ play-mat and some crayons for him. He’s getting a bit bored with all the grown-up talk,” she explained.

Ginger nodded immediately, having worked out that Jake was ‘special’ some time ago. Moments later Jake was happily scribbling away at the play-mat with an orange crayon gripped awkwardly in his fist. Both Liz and I noted that he’d lost the natural crayon or pencil grip taught to children their first year in school.

“He seems a lot happier now,” Liz noted.

“Yeah, those crayons were a good idea, you’re really good with kids,” I told her.

“Well, don’t be so shocked. I take care of my nieces and nephews plenty and I’m a hit with them. But actually I meant he seems a lot happier with those contacts in.”

I furrowed my brow. “Happier? He was just having a near tantrum because he couldn’t follow our conversation because the contacts have made him so, d-u-m-b.”

I spelled instead of saying it because Jake seemed to be taking note of our conversation. When I spelled out the word instead of saying it he just gazed at me blankly. Finally he said, “What’s that spell?”

“Nothing important,” I told him.

He shrugged and returned to his colouring.

Liz shook her head. “He was upset because you yelled at him. He was quite happy up until then. I think he seems much more relaxed. You know how anxious he is, how high strung.”

I had to admit she was right. Jake had been fighting all sorts of stress disorders for years. Looking at him now, he did seem more relaxed than I’d ever seen him before. I thought back to the afternoon spent watching cartoons. He never stopped to enjoy himself these days. It was always work, or worrying about work. Even the way he was happy to parade around barefoot in public was actually an improvement in some ways. He spent so much energy worrying about how people perceived him and now that was gone.

Dinner itself went quite well. Jake only made a little mess and I had to wipe his lips off but luckily his clothes seemed unscathed. We decided to stay for dessert though and that’s when things got tricky again. Jake was done with the puzzles and had coloured the whole back of his mat. He was bored again and he’d spotted the play area in the corner. A couple little children were in it right now. One was the little boy from the waiting area, the other was a little girl of about five wearing a red jumper and skirt, but who I noticed also seemed to be charging back and forth to her parents’ table in bare feet.

Jake kept craning his neck to look at the play place and the other children. I could see the look of longing on his face. Finally he shouted, “I wanna play too!” pointing at it.

I frowned. “I’m sorry Jake, but you’re too big to play in that.”

He shook his head. “Nuh-uh! Miss Bwown says I’m little now. I can play with them. Please!”

“They let you play at daycare but this isn’t daycare Jake. The restaurant won’t allow it.”

He pouted. “Pleeease, pretty pleeease!” he begged.

“Maybe they won’t mind,” Liz suggested. “He really seems to want to.”

“I don’t want a scene.”

“I think if you don’t let him go there’ll be an even bigger scene,” she noted, gesturing to how worked up he was becoming. I saw that she was right, he was on the verge of a tantrum.

“Jake, you need to calm yourself down. Remember, you’re actually a big grown-up. You only feel like this because of the contacts you’re wearing.”

Jake huffed and began to tear up. “I don’ wanna be grown-up right now!” he shouted. “I wanna play!”

“Okay, okay,” I shushed him, patting his back, hoping everyone wasn’t staring. “If you can calm yourself down I’ll buy you a treat for dessert and then you can play in the play area afterwards.”

Jake sniffled and wiped tears from his face. He nodded. “Kay.”

“Deal?”

“Uh-huh.”

Jake calmed down and I bought him an ice cream sundae. By the time he was done the other children had left the play area to eat their desserts. I hoped that we wouldn’t be told off anyway. I let him go have his fun and thankfully no one said a thing as the twenty-something man giggled his way down the slides and romped in the ball pit.

Liz watched him and nodded. “Yep, I think he is definitely better off this way. Honestly I think it’s a shame it’s just for a week.”

I watched the look of glee on his face as he came down the slide and I could only nod in agreement.

**

At bed time Jake got in his normal pyjamas but insisted I leave the hallway light on and his door open. He also wanted me to tuck him into bed. I ended up reading him a story from this kids’ book he brought home from daycare. I had to admit there was something very comfortable about sitting there with him cuddled beside me, looking so awed at my ability to read. I was actually starting to feel really protective off him, like he was actually my child to care for. When it was done, he opened his arms wide and asked, “Cuddle?”

I couldn’t resist. His eyes were so wide and hopeful, filled with trust. I leant in and gave him a big long snuggle, stroking his hair and patting his back. At the end I pecked a kiss on his forehead and let him rest back on his pillow.

“Okay, we need to take the contacts out so your eyes aren’t too sore in the morning.”

He nodded sleepily. “Kay.”

One at a time I removed them and placed them in their solution filled cases. I looked down for any change. Would he instantly regret our cuddle? Would he blush at all the stupid things he did today, the tantrums?

“Night-night,” he mumbled, rolling over and closing his eyes.

**

I woke the next morning with something sharp poking me in the ribs. “Ugh,” I said, opening my eyes.

“Sorry.”

Jake was standing beside my bed, poking at me. “Jake, you’re up already?”

He nodded. “Just wanted to say sorry for yesterday.”

“Oh, that’s okay. It’s nothing.”

“It isn’t nothing!” he insisted. “I was just awful to you. And yet you were wonderful with me, so loving, so caring. You tucked me in, kissed me goodnight. You don’t know how much I appreciated that. I couldn’t explain it to you at the time, I didn’t have the words, the ability to tell you. I felt so safe and cared for. It was amazing.”

I was pretty amazed by this revelation. I’d thought I wasn’t doing a great job actually. “It’s really fine. I just treated you like a real kid,” I assured.

“And I was so bratty,” he admitted, looking ashamed. “I don’t believe I made you take me to Lone Star barefoot. All those people were looking at us, I remember that now. I didn’t notice then, but now I recall it.”

“It wasn’t as big a deal as I thought actually. Once they got that you were ‘special’ they didn’t mind at all.”

“Still, thanks mate.”

“No worries. So, do you actually want to continue today?”

He shook his head. “I don’t want to put you through that again.”

“Hey, hey, hey. You don’t do that mate. This isn’t about me. I told you that before. I will deal with whatever comes. I just want to know if you still want to go through with it. You know that she wants you back even further today.”

He nodded. “I know. She wants me in the trained toddler group.”

“Trained toddler? Like doing tricks?”

He shook his head. “No, the toddlers are divided into two groups, the toilet trained ones and those still being trained. You can’t be in daycare there unless you’re at least in the process of training.”

