The footfalls Cindy heard intermittently through the wall of Madison’s habitat were torture.
Not because they were frightening.
Because they were ordinary.
McKenzie’s voice drifted in every now and then from somewhere beyond the bedroom. A laugh. A soft comment. The muffled rhythm of her moving through the house with Greg. Cindy could not make out every word, but she could hear enough to know they were together.
She liked that.
She hated that she liked that.
Greg deserved kindness. He deserved time with McKenzie. He deserved a room that did not feel like Madison’s personal kingdom.
But Cindy hated being in here while it happened.
She hated being left behind in Madison’s bedroom, trapped inside this glass-fronted habitat while her husband got to spend the day with their daughter. She hated the small, bitter jealousy that twisted in her chest every time McKenzie laughed.
It was not fair.
None of this was fair.
The tablet still sat on the tiny desk with Brooklyn’s science notes open and Madison’s history assignment half-finished. Cindy had tried to work. She had tried to focus. But the sounds from outside the room kept pulling her attention away.
A footstep outside Madison’s door made her look up.
The door opened, and McKenzie stepped inside.
She had changed into her tennis outfit, her hair pulled back, bag slung over one shoulder. She looked ready to leave, which made Cindy’s stomach sink before McKenzie even spoke.
Cindy looked past her automatically.
No Greg.
That told her enough.
He was probably in McKenzie’s room, tucked away in that nice little habitat McKenzie had built for him. Comfortable. Protected. Not coming back here.
At least not while McKenzie had anything to say about it.
McKenzie closed the door partway behind her and looked down at Cindy through the habitat wall. For a moment, she did not speak.
Cindy stood very still.
“So Dad talked to me,” McKenzie said slowly, like she was still working through the conversation herself.
Cindy’s heart gave a painful little jump.
McKenzie shifted her tennis bag higher on her shoulder. “He brought up some good points. And I guess…” She paused, visibly uncomfortable. “I guess maybe we can do something together each week or so.”
Cindy did not move.
McKenzie continued, “Nothing huge. Maybe watch a movie, or you can sit in my room while I do homework. Maybe some kind of activity. I don’t know yet.”
For one fragile second, Cindy forgot to breathe.
It was not freedom.
It was not forgiveness.
It was not even McKenzie wanting to spend time with her.
But it was an opening.
“Mistress Wessen,” Cindy said carefully, keeping her voice soft. “Thank you.”
She stopped there.
She wanted to say more. She wanted to ask what Greg had said. She wanted to ask if McKenzie hated her less now, if she might visit more, if maybe someday Cindy could speak to her like a mother again.
But Cindy knew better.
Too much need would ruin it.
Too much hope would make McKenzie pull away.
So she swallowed everything else and added only, “I would like that.”
McKenzie’s expression tightened, not quite hostile, but guarded.
“Just so we’re clear,” McKenzie said, “you’re still Madison’s Little.”
The words landed hard, but Cindy kept her face still.
“Yes, Mistress Wessen.”
“I’m doing this because it’s important to Dad,” McKenzie continued. “And because he asked me to. Not because everything is suddenly fine.”
Cindy nodded quickly. “I understand, Mistress Wessen.”
McKenzie looked relieved that she did not have to argue the point.
“So let’s not make it weird,” McKenzie said. “I don’t want to let him down. But if you go full Mom or start trying to lecture me or act like this means you get to tell me what to do…”
She trailed off, the rest left unsaid.
Cindy heard it anyway.
If she pushed too hard, the opening would close.
If she tried to reclaim too much, McKenzie would retreat behind Madison’s rules and her own hurt.
“No,” Cindy said quickly. “I’m grateful. Truly.”
McKenzie studied her for a moment.
Cindy lowered her eyes, not because she wanted to, but because she had learned that sometimes survival looked like humility.
“I won’t mess this up,” Cindy added.
McKenzie’s face softened by the smallest amount. Not enough to call it warmth. Not enough to make Cindy believe the past had shifted.
But enough to hurt.
