kingdobbs

“Do I look like one of those Russian cogliones?” Mama Miglietti said, practically dragging the adult baby back to the room by her ear. “So inelegant and unsophisticated. To call them ‘organized crime’ makes a mockery of both words.” She puts Roxanne down on the corner stool and faces the baby towards the wall. “I haven’t gotten where I am because I leave a trail of bodies for people to find. I do things my way and it works for me.” She stands behind the baby woman and stares down at her. “Now you sit there for five minutes, no talking, young missy.” One glare let Roxanne know Mama was not anything but serious.

The dizziness delay was just enough for Mama to have caught up with the girl, and she wrapped her arms around Roxannes torso. “No, little bambina, that’s not a place for little girls to play,” she said angrily but with that strange air of deep caring that comes with parental anger sometimes. “You could have fallen and broken your leg or your arm!” She yanked the girl out of the window and over her lap, giving Roxannes diapered bottom several solid swats, with that delightful thud Mama Miglietti loved to hear. With the thick diaper it couldn’t have been painful, but pain wasn’t the point, not with this kind of spanking. “And don’t think I forgot you hit Mama,” she said, continuing the over the diaper spanking for a few more hard swats. “You had better apologize now or you’ll be sitting in the naughty chair.”

“I can, but it won’t be easy.” He looked down at the girl, then at the file. “Unfortunately, they have a pretty airtight case and the charges aren’t ones they really need to prove much beyond the basic facts.” He imagined the girl in front of him, picturing a pink frilly bonnet on her head, a little bib around her neck...pacifier in her mouth. Harder to imagine the rest with such a drab adult-looking suit on her. “If you wanted me to give you a best case scenario, there’s probably no way I can help you stay out of punishment, but I am fairly certain I can help you avoid prison. Judges in this district have been interested in diversionary sentences to keep people out of prisons and save a little money for the state.” He paused. “When I say that, I mean things like probation and community service, even some more unusual sentences...”.

“I don’t expect you to roll over, not at all. A little bit of a fight is gonna keep us on our toes, darling,” Mama said, patting and stroking her hair almost condescendingly. “But you probably have yet to figure out that I won’t quit remotely that easily either. But I don’t want to spoil any surprises.” She smiled wickedly, unsettlingly cheerful yet with a small bit of devilry in her eyes. She finished feeding Roxanne the pasta and wiped off her face before producing another bottle for the adult baby to drink. “You’re going to find out that having people you can trust pays off a lot of dividends. Unfortunately, the hard way for you. The way that keeps me in business for me.”

Paul saw Mya in the reception area, and immediately noted how small she was, in that suit she almost looked like a small child playing dress up more so than an actual adult. The memo he’d had about this appointment told him this young girl was in a tight spot: reckless driving, excessive speed, driving under the influence were the charges. “Mya, Mr. Drysdale is ready to see you now,” the receptionist said, as Paul emerged from his door. As he looked over the young woman again, he had some pity for her and her situation. There’s no way someone like her could go to jail. And he thought to himself...could we do it? It’s what Mel and I have always wanted. Maybe this girl is in my office for a reason...

Mama Miglietti ignored the frantic first few questions as she started feeding her little ward from the pasta bowl. She knew the baby would love Mama Miglietti’s cooking, every adult and baby in the family had nothing but great things to say. “Because, sweetheart, you don’t know how close you are to a breakthrough, and Mama can’t have that. I have to protect mi famiglia.” She stopped feeding and squeezed Roxannes face gently. “And you are just too adorable for anything else to happen to you, capisce?”

“Oh bambina, I do not think you really want to know,” Mama said, putting a bib around Roxannes neck. “I think you might have figured out a little bit but I’m not about to tell you everything.” She started stirring the warm pasta and made a forkful ready for the adult baby to eat. “Now we stop asking questions and let Mama give little bambina Roxanne a nice lunch!” She held up the fork to the woman’s mouth.

The door opened, as it wasn’t locked at that moment...by the hand of Mama Miglietti who was coming to check on her little one. “Oh, bambina, you didn’t have to come find me, I was just coming to check on you!” She took Roxanne by the wrist gently but somewhat forcefully, not enough to hurt but enough to let the adult baby know she was in charge here. “I bet you’re probably hungry, little princessa!” She held up a little plastic container of pasta, putting it down on the high chair tray as she slid it out to accommodate the baby woman.

