Such a Doll Part 2

Looking out the window, Bianca watched as Cynthia skipped down the lane towards the bus stop, dancing to her latest obsession. The older woman’s fingertips drummed along the sill as she watched carefully, flinching forward as a familiar blue and white rectangle crested the horizon before slowing to a stop in front of her daughter. Watching Cynthia board, Bianca could see little bright lights drift slowly through her vision as the bus pulled away. Blinking, she forced herself to breathe. 

Spinning around she flung open her closet doors and dropped to her knees. Pulling a pair of tall riding boots towards the center, she reached in and pulled a small canvas cat carrier out. A small figure toppled over within, scrambling backwards towards the rear corner. Smirking, Bianca swung it up and carried it through her home, descending two flights of stairs and into the basement. 

The carrier swayed by her side, pitching up and down with each step through the house. With each degree, its contents shifted. Giggling as she pumped her arm to exaggerate the change, causing pitched unintelligible protests from within. Moving further inside she walked up to a long workbench, a 36 inch tall structure looming up, the pinnacle nearly at her eyeline. Smirking, Bianca lifted the carrier up and dropped it beside the dollhouse.  

“Gift time sweetheart. Are you ready for an upgrade?”

Millie inched forwards, the tight nylon mesh obscuring most of her features. The bright pink of her dress visible as she approached the zipper wall of her conveyance. “What do you say, a bit of breakfast before the tour?”

Without waiting for an answer, Bianca left the carrier and returned to the stairs. Entering the kitchen, Bianca prepared herself a cup of coffee and a bagel. Grabbing a thimble and an eyedropper, Bianca returned to the basement.

 As she rounded the corner, looking at the canvas prison beside the dollhouse, Bianca could see a small lump shifting against the corner of the carrier’s shorter side. “Trying to escape again?”

“No!” Millie answered, the mottled and distorted figure curled inwards. Little lithe arms crossed over the thick cotton dress Bianca had made for her, and the lump was gone. 

“Keep lying and you’ll not get breakfast or lunch munchkin.” She answered, pulling a small chair up to the workstation. “What do you think?”

Millie inched towards the nylon wall of her enclosure, eyeing the dollhouse. “How lovely.”

“Don’t be a pill. This was expensive.”

“Toy’s get more expensive every year.” Millie replied, her voice icy cold. 

Bianca smirked, subtly slipping her hand into the pocket of her robe. “Very true, especially custom jobs like this.” She said sweetly, gesturing wildly with her free hand. She could see Millie flinch, Bianca smirked as she palmed the container of her serum. “Everything your little heart could possibly desire.”

“I very much doubt that, Bi-“ Her voice faltered for a split second. “-Bianca.”

“Feeling Sassy are we?” Bianca chided, sipping her coffee. Gingerly, subtly, she kept the eyedropper from Millie’s field of view as she lowered it down below the edge of the table. “Seriously, keep testing me squirt.”

“Sassy!? You know you have a spider problem!?” Millie chirped.

“Calm down, they’re harmless.” 

“When you’re normal! These things are bigger than me!”

Bianca chuckled, carefully putting a drop of her serum into the thimble. “I suppose so.” Bianca shifted forward, unzipping the wall of the carrier. “You are tiny now, aren’t you?”

Millie’s feet tapped, sinking into the thick lambs wool pad lining the bottom of the carrier. “Ha ha.” She inched forward, eyeing the dollhouse suspiciously. Bianca beamed, carefully securing the serum in her robe before pouring a bit of her coffee into the tainted thimble. “A doll house, hooray.”

“If you’re going to complain, you can stay in the carrier with the spiders.”

“They couldn’t get in that thing at least.” Millie scoffed, spinning to look Bianca in the eye. 

“I dunno, it’s only been a week.” Bianca smirked. “I’d never do it intentionally, but what if I left the zipper partially undone? Wherever would you go?” The tiny figure glared up at her. Millie was striking, for a moment Bianca felt her heart flutter. The little brunette was delicate, and the two piece dress Bianca had sewn hugged her hips gloriously. Bianca’s cheeks flushing deeply as she watched Millie step along the table top. The dolls shoes clicking across the surface towards the dish. “Hungry?”

“Ugh, yes. Can we skip this part?”

Bianca tilted her head back. “Why?”

“It’s humiliating. Are you happy?” Millie hissed.

“Very. What do we say?”

Millie’s tiny face puckered, little brown eyes glaring up at hers. “Can I have something to eat. Please.”

“Good girl.” Bianca answered, booping Millie’s button nose with her index finger. “Have coffee too. Even gave you a bit of sweetener.”

Millie grumbled, reaching out and peeling a bit of the bagels cracked skin free. Holding it closely, she munched on it like a squirrel with a seed. She didn’t even look at Bianca as she gripped the thimble, lifting it into the air. 

“Millie. Are you forgetting something?”

Her little face snapped upwards, fire shooting towards the much larger woman. “Thank you.”

Smirking, Bianca reached forward and unlatched the roof of the dollhouse. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Millie sip the coffee. Weight lifted off of her shoulders, and Bianca beamed as she swung the walls free. They unfurled revealing a gorgeously appointed series of rooms separated by a central stairwell. Millie drained the thimble before walking forward and peering at the interior. 

“A literal toy then.” She huffed, Bianca could barely make out what she said.  

Grinning, Bianca reached forward and grabbed a small cord, plugging it into the outlet behind the dollhouse. Lights sprung to life in every room of the structure. “Hardly, working electricity, plumbing, everything you ever wanted.”

Millie stepped forward, her waist brushing against the second story floorboards. She ran her hand along the support structures. Her shoulders relaxed somewhat, and she began to laugh softly before shaking her tiny head.

“Something amusing dear?” Bianca probed. 

Millie looked over her shoulder, up at the larger woman. “You’re not perfect, the scale’s all wrong.”

“For now.”

Millie’s smile broadened, and she tilted her head backwards. “You’ll have to force me to take more of your serum, Ma’am.” She growled. 

“No, no I don’t think so.” Bianca replied cooly. Millie tensed again, Bianca could see the skin of her tiny fingers blanching on the support structures of the second floor. “In a moment, I think you’ll find the space to be more than generous.”