“Will you every stop being so nice to me?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused. “Why would I ever stop being nice to you?”

“What I mean is ... Will you always be my Daddy?” she asked with baby eyes as he sat on a bench and cradled her in his arms.

“Always and forever,” he replied. “Will you always be my BabyGirl?”

She nodded as he placed the nipple of the bottle between her lips. She took it in her mouth and closed her eyes, drinking from it.

“Tomorrow we arrive!” he said as he watched her take a few swallows and then fall asleep in his arms.

He cradled her gently, patting her diapered bottom.

The stars in the sky were shining brightly. There was a breath-taking beautiful view of the heavens above him, but he never took his eyes off the BabyGirl asleep in his arms. There was nothing more breath-taking or beautiful than her.

Lily opened her eyes to daylight. It was morning. She looked around the room, and saw everything packed up and sitting on the other bed with the exception of an outfit for her, the “necessaries” for a diaper change and her sandals. Zeke was next to her on the bed, fast asleep, and his green notebook was on his chest. Having seen him with this notebook already, she knew he was writing the AB Princess fairy tale he had promised to create.

My, oh my, how curiosity was getting the best of her. She would be able to look in the notebook right that second and Zeke would never know. She couldn’t stand the temptation any longer. Against his instructions, she was going to peek inside it.

She crawled up onto him and straddled her legs over his body. Without removing it from his chest, she opened the book. Written on the first page was: “Stop peeking, Lily!” She smiled and flipped to the second page, which read: “I mean it! No sneak peeks at the story!” She giggled and quickly covered her mouth to prevent making a noise. She flipped to the third page: “You’re really gonna peek at the story in this notebook after I told you not to, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” she thought to herself, as she flipped to the next page.

It was the title page, but all it said was: “El Cuento de hadas de AB de Princesa Lily.” Confused, she flipped to the first page of the story to discover he had written it in Spanish!

Zeke suddenly sprung up from his fake sleep and wrapped his arms around her waist, tickling her sides. She squeaked with surprise and squealed with laughter as she tried to break free, unsuccessfully. He buried his face in her belly and gave her “raspberries”. She wrapped her arms around his head as he rolled her onto her back on the bed.

“Good morning, BabyGirl,” he said cheerfully, releasing his grip.

“Good morning, Daddy,” she said, recovering from laughter.

As if magically creating it, Zeke reached behind his back and produced a baby bottle of orange juice. He eyes lit up and settled into a smile on her face. He winked at her as he placed the nipple to her lips. She returned the wink as she took the nipple into her mouth, began drinking and closed her eyes.

Both of her hands took hold of the bottle, and Zeke was able to lie next to her and admire how innocence she looked as she drank from the bottle. He began tracing her eyes with his fingertips. Her face relaxed at his touch.

He flipped up the bottom edge of her nightie while giving her the “top of the morning” diaper check. Her body eased and sunk into the bed as she heard her diaper being unfastened. The baby feeling swept over her senses as her legs and bottom were curled up into the air. She had grown fondly accustomed to the way he could transform any time into “little time” with the simplest of words and gestures. It wasn’t always what he did. It wasn’t always what he said or how he said it, but rather it was a combination of all of those things that made her feel a certain way at the right moment in time.

Finishing her bottle, she opened her eyes and gazed up at him with a glow on her face that showed how much she enjoyed his gentleness with her body and her emotions. Care and comfort always came without question or request.

He lowered her legs and bottom onto a new diaper. She could smell the sweet scent of powder in the air as he fastened it around her waist. The noise of the diaper tapes being secured was just as affecting as when they were being unfastened. They had become a favorite sound to her because she always knew that something wonderful would be in between them.

Positioning his hands behind her back and behind head, he raised her into a sitting position. On the way up, she let out a feminine burp followed by a giggle. She embraced him sweetly. Another one of her favorite moments as his BabyGirl had arrived. She had just been changed and the fresh new diaper around her waist served as a wonderful reminder to her that the little girl within her heart was quite welcome to come out. She wouldn’t ever have to hide her most infantile desire with Zeke.