“Okay,” McKenzie said.
Cindy looked back up.
McKenzie adjusted the strap of her bag again. “I have tennis. Dad’s in my room. I’m going to make sure he’s settled before I leave.”
Cindy’s chest tightened at the casual confirmation.
Dad’s in my room.
Not your husband.
Not Greg.
Dad.
Cindy nodded. “Of course, Mistress Wessen.”
McKenzie hesitated near the door.
For a moment, Cindy thought she might say something else. Something softer. Something about Greg. Something about the two of them maybe trying.
Instead, McKenzie looked at the tablet on Cindy’s desk.
“Madison gave you work?”
Cindy’s stomach dropped.
“Yes, Mistress Wessen.”
McKenzie’s expression became unreadable. “Homework?”
Cindy hesitated.
There was no good answer. Lying was dangerous. Complaining was worse.
“Yes, Mistress Wessen.”
McKenzie let out a small breath through her nose. “Of course she did.”
Cindy said nothing.
McKenzie glanced back toward the hallway, then at Cindy again. “Just… don’t let her make you do too much.”
Cindy almost laughed.
She caught it before it escaped, but only barely.
“Yes, Mistress Wessen,” she said instead.
McKenzie must have heard something in her voice, because her eyes narrowed slightly. “I mean it.”
“I know.”
The words slipped out too naturally.
McKenzie’s brows lifted.
Cindy corrected immediately. “Sorry. Yes, Mistress Wessen. I know you mean it.”
The tension eased, but only a little.
McKenzie looked like she wanted to say something about the slip. Instead, she let it go.
“I’ll figure out when we can do something,” McKenzie said. “Maybe later this week. Or this weekend if Madison doesn’t make it a whole thing.”
Cindy’s hands tightened at her sides.
“I would appreciate that,” Cindy said. “Thank you, Mistress Wessen.”
McKenzie nodded once.
Then she opened the door and stepped out.
The door closed behind her.
Cindy stood in the middle of the habitat, barely daring to move.
For the first time all day, the room felt different.
Not better.
Not safe.
But different.
Greg had done something.
Greg had found a way to get through to McKenzie where Cindy had failed. He had given her an opening, and Cindy could not afford to waste it.
The gulf between her and McKenzie was still enormous. McKenzie had not given her permission to use her name. She had not apologized. She had not invited Cindy back into her life as a mother. She had not offered forgiveness or even comfort.
She had offered time.
A small amount.
Conditional.
Supervised.
Fragile.
But still time.
Cindy looked back at the tablet.
Madison’s homework waited.
Brooklyn’s science notes waited.
Ava’s assignment waited.
The world had not changed.
But somewhere beyond Madison’s room, Greg was in McKenzie’s room because McKenzie wanted him there.
And because of him, Cindy might be allowed into that room too.
Someday.
For a movie.
For homework.
For anything.
Cindy sat slowly back down at the tiny desk, her hands trembling as she reached for the tablet.
Her methods with McKenzie clearly needed work.
But at least now, she had a chance to try again.
That took a lot from
McKenzie, Cindy needs to, No! Has to make this work! She needs to stop all this trying to better her situation and accept what has happened and McKenzie will vouch for her more! Also! 🤣🤣 can’t wait for Madison to be like “mom.. you’re taking mom! To do what”🤣
yeah Madison isn’t going to be happy about that at all. but i agree. the best thing Cindy can do for herself is to not try to get a better situation as a little but try to be a better mom in general. slowly, but making it about Kenzie and Madison will be better than making it about how they are as guardians and how unfair it is that Cindy is a little and stuff.
Madison probably won’t care as it will mean she should get reciprocated Greg time when she wants it.
As she knows McKenzie doesn’t want mom. So it doesn’t cost her anyhing to let it happen.
But Cindy knew better.
Too much need would ruin it.
Too much hope would make McKenzie pull away.