“And they do different stuff?”

He nodded. “The trained ones are a bit older on average, but more intellectually advanced of course. They tend to be closer to three than two. They use the normal toilets at specific intervals and have more planned activities.”

“And the untrained?”

“They’re anywhere from about 20 months to three and a half if they’re a little slow. Their parents don’t put any pants or skirts on them, just pull-ups and once they get to daycare those generally stay off. There are a bunch of potty seats in their room and they’re supposed to use them.”

“You mean they run around naked all day?” I asked, stunned.

“No, not totally naked. Well, some of them are. But most are just bare bottomed. They still have shirts on.”

“Wow, and that works?”

“Apparently very well.”

“But they want you in the trained toddler room?”

He nodded. “Yeah, Miss Brown said the contacts will have downloaded some new programming overnight, to make me fit in there better.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Jake frowned. “It really worries me, after what happened yesterday. But… I don’t want to back out now, halfway there. I figure, maybe just get it over with.”

I nodded. “That’s fine, let’s do it then.”

“Really?”

“Go get changed into the new outfit she left you,” I directed.

Jake nodded and headed back into his bedroom while I got his contacts out. I came to his room, knocking on the door.

“You ready?”

“Um, yeah. I just feel a bit funny in this.”

“Well let me see it then.”

The door opened and I had to stifle a laugh. Jake was wearing a green t-shirt with Sylvester and Tweety from Looney Tunes on the front. That and a pair of race car print white underoos with red piping. He wore no pants, no shoes.

“Is that it?” I asked.

He nodded. “It specifically says I’m not to wear any pants or shorts over the undies.”

“Is that normal?”

He nodded. “About half the boys turn up dressed basically like this. The rest lose their shorts or pants within minutes of arrival.”

“And are you comfortable like that?”

“Of course not! I don’t want to walk outside dressed like this.”

“So what you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” he sulked.

“Well, let’s put the contacts in then. Let’s see how they make you feel with their new programming.”

He looked warily at them a moment, then shrugged. “Okay, let’s try it.”

I unscrewed the lids and let him insert them one by one. “Okay, they’re in.”

“Feel anything?” I asked.

He stared ahead and I saw his eyes glazing over almost immediately. “There are more colours now,” he noted. “They aren’t just at the edges. They flick across kind-of. They make me feel… peaceful… kinda, sorta… fuzzy ‘nd warm,” he said, his voice slurring and trailing off as his head began to gently wobble.

“You okay?” I asked.

He continued staring into nothing a few more seconds. “Is bettah this time,” he finally announced, beginning to smile in earnest.

As I watched the smile became an ear to ear grin, his whole body relaxing visibly. I put a hand on his shoulder. “Ready to go to daycare and have some fun?” I asked brightly.

He nodded. “Gonna pway wid da widdle boys,” he told me happily.

“That’s right,” I agreed.

A minute later he was letting me lead him to the car, hand in hand, his underoos on full display. On the ride over he just smiled away. “Dis time so much bettah Jeff!” he chirped. “Eberything prettier now. I feel sooo silly.”

“Well I’m glad you’re enjoying the ride,” I replied. As we went along he began drumming his feet against the back of the passenger seat. When I looked back again he had his thumb firmly between his lips, sucking away at it.

He didn’t move from the car at the daycare centre until I’d taken his hand, the free one that is, he still had his left thumb jammed in his mouth. He seemed totally at peace with his underoos showing, his thumb-sucking and hand-holding ways as we entered the centre. Miss Brown was awaiting our arrival.

“Hello there Jeff,” she said, “How is little Jakey this morning?”

“He’s acting a lot littler than last night.”

“I can see that. He’s made a friend of his thumby now,” she observed.

Jake smiled around the digit. “Is nummy,” he mumbled.

“I’m sure it is. Lots of little ones here love their thumbies. Some even like their toesies!” she said with a laugh.

Jake smiled wider and giggled round the thumb. “Dats silly!”

Miss Brown gave him a big nod and then looked back at me. “We’ll be putting him with the bigger toddlers today, at least to start with. Then we’ll see how things progress. We’ll see you back at three.”

I nodded and said to Jake, “Okay, have fun today buddy.”

But to my surprise his smile disappeared and he looked distraught. “Don’ go Deff!” he squeaked around the thumb, pulling himself closer to my side.

I was taken aback by his sudden attachment to me. He was looking at me with absolute adoration. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced. I rubbed his back and assured him, “I’ll be back very soon. You want to play with all the other little ones don’t you?”

Jake nodded, seeming to think that over. “Mmmhmm,” he agreed, but then added, “You stay.”

“No Jake, I’m sorry but I need to go. Miss Brown will take good care of you. I promise.”

Jake pouted and took his thumb from his mouth. He opened his arms wide and said, “I sowwy. Is da contacts. Sowwy I so siwwy.”

“Oh, that’s okay buddy,” I assured, letting him give me another big hug and squeezing him tight this time. “I totally understand. You can’t help it. You’re only little right now.”

He nodded, his chin pressing on my shoulder. “Uh-huh, onwy widdle boy.”

“Okay, you’ll be fine now won’t you?” I asked, letting him go.

He nodded hesitantly. “I’m otay,” he agreed, letting Miss Brown take his hand now.

I left him being walked off to his new room, with the poor young man repeatedly stealing looks back at me. I waved until he turned the corner.

**

I arrived back right at three to pick him up, figuring the way he felt that morning I’d best not be late. There was no sign of him in the reception area though. I told one of the carers I was there for Jake and they called back to the toddler room to let them know I’d arrived. A minute later Miss Brown emerged from the hallway, looking bright and cheerful.

“Hello there Jeff,” she greeted.

“Where’s Jake?” I asked, confused.

“He’s still playing at the moment and I didn’t want to interrupt it. Also I need to talk to you about a few things.”

“Oh, okay. Is he okay then?”

“Oh yes, better than okay. He’s taken very well to the contacts. I don’t know if it’s related to them being the newest generation, or he’s just a good match, but it’s been a very quick adjustment for him. It usually takes them three or four days to get to his point.”

“Really? Well that’s good I guess.” I said that even though it gave me a weird little pang of sadness. If he’d progressed so quickly that meant it was nearly over and he’d be back to normal soon. As strange as it may sound I’d actually begun to enjoy having Jake all dependent on me, trusting me, needing me, loving me.

“Oh yes, very good. We moved him down from the trained toddlers to the untrained room at lunch time.”

