She lowered her eyes for a moment as she got shy and brought them back up to gaze at him.

“There’s a changing table in the corner by the closet,” she said with bashfulness. “It has everything needed to … change me. Complete with four different kinds of diapers.”

“Really?” he asked, with a smile. “What else is in this dream room?”

“A bookshelf with every Little Golden Book ever published along with a complete collection of Dr. Seuss books, coloring books, and bed time story books,” she said, lightly nibbling on her bottom lip as she awaited his reaction.

“Is there a rocking chair next to the crib so you can be cradled while these bed time stories are read to you?” he asked.

“You betcha,” she said as she did her best to contain her excitement.

“And do you have a special place where you sit when coloring in your coloring books?” he asked.

“Uh-huh,” she said as her smile grew. “It’s in the middle of the room. I lay on my tummy on a rainbow-colored rug,” she said. “And I have a big bucket of crayons. There are also night lights in every outlet to keep the room from getting too dark at night, and to keep my fingers out of the sockets.”

“That sounds like a very smart idea,” he said. “Do you sleep in the crib at night?”

“I always take my afternoon naps in my crib,” she answered. “But at night, I sleep where my Daddy lays me down. “Hopefully, I’m in Daddy’s bed with him some of the time. But a BabyGirl should sleep in a crib some of the time as well.”

They both shared a set of smiles as they entered the Bath & Body Works store. Kara, Lily’s friend who worked there, dropped what she was doing and practically bolted over to them.

“Lily!” Kara said in a panicked tone. “I’m so glad you stopped in. I just got a call from…”

“Kara…” Lily said, quickly cutting her off. “This is Zeke. Zeke, this is Kara.”

“Hello,” Kara said with a concerned look as she shook his hand. “Did you guys have a … nice …… dinner?”

She was still uncertain as to whether Lily had approved of him.

“Yes, we ate at Damon’s,” she said calmly as she touched Kara’s arm, trying to signal everything was okay. “It was wonderful. By chance did you guys get any of the butterfly flower scent in the lotions you were out of the other day?”

Kara’s face brightened up as a smile formed from ear to ear.

“Not yet, but we ordered them,” Kara said with a look of playful interest. “So, umm, what did you guys talk about at dinner, Zeke?”

There was a moment of awkward silence. Zeke looked at Lily who had opened her eyes wide and stared at him intently, trying to send him a message. He looked back at Kara who was grinning without reserve.

“We talked about everything we could think of,” he answered safely.

“Such as….?” she asked, not allowing him to get away from answering so easily.

Zeke paused for another moment, and then courageously replied.

“We spoke of our fondest memories and of the things we shared in common,” he said. “We spoke of what was in our hearts, what made us happy and what dreams may come.”

“We need to get going, Kara,” Lily said quickly before Kara could prod any further. “Let me know when that lotion comes in.”

“I certainly will,” Kara said, watching them leave the store.” Butterfly flower. Nice meeting you, Zeke.”

“That was really scary,” Lily said as they headed towards the center court of the mall. “She doesn’t know about my little side, but has always suspected something was up.”

“The danger of discovery,” Zeke remarked.

“I was getting the tummy butterflies as she did her cross-examination of you,” she said.

“You have this obsession with butterflies,” he said.

“Obsession?” she asked. “What do you mean?”

“Butterflies in your tummy when you get nervous or when you get excited or when you almost get discovered,” he explained. “And butterfly flower shampoo.”

“No,” she corrected. “It’s a skin lotion.”

“Whatever it is. The point is this….” Zeke said. “…a butterfly represents many things. One of which is long life.”

“What else does a butterfly represent?” she asked, intrigued.

“Butterflies also represent rebirth. From a caterpillar to a cocoon, reborn into a butterfly,” he answered. “The name Lily also means rebirth.”

“So I’m supposed to wrap myself into a cocoon and be reborn as a butterfly,” she said with a laugh.

“Not exactly,” he said, sharing her humor. “But you definitely have some sort of connection with the butterfly.”

“It’s amazing that a butterfly represents long life and I get butterflies in my tummy, even though I deal with stomach pains from time to time that hurt so bad I want to die.”

“Really?” he asked, concerned. “You ought to see a doctor about that.”

“It’s nothing, just a little indigestion,” she said, blowing the subject off as to not draw any attention to it. “My name also means purity and sometimes fertility. What does the name Zeke mean?”

“It means God will Strengthen,” he said. “I’m not sure how that relates to me.”

So the butterflies in my tummy and my name mean that I am pure, fertile and destined to be reborn. And you will be made stronger by God,” she summarized.