Smart. finally smart lol
but for real if i was cindy, i’d probably be hearing all of that. even a small chance is better than being shut off from you’re child. you can totally screw up things from a place of love and still love the person you messed up with and want to express it
This is basically the chance Greg created for her and went out on a limb for. If she messes this up it’s on her.
1) Cindy gets a ray of hope, and for once, it looks like she didn’t blow it immediately.
2) Where she is blowing it, is procrastinating on the homework. If she doesn’t get that done, Madison is not going to be happy, and that will make it difficult for McKenzie to make her announcement.
3) Greg deserved kindness. He deserved time with McKenzie. He deserved a room that did not feel like Madison’s personal kingdom. – She got over her jealousy kind of quick.
4) McKenzie looked like she wanted to say something about the slip. Instead, she let it go. – I don’t see McKenzie as being so stern as Madison, so this seems out of character.
5) McKenzie glanced back toward the hallway, then at Cindy again. “Just… don’t let her make you do too much.” – Yeah, right… I can just see Cindy telling Madison “McKenzie said not to give me too much homework”. 🤣
6) Dad’s in my room.
Not your husband.
Not Greg.
Dad.
“Dad” seems to be the natural way for McKenzie (and Madison for that matter) to refer to Greg when talking to Cindy.
7) The gulf between her and McKenzie was still enormous. McKenzie had not given her permission to use her name. She had not apologized. She had not invited Cindy back into her life as a mother. She had not offered forgiveness or even comfort. – Am I mis-reading this? Does Cindy expect an apology from McKenzie?
8) Her methods with McKenzie clearly needed work. – If this is Cindy’s thoughts, then she still is missing the point. Her “methods” should be accepting she is a Little and that she was wrong in the way she treated McKenzie (her whole life).
3) i think that she completely recognizes gregs only in this weird situation (weird for him in terms of being pulled in 3 directions) because of her before they became littles, so probably really thinks greg deserves something different than what he’s getting. whether or not she’d think otherwise if she was normal is debatable, though most likely she wouldn’t change a thing, which might even play into her wanting Greg to have a better situation
Greg is where he is because he is a wet noodle and continued to stand by her side while she taught kids how to be good slave owners. He just ignored it. He helped raise his daughters to be little slave owning monsters too by not pushing back against his wife.
Its a bit more nuanced to me. yeah he’s in this position because he didn’t actively speak against what cindy was teaching and was complacent, but he wasn’t teaching it either or even really believed in it. I don’t even think he became a licensed guardian because he felt strongly about littles, he just did it because his family was. to be honest we really don’t know what his opinions about littles were prior to all of this, he honestly may have just been completely indifferent to it, which is pretty common in the smallara universe for a lot of people that can’t afford the fees gatekeeping owning a little
i guess my main thing is that, to my, complicity and indifference only goes so far where fault is concerned. otherwise there are a lot issues that everyone in some form should be at fault for because they didn’t go out of their way to put some effort into preventing it.
He wasn’t in a normal situation to where his indifference would have less impact. His wife, who he loved and supported, was helping to pass legislation to teach kids how to own slaves. And he kept supporting her because he actively ignored it. He could have pushed back and made it known that he wouldn’t stand by and keep supporting a pro-slavery mouthpiece while she teaches their kids that nonsense, but that would’ve been uncomfortable.
you know what, I think i misunderstood what we were talking about. i was looking at it as society as a whole vs just within the family. yeah that’s a lot harder to defend cause more push back or even hinting at the idea that greg pushed back more than we are aware of would make him less to blame.
Oh okay that makes sense then.
It is just difficult because we haven’t seen Cindy in any other context than her advocating for little slavery. Like, how was she as a mom? Did she respect and love Greg? Did he respect and love her, or was he just scared of conflict?
Greg gives off big himbo energy. I think dude might just be a big dumb golden retriever man. Which is usually endearing, but when the people he is attached to are this horrible, you have to question how he could love someone so clearly evil.