Now that was a bit of a surprise. “Really, he was okay with that? He didn’t sound so eager this morning before we put his contacts back in.”

“Oh he was more than ready. He’d made wees in his underoos without even realising it. Of course he got very embarrassed about it, so we turned up the power of his contacts a bit. He really was ready for the next step though.”

“And that solved his embarrassment at wetting himself?”

“Very much so. Come have a look,” she said, leading me into the daycare.

We walked across the pre-schooler room, then down a long corridor painted in comforting pinks and purples with murals of children playing. We turned the corner into another playroom. There were toys here and there, mats for nap time piled in one corner next to a big comfy seat for an adult to read a story from. Along one wall was a series of bright red and yellow potty chairs, ten in all. They sat atop plastic matting. I noticed that the floor here wasn’t carpeted, it was soft rubber instead. And I could see why.

A little red-headed toddler girl was creeping bent over, pushing a little scooter across the floor. She was completely naked, no shirt, nothing to cover her dignity. A little sandy-blonde boy about the same age as her, probably two or three, was squatting flat-footed on the floor, bashing two random toys together. He was just as nude as she was, his tiny little pee-pee just jiggling free as he played. Two other boys and one little girl were playing with various toys, all wearing brightly coloured t-shirts but no pants, no undies, just their bare little bottoms on display. Nobody but the carer seemed to have anything on below the waist.

And to my astonishment, I saw that applied to Jake as well. My flat-mate was creeping alongside another little boy, down in a squatting position, leaning forward to see the boy do something with a set of blocks. He still wore his green Looney Tunes t-shirt but below that was his big bare bottom mooning this whole side of the room. He looked like a bigger version of the bare-bummed little tot beside him.

“He’s not wearing any underoos,” I gasped.

Miss Brown tittered with laughter. “Nope, the ones he came in were quite soaked. We got him another pair but after we turned up his contacts a bit he decided he wanted to be nakie-bum like the other boys and he took his undies back off.”

Whatever the boy was doing with the blocks was apparently funny because just then I heard Jake begin to giggle loudly. He laughed his head off, then dropped forward so his head was on the floor and straightened his legs. This had two effects. One was that it allowed us all to see his adult penis swinging back and forth, the other was it made him able to look at the room upside down through his legs. The little boy beside him giggled and then copied him as best he could.

“He seems quite happy, doesn’t he?” Miss Brown noted.

I nodded. “It’s pretty amazing, but yeah.”

“It’s not really that amazing. All the stress from his life is gone. He has nothing to worry about himself and he knows other people will take care if his every need and keep him safe. He finds the world confusing and a bit scary, yes, but also interesting and new.”

“Well it certainly looks like now understands the children’s mind-set alright. So I suppose we can reverse this so he can get back to all that wonderful stress.”

She shook her head. “Well not really. In fact, that’s kind of up to you.”

“What do you mean? It’s his life, his decision.”

“No, legally, right now, he’s incompetent to make such decisions and you are legally his guardian.”

“What kind of decision do you mean?”

“Whether to return to all that pressure, that stressful life, or to stay just like this,” she said, gesturing to Jake as he had a sort of hopping contest with the boy, smiling ear to ear and clapping his hands in glee as he simply jumped in place, his flaccid penis smacking his tummy as he leapt.

“Well he can’t stay quite like that,” I said, confused.

“Why not?” she replied. “He’s much happier and unless I’ve totally misread you, I believe you’ve been enjoying caring for him like this.”

“Well, I haven’t really cared for him in this condition yet. I mean, he looks far less mentally capable now than this morning. But, well yeah, it has been sort of fun.”

“So why not let him stay just like this?” she asked. “As long as he’s happy with it.”

I shook my head. “Well it doesn’t work that way. The contacts come out, he comes back. Besides what would be the point of it?”

“The point would be to test a scientific theory. We could show that the contacts can make long-term changes to behaviour and intellect in a way never before tested. It would be a major breakthrough. And I know that Jake has always wanted to part of something like that.”

“I don’t think that’s exactly how he thought of it,” I said.

“Well that’s why I’m leaving it up to you. And you’re not exactly right about the contacts by the way. They don’t need to stay in for good.”

I’d never heard that in any of the journals. I shook my head in disbelief.

“It’s true,” she insisted, taking out a little remote. “The contacts have two special programmes loaded in them. The green button returns Jake’s full faculties. Press this and he’s right back to normal. He can have his internship here, get back to his old life tomorrow.

“Or press the red button and Jake gets a delightful kaleidoscope of colours that permanently alter his mind. He’ll be right back at untrained toddler level, perhaps 6 months to a year lower than he was this morning. Except when you take them out it won’t wear off. A week later, a month later, he’ll still be coming here, squatting nakie-bummed with his buddies and giggling his sweet little head off at all their fun.”

“Just a press of that button and this becomes permanent?” I asked.

“Not just this. This will become his normal. You’ll be daddy in his mind, any previous relationship just a fuzzy, dreamy memory from long ago.”

“I… I really don’t know about this,” I admitted.

“You don’t have to decide now. He has a few days left on the trial, he won’t know anything has changed. You have a few days to decide then.”

“Thanks, I think I need time to think on this one.”

She nodded. “Of course. Now, you do need to know a couple things. One is that Jake still has his adult body and thus a man’s sexual drive, but he now had been totally stripped of his inhibitions, his modesty, his memories of privacy.

“What I mean is, he’s going to get erections, he won’t know to hide them, he won’t be embarrassed by them. In fact he’ll likely play with himself whenever the urge strikes. His concepts of sex, his memories of it are basically gone. He no longer understands what masturbation even is. He just knows his big pee-pee feels good to touch.”

“Oh… oh wow, that is a bit, um, tricky.”

“Just don’t make a big deal of it. If he’s doing it in public you’ll have to put a stop to it, but at home, just let him have his fun. He needs the release.”

I nodded, wondering how I would react the first time he did it in front of me.

“Also the programming he got has been designed to help him fit in here at the daycare, to be comfortable running around as you see him now, bare bummed. That means he’s basically become a little nudist. You’ll have to watch him to be sure he doesn’t strip down in public.”

I nodded, taking this all in. “This is a lot of info,” I admitted.

She nodded. “I completely understand. That’s why I want you to go to this meeting,” she said, handing me a card advertising a support group meeting.

“What is this?”

“It’s a support group for people taking care of children like Jake,” she explained.

“You mean people with retarded children, or ones with head injuries that made them idiots?”

