Baby Doll Ch. 11

The bread slices Eric had chosen weren't white at all. They were some kind of wheat bread. "Normally, I'd toast them, because she loves toasted bread, but she's grounded."

As if Cliff needed to be reminded.

He placed the jar on the kitchen counter and made a low whistling sound. "This is a pretty nice place you have here. Not much of a yard, though. Doesn't she ever like to ride a bike or something?"

"She's more of an indoors type, but sometimes she wants to go out and play. That's what the parks are for." Eric was spreading the peanut butter onto the bread slice with a precision that was pretty unnerving. "Her favorite one has a long pathway just for bicyclers. Sometimes she forgets to put on sunscreen, Poor Baby."

"Does she have a bike?"

"I just bought a new one for her. It's red and shiny. She used to have a blue one, but someone stole it." Eric was moving on to the jar of preserves, which he popped open without any sign of difficulty. "I wish I knew who." His voice darkened near the end of that statement. Then he cheered up. "She was so sad that day, crying and dripping with snot, as if she'd never get to ride a bike ever again. Silly Girl." He was cutting the crusts of the sandwich away.

"I didn't know she didn't like crusts."

"Actually, she loves them. They're her favorite part of the sandwich." Eric wiggled his eyebrows and threw the crusts into his mouth. After he swallowed, he said, "She's grounded. She doesn't get the crusts."

For some reason, Cliff thought that was every bit as disturbing as the lock keeping Rebecca in her bedroom.

"Could you get a bottle of water from the fridge for me, Honey?"

Cliff went back to the fridge and found a full bottle of clear water. Eric thanked him as he took it. Cliff nodded at him and watched him fetch a plate. "You know, when she was at my brother's place, she stayed inside all the time. It drove her crazy after a while."

"But she had a computer to keep her entertained," Eric said, picking up the loaded plate with one hand and the water bottle with the other. He nodded at his work and asked Cliff to get a paper towel so Rebecca could keep herself clean. There was no reason for Cliff to disobey.

Once they were back at the bedroom door, Eric handed Cliff the water bottle and took out his keys. He unlocked the door, knocked on it, and called out to Rebecca, "We've got a sandwich for you, Darling!" He opened the door and let Cliff walk in first.

Rebecca was seated on a bed that looked like it came from a fairy tale. The canopy was indeed lacy. The covers were pink with a gold, embroidered pattern of flowers and birds. Her little hands were on her bare knees. She looked up at Eric and said calmly, "Thank you, Papa."

When Eric walked over to her, holding out the plate, Cliff followed with the water and paper towel. Rebecca took the plate into her lap, leaned the water bottle against her thigh, and folded up the paper towel into a neat square. Eric sat down on one side of her and Cliff chose to sit on the other side. The mattress was very strong. It barely dipped at all.

As Rebecca took her first bite, Eric played with a bit of her hair, swishing the locks around his fingers. "I've been thinking, and maybe I've been a little hard on you. I did scare you before you left."

Rebecca's chewing paused for a few seconds, and she winced. Then she continued with her eating.

Eric kissed her cheek. "If you promise to be a good girl, I'll let you leave your room tomorrow morning, and I'll give you back all your things. You won't be grounded anymore, but please don't leave the house without my permission, okay?"

Cliff really wanted this to happen. He tried to chime in without being obvious about it. "That seems fair. Maybe Rebecca can teach me how an Easy Bake oven works. I can't remember if I've ever played with one before." That was a bold faced lie. He had fond memories of making ugly little brownies with his siblings, especially Jessa.

"That sounds cute. Make sure to make lots and lots of little cakes for me, okay?" Eric grinned at him, and Cliff wondered if he was seriously expecting a bunch of shitty Easy Bake oven cakes.

"We don't have enough cake mixes," Rebecca said with a surprisingly doleful tone.

Cliff rushed to think of an alternative. "That's okay. We can do something else. Do you have any dollhouses?"

"Yeah." She popped another bite of food into her mouth.

"How about we play with those?" Cliff would have agreed to feed her with a bottle and burp her if it meant that he could be alone with her.

"Hmmm?" Rebecca gulped down some water. "Okay. You can help me set up my neighborhoods."

***