He stood up, and picked up the dress on the other bed. It was a simple white summer dress that would flow nicely on her, allowing the breeze to keep her cool because the Bahamas were hot. She threw her arms up automatically and the dress was soon over her arms and shoulders. She stood up and the dress cascaded down her body to her knees. Lily stepped into the sandals and headed for the door as Zeke scooped up the luggage and followed after her.

They walked down the cabin hallway for the last time, at least for now, and headed to the main deck. Stepping into the light of day, she could see Nassau Harbor. It was huge and so very busy with people and boats. Straight ahead was their dock and they watched for a few minutes as the boat came to rest and the ramp was attached to the side of the boat.

With excitement, she followed Zeke over to the ramp. They descended off the boat and down to the dock. They had arrived. Lily looked around at the little shops and street signs with wonderment. She was very much lost in a state of mind that was definitely little. Zeke kept having to take her hand and guide her along. She kept stopping and looking at everything around her. Zeke waved down a cab, and they got in.

“To the Bahamas Breeze Hotel, please,” Zeke said as he looked over at Lily who was gazing at the shops nearby. “We’ll be back here later tonight.”

Lily sat as patiently as possible during the cab ride. She was beginning to get an idea of the surprises Zeke came up with on the boat, but now they were on Paradise Island. She had no idea, once again, what to expect.

The ride seemed like it took forever, but finally they pulled up in front of the Bahamas Breeze Hotel. She got out of the cab and the building was so tall it made her look straight up. Once again hand-led by Zeke, she followed along as her eyes and mind wandered at everything she saw and was taking in. They checked in and made their way to the elevator.

The elevator doors closed and Lily’s tummy growled.

“You getting hungry?” he asked.

“Yeah, a little,” she responded.

“I’ll have to see what I can do about that,” he remarked as the elevator doors opened on the seventh floor.

They walked the length of the hallway to the very end room. Zeke unlocked the door and they walked in. It wasn’t a very spacious hotel room, but it was very cozy. Lily walked straight passed it all and towards the balcony. She strolled right onto the balcony and took in a deep breath of air. It was a mixture of ocean and heat. She rested her hands on the railing and gazed out at the incredible view of the ocean. The water rolled in to the beach edges and then rolled way out into the horizon.

“Paradise Island is a little different than Paradise, Pennsylvania, huh?” Zeke asked walking up behind her.

“Maybe some minor differences, I suppose,” she replied, while turning around and embracing him. “Thank you so much for being who you are.”

She rested the side of her head on his chest, closed her eyes, squeezed him tightly, and re-opened her eyes, noticing a cart with a silver tray lid on it.

She walked over and lifted the tray lid to reveal a spread of food. Sandwiches and wafers and salad filled the tray. She smiled, realizing he had planned this before her stomach ever growled. Wasting no other time, she began digging in to the food. Making up a small plate, she walked over to Zeke, who had begun lounging on a wicker chair. She sat down on his lap and lay across him as she rested up against his body.

“Do you want children?” she asked, trying to sound curious, but ultimately seeking information.

“At some point in my life, sure,” he replied, not realizing he wasn’t giving her the info she sought.

“How about right now?” she asked, still playing nonchalant about the subject.

“You mean this very second?” he asked. “No, not at this very second.”

“I don’t mean this instant,” she said, laughing. “But I really wanna know. Are you ready to have kids?”

“Yeah, I think so,” he replied. “A son to be a young knight of Chivalry, to choose wrong over right and to carry on the family name. And then a girl, a beloved Princess to cherish. What about you?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely,” she responded. “But do you think I’d be a good mommy?”

“Sure you would. You have all the love in the world within you. You smile. You laugh. You enjoy life. You have morals. You live by them….. You have every needed quality imaginable to be a mommy,” he said. “And you’re female. This is a very important quality to have as a mommy.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” she said, laughing.

“But your time as a mommy is in the future,” Zeke said as he picked her up and carried back into the room. “Your time as a BabyGirl is now.”