She shook her head. “No, no, I mean people who have worn contacts like Jake and returned to toddlerhood.”

“Wait a second! You mean there are others like him?!”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“But you said he was part of chance to make a breakthrough!”

“As a part of the study. Research based on a single person isn’t going to cut it. Self-selection also ruins the objectivity so thus the need to keep you in the dark about the real goal. We need dozens of patients being studied to publish.”

“How many of them are coming tonight?” I asked.

“I don’t know, there should be a few at least.”

“And their kids… they’ve all already hit the red button?”

“Yes, none of them are still wearing the contacts.”

“Will their kids be there, with them?”

“Yes, they usually bring the kids to give them a chance to play with others their size.”

“So if you did this to them, why aren’t they here? Why haven’t I seen any other adults with bare bums tottering about here?”

“That would attract too much attention. We have a special nursery for our bigger patients. If you press the red button Jakey will be going there from now on.”

It was both frightening and intriguing. I took the special remote from her, pocketing it and making my way over to where Jake was playing. He was sitting on his bottom with his legs splayed apart now, chewing on a xylophone stick and running a plastic block back and forth across the xylophone itself. He looked up as I arrived, letting the block fall to the floor.

“Deff! Deff!” he crowed around the plastic stick still in his mouth, drumming his heels on the rubber floor.

“Hi there Jakey. I see you’ve turned into a little jaybird today,” I joked in a bright voice.

Jake giggled and nodded, letting the stick drop too now and holding out his arms for a cuddle. I knelt down and let him have his treat.

“Got widdler,” he told me as we cuddled.

“I can see that. You got very little indeed.”

“Jakey dum-dum. Jakey awll siwwy!” he chirped.

I helped him to stand up, noting his wide-legged stance, the slackness to his face, the line of saliva dribbling down his chin. “You certainly are a silly-billy now,” I agreed. “And you’re a nudist. Do you like having your pee-pee all dangly like that with no undies on?”

Jake gave me a gaping grin and nodded. “Tooked ‘em off by mysewlf,” he told me.

“And you don’t want them back on?”

He shook his head vigorously.

“I think we’ll have to start calling you Nakey-Jakey,” I told him.

He liked that, squealing with approval and clapping his hands. “Nakey-Jakey!” he shouted.

“My, you are feeling happier like this aren’t you?” I cooed, rubbing his head.

Jakey just gaped back, drooling more. “You glad we put your contacts in this morning? Made you turn into a silly little nudist boy?”

Another decisive nod. “Con-acts make feew good!” he told me, gripping his flaccid penis and gently fondling it as though there was nothing unusual about a young man doing this.

I gently batted his hand away from his penis. “Okay Nakey-Jakey, are you ready to go?”

“Uh-huh. Go home now,” he stated.

“Okay, but first we need to cover your pee-pee up.”

Jake pouted. “Don’ wanna!” he insisted.

“I know nakie boy, but you can’t go nakie-bum on the street. It’s not allowed. I promise you can be nudie when we get home if you still want to.”

Jake seemed to think about this compromise a moment before finally pouting and saying, “Otay.”

Miss Brown have me a set of bright red corduroy overalls for Jake to wear out. Those and some big blue pull-ups to protect them from his suddenly weak bladder. He didn’t want to stand still while we dressed him, but eventually he was clothed and ready to go. We walked him out to the car and got him strapped in. He sat quietly on the ride back and I noticed he was pulling his feet back and forth, touching them to his ears one at a time.

“You’re a flexible guy Jakey,” I told him.

He grinned. “Know what I dids today?” he asked.

“What?” I asked, playing along.

“I munched my toes!” he announced happily.

“Really?!”

“Uh-huh! Munched bot’ my feets.”

“Why did you do that silly boy?”

“Cuz da con-acts maked me awll widdle ‘nd siwwy!”

“I know that Jakey, you were just running around all naked! I mean why did you want to munch your toes. Aren’t they all dirty and icky from going around barefoot?”

“Da udda boy munched hims toes, so I dids too.”

“And was it nice?”

A big grin. “Uh-huh, bettah den my thumby.”

“Well I guess that’s one of the treats of being little.”

He nodded and then pulled his right foot to his face, jamming his big toe right into his mouth and slurping at it loudly.

I laughed at the sight in the mirror. “Are those toes yummy?”

They popped clear a second. “Ummy toes!” he screeched, then returned to suckling on them.

Jake only let his toes go when he saw the golden arches approaching. “Mac-mac! Maccas!” he shouted, pointing.

“That would ruin your dinner,” I warned.

He pounded his feet on the front seat. “Macca-macca! I wan’ some!”

“Okay, okay, but no more yelling or there will be no dinner at all,” I threatened, amazed at how unruly and lacking in patience or manners my once prim flat-mate had become.

Jake nodded seriously as we pulled into the McDonald’s. He didn’t seem to be concerned at all as he padded barefoot across the car park into the store. But I felt very self-conscious leading this man along wearing a set of very childish overalls. The elastic ankles were slipping up to his calves as he entered too. All eyes were on him as he toddled over to the counter, right past the small line. Some people looked away, others stared openly.

“Jakey, we have to wait in line,” I told him, holding out my hand.

He gazed back with wide eyes and toddled quickly over, taking my hand. He wasn’t totally quelled though. He spun around and tried to hand from my arm, played with his lips and made lots of funny noises that kept attracting looks from the other patrons. I was blushing myself, but thankfully Jake was once again totally oblivious. I felt jealous of him for once.

“He’s a special little boy, isn’t he?”

I turned to see an older woman smiling kindly at Jake.

“Oh, yes, he’s ‘special’,” I confirmed.

“He’s very cute in his outfit. It’s lovely that you take him out and give him treats like this.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said, glad that someone was acknowledging my role.

“My grandson likes his feet free too. It’s the kind of thing most boys have to grow out of, but not the special ones,” she noted, looking at Jake’s bare feet and ankles.

I nodded. “Yeah, that’s one of the nice things I guess, being able to stay barefoot. Jakey just loves being barefoot, don’t you buddy?”

Jakey hadn’t really been following our conversation, but had looked up at the mention of his name. I could see it was all a bit over his head, but he got the gist of my last statement. He nodded and said, “Don’ gotta wea’ shoes cuz I widdle.”

She looked directly at him now. “You like having free tootsies don’t you?” she cooed.

Jakey smiled and nodded. “I munch ‘em,” he told her with a naughty little giggle.

