Leah swallows nervously, then raises her voice.
“Tina?” she says. Tina comes to a stop. She looks into the stroller.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I…” Leah’s nerve fails her. “…was wondering if you had any other clothes you wanted me to try on,” she finishes weakly.
“Are you sure? I thought you hated it.”
“I’m happy to help you out,” Leah says. Tina beams at her.
“Well, in that case, we’ll start the fashion show up again!” Tina pushes the stroller back to where the toddler and baby clothes are kept. She begins pulling the most girly, frilly, sparkly, and pink items off the rack. Leah’s heart races. She’s practically drooling at the thought of walking down the street in any of the things Tina is grabbing.
The fashion show begins again. Leah tries on outfit after outfit, modeling and posing for Tina, as well as taking surreptitious looks at her reflection in a nearby mirror. She looks like a regular toddler.
“Aw, your daughter is so adorable!” a customer coos as she walks by. Leah and Tina both grin at the compliment.
Finally, Leah puts on the last item Tina picked out: a bright pink dress covered in glitter and so short that her diaper peeks out under it. She spins around in glee. She loves this dress!
“You look so cute,” Tina sighs. She chuckles. “I’m almost tempted to dress you like this every day!” Leah’s eyes widen. Now’s her chance!
“About that…” she says slowly. She swallows. “I want to dress like this from now on.” Tina stares at her.
“What do you mean?”
“I like how I look and feel in this.”
“And by ‘this’, you mean…”
“All of it. The short dresses, the cute tops, even the diaper. I like dressing like a toddler, and I want to keep doing it.” Leah holds her breath, dreading how Tina will react to this news.