Page 16 of Soothing Little Sylmen

We went back down the hall the way we came until we reached the doorway for the Butterflies. A young woman was at the door.

“Well, hello there, Sylmen. It’s so nice to see you again. And who have you brought with you?” she asked, looking from me to Sylmen and back.

I pressed my hand against the back of my boy’s neck, soothing him with my thumb as I rubbed it gently. He kept that melted stance and I was happy to know he wasn’t panicking. Not yet.

“Hello, I’m Gael and Sylmen is my boy. We’re both guests here on the Ranch right now, and I think this would be a good place for him to play. He has expressed that he also thinks it’s a good fit.”

She clapped her hands happily. “Oh, that’s wonderful. We’re so happy to have you, Sylmen. Blake’s not here yet, but I know he will be happy you’ve decided to join us.”

His smile told me Sylmen was happy as well though I was still rather at a loss.

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with Blake though Sylmen spotted his name on one of the trophies in the case,” I noted.

“Yes, Blake is a very good artist though he tends to deny his abilities. Blake and I met Sylmen earlier this morning when Blake’s sister Lori was showing him around.”

Glad to have that explained, I nodded and smiled. “So, you’re already aware that Sylmen is nonverbal? He does have his phone with him to communicate if need be.”

Miss Samantha shook her head. “There’s no need to worry about that. I will give him a piece of paper, and he can write down what he is comfortable with. From there he is free to regress as much as he wants. We do require that people in this room are potty trained and can feed themselves. If he’s okay with that, he is welcome to come right on in. He can’t leave until you come to pick him up, though. You are his assigned Big.”

Sylmen’s wide eyes turned my way. I squeezed his neck—not hard, just enough to calm him down. “I will be nearby, baby. You do not have to worry about it. How about I check back in an hour? If you’re happy and content, you can stay longer. We’ll go every hour after that, until it’s close to dinner. Then I’ll have to get you, and we’ll go do the rest of the plan.”

Instead of nodding like he usually did, Sylmen pressed forward out of my grip and wrapped his arms around me. I had to shift the books so they wouldn’t hurt him, but then both my arms were wrapping around him. God, I loved this. Holding him, knowing I was making the right decisions for him, for us. It was intoxicating in a way I hadn’t thought I would feel so early in my time here.

I had to admit that I’d thought this trip was going to be a bust. That Amelia was just pulling my leg—because how could everything align so perfectly? It didn’t make sense. Yet here I was with the most perfect boy in my arms, and he was happy and content and I was captivated. He could tell me to do anything and I probably would. Which was tough as a Daddy. I needed to be the one to be there for him and guide him. If he could call all the shots, well, he wouldn’t really learn and grow.

That was a problem for later, though. For now, I had a happy boy and some downtime of my own.

Miss Samantha opened the door, letting Sylmen inside. She motioned to a woman across the room—a woman she introduced to us as Miss Price— and told him to go sit beside her, calling out across the room, “Paper and pen for him, please.” The woman shifted, pulling out supplies from the back of her chair. I watched Sylmen for a moment as he settled down. She spoke to him gently and he nodded to whatever she said.

When my gaze shifted back to Miss Samantha, she was smiling. “I’m guessing you two are new, since you’re both visiting. Or did you know each other before you came?”

I shook my head, pulling the books to my chest as a sort of coping mechanism. I hated the idea of leaving him alone. I wanted to stay—wanted to sit with him and watch him explore this new part of himself. At the same time, though, the break would be good for us. It would help us come back and share what we’d done apart.

“We just met. I actually saw him across the way and then kind of lost myself a bit. Had to ask Master Derek for permission to court him, if you will.”

Miss Samantha cooed over the idea, her hands pressing to her chest. “That is precious. I just love when things work out that way.” Then she straightened and her tone got serious. “Now then, I would suggest that you go back down the hall into the main area. There are usually a few Daddies hovering nearby, ready to pick up their Littles. You might meet someone, maybe make a friend or two. You’re also welcome to go take a walk, visit the animals—really anything within this hour that you’ve allowed yourself.”

The idea of sitting with other Daddies and discussing our styles of caregiving was tempting. I didn’t want to be far either. It was good to know I wasn’t the only one struggling.

“Thank you,” I told her. “I’ll be back in an hour.”

She smirked. “Of that I have no doubt.”

We both laughed as I left her standing there. I gave one more glance to my boy before leaving.

Sure enough, there were some Daddies hovering just like Miss Samantha had said. They were sitting on chairs and couches in the hall and I approached cautiously.

“Hi,” I said, waving the hand that held the books. “Miss Samantha told me there might be some Daddies waiting on their Little ones nearby.”

One of the guys scoffed. “Every damn day, my guy. Come have a seat. We’re all just taking a little break. We each have things to handle later, but when we miss our babies, we like to be close.”

I sank into the empty seat across from the man who’d spoken. “What’s your name?” another one said. “And how’d you end up here?”

I went into the story of meeting Amelia through my songwriting and getting the invitation here. I explained how I’d seen Sylmen across the room and was ready to do anything I could to be with him. They all listened with smiles and nods of their own, like they understood. Like what I’d done wasn’t completely ludicrous. It felt good to have that support. Good to know I wasn’t alone.

As we sat there, I told them my plan for the rest of the day as well. I explained the blanket fort and the books. I even asked if there was something they could recommend for dinner. They began to speak over one another, each ready to give me advice. I loved how open they were with their knowledge. One of them, a friendly guy, told me that if I wanted to, I could rent one of the rooms to do the scene in instead of using my boy’s bedroom. That would give us a neutral place. I filed that information away because I knew I needed to ask Sylmen before I made any firm decisions. Another suggested getting the food to go from the restaurant so we could take it with us wherever we decided.

“It’s like a picnic in a way,” the man had said. “My Little loves it.”