Page 9 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

"Nice crowd tonight," Michael said, waving back at a girl whose Daddy was wiping sweat off her face.

"I've been seeing some of you for the past few years and you might already know me," the woman dressed as a Disney princess began. "Some of you have only gotten naughtier as the years passed by. And yes, I'm talking about you, Michael."

Michael's chest swelled up with pride as everyone turned around to look at him. He sported a bright smile and waved at the onlookers as if he was a celebrity.

"She wasn't complimenting you, brat," uncle John whispered in his ear. "It's nothing to be proud of."

"I see a lot of new faces too," she continued. "For those of you who are here for the first time, my name is Martha, but you can call me aunt Martha."

"Hi, Aunt Martha," everyone said at the same time in a singsong voice.

She talked about the activities we were going to do, followed by instructions on where we could sign up if we wanted to attend the next event. When she said Nick would be reading from his new book, he walked into the room and everyone near lost their minds. Littles were clapping, whistling, and cheering out loud. Looked like he had a strong fanbase at the club.

"Uncle Nick is going to conclude his twenty-part book series of a puppy's journey in finding its forever home," Michael said from the bench next to us, clapping just as hard. "The puppy's going to find its happily ever after. It’s exciting because it’s been a tear-jerker of a ride. Uncle Nick likes to put his characters through a lot. But who doesn't love a happily ever after? Especially when we've been waiting for the past two years for this ending."

Ah, so the song Nick had sung me was from one of his books catered to Littles. No wonder I felt it was written just for me. Nick seemed to be good at everything he did, be it providing a haven for outcasts, saving girls from drunk creeps, or writing bedtime stories.

As Nick began to read his story, there were laughs and giggles all around. He did a funny little voice for each character as the story started with a light tone. But soon the story turned dark and the room turned silent. A girl had begun to sob when the puppy had a near-death experience, but it only led to a Little girl finding the puppy with her Daddy and adopting it. The moral of the story seemed to be that there's always light after dark, which was also true in my case.

The next activity was intended to bring out everyone’s artistic side.

"Acts of kindness towards strangers can change people's lives and if you've read my books, you know it's a common theme. It's important for good Littles to be kind to each other. I want you to recreate a memory on paper, any happy memory which involved kindness. Aunt Martha will distribute sheets of paper and any other tools you need. You can choose among sketches, crayons, paint, and glitter. The Little next to you will be guessing what's going on in the memory you've recreated."

I chose sketches when aunt Martha reached us. I had mastered working with crayons and needed a new challenge.

My art was ready within a few strokes. On one side of the paper was the memory where I first met Daddy at the supermarket while crying my eyes out. No one had come up to check up on me but Daddy had, and it had changed my life forever when he took me in. On the other side of the paper was Nick hugging me to calm me down while the creepy stranger was on the floor passed out drunk.

I didn't know why, but both seemed just as important instances in my life. It didn't make any sense considering what Daddy had done for me was infinitely greater compared to Nick saving me. And yet I felt I'd remember them both vividly for the rest of my life.

"Aw, you've drawn me." Daddy gave me a quick peck on the lips before pointing at the second half of the drawing. "But you've given me red hair on this side of the page, sweetheart. I'm clearly not a redhead."

When Michael held his drawing up for my inspection, I instantly knew what it was.

"It's you dressed as a gorilla to scare Kristen because she was mean to me." I couldn't help but smile ear to ear. "Aw, Michael. It was really kind of you to avenge my humiliation. It was when I realized I had a friend for life."

"Damn, you're good at this guessing game," Michael said, leaning over to stare hard at my art with knitted brows. "Easy! This one's you crying at the supermarket because this robber snatched away your binky. And this one's a red dog biting your hand while it's humping your leg and a homeless man's sleeping at his feet. These are your happy memories? Damn, Jenna. I didn't know you derived pleasure from humiliation and pain. Kinky!"

I gaped at him in astonishment. "That's what these look like? I need to draw a new one before Nick sees it. I don't want him to think I'm a bad student. I can't be a disappointment the only time I'm in a classroom. I always wanted to be the teacher's pet."

Before I could make my move, Nick had stepped before us. "What have we here?"

Taking the art out of my hand, Nick stared at it. The frown on his face turned into a gentle smile. I had a dopamine rush just imagining being the cause of that smile every time I’d come over to the club.

The fact that both Daddy and Nick were so close to my body was making me squirm in my seat. I wasn't very sexual, but the image of having them take turns with me flashed in my mind briefly.

I turned my head to Daddy to bring myself back to reality. Daddy had given me a home and happiness. He had given me everything I had. Despite what he said, I couldn't make him feel like his love wasn't enough for me.

"Great one, Jenna." Nick nodded in approval after looking at it for far too long, then handing it back to me. "You get an A+."

When my face lit up, Michael whispered to me. "Everyone gets an A+. It's one of the perks of being a member."

My heart broke into a million pieces. I had an unexplainable need to stand out in the class. It was all I ever wanted growing up, hoping it would make my parents proud of me. They were cruel to me but secretly I'd always wanted them to love me. Or maybe the disappointment came from not knowing whether Nick liked me.

A few more fun activities later, the class was dismissed. It lasted for hours but I wished it was longer. I’d never gotten the education I wanted, but at least here I could pretend like I had.

At the end of the day, Littles and their Daddies would get to work at regular jobs and contribute to society. It was a need I still had to work on. A lack of education certainly wasn't helping my job prospects.

"Don't you worry, Jenna," Michael said minutes later as we stood before the entrance to the back office. "Daddy already spoke to uncle Nick and your membership is pretty much guaranteed. I told him you're a good girl and how you’ve stood up for me. Meeting him is just a formality at this point."