“You munch your tootsies?” she repeated with a laugh of her own. “My you are a silly boy. So adorable.”

The nice old woman gave Jakey’s hair a ruffle and headed off. The rest of our meal was uneventful. Jakey went to play in the play area and I didn’t try to stop him this time. He was a special boy now, he deserved to have the fun that came with it. He couldn’t drive, he couldn’t work, he couldn’t even read the menu at McDonald’s, instead having to wait for Jeff to order for him while he just shyly sucked his thumb and stared at their server. There were so many things he couldn’t do now, but what he could do was climb backwards up the plastic slide and hang from the monkey bars.

**

The meeting was held at an address on the north side of town. Jakey seemed happy to have had his McDonald’s and best of all he’d gotten a toy with his meal. It was just some cheap plastic piece of crap but he was just enthralled with it. We’d gone home first and he spent ten minutes sitting on the kitchen floor playing with it. I couldn’t believe it every time I came back in and he was still there batting it about, giggling to himself. Finally I’d come back and the toy was lying on the floor abandoned and he was climbing on the countertop, opening the last of the cabinet doors, having already opened all the others.

“What are you looking for?” I asked him.

“Nothin’, jus’ lookin’,” he said innocently.

Now we had arrived at the house and I was excited to see other people like Jakey. Well actually not like him. Jakey only needed to take out his contacts to be normal again. These people really had toddler minds now. I did wonder what that would look like. Jakey toddled along, holding my hand as we went up to the door. I could hear chatter inside. I rang the bell.

A moment passed and the door opened. It was a pretty woman of about thirty. She wore her long blonde hair in a single pony-tail and was dressed in a comfortable blouse and skirt with sandals. She looked from me to Jakey, watching him suck away at his thumb again, blinking wide eyed at her. Then she smiled. “You must be Jeff,” she said.

I nodded.

“So then this must be Jakey. Miss Brown told me all about this precious little guy.”

“Has she?”

“Oh yes, we’re always interested in who might be joining our little group.”

Another female voice called “Who dat mumma!?” and a second later another young woman about the same age as her appeared at her side. She also had blonde hair, but it was done up in pig-tails. She had a sweet, innocent look on her face, her eyes were blank and curious looking. She was also completely naked. Her bare breasts, and they were sizable things, were right there in front of me. She made no movement to cover her nudity, even standing in the open doorway. She cuddled herself closer against the woman’s side. “Who dat?” she repeated quietly.

“These are some new friends,” the woman told her softly. “This nice man is Jeff and that little boy is Jakey. He might like to play with you.”

The girl looked at me with big eyes, then at Jakey. “Boys is icky mumma,” she whispered.

The woman just chuckled. “Well I don’t think we need to worry about any hanky-panky between them,” she joked.

“Yeah, guess not…” I muttered.

“Oh, how silly of me. I’m Pat and this little angel is Debbie,” she said, stroking the naked woman’s cheek.

“Nice to meet you both,” I said, trying not to stare at the bared breasts before me.

Finally Pat seemed to realise my discomfort. “Oh, I’m sorry, this is a bit new for you of course. Debbie is a bit of a nudist these days, a lot of our special children are, thanks to the contacts. We like to let them be comfy when just playing at home.”

“Oh of course. I understand that completely,” I assured her. “Jakey’s started developing a nudist streak of his own today.”

“Nakey-Jakey!” he announced with a grin.

Pat gave him a big nod. “Is that so? Are you a nakey boy Jakey? You can see that my little Debbie girl is.”

“Didje have con-acts? Dat why she nakey?” he asked.

Pat nodded. “Yep, Debbie had contacts just like yours.”

Debbie just kept sucking her thumb, clinging to the other woman.

“Well let’s come on in guys.”

She waved us in and we followed her into the living room. There were several women and a couple men sitting there dressed casually but smartly, chatting over cups of tea and coffee. On the floor at their feet a young man in his twenties was creeping around on his hands and knees pushing a plush stuffed rabbit across the carpet. He wore a short yellow t-shirt and nothing else, his penis dangling there. Another young woman sat between one of the men’s legs. She had short red hair and slightly tanned very freckled skin. Her perky little breasts were also on show as she two sat their naked on her bare bottom. She was gaping up at her daddy, craning her neck back into his lap, shaking a red circular toy that appeared to be some sort of rattle.

“Hi there Jeff,” the men and women all said in greeting.

I felt a little weird being the centre of attention. “Oh, um, hi everyone,” I said, noticing that the two naked or semi-naked young people on the floor only glanced up at me for a moment before returning to their own activities.

“Come right in,” one of the men beckoned. “Jakey can play right here or he can join the others in the back yard.”

Jakey followed me in, holding my hand tightly. He seemed to be a bit uncertain with all these people looking at us. Instead his eyes fell to the naked man and woman. “Dem nakie,” he pointed out.

There was a collective chuckle. “Yeah, I guess Jakey came a bit overdressed,” I joked.

“That’s no problem. But if he’d be more comfy we can put his clothes in Debbie’s bedroom with the others’,” Pat told me.

“Well, that might be okay. What do you say Jakey? You wanna get nakey or keep your clothes on?”

Jakey lit up at the question. “Wan’ be nakie!” he quickly announced.

“That’s what I thought,” Pat said. “Take my hand sweetie and we’ll take you to get changed.”

“Kay,” he said simply, letting the woman lead him away.

“Have a seat Jeff,” one of the men said, gesturing to an open chair.

I took the seat and looked around. “So, you all decided to, um, push the red button?”

Some looked a bit surprised at my bluntness, but I didn’t come here to beat around the bush.

“Yes, we all made what we believe was the right choice for our little ones,” the man next to me replied, stroking his hand through the naked woman’s red hair.

“You think it was right? You haven’t regretted it?”

He shook his head. “No, not for a moment. I’m Bill by the way and this sweet thing is Molly. She used to be my girlfriend, but she’s so much happier now as my baby girl.”

Molly chewed on the plastic rattle, staring blankly up at the ceiling as we discussed her.

“She’s pretty little isn’t she?”

He nodded. “She’s eighteen months now, a bit younger than most. I took a while to make the decision and she’d been wearing the contacts for a week. They say that’s why she went a bit littler than the others.”

“She’s still a little nudist though.”

“Ha, yep, she sure is. She has a cute little body though. I make sure she gets plenty of outside play in the sun too, in our backyard. No tan lines for my little beauty.”

“Who’s little boy is he?” I asked, gesturing to the young man creeping around at our feet.