Mama Miglietti didn’t challenge the baby’s mumbling, but she took note that the woman was snapping back to some semblance of understanding that this wasn’t normal. She rocked with the sleeping Roxanne until it was certain to her that the little one had fallen asleep, then laid her in the playpen against a big stuffed unicorn that was nearly as big as Roxanne herself. While the cop slumbered away, she started making the arrangements necessary to deliver the little one to her new mommy Gianna. There’d be no chance for Roxanne escaping this fate, not yet anyhow. Not with Mama Miglietti in charge.

Mama smiled at the calming adult baby, she knew the magic touch that would make anyone melt into a soft little baby. She could feel Roxannes wet diaper in her lap and was sure the diaper was suddenly warmer all of a sudden. Mama wouldn’t have minded, she’s had plenty of babies make more than wet diapers in her lap. She just let the baby woman snuggle in tighter certain the next step was the woman finding herself drowsy. My Gianna princessa will love this baby, she’s already losing that hard tough front...

Mama Miglietti just reckoned the crying like she would the tears of a true toddler, having no idea how to express what’s really wrong and just needing Mama’s comfort. “Ssssshhhhh little bambina, I’ve got you safe and secure,” she said, cradling Roxannes head closer and stroking her hair, while still continuing to pat her bottom. As she did so, she started singing a little lullaby. What it meant, Roxanne probably couldn’t discern unless she knew Old Country Sicilian, but the tone and soft voicing were undoubtedly meant to be soothing. She could sense the adult woman was struggling with some complicated feelings about this treatment, and she sought to turn them into overdrive. She pondered whether this woman had even felt someone’s touch in a very long time, much less been actually hugged...

Mama Miglietti warmly smiled at Roxanne already finding comfort in the ferret plush toy. She continued patting the baby’s padded tush to help the otherwise grown woman adjust more readily to her new situation. For whatever reason that soft crinkle and gentle thud against the plastic always helped the bambinos and bambinas she’s converted more easily accept their fate. She saw the adult baby motion towards the duct tape, and nodded, tearing it just so and leaving the pacifier in the baby’s mouth, giving her more freedom to suckle it while leaving it still understood she wasn’t free to remove it or speak. “There little bambina, that’s probably more comfortable, huh?” She kept gently rocking her charge in the chair and keeping her soothed with cooing and diaper pats. Who would have known the hardened gangster who’d escaped the slips of the police so many times would have such a soft sensitive side? Maybe now Roxanne might understand the Mama Miglietti monicker.

“That will be perfect, princessa. I’ll bring over some meatballs!” Mama Miglietti looked over at the playing adult baby and heard her huff and whimper. “Mama...you don’t have to...” Mama Miglietti heard Gianna and shook her head. “Nonsense, you’re too skinny, I keep telling you!” She put her finger to her lips at the same time, seeing Roxanne get frustrated. They finished the call, and then Mama came over to Roxanne, and without a word patted her diaper to check it, finding it quite wet. “Here sweetheart, come sit with Mama a bit before I change your diaper!” She lifted up the girl and kept patting her diapered rear end as they sat in the rocking chair. “Little bambinas need lots of attention!”

Mama smiled proudly as she watched from her rocker, seeing the adult baby timidly but obediently play with some of the toys. It shouldn’t have surprised her that the woman who played the rough tough lady cop stereotype went for some of the “boy” toys first, though with the babies she’s made, she never insisted any of them conform to those merda stereotypes. She kept a watchful eye on the baby and pulled out her phone. ***** ”Hi Mama,” Gianna said with a bright spark in her voice. She was legitimately pleased to hear from the matron, it felt good to still be part of the family even if she wasn’t running jobs for them anymore. “Princessa! Tell me, bella, do you have a day free for Mama to see your new place and bring you the housewarming present I owe you?” Gianna was curious. “I work from home, Mama. It can be any day. What’s this housewarming present?” “you’ll see, darling. I don’t want to spoil the surprise.” Gianna heard a pause; Mama must have been looking intently at something where she was. “But you’ll be...very pleased at how Mama took care of you, princessa.” Gianna beamed a little bit, as she knew for sure nothing had really changed with her and Mama Miglietti. “How about tomorrow, Mama?”