“It’s interesting that we both have found a love for ABDL,” he said. “I’m a Daddy and you are a Nena.”

“A what?” she asked.

“It’s Spanish for BabyGirl,” he responded.

“Really?” she said, laughing. “What is it in German?”

“Töchterchen,”

“Holland?”

“Meisje.”

“How do you know these words?” she asked. “Do you speak all these languages?”

“Nope,” he answered. “But last night I memorized how to say BabyGirl in all those languages so I could impress you today.”

Lily paused for a moment, staring at him with a smile on her face. Then she broke out into laughter.

“Okay. Impress me some more,” she said, enjoying this. “How about in Italian?”

“Neonata,” he answered quickly.

“Swedish?”

“Barnflicka.”

“Portugal?”

“Menina de Bebê.”

“Turkey?”

“Bebek Kýz.”

“Romania?”

“Fetito.”

“I like that one … Fetito,” she said, sounding it out slowly. “What about French?”

“Petitee Fille,” he answered while seeing something that interested him in the clothing store they were passing by. “Or… bébé.”

Zeke took her by the hand, led her into the store and straight to a rack of clothing. Lily looked at the t-shirt hanging in front of her. It was a pink, short-sleeved shirt that had the word “Bebe” on the front with butterflies underneath it.

“It is amazing, isn’t it,” he said, taking the shirt to the register and buying it for her.

Lily was really enjoying herself. Zeke was very easy to get along with and he made her laugh and laugh often with his silliness. At the same time, his charm had found a way to touch her heart. Being by his side felt so right and so good. Could she have actually found who she was looking for?

They ventured out of the store and Lily looked up at the store sign one more time.

“Bebe,” she said, smiling widely.

They made their way back to the center of the mall and started heading towards the J.C. Penney’s wing. Lily looked across the center court over to the Bon Ton wing.

“Do you sniff candles?” she asked abruptly.

“Do I what?” he asked back, perplexed.

“Whenever I come to Park City Mall I always go to the Yankee Candle Store and sniff the candles,” she replied.

“Really?” he asked. “Well, then I think we should go do that.

They made their way to the Yankee Candle store and as they entered the scent of candles filled the air. Lily went straight over to the walls and started open the jars and smelling the candles.

“What scent of candle do you normally buy?” he asked.

“Oh, I never buy them. I just like to smell them. Here, smell this,” she said as she handed him a jar.

“Woah … Cinnamon,” he said, pulling his nose back from the jar.

“Apple Cinnamon, actually,” she said, taking the jar from him and putting it back on the shelf.

She went from wall to wall and from table to table sniffing all the candles.

“I wonder how many people have sniffed these candles inside a day’s time,” he said.

“Probably a lot,” she said, handing him another jar. “Smell this one.”

“Okay,” he said, smelling it. “What’s it called?”

“Sun and Sand,” she replied. “Smell this one.”

“What’s this one called?” he asked, sniffing it.

“Ocean Water,” she said.

“They both remind me of the beach,” he said.

“I’ve never been to the beach,” she said, smelling them both again before setting them back down.

“Never?” he asked, surprised.

“Never,” she replied.

“Would you like to some day?” he asked as they started to leave the store.

“Oh yes,” she said, enthusiastically.

“Well then. That settles it,” he said. “I’m going to take you to the beach.”

“Really?” she asked playfully as they left the store and headed back to the food court. “What beach?”

“What beach do you want to go to?” he asked. “Take your pick. We’ll go there.”

“Okay,” she said, playing along. “How about … the Bahamas?”

“Done,” he said.

“You are going to take me to the Bahamas?” she said smiling, yet not believing him at all. “I don’t believe you.”

“Not only will I take you to the Bahamas,” he said. “But the entire time, you will be my fetito … my BabyGirl.”

“You mean I will be your baby on this beach trip?” she asked, giggling.

“Every second of it,” he answered.

“I still don’t believe you,” she said.

“If I were to make that happen…a vacation to the Bahamas…would you go?” he asked as he looked at another store they were passing by in the J.C. Penney’s wing. “Certainly after we got to know one another better, and if things grew between us. Would you go?”

Lily looked at him with disbelief.

“Yeah,” she said for certain. “If you were to set that up, I definitely go, and I would definitely be your baby for the whole trip.”

Zeke led her into the store they were passing by.

“Then we’ll need to get you a stuffed animal for the trip,” he said as she saw the store he took her into.

“Build-a-Bear!” she said, jumping up and down and clapping her hands quickly.

“Why don’t you make one?” he asked as he encouraged her.