“His name is Bobby. He’s my baby boy,” answered a tall dark-haired woman.

“How long has he been like this?” I asked.

“Nearly nine months now. He was a good friend of mine before. He didn’t have a very happy life, battled alcohol abuse and depression. Now he smiles from dawn to dusk.”

They all had similar stories about their new kids. None of them had any regrets and they all described the actual transition as a pleasant experience for all involved. Ten minutes in Jakey reappeared from the back room now completely naked, not even a t-shirt on. Most embarrassingly though he was also just as erect as could be, sucking his thumb and toddling across the little circle to me. I blushed even as he seemed unconcerned by these people seeing his pee-pee all stiff like that.

“Hey there buddy,” I greeted, letting him come and sit on my lap.

“My pee-pee got big,” he told me at full volume, seeming pleased by this development.

“Yeah, we can see that Jakey.”

“See pee-pee cuz Jakey nakey,” he explained with a smile.

“That’s right. We can see you have a happy pee-pee,” I told him. The I looked at the others and said, “I’m so sorry about this. It… it hasn’t happened before.”

“Really? Is this his first happy pee-pee as a little one?” a woman named Claire asked.

I nodded, feeling so ashamed to even be discussing this.

“Well that’s nothing to be concerned about guys. Just let Jakey go play outside with the other boys. They’ll help him take care of his stiffy in no time.”

**

It was dark when we left the party. They said not to bother getting Jakey dressed again, so I didn’t. He wasn’t the only one leaving the party still nakey-bum. I drove him home that way and he seemed very happy to stay in his birthday suit once we arrived. It was getting late as I watched Jakey lie on his tummy on the floor watching his cartoons, kicking his legs back and forth. He really was happier this way, more at peace. It was time to make the change, I knew it. But first I needed to talk to him about it, to really talk to him. I took out the remote and keyed the green button.

Jake sat up quickly, his jaw dropping and eyes glazing over. He was clearly seeing something pretty different. It took only a few seconds and then he blinked, his eyes focused and he looked up at me with shock. “Jeff, what the hell have I been…” he began.

Then he seemed to realise his state of undress. He threw his hands over his penis, blushing bright red.

“Really? There’s no need for that. I watched you creep around the floor naked in front of everyone, showing them your erection. We watched that other little boy, Matty, jerk you off in the back yard. You enjoyed it, you smiled, you showed everyone your creamies.”

He shook his head. “I… I can’t believe it went that far. I didn’t expect to be such a burden mate, I’m so sorry this all happened. I’ll go take these contacts out and get dressed. We can forget the rest of the week.”

“Well hold on. I have to say Jake, you’ve seemed really happy these last couple of days. I’ve never seen you so happy and carefree in fact.”

“Yeah, but it hasn’t been real. I mean, my brain’s been fried by these contacts.”

“So you haven’t been feeling good? Have you felt trapped in a child’s body?”

“Well no, I mean, I have been feeling happy, really happy actually, but I haven’t been in my right mind. My head’s been so… empty. I couldn’t even recognise letters. It was so weird.”

“I know Jake. The thing is, you’ve enjoyed being nakey-Jakey and I’ve enjoyed taking care of you too. And that’s why I think it’s best we keep things that way. Just like Debbie and Matty, you’ll be much happier waking up tomorrow still Nakey-Jakey and every day after that.”

Jake shook his head. I could see the fear in his expression, the tension in his shoulders. He was gripping his penis even tighter, looking worried. I wanted to take that look of worry away.

“I don’t want to be some stupid toddler Jeff. I’m your flat-mate, not your responsibility. I like going to school, thinking about complex ideas. I don’t want to have an empty head incapable of counting to three.”

I shook my head. “You say that now, but I know what really makes you happy.”

He started backing away.

“It’s nothing to fear. All the other parents assured me it feels amazing, just amazing.”

“I don’t want to feel amazing Jeff! I want to be me!”

“You will be. You’re nakey-Jakey,” I told him, then pressed the red button.

His eyes widened in shock for an instant, then glazed over again. His muscles relaxed and his eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. His hands fell away from his penis and I could see it lengthening already, jerking upward, becoming red and engorged.

“Ugh!” he grunted, his eyes rolling upward.

I knelt at his side and rubbed his arm. “That’s a good boy Jakey. Let it all go.”

There were more soft grunts, then his penis exploded with gooey cum, covering his tummy in the release.

“Wow, it feels that good huh?”

“Ohhh,” he sighed.

His eyes rolled back down after another few seconds. He blinked and the smiled at me. “I done sticky pee daddy,” he announced.

**

Two Weeks Later:

Liz and I both enjoyed our ice cream at Little Burley Petting Zoo. It was a warm, sunny day and and it was nice sitting at the picnic table enjoying the cool, creamy treats while Jakey had his fun. The twenty-something young man hadn’t worn his special contacts in two weeks, but only because he no longer needed them.

Right now the young man was walking barefoot through the goat pen, feeding them oats and giggling as they licked his hand and legs. He wore no pants right now, only his Big Bird t-shirt and blue and white pull-ups. He had been wearing overalls when we arrived, but he’d gotten out of those quickly after arriving. I’d found them abandoned on the ground by the rabbit enclosure. There was no point re-dressing him. We had his pull-ups literally taped on tight to keep him from getting out of those.

“Look at him with that goat,” Liz chuckled, pointing.

He was squatting in front of it, letting the animal lick all over his face, giggling his head off. I expected he was likely leaving us a present in his pull-ups at the same time. That was a familiar squat he was in.

“He’s having fun,” I agreed.

She nodded. “I’m glad he chose this path. He really seems much happier.”

I nodded, not correcting her. A minute later he came toddling over, wide-legged, smiling, face wet with goat drool, hair sticking straight up from it.

“Da fuwwies wick me!” he announced brightly.

“Those are goats buddy,” I informed him.

He gaped blankly. “Dem boats?” he asked.

“No sweetie. Goats,” I repeated.

He blinked. “Dem wick awll wet. I sticky.”

“Do you want me to clean your face?”

A vigorous shake. “Nuh-uh.”

“Okay then, why don’t you look at that chicken then,” I said, pointing to the hen scratching around.

There was glee on his simple face as he toddled off trying to catch the hen in his hands.

“He really is delightful,” Liz remarked. “And I was thinking, it might be nice for you to have a little bonding time with him,” she said, pulling out a case of contacts.

“What are those?” I asked.