“Don’t you look at Mama Miglietti with those angry little eyes!” she scolded the new baby, holding the bottle firmly in Roxanne’s mouth while she drank. “Little bambinas don’t decide what happens, that’s Mamas job.” She knew from experience that when she laid down the law early and made sure the newly minted adult toddler knew who was in charge, compliance was a lot easier. Once the baby woman had started suckling, she turned back to a cheery smile and patted Roxannes head. “That’s a good baby, drink it all up for Mama Miglietti,” she said, watching the bottle drain. Once it was all done, she replaced the pacifier and the tape, pulling her up from the chair again. “That was yummy in your tummy huh darling? “ She took Roxanne to the corner of the room where there was a tall wooden pen set up, painted in a rainbow of colors and with a foam mat laid down, pastel colored with numbers and letters printed on them. Toys that were obviously for babies and toddlers were scattered throughout: blocks and dolls and plushies and cars and trucks and almost anything a baby could enjoy. “Mama has someone very special to call, little bambina, is you can play to your little hearts content!” She plopped Roxanne down on the seat of her diaper, then sat in her own place in the big rocking chair.

Mama grinned and picked Roxanne up in her arms. No doubt Roxanne would have found her suspiciously strong to be able to do that, and as she’d be fond of saying to her family, “this ain’t my first Sunday gravy, darlings” would explain her ease with lifting an adult human. “Well, then, little bambina, you’ll get something to fill your little tummy. You’re so skinny!” She pinched the baby’s cheek before hefting her into the nearby high chair and locking her in. She knew Roxanne would still be a little woozy and weak from the sedative, so additional straps would be unnecessary. She returned quickly with an adult sized baby’s bottle of what looked like milk, mixed with what could be easily figured to be something like a protein shake. “Best breakfast for a growing baby if you want to make a nice lovely little meatball!” She said cheerily, peeling the tape off enough to allow her to put the bottle in Roxanne’s mouth. “Now mangia!”

Mama Miglietti saw the adult baby in the crib start to stir, and went over there to see. “well hello little Roxie! Did you sleep well, sweetheart?” She patted Roxanne on the head and touched her cheek gently before checking with a pat the bulk between her legs. “Oh little one, you’re soaked!” She reached out and tickled the woman’s stomach just like she was an infant, playful and soft so as to not disturb tender skin. She looked down at the adult baby with a big smile. “Are you hungry sweetheart?”

Satisfied with her dressing job, Mama Miglietti put the new adult baby in a clearly adult-sized crib. It would seem...this isn’t the first time the crime boss had “taken care” of an inconvenient personage in this way, and perhaps one might surmise this is among the reasons she calls herself “Mama”. She smiled and patted the woman’s head tenderly, as one might to an infant of their own. The poor dear was already sucking the pacifier, she noticed. This might be easier than I thought... After a restful nights sleep, she went back to the secret room to check on Roxanne. In the light of day, she could see the wealth of baby furniture, and mentally took note of the pieces she would give to Gianna and would need to replace. The crib, a changing table, a high chair, a rocking chair strong enough for two...

Mama Miglietti smiled as she saw the cop slip into unconsciousness, ready to prepare her for her princessa Gianna. “My Gianna will love having you be the baby she could never have...” Roxanne might have heard some or all or none of this before falling into slumber, but Mama didn’t much care, she’d find out soon enough. She went to work untaping the woman’s body and undressing her once Roxanne was out cold. Dressing her back up...well, if she looked like a little child based on size prior, the fact that she was put into an adult diaper and bright pink T-shirt with a unicorn on the front, she would look even more like a toddler now. The silver duct tape on her mouth was replaced with pink tape...around a pacifier. Not only was this poor woman kidnapped, she was being turned into a baby!

“Awww little one, don’t you worry. My princessa is going to treat you very well,” she said, pulling aside a corner of the duct tape and putting into her mouth the tube of a sport bottle. The sedative in the water would act quickly upon someone as slight as the kidnapped Roxanne. “Don’t cry, you’ll be very well taken care of...”, she said, stroking the hair of the bound and frightened woman as she squeezes the water into her mouth.