He sat her down on the bed and lifted the dress off her. He reached into one of the luggage bags and pulled out one of her bathing suits, a white two-piece. Admiring his attempt to try to attach the top part on the bikini on her, she eventually took over. Zeke watched in amazed horror as she threw her shoulders out of their sockets in order to be able to reach behind her and fasten the top.

She lifted her feet in the air and Zeke slid the bikini bottoms up her legs and to her waist, but it wasn’t a very convincing hide over her diaper. So Zeke pulled one more item out of their luggage, a white shawl that wrapped around her legs and tied at her waist. Lily smiled at how simple, yet creative he was.

“How did you think of packing a sarong?” Lily asked.

“A what?” he asked.

“A wrap around?” she said, laughing.

“It’s called a sarong?” he asked, as he helped her to her feet.

“Never mind,” she said, laughing as they left the room.

They made their way out of the hotel and onto the beach. Walking up to the summit of the slight dune that protected the hotels from waves, Lily stopped and took in what she saw:

Blue Water…really blue water that rolled in and went way out. It was the kind of sight she had seen in movies and commercials, but now it was right in front of her. She grabbed Zeke’s hands and ran out into the water, splashing him all the way. They got out to ankle-depth, and she stopped running to take in the sight once again, now all around her. She slowly wrapped her arms around Zeke, placing her head on his chest.

“Thank you,” she said in a sweet and innocent tone.

They walked the beach for a little while, enjoying the sight of it all, but really waiting for the tides to change. When they did change, Lily would chase the water as it rolled back out and run away from the waves as they came crashing in.

Everything had its own sweet pace on this island. It was beautiful weather and there were no deadlines nor irritating supervisors to drag down her feeling of euphoria. Paradise was a wonderful name for this place.

They slowly made their way back to the hotel.

“Why is it called a sarong?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she laughed as they entered the elevator.

“Maybe because flugelbinder was all ready taken,” he said with a smile as she laughed.

“What is a flugelbinder?” she asked while yawning.

“It’s the plastic around the ends of shoelaces, of course,” he said with a grin.

“And how do you know that?” she asked with a smirk.

“Because that’s what Tom Cruise said it was called in the movie Cocktail,” he replied.

“Oh, well if Tom Cruise said it, it must be fact,” she said as they exited the elevator.

“Would you like to go into town tonight?” Zeke asked, opening their door.

“Sure. What are we gonna do now?” she asked as she entered the room.

She turned back to him and he placed a pacifier between her lips. She lowered her head slightly, and shyly took it into her mouth. Once again, he had summoned the baby feeling up within her with a simple action.

“Right now, I am going to finish the first chapter of your AB Princess bed time fairy tale,” he explained. “And you are going to take a nap. Okay?”

She nodded. Zeke removed the wrap from her waist.

“Sarong,” he said, committing the clothing article’s name to memory.

He successfully unfastened her bikini top and her arms went up in the air as he dressed her in a baby-t shirt. Her bikini bottoms were slid to her ankles and she stepped out of them as he lifted her into his arms and placed her on her back on the bed. The sound of diaper tapes started her mind drifting off into its own world. Here she was in a hotel in the Bahamas with a guy whom she loved unconditionally. Her legs and bottom were lifted in the air, and she gazed up at him as he lowered her back down onto the bed. The sweet scent of powder filled the air, and then the sound of diaper tapes fastening completed the moment.

She turned towards the window and curled up into a fetal ball. Staring at the ocean and nibbling on her pacifier, she awaited Zeke. Soon she felt his strong arms lifting her up to his chest. She rested her head against him as he held her body tightly as he walked over to the couch. It was a hotel couch, certainly nothing fancy, and not very big. Normally this would be a bad thing, but the fact that it was small made it a perfect location to be held and cradled.

He sat down and placed her across his lap. Her teddy bear and blanket were right there waiting for her. She curled up and willing gave up the pacifier between her lips as Zeke placed the nipple of a baby bottle of milk to them. She parted her lips and passively took the nipple in. She closed her eyes, hugged her teddy bear, leaned up against Zeke’s chest, and nestled down in the slow rocking motion of his arms. This was total comfort. It was very hard for her to describe the emotions attached to not just feeling safe in his arms, but also feeling a deep-rooted love for the heart he had and the treatment she received from him. But right now wasn’t a time for profound thoughts. She simply enjoyed the way he made her feel and she fell asleep.

