✅ The Baby Makers

44. Don't Stop Me Now

"Are you going soon?" Cassie asked Minnie. "We've got to go too. I went once, but then I got little again, so I came back. It's easier. And it's fun."

"I'm not gonna grow up," Stacie said with a laugh. "I'm gonna be a good baby forever and ever and ever, and eat all the cookies."

"That's a good plan," Cassie answered, and took another treat of her own from the bowl. Stacie quickly finished hers, but a lot of it turned into crumbs that went all over her. She didn't mind, it was still really nice, and she could just have another one if she was still hungry. That was the really great thing about being a baby; the grown-ups would make sure there was always more.

They talked about silly things while they ate. They talked and laughed, and nobody mattered if it didn't make any sense. They were telling each other a story about the things they liked, and they all knew you could make up anything you wanted. It was so much fun.

"How are you feeling now, Cassie?" Phil asked, when the conversation quieted a bit. That might have been because Kyle, Todd, and Stacie all had their mouths full, but it was still the first time in ages that nobody was talking over somebody else.

"I'm good," she nodded, and gave a little smile.

"You're feeling your big-girl words coming back, aren't you? Feeling more confident, a little more analytical. You can keep on feeling carefree until you get changed; you'll always be safe here. So you don't need to pay attention to any worries, but you might know those thoughts are there, and you can think about them if you want to."

Cassie nodded while he was talking. But then she laughed, and answered "Why would I want to? That stuff can wait until adult time."

"I know. Just so you know it's there, and you can feel it coming back. You can still play along if you want to, but that's a choice now."

Cassie was nodding. She was still smiling, but there was something different. It took Stacie a little while to realise that her friend was bigger now. Cass was growing up right before her eyes. She was already a big girl, and if she kept growing she might even turn into a grown-up. That didn't seem fair at all, but Cassie was still happy. Maybe she liked it.

"How about you, Stacie?" Phile asked next, and that question was more of a surprise. "Are you feeling any different yet?"

She just shook her head. She wasn't going to grow up, she'd already decided that, and she didn't want to. Shouldn't Phil know that? She wasn't sure if she'd told him, but he knew everything, so he must understand that growing up was no fun. He'd even told her that she was a good girl for being a baby yesterday.

"Still feeling little?" This time Stacie nodded. "So how about if I call you Ana? It's a nice name, isn't it? Exotic. Does that remind you of how it feels to be grown up?"

Stacie frowned for a second. She knew that name, and she knew it was hers. But nobody called her that, so it didn't matter. Then she dismissed the thought and went back to laughing and trying to fit more cookies into her mouth.

"How do you feel, Ana?" Phil asked. "As you grow up, you'll find you can understand me even when I use complex words, and your adult thoughts will be right there at the back of your mind, so you know you will be able to think like that again when you're ready."

Stacie didn't try to understand, because she knew she didn't need to. But Phil kept on telling her she was going to be a big girl. He even told her that getting bigger and getting littler were the same thing, so the next time she got littler she would find that she was a bigger girl again. She laughed, and she could see her hands getting smaller, the ground coming up closer. Just like it had done when she turned into a baby yesterday. And she knew she was so small now; so little that she was still proud of potty training, but so she might still have an accident in her diaper before the next time she got changed.

She could feel herself changing when he said those words. It was special; he was making her bigger again. But Stacie didn't want to be big. She decided she wasn't going to let it happen; she wasn't going to let anybody make her bigger, not even Phil. She was a good baby, and she wasn't going to forget how to do any of the things Phil had showed her. His words tried to change how she was thinking, but she could shrug them off. She was too little to think those big girl things, and a second later she didn't even remember making the decision.

Eating slowly gave way to running around in circles, tickling each other, rolling on the grass, and yelling at cross purposes. Maybe it was because the sun was out and they were having too much fun to just sit and eat; or perhaps it was because the cookies and juice boxes had run out. But the children were all having a lot of fun, and it seemed like nothing could stop their excitement. Occasionally Phil or Kim would say something; asking one of them how big they were feeling, or saying the special words that would make them feel more grown up. Before long, Minnie and Cassie didn't want to run around screaming so much, and they were happier to sit and talk. They were still having fun and giggling, but they were big so it was obvious they weren't babies anymore.

Phil told Stacie to grow up too, and kept calling her Ana, or even Anastasia. But she had decided already that the magic words didn't work on her and she was going to stay a baby forever. So she kept on squealing and tickling, and didn't understand when they tried to say big words to her. She didn't mind at all, she was just a little baby.