Page 12 of Kipp

‘Oh no, please don’t tell me that’s Kipp…’ Dale whispered, his quiet voice full of panic. ‘The last thing I need is for him to see me dressed like this. I don’t know what he might do!’

But Dale needn’t have worried…

‘Hey, dufus, answer the door! It’s me!’ came Marshall’s voice. ‘And I’m in my romper so hurry the heck up!’

Dale ran over toward the door and swung it open to the magical sight of Marshall in a ocean-blue romper that had the cutest dolphin stencils across it.

‘I got off my shift early,’ Marshall said, a big smile on his face. ‘And I figured you could do with a playdate and some company on your first night. And I guess I wasn’t wrong about the playdate part…’

With that, the two Little friends set about having fun with Dale’s horse dolls and Marshall’s collection of miniature woodland creature figurines. With a soundtrack of the most upbeat nursery rhymes playing over Marshall’s portable speaker, it almost felt like they were in their very own Little Club.

‘I think I might just like it here,’ Dale said, smiling as he felt himself beginning to relax.

‘Refooge Rivvyis our homey-home,’ Marshall said, his eyes wide and his journey into Little Space well under way. ‘And maybe we might have some big Daddies to look after us soon too.’

‘Hehe, maybe,’ Dale giggled, letting himself forget about his concerns over Kipp for a moment. ‘They might spank our butts if we’re too silly.’

The two Littles rolled on the floor giggling, and Dale felt himself regressing and imagining precisely how it would feel to be held, comforted, and cuddled by a big, strong man like Kipp.

But there would be plenty of time to think about Kipp later, at bedtime.

Right now, Dale and Marshall have more than enough to occupy themselves with as they set about creating the most magical space for their horses and woodland creatures to play and have all the fun in the world.

Tomorrow would be Dale’s first day working at the diner.

But the rest of the evening was going to be dedicated to one thing and one thing only, living his best Little life with his best Little friend!

‘Phew, this is hard work!’ Dale exclaimed as he dashed from one customer to the next.

Dale had just about made it down from his apartment to the diner in time for his shift. And it was a good job too, because moments after he made it, Max had stopped by to say goodbye and wish everyone luck in his absence.

Had Max arrived and Dale not been there, he shuddered to think what he might have said. Still, that hadn’t happened. And with Max not around, Dale figured that he could probably learnthe ropes a little more at his own pace. There would probably be mistakes along the way, but Dale assumed that this was par for the course.

‘Okay, okay, two super-syrup pancake stacks and two coffees,’ Dale said, slapping his order pad down and handing the kitchen staff the paper. ‘I mean, I’ll make the coffees obviously. You make the pancakes. Oh, and I didn’t write it down, but they want vegan bacon on one of the pancakes. At least, I think they said vegan bacon…’

Dale giggled and turned back to the counter to take another order.

The regular clientele all seemed like the most down to earth, friendly people imaginable. And it was clear from their patience with Dale that they were going to cut him plenty of slack too. Even the customer who was served a piping hot coffee instead of an iced latte was happy enough to take it on the chin and drink what he was given.

In a brief break from the morning rush, Dale leaned up against the menu and took a moment to catch a breath.

And this is why I never last in service jobs.

It’s just… so fast.

I can’t keep up.

Dale wiped a line of sweat from his forehead and got through some more orders before seeing that his break was due. After notifying the other server, Dale stepped outside and immediately slouched down onto the sidewalk and took a long sip of his carton of tropical pineapple juice.

‘Urgh. I needed this soooo much,’ Dale said, looking up and feeling the morning sun’s rays beating down on him.

Dale turned his head and saw that things were quietening down now in the diner. That was good news. And knowing that the other server had already taken his morning break, Dale felt like he could relax and take his full ten minutes with no worries about getting back inside.

As he took his cell phone out of his pocket, Dale decided that he would send Marshall a message to say thank you for such a fun playdate the previous evening. And not only that, but they should definitely do it again soon…

DALE: Hello Marshall! I had THE BEST time last night. It was so cool to play with you again like that. I have to admit, I’d forgotten how amazing your imagination was. And I think we definitely need to take our toys back into that universe again. After all, they’ve got plenty more missions and quests to earn the magical rainbow crystals, right? Hehe. Anyway, I’m just enjoying the sun on my break. Things going well. I’ve made a few mistakes (whoops!) but nothing major. Don’t worry, I haven’t set fire to the place… yet! Speak soon XoXoXo

MARSHALL: Naaaw, shucks. I had a great time too. Marshall and Dale playdates need to be a regular thing from here on out. We have to make it happen. And with you living above the diner, I don’t see a single reason why not either. But speaking of the diner, make sure you don’t take too long a break. Kipp will be coming to check up on you at some point. And trust me, he’s a REAL Daddy. You don’t want to get on his angry side! (Or maybe you do? LOL) XoXoXo

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