A few hours of time passed. Lily opened her eyes. A little bit of sleep really made the difference. She sat up to discover she was lying on the bed. A frown came across her face as she had not had a dream with Mr. Woody. She then looked down at her wrist to discover she wasn’t wearing the dream bracelet.

Zeke was standing on the balcony looking out at the ocean. Lily got up and walked out to him, recognizing the weight of her diaper meant she had wet herself while sleeping. Lily hugged him from behind, wrapping her arms around her chest and resting her head on his back.

“There you are,” Lily said, in a half-awake tone of voice.

“Yes, and there you are,” he replied, turning to face her. “Did you sleep well?”

She shook her head no while rubbing one of her eyes.

“Why not?” he asked.

“I didn’t dream. I lost my dream bracelet,” she responded.

“You don’t need a bracelet to dream, Love,” Zeke said.

“Yes I do! Mr. Woody said if I wear that bracelet, I’ll see him in my dreams!” Lily responded, while developing tears in a panicked manner.

“Okay. Okay. We’ll find it,” Zeke said while embracing her.

She clung to him tightly, obviously very upset by the loss of the bracelet.

“Shh, Shh, Shh,” he whispered sympathetically while patting her diapered bottom.

He lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her body around him. Carrying her inside, he placed her on her back on the bed. He placed her pacifier in her mouth and while changing her, he spoke to her compassionately, reassuring her that he would help her find the bracelet. For all the words of comfort he used, she still shook like a leaf, fearful that her dreams with Mr. Woody were lost.

He fastened her new diaper into place, dressed her in a pair of blue “skorts” (as he had learned they were called), a white tank top and a white button down shirt. Out the door and off to dinner they went with Zeke hoping she would cheer up soon.

The cab ride to Bay Street was quiet. Lily kept her eyes lowered a lot. Sometimes she would lay her head on his shoulder. Other times, she would lay her head on his lap. Zeke stroked her hair, lovingly and felt such sympathy for the loss she was feeling. He felt twice as sad because he didn’t know how to fix the problem. He hoped a trip “out and about” would cheer her up.

They stepped out of the cab. Bay Street was a little stretch of Paradise Island. This was the “shopper’s” paradise. Stores, little boutiques, restaurants and so much more were all packed into this little area. There was a crowded bustle about the area and people were everywhere.

They walked into the Bay Street Grille and found luck in a table for two being open by the street window so they could see the action. Lily just sat there, saddened, and fidgeting her feet to keep her diaper bag close by.

“Tell me about Mr. Woody,” Zeke said, finally breaking the silence. “You’ve mentioned him a time or two, but who is he?”

Lily looked up at Zeke, stunned that he wanted to know about this make-believe friend in her mind.

“He’s nobody,” she said lowering her eyes. “Just some crazy little creature I conjured up in my mind.”

“I don’t believe he’s nobody,” Zeke replied as the waiter brought out there food. “He’s very important to you, even if he’s only in your dreams.”

“You really want to know about him?” she asked, beginning to regain interest in talking.

“Yes,” Zeke answered.

“And you won’t think I’m nuts?” she asked.

“Lily, you’ve spoken of adventures you’ve had with him and places he’s taken you. Please tell me where he takes you in your dreams.”

“Okay,” Lily said with excited eyes, prepping to talk. “His name is Mr. Woody and he is a six-inch tall elf that lives in your backyard, and he comes to visit me in my dreams.”

“Right. This much I know.”

“Yes, but what you don’t know is that my dreams feel real. I wake up sometimes and I get out of bed and you are still laying there asleep. You never hear me or Mr. Woody. We go places and no one can hear us or see us. Like on the boat. The one night he took me to the upper deck and had all the stars in the sky dance for me and then the stars formed pictures in the sky of hearts and butterflies and rainbows and flowers and even a picture of me and you.”