“These are his old contacts. I saw them on your bureau. I thought you might like to give them a brief try. I’m here to be in charge, keep you safe.”

I waved my hand. “I don’t think so. I mean, they were just for him. Probably wouldn’t do anything to me.”

“Oh I think they’ll work on you.”

I shook my head. “Pointless.”

“Well how about this. I’ll bet you I can have you running around here barefoot and pants-less yourself in ten minutes. If I do you spend the rest of the day with the contacts in.”

“And if I don’t get half naked?”

“Then you win and I don’t mention this again.”

“So you’re going to keep harping at this forever aren’t you?”

She nodded with a naughty grin. I looked at the case. I had been wondering what it felt like since the first time I saw Jake try them out. And now she was offering to let me try it. Maybe for just a taste it would be okay. I could trust Liz. And it wasn’t like they worked that fast. I knew how long it took to get Jake down to undies. It was quick, but not ten minutes.

“You got a deal,” I said, swallowing the rest of my ice cream.

“Great,” she said, unscrewing the caps. “I’ll help you get them in.”

I leant back and let her place them in my eyes one at a time. It did kind of sting at first. I had to blink to get them right. Finally I was able to open my eyes.

“That okay?” she asked.

I nodded. I wondered if they still worked now. Maybe they’d turned off atfter all this time. Then I noticed the colours dancing on the edge of my vision. So this is what he saw. It was a weird thing, the dancing colours. I couldn’t really focus on them, they were always on the edge no matter where I looked, and yet they did seem to draw my attention. And I felt a sense of elation, of relaxation. It was actually quite amazing. My head really was growing fuzzy, my attention wandering. What an exquisite feeling! I did feel kind of drunk or high, kind of giddy.

“Jeff honey, you feeling okay?” Liz asked, her hand on my arm.

I was more than okay, I felt lovely, like I was floating on a cloud. I nodded and world seemed to bob along with me. “I feel weal good,” I told her, noticing my lisp but finding myself unable to be concerned by it. It just felt natural, normal.

She brushed my arm. That was wonderful. “Good, I’m glad you feel nice. I think we should let you enjoy the furry animals while you’re a little boy.”

I blinked. I wasn’t a little boy, not for real. But I knew what she meant. I felt little right now. I did feel little. I felt so small and helpless and she looked so big and smart and in control. I needed her to watch out for me. “Kay,” I agreed, finding shorter answers easier suddenly. My tongue felt clumsy.

We got up and walked to the goats enclosure. They kind of scared me now. I felt my heart-rate kick upward. I was nervous.

“It’s okay Jeff, let’s see the goats, they won’t bite you, I promise.”

I held back, eyeing them carefully. Liz reached out and took my hand. I felt instantly better. She would keep me safe. I let her take me to the goats. She put some oats in my palm and told me to hold it out for them. Their tongues were sticky and tickled my hand! It was a lot of fun.

We headed out of the goat enclosure and I couldn’t stop rambling on about how much I liked them. I don’t know why I needed to tell Liz this, cause she was there, but I just needed to say it. She chuckled and said, “Yes they were really cute Jeff. But there’s more to see. But you know what, I think you’d be more comfy if we took those sandals off you. I don’t know why we made you wear them in the first place.”

I looked down at my sandals. Were they uncomfortable? No, not really. I wore them all the time didn’t I? And yet, it did sound nice, taking them off, going barefoot. But wasn’t there a reason I didn’t want to do that? I tried to remember but it was tricky. The lights at the edge of my vision got a bit brighter and I couldn’t focus at all.

“Look at Jakey honey. He’s barefoot and he looks much more comfy.”

I looked over at Jakey toddling around. Yeah, his feet did look comfy. And yet…

“He’s onwy widdle,” I told her, the lisp feeling totally natural now.

She nodded. “And right now you’re little too. Remember it’s okay for little boys to go barefoot. Don’t you always say that?”

I nodded, I recalled saying just that before.

“It’s okay then honey. Go ahead and take them off if you want to.”

I did want to. I sat down and undid the straps and pulled them off. It felt much better to have them off. My toes felt all free and airy now. I wiggled them and watched. It was nice watching my toes. Liz took my hand and I stood again. We went and fed the bunnies next, following Jakey around. I liked the bunnies. They seemed to make the colours get brighter. I saw Jakey sit on his bum and pull at his feet and something popped into my head. It was very important too. Liz needed to know.

“Liz, I just membered. Dese contacts were for a widdle toddler, notta widdle boy.”

I’d forgotten about the changes that had happened on the second day. And as soon as I said it the colours seemed to dance even brighter on the edge of my sight. I was feeling a little worried but Liz didn’t seem too concerned. She smiled and looked me in the eye.

“That’s okay Jeff, that’s nothing to be afraid of,” she assured.

I blinked hard, trying not to see the colours. “But I’m feelin’ funny,” I told her.

“Jeff, just calm down honey. I want you to do something for me, something I promise will make you feel better.”

I nodded. “Kay.”

“Open your eyes and look right at the colours honey, and just relax.”

It didn’t sound right, but Liz was here to keep me safe. I needed to do as she said. My head was already to fuzzy to think for myself. I opened my eyes and watched the colours expand and dance. And she was right, I didn’t feel scared anymore. I felt so warm and safe and little. Being little was definitely not a bad thing, it was fun.

“Better?” she asked.

I smiled, feeling delightfully silly. “Awll bettah!” I told her.

“See, it isn’t so bad being a toddler,” she told me.

She was right, I felt wonderful. I looked around and couldn’t remember exactly where we were, what day it was, what any of these animals were or what their names were. Yet I felt wonderful, free.

“I think we should take these shorts off you too now honey,” Liz suggested.

I looked down at my jean shorts. They looked okay. “Why?” I asked.

“We need people to know you’re a toddler honey, but we don’t have any nice outfits for you. But everyone knows toddler show their undies off.”

I didn’t know if that made sense. But I was just a toddler now. I had to trust her. So I nodded. “Kay Wiz.”

She smiled and undid the button and unzipped the fly, slipping them down for me to step out of. It did feel better. And once I’d stepped free of them, I felt so much littler and better. The next half hour seemed to fly by. Everything was more interesting now. All the animals amazed me. At one point I looked up to see a young woman in a uniform of some type talking to Liz.

“I hope both your boys are enjoying their visit,” she said.

Both boys? She meant Jakey and me, I realised. I was one of the boys. It made me feel warm and happy inside as the colours danced again.