Neither of them seemed to notice at that moment, though unquestionably later they’d notice the puddle on the vans floor. With the victim secured, they got the van going and sped off up into the hills. ***** “If it isn’t the tenacious miss Roxanne,” an older woman’s voice said upon seeing the bound kidnapped woman. “Thank you boys, my princessa will be most pleased...”. She directed them to bring her to a side room in the mansion, well out of anyone’s notice who would have been in the building. “Oh my! You’ve had an accident! Well, don’t you worry, Roxanne, we will get you all fixed up for my princessa...”

The one felt it hard in his sternum and fell back a bit, but that gave just enough opportunity for the other to put a hard sleeper hold around Roxannes neck. The other one shut the door after a moment to recover his wind, and began to wrap her ankles with duct tape. Once that step was complete, a strip went over her mouth, then he went to work binding her wrists. “Where’s the drop?” He asked to his compatriot as he bound the struggling woman. “Boss says her place...”

“That’s the one?” “Yeah that’s her.” ”She don’t look like no cop.” ”Boss says that’s the one.” ***** Gianna couldn’t get back to sleep. It was partly the coffee, but also mostly the frustration of the day. The last encounter was pleasant enough once Roxanne got it into her head everything she was doing was really stupid, though. She couldn’t exactly understand why the woman brought up her inadequacies to her a few times, other than maybe just feeling a little vulnerable and being a little drunk. But the part about her not growing up with a mom or dad, that really resonated her when she thought back on it. It made her think once again about her desires to adopt, making a difference for a young life in a situation like that...and how still nothing could seem to go her way with it. What an absolute joke. ***** The two men saw Roxanne standing out in the chilly night air, woefully underdressed for the weather, and for the time she was spending in it. They waited until she came closer, out of the soft orange glow of the street lamps, and from the seemingly inauspiciously parked conversion van, they slid open the door, snatching Roxanne with perfect timing and started pulling her in...

“Oh god no. I could never make a cannoli better than Leo. The man is a pastry genius. I literally ate nothing else the first day I got out of...you know.” Gianna heard the shift in her guests voice and could tell the woman, like so many others not just in her chosen profession but also in the rest of the world, had to put on this mask just to survive. A hard sounding tough as nails lady cop during the day, and a soft scared little girl the rest of the time. It didn’t even shock her when Roxanne admitted she didn’t know how to cook; somehow it just made sense. “Well, I’m not your mother and I can’t tell you what to do,” Gianna said as she sat a cup of fresh coffee down and slid it to the cop. “But you should really learn.” She paused, then shook her head, “Nah, on second thought I am gonna tell you what to do. Learn how to cook. Don’t be the sad single lonely gal who talks to her cats and doesn’t own dishes because the Chinese food carton is it’s own plate.” Gianna had always been smart and capable, indeed that was how she got as far as she did under Mama Miglietti. Actually talking to the officer who managed to get her put away...she felt a little ashamed, actually. This one? This one is the one who caught me? ”Alright,” Gianna said after finishing the last little slurp of her coffee and grabbing the bag of cannoli. “Closing time for Mama Gia’s cafe. If you want my last bit of advice, go home and sleep. Take a personal day tomorrow. It’s really easy. Just call up your CO and say “I need the day off.” I’m gonna take a wild stab in the dark here and say you’ve never done that at any job ever...”

“Because you look like you’re either about to throw up, pass out or start sobbing, and all of those things are more comfortable on a couch than in the street,” Gianna replied, not really wanting to explain she had been feeling extra motherly lately, and not in the least because dinner with Mama had reminded her of the role model she mostly wanted to live up to as a mother. “So sit down, have some coffee or some water, and take a breather. Really reflect on how absolutely crazy it was to come to MY home address after dark, unannounced, a little drunk and almost certainly without a warrant or probable cause, knowing that the second you leave here I WILL have to call my probation officer...and for what?” Gianna showed her the couch, and sauntered past the bar of her open plan kitchen to the refrigerator, retrieving a bag of cannolis from Leo’s down the block. She started a pot of coffee just in case, and brought the pastries over. “Now eat something.” She mused at this sounding so much like Mama Miglietti at that moment...