“And you didn’t dream this afternoon because you didn’t have the dream bracelet?”

“Right, I have to be wearing the dream bracelet to see Mr. Woody. And now it’s gone and I’ll never see him again.”

“I bet you will.”

“How?”

“We’ll find a way. Sometimes when you give up the worry in finding the answer, the answer to your problems finds you instead. Keep telling me about Mr. Woody.”

Through the rest of the meal, Lily filled Zeke in on everything she had done with Mr. Woody, everywhere they had gone, the things he had said to her, how silly he was, how loud he snored, and how much she loved visiting with him, if only in her dreams.

They left the Bay Street Grille and began strolling down Bay Street. Some of the shops were familiar, but a lot of them were neat little local stores that had all sorts of glass figurines and trinkets. Lily loved looking at those sorts of things. Zeke patiently followed her into every store, not so much interested in what was in the store, but a little more interested in preventing her from knocking things over. You see, from one store to the next, Lily became more and more animated about how much fun she was having and how neat these trinkets were. She was slowly going “little” in her mind and Zeke became more and more worried that all these glass figurines around her would get knocked off the shelves and … well, you get the idea.

Lily walked out of the tenth or eleventh store they had been in, eager to find another. Zeke was lagging behind, beginning to feel the tiredness of shopping set in. His stamina for shopping was nothing compared to Lily’s eagerness.

She looked across the street at a bench and saw her make-believe elf friend sitting on it, there in real life. Suddenly, she darted across the street after him. Zeke took off after her. Mr. Woody hopped off the bench and ran down an alley. A game of cat and mouse had begun. Zeke chased Lily who was chasing Mr. Woody down the alley. At the end of the alley, Mr. Woody turned left. Lily got to the end of the alley and also turned left, only to be stopped by Zeke who had finally caught up to her.

“What were you chasing?” Zeke asked, trying to catch his breath.

“Mr. Woody. Didn’t you see him on the bench? He jumped off and ran down that alley and turned left here, but now he’s gone,” she explained. “Where are we?”

They both looked at the building next to them. It was another little local shop, but this one was named “Dreams and Beyond”. They looked at each other, and then went in.

The store had the usual trinkets and gadgets in the windows and front shelves that tourists gobble up, these being themed with night skies, moons and stars. An obviously local storekeeper sat behind the register. Lily looked at all the items in the store, slowly making her way to the back.

“I know wha you cam here for, Girl,” said the storekeeper in a friendly manner.

“You do?” she asked.

“You cam for dings lost,” he said.

“What did I lose?” she asked.

“You los a piece a your heart, an a piece a your soul, an now you seek to ged it all back.”

“How do you know this?”

“Your spirit feels broken, but you deedn’ lose all dose dings. You los your confeedans. So dem angels around you lead you here, and it’s time to ged your confeedans back.”

The storekeeper opened a cabinet behind him and pulled out a dream catcher.

“A spirit broughd dis to me many moons ago an said to hold on to it until a girl with the puress soul in de worl cam lookin for it,” the storekeeper said, handing the dream catcher to her. “An now you hav arrive.”

“How much does it cost?” said Zeke, taking out his wallet.

The storekeeper looked at him, and shook his head.

“No money,” he said to Zeke, then looking back to Lil. “But der will com a day when you can repay me.”

“I will. I promise you,” she said. “Thank you.”

Lily and Zeke began leaving.

“Tell Mr. Woody dat Jimbo still holds de key,” the storekeeper said as they left the store.

They walked out into the street. Lily became fixated on the dream catcher in her hands, fascinated with what just happened. As if it were meant to be, a cab appeared and pulled up without Zeke ever raising his hand.

They got in, and headed back to the hotel. All the way, Lily kept her eyes locked on the dream catcher, holding it up in the twilight streaming through the windows to examine closely the little pieces of colored glass that were attached to the webbing.

They reached the hotel and made their way to the room.

“Why don’t we hang that from the ceiling above the bed?” he said as she handed him the dream catcher and he did so.

