Page 33 of Soothing Little Sylmen

I was no longer embarrassed at the idea of being Little in front of others. Not when the Ranch was so welcoming. Everyone here understood me, understood us. They wouldn’t question it, wouldn’t give us dirty looks. They held no judgment, and I could just be myself. Sylmen, the Little who wanted to be taken care of all the time. No Big responsibilities, no Big decisions.

We ate together, me on Daddy’s lap as he fed me spoonfuls of cereal and a banana before digging into his own breakfast. Once we finished, Daddy picked me up and put me on his hip. I was shocked at the move because he’d only done it when we were alone before. He pressed my head against his shoulder, then pulled from his pocket a small plastic bag with my pacifier in it. I wiggled slightly in his arms, my happiness too big to contain.

He chuckled and pulled it out, placing it between my lips before tucking the bag back in his pocket. “I’m always thinking about you, sweet boy. I would never leave anything behind that could make your day easier.”

I held on to his neck as he placed one arm under my bottom and took off through the halls of the building. I didn’t pay attention to where we were going. It didn’t matter. Wherever Daddy took me was where we would be. It wasn’t until I felt the sun on my back that I started to get curious. Where were we going and what would we do when we got there?

A familiar voice was what finally had me turning to look. There stood Zack, his hands on his hips and a grin across his face.

“Sylmen!” he shouted. “You made it. I’m so happy to see you again.”

He bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for us to get closer. He was in one of the areas with the smaller animals, and I knew he was probably working so he couldn’t come out just yet. Daddy picked up on the fact that my friend was there and strode us over to the fence, close but not interrupting.

“Hi there. My name is Gael. I’m Sylmen’s Daddy. It’s nice to meet you⁠—”

He left the question of my friend’s name in the air, to which my friend bounced over excitedly, skipping with a glee. He came right up until he could reach me and booped the tip of my nose before turning to Daddy.

“My name is Zack and I’m Sylmen’s friend. It’s nice to meet you. Can I call you Uncle Gael?”

Daddy smiled before glancing at me. I nodded quickly, liking the idea of sharing him with my friend in that way.

“You may,” Daddy told him, his voice soft. He could tell he was speaking to another Little, could sense the delight in my friend’s expression.

“Yay! I’ve got another uncle and he’s so cool, and he is for Sylmen who also rules!” he sang.

I smiled big. How perfect was that little song?! It fit just right. Plus, I liked seeing his Little side more too.

Daddy spoke up. “Is there any chance that Sylmen can play with some of the animals? Is that something that’s allowed?”

Zack’s eyes went wide. “That is absolutely okay. Yes, please—he is welcome. The animals will love him.”

Daddy nodded, then pointed toward the gate in the fence. “Do I bring him there or is there somewhere else he can come in?”

My friend nodded then motioned for us to follow. We walked side by side with the fence between us until we reached the end.

“You can come in too, Uncle Gael. I know you might want to sit close by.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Daddy said, obviously relieved at not being told he couldn’t supervise.

I was happy because it meant I got to be near two people that I liked.

Daddy eased me down until I could stand, then pressed a kiss to the side of my head. “Go have fun with your friend, sweet boy. I will be right here watching and waiting.”

I pulled the paci from my mouth and tapped my lips, tilting my head back so he could get the gist of what I wanted. He smiled, then dove forward, his lips pressing hard against mine. I opened for him, allowing the stroke of his tongue, and it was so good I almost climbed him again.

Giggles drew us apart. Zack was smiling and laughing at us. He must have thought it funny for me to be all over my Daddy.

“Come on, Sylmen. Let’s go pet some cute animals and feed them. They’re very hungry.”

I let go of Daddy somewhat reluctantly, popping my pacifier back into my mouth as I went to follow my friend. We went about feeding all the different animals, working with a quiet sort of connection. Zack would talk and describe things sometimes, but mostly it was just a matter of him showing me what to do. I appreciated the silence. It gave me time to reflect on what came next.

If Daddy was okay being around animals like this, then maybe him coming to the ranch—my ranch—was an option. Every time I glanced over at him, he was kneeling down stroking some sort of animal that had wandered up to him, or he was watching what Zack and I were doing like he wanted to learn how to take care of the animals as well.

When we were getting ready to leave, Zack hugged me tight and pulled back. “This must feel like being at home, huh? The whole ranch vibe.” I nodded, happy to see that someone else got it. “Well, maybe one day I can visit you at yours. Then I can see all the animals you have too.” I hugged him again as my way of saying yes, I would very much enjoy that.

Then Daddy’s hand was at my back, letting me know we had to leave. “You need to eat, sweet boy. It’s been hours.”

It hadn’t felt that long. My body was so used to manual labor that being at the Ranch without doing anything was a little difficult. I felt lazy, like there were chores I was ignoring. Vacation wasn’t something I did. Even if I took time off, I still went out to feed animals or see them, maybe ride a horse or two to give them a workout. But this was not that. This was a step away from it all.