She went up to the bins and looked at the different types of stuffed animals. There were Horses, unicorns, puppies, floppy-earred bunnies, frogs, moose, leopards, polar bears, camouflaged bears, monkeys, Hello Kitty, gray wolves, and even Darth Vader.

Lily chose a simple brown teddy bear. She carried it over to the stuffer lady at the stuffing machine and handed it to her.

“Well, hello there,” the stuffer lady said with a smile, seeing the twinkle in Lily’s eyes and her indulgent demeanor.

The lady was a bit older and put some enjoyment into her work, giving it the maximum “make-believe” possible. Adults going through the build-a-bear line were nothing out of the ordinary. She attached the bear to the stuffer machine and began filling it with fluff.

“Have you named your teddy bear yet?” the lady asked with a grin.

“Yep,” Lily said, enthusiastically. “Teddy.”

“I think this bear is going to be well loved by you,” the lady said as she finished stuffing the bear. “Do you think you ought to put two hearts inside it?”

Lily smiled and nodded slightly.

“Well, pick two out of the bin and rub them together so they the bear will have a two warm hearts to love you with,” the lady said.

Lily rubbed them together as instructed.

“Now press them against your heart so the bear’s heart will beat in rhythm with yours,” the lady said.

Lily pressed the hearts against her chest and handed them to the lady. She put them inside the bear and sewed his back shut with string.

“And now the most important thing,” the lady said, handing the bear to Lily. “The first hug … make it a good one so he knows you love him.”

Lily hugged the bear as she turned to Zeke with a smile. Zeke winked at her.

“Do you want any clothes for it?” Zeke asked while leading her over to the bear clothes section.

“No,” she said, hugging the bear tightly for dear life. “He’s perfect as he is.”

Lily went through the certificate process at the computer and got the bear box when they went to the counter. They exited the store, hand in hand, and strolled down the rest of the J.C. Penney’s wing. They didn’t say much to each other, just simply sharing smiles as they stepped onto the escalator, heading down to the food court.

Zeke stopped at the last food stand before the exit.

“This is a tradition of mine when I come here,” he said. “A cinnamon pretzel from Auntie Anne’s for the road.”

“It sounds like a tasty pretzel,” she said.

“Two cinnamon pretzels please,” Zeke said to the lady behind the counter.

They strolled out the door and into the parking lot, in no particular hurry. They walked to her car and sat on the trunk, looking up at the stars as they finished the pretzels.

“Zik, Wull Yih go entu wahn mow stoh wit mee?” she asked with a mouthful of soft pretzel.

“I think that was a question, but I’m not sure,” he said as she laughed and then swallowed her food.

“Will you go into one more store with me?” she asked. “I still have one more thing to pick up. I always get one of these as well when I come here.”

“Absolutely. What store?” he asked.

“It’s over in the plaza stores across the road,” she said. “Follow me.”

She jumped into her car and Zeke walked over to his car. He followed her out of the J.C. Penney’s / Sears parking lot and turned left on Plaza Drive. A smile came to his face when he saw the store parking lot she turned into.

“Babies-R-Us. You little angel, you,” he thought as he parked next to her.

She got out of the car and looked over at him with a playful grin.

“What do you need from here?” he asked as they walked in.

Lily went straight to the second aisle on the left and selected a p.

“I always buy one of these when I come to Park City Mall,” she said.

“And how many of them do you have?” he asked as they made their way to the register.

“About 30, I think,” she said paying the cashier and walking out of the store with him.

“I can’t imagine you use all of them,” he said as they crossed the parking lot.

“Oh my goodness, No,” she said. “I have three that I use. I don’t even open the others. I just collect them.”

“Okay. You have an obsession with butterflies you weren’t even aware of. You buy pacifiers and don’t use them,” he said as she laughed and then embraced him.

“And now I have a Daddy,” she said as he returned the embrace.

“And now I have a Fetito,” he said as he stroked the hair on the back of her head.

“When can we do this again?” she asked.

“Soon,” he replied. “You’re going to need a new bathing suit.”

“And a diaper bag,” she said playfully. “Good bye, Ezekiel Williams.”

“Good bye, Lily Paddington,” he said.

“I’ll be in touch … very soon,” she said as she got into her car and drove home.

Zeke watched her car driving away until it disappeared beyond the overpass on Harrisburg Pike, headed back into Lancaster City. He made his way to his car. No sooner did he sit down and start the car then his cell phone buzzed with a message from Lily.

He opened the message and it read:

“I told you it would be soon.

I should have asked you to change me before I left. lol

Next time for sure.

TTYS, Fetito.”

The End