“You two cuties having fun?” she asked, now looking at Jake and I. It was only then I realised we were both squatting down to feed the duckies.

Jakey nodded right away. I felt like I needed to say something, show her I had words. “Duckies go quack-quack!” I announced, screaming the first thing that popped into my fuzzy head.

She giggled, which made me feel better. I guess that was a good answer to her question after all. “They sure do buddy. Do you know what sound a birdy makes?”

I wasn’t sure. I thought I should know that though.

“They go tweet-tweet-tweet!” she told me.

That was so funny! I wanna say it too! “Tweet-tweet-tweet!” I shout. Jakey gets up and does the same. We’re both tweeting boys. He hops up and down and I copy him and hop too.

The nice lady says bye-bye and we can feed the duckies again. Liz kneels and rubs my arm. “You’re taking to those contacts very well Jeffy. See, I told you I’d have you barefoot and pants-less and here you are. But you’ve gone a lot deeper than I expected honey. I didn’t think you’d be making animal noise for the staff.”

I realise Liz is right. The contacts are making me very little. But for some reason that doesn’t make me upset, it makes me feel happy, really happy.

“I goed tweet-tweet to da wady,” I told her.

Liz smiled and kissed my forehead. “You are just precious.”

I giggle and chase after a ducky.

**

We’re back in the car, going home from the petting zoo. But I’m not driving now. Liz said I hadda leave the contacts in cuz I lost the bet. I didn’t want to stay little anymore though. It felt real nice, but I kept getting afraid I’d forget I was really big. And I can’t drive my car, Liz has to do it. She even made me get in the back next to Jakey. He don’t mind because his brain is all mushy now. As soon as we were strapped in he said, “Wizz, I wan’ nakie!”

She smiled and nodded and slipped his pull-ups off him. “That better Nakey-Jakey?”

“Uh-huh!” he chirped, drumming his feet on the seat.

Liz looked over at me. “Would you like to be a nakie jaybird too Jeffy?”

I shook my head. “No, I big!” I reminded her.

“Well you aren’t big today silly-billy. You can go nakie if it makes you comfy.”

I shook my head defiantly. She shrugged and went to the driver seat. I didn’t like being stuck in the back with little Jakey. He was really dumb. He started playing with his feet as Liz drove. When she stopped at an intersection she saw Jakey was munching his toes again.

“Oh, that is sooo cute,” she cooed. “Can you eat your feet Jeffy?”

I shook my head. “Nuh-uh, I not dat widdle.”

“I dunno about that. You’ve really taken to the contacts. I bet you’ll like it if you try it.”

“Not gonna,” I huffed, crossing my arms. I was getting tired of this. I wanted to be big again.

“Well I guess I might as well tell you now that you’d best just get used to this honey because you aren’t going back to your old life. I’ve talked with the daycare and the group and we’ve all decided this is what’s best for you. Just the way you’ve taken to the suggestions and your willingness to try the contacts proves we were right.”

Wait, this didn’t sound right at all! I trusted her! Liz couldn’t make me little, I was the daddy.

“Nuh-uh! I wike bein’ da daddy!” I yelled, banging my feet on the chair in frustration.

She reached over and tickled the sole of my foot. “I know honey, but you’ll like being the little one even more.”

She couldn’t do it, she didn’t have…

Liz held up a very familiar remote. I shook my head. It wasn’t possible. I’d hidden it away.

“You know this is going to feel lovely honey. And afterwards we’re all going to Pam’s house for a meeting. Well, a meeting for me, a play-date for you.”

I shook my head. This couldn’t happen. I needed to get the contacts out before…

She pushed the red button. A kaleidoscope of colours erupted across my field of vision. There was instant pleasure roaring through my head. It was a delightful, dizzying high. I could feel my penis stiffening, growing with pleasure.

“Jeffy wook funny,” Jakey told Liz.

“Yes honey, he’s getting all little now, just like you. It feels very nice to get all little.”

“He go nakie?” Jakey asked.

Liz nodded. “Yep, you’ll be jaybird brothers.”

“Goody!”

I couldn’t follow their words. My head was buzzing. I felt so lost, the colours were just so intense and they were sweeping me away. I was falling into a tunnel of swirling light and it lit up every nerve with euphoria.

The colours stop as suddenly as they began. I’m sitting in the car, in my seat. Mummy is smiling back at me, tickling my foot.

“Ready for a play-date?” she asks.

Playing… playing sounds fun. I like to play. I’m good at play.

“Gonna pway?” I ask her.

She smiled and gives my big toe a wiggle. “Yep, you’re gonna have a lovely time playing now I think.”

Mummy wiggling my toe. I wonder what it tastes like. Jakey got hims toes in his mouth. I grab my footsie and pull it to my mouth and put the toe in. It’s nice. I like munchin’ it. Mummy gives big smiles and I know I done something good.

“Yes, you loved your little light show didn’t you?” she says.

I dunno what light show she means. Mummy is silly sometimes.

**

Liz laughed heartily at Sandra’s joke. It was great having a group of friends with similar circumstances. The sounds of their special children playing in the yard wafted through the window. They sounded happy, that was the important thing.

Bill bounced his little ginger girl on his knee while she chewed at her knuckles. She was the only little one there at the moment. It was actually nice to get some peace now and then she figured. Well she’d be finding out soon enough.

Debbie appeared, toddling naked into the circle of real adults, boobies and pig-tails jiggling away. She was leading another young man by the hand, and he too was completely naked. It was Jeffy, letting the nude woman pull him along, sucking away at his thumb, his eyes totally empty.

“Jeffy done poopies!” Debbie announced to them, interrupting the conversation.

Jeffy gazed innocently about, his free hand toyed with his dangling penis. Then he caught Liz’s eye and the thumb popped free. “Dome boom-boom mummy,” he confirmed.

Everyone had a chuckle at the accident the young man who’d once sat amongst them had had.

“Do you think he remembers us?” Bill pondered aloud.

Pat shrugged. “It’s hard to know what goes on in their little minds after the change. I don’t think he remember very much about us though, or he wouldn’t be so happy about telling us he’s done poos.”

Liz got up and took Jeffy’s hand from Debbie. “Okay you little jaybird, show me where the boom-booms are so mummy can clean up.”

Jeffy grinned, oblivious to the grown-ups talking about him. “Mummy cwean!” he chirped, pulling her along to show her the present he’d left. Oh well, she thought, it was just the price she had to pay for getting the family she’d always wanted. Obviously little Jeffy had had to pay a high price as well.

 

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