She stood there, staring up at it as Zeke left the room, starting drawing her bath water, and pulling clothing out of the luggage. She lied on the bed, still staring up at it as it turned with the wind created by the fan. Zeke began undressing her, but her eyes remained fixed on the dream catcher. He got down to her diaper and discovered that she hadn’t just peed but had also pooped herself. It worked out to be a perfect situation for her mind to be occupied with the dream catcher. Usually during a poopy change she fussed, but this time she just remained still as he unfastened her diaper and cleaned her bottom.

Up into his arms she went and into the bathroom they went. This snapped her out of her trance-like state.

“I have something very special to tell you,” he said while turning off the bath water and lowering her into it.

“What?” she asked, relaxing in the warm water as he began bathing her with a washcloth.

“Once Upon A Time…” he began.

“The AB Princess Story?!” she exclaimed with excitement.

“Shhhhhh,” he said, placing his finger to her lips. “Yes. Once Upon A Time there was a beautiful girl named Lily. She was the Princess of the Kingdom of Infantilum, but she wasn’t just any princess. She was an AB Princess because her heart never wanted to leave infancy so she never left infancy.

She was very well taken care of and lived in a wonderful castle on a grassy hill with groves of trees and orchards surrounding it. The weather was always sunny and warm during the day, and the nights were always cooler and rainy so the land could be replenished with water for the next day.

She led a very happy life. Her bedroom was a perfectly decorated, pink nursery. Everything had its place and it was always neat and orderly. Her crib had every stuffed animal that any girl could ever want, and it sat by a window where she could look outside. Her changing table was always fully stocked with everything she would need, and it stood next to the crib. Her closet was stuffed so full of AB clothing that the door sometimes didn’t shut, and her toy chest was overflowing with toys. The rocking chair was overloaded with the finest collection of dolls ever seen. She was very, very spoiled, but she never took anything for granted and remembered to thank everyone who took care of her.

No one ever disturbed her nursery that was uninvited, except for that pesky poopy fairy whom would sneak in through the window at night and leave poop in her diaper. She was convinced this was the only way poop could ever get in her diaper since it was her belief that AB Princesses don’t poop.

It was her wish to always remain in a happy state, and it was her fondest desire to help the rest of the kingdom understand what true happiness felt like.”

Zeke lifted her out of the tub and began to dry her off. He wrapped her in a towel and carried her to the bed. Placing her on her back, he removed the towel and lifted her bottom and legs into the air as he began to powder and diaper her. She had all ready begun staring at the dream catcher again.

“Would you like me to continue the story?” Zeke asked as he fastened her diaper into place and slipped her nightie over her waiting arms.

“Yes, Daddy,” she said meekly, always a clear indication that the baby feeling had overcome her senses.

Zeke sat on the bed, placed her on his lap, cradled her body and placed the nipple of a baby bottle of milk between her lips. She took it in her mouth and he continued the story as she drank from the bottle and stared at the dream catcher.

“Lily had many friends and was loved and adored by everyone in the kingdom but her best friend was a hummingbird named Sweetie that would fly to her window in the morning and whistle songs to wake her up. She would also run around in the grass and chase Sweetie. When they did this, every butterfly in the kingdom would join in. These were very happy moments. Princess Lily was the happiest little BabyGirl in the world.

But on this particular morning, Lily felt troubled for the first time in her life. She would soon reach the age at which she was expected to get married. Her whole life would change in an instant when she became someone’s wife. She feared that the prince they chose for her would not be gentle and loving and caring like her parents had always been to her.”

Lily finished the bottle of milk, and Zeke set it aside as he rested her on his chest to pat her back until she burped. She placed her head on his shoulder with her face next to his neck. She began to get heavy eyelids as she listened to the sound of his voice in his chest. He continued the story:

“Last night, she prayed to God that her parents would find the most wonderful Prince in the world for her, and now on this day she would find out who they selected for her. She was very, very worried and upset.

The prince in her mind was not just the son of a King, but a true gentleman with a heart of solid gold. He would be so tenderly loving of her that she would easily fall in love with his soul before anything else.”