Wait, is Mackenzie against little slavery or not? Like, if she still sees Greg as her dad, just little, why can’t he stay with Cindy when she is gone? That’s fucked up
Maybe Greg himself wants to spend some time alone in the habitat McKenzie built for him, which seems to be cozier and more humane
A) I hope when Cindy gets to spend time with Kenz, she asks about her life not making it about her.
B) If Kenz brings up little stuff. She needs to humble herself and say she has learned
Kenz was right about littles along and she was sorry.
C) I don’t think that will happen because Cindy is still in little denial even while lapping up,water.
1) “Greg deserved kindness. He deserved time with McKenzie. He deserved a room that did not feel like Madison’s personal kingdom”. A broken clock is right twice a day
2) “She hated being left behind in Madison’s bedroom, trapped inside this glass-fronted habitat while her husband got to spend the day with their daughter. She hated the small, bitter jealousy that twisted in her chest every time McKenzie laughed” Maybe she should’ve thought of that before burning that bridge
3) “It was not fair. None of this was fair” and yet entirely deserved
4) “So Dad talked to me,” rub it in why don’t you?
5) “She wanted to say more. She wanted to ask what Greg had said.” I’m sure she’s better off asking Greg
6) “I don’t want to let him down. But if you go full Mom or start trying to lecture me or act like this means you get to tell me what to do…” But that’s just Cindy being Cindy
7) “I won’t mess this up,” I’m sure you will
8) “Dad’s in my room. Not your husband. Not Greg. Dad.” Doesn’t like Brooklyn calling her ‘her’ doesn’t like McKenzie calling Greg ‘dad’, there’s just no pleasing her
9) “Just… don’t let her make you do too much.” and how is Cindy supposed to stop that?
10) “McKenzie looked like she wanted to say something about the slip. Instead, she let it go.” That makes sense; she’s not as invested in the performance as Maddison. I didn’t think she’d react at all.
11) “Greg had done something. Greg had found a way to get through to McKenzie where Cindy had failed. He had given her an opening, and Cindy could not afford to waste it.” Greg’s been trying this whole time
12) “The gulf between her and McKenzie was still enormous. McKenzie had not given her permission to use her name. She had not apologised.” Of course, Cindy thinks she’s owed an apology.
I’m so old and decrepit that I remember the original Madison’s World…. where she was cruel and unforgiving to her parents. And she is now a character that is just kind of…. there. She’s become a girl who’s trying to do as her mother has been instructing her to for so long. A complete change…. I mean yeah she gets some enjoyment from having Littles, but not like the terror she originally was.
And now, in my eyes anyway, McKenzie has become the story’s antagonist. LOL I mean yeah, her mom may have been overbearing…. but her amount of disregard for her mother has made her more like the old Maddie than Maddie. LOL And it is a bug in my craw how pampered Cindy’s husband gets, when he’s just as much to blame for Cindy’s treatment of McKenzie as Cindy was. Maybe if he wasn’t such a limp dick he’d have stepped in more.
Madison’s character change reminds me of Dayton. Dayton went from this girl who gave Jordy nightmares to a pretty stable girl. It’s almost hard to imagine the girl she used to be to the one she is now. Character development…. or maybe I’m just biased because I tend to hate the men in these stories. LMAO
Dayton stable??? Yeah hell hasn’t frozen over yet 🤣
Honestly, Madison and her friends are making Dayton look like an angel.
Even the old Dayton was just a spoiled brat who wanted to annoy Jordan. Madison’s crew is being sadistic and cruel.
Spending some time with McKenzie will be good.
Deep down, she still feels empathy for her mother.
When Maison finds out, through McKenzie, that she plans to spend some time with Cindy, she’ll blow it out of proportion, as usual, and make subtle threats toward Cindy so she won’t reveal the treatment she’s been receiving.
McKenzie thinks Cindy is just doing Madison’s homework. She probably doesn’t know about all the bullying and humiliating treatment Cindy has been receiving from the girls.
I hope McKenzie is smart and empathetic enough to realize that Cindy isn’t doing well psychologically and that she’s hiding something, and that she tries to get something out of her.