"Thank you," Cindy said as she collected the ice-cream cones from the vendor's coarse hands. "No problem, ma'am," the vendor boomed in a low voice as Cindy smiled back with gratitude. As she walked away she commented on the vendor's perplexing appearance: she'd first thought they were a woman judging by their round face and large breasts but the deep voice, strange goatee and copious amounts of hair on their body suggested otherwise. They seemed nice enough though and Cindy wasn't one to assume. Heck, she'd seen a lot worse from some so-called 'Gen Z'-ers in their neighbourhood before.
She strode forward confidently in her platform wedges, unknowingly catching the eyes of a couple passing men (and a handful of women too) as she flipped her blonde hair out of her eyes and made her way over to the ball pit. She squeezed herself into the midst of the other weary carers and crossed her legs effeminately as she watched Keely jump around and mingle with the other children. Cindy laughed awkwardly as she watched Keely reenact a mobster icing a treacherous lieutenant with another child in the pit, his submerged little head smiling wholeheartedly with his cute buckteeth. She's a weird one but you've got to love her, Cindy thought as Keely poured a bucket of multicoloured balls atop the boy's head.
"Be careful, Jacob!" Cindy turned round to see a muscular figure with tan skin, a rugged beard and a generally focused feel about them. If she hadn't already been married she would've swooned at his knowing dark green eyes and chiselled jaw. The man looked down and grinned as he noticed Cindy's blushes. "Hi," he said as he stretched out a hand, "I'm Sydney but all my friends call me Syd." Cindy returned his handshake and introduced herself. They quickly started their own conversation, laughing as they shared stories about the ups and downs of parenting.
"It's nice to see someone here that isn't a complete dinosaur," Syd laughed, "Most of these guys look like they've gone twelve rounds with a hurricane. I absolutely love kids. Me and my husband are trying for our second now." Cindy looked to the man's rough knuckles and, lo and behold, there on his third finger were two rings, one a simple gold wedding band and the other holding a ridiculously large diamond on the top. "Wowee, congratulations," she said as she stared at the expensive rock.
Syd lifted his hand up and admired the ring for himself, replying, "Thanks, my Martin loves to spoil me. Ooh, here he comes now!" Cindy craned her neck to the side. Coming towards them was a handsome young man wearing a designer suit, expensive gold watch on his wrist and a mischievous twinkle in his sapphire eyes. Oh lord, what a catch, Cindy said to herself. The man continued to walk towards them...and then past them. However, behind his tall frame stood what looked to be just another adorable little girl in a fluffy pink pullover hoodie with teddy bear ears and matching little booties. Cindy stared closer and noticed a small black mobile clutched to her ear as she marched closer.
"No way Jose, listen to me Nina, if you don't get me those files on my desk by Monday, I'll-" The 'girl' hung up the line as Sydney beckoned 'her' forwards. A few moments later and Syd had hoisted the small figure onto 'his' lap where they began to passionately make-out, exchanging saliva disgustingly whilst the small girl's tiny hand tenderly pawing Syd's engorged manmeat. Cindy quietly gagged. She was happy that Keely was preoccupied in the ball-pit so that she didn't have to watch the scene. In fact, she felt quite mortified that a majority of the parental onlookers barely batted an eyelid- surely this violated at least half a dozen child sexual abuse laws. After a few moments more the two broke the embrace and smiled lovingly at each other.
"Cindy, meet my wonderful sugar-daddy, Martin. Martin, my new friend Cindy." Cindy cringed as she took the dainty little hand in hers. "Pleasure to meet you," Martin squeaked in his prepubescent voice, "Any friend of Sydney's is a friend of mine. Isn't that right, smoochiekins?" They made tiny little air kisses to themselves before Cindy felt physically uncomfortable sitting around them.
"You know what, I really need to go. I've got to meet my husband and, well, the ice-cream's melted so..."
"Yeah, we need to leave as well," Sydney said, "Me and my hubby have got a little 'reacquainting' to do, don't we sugarlumps?" Cindy heaved, cursing herself for having stocking up on extraneous portions of ice-cream over the past hour or so. Martin hollered at Jacob from inside the pit and it was clear to see the boy was reluctant to go. He stood up and shook off the balls, making Cindy gasp as she observed the overtly female body sat underneath his bucktoothed head. Furthermore judging by the swollen breasts and prominent bulge on his midriff the boy himself was the one carrying the couple's soon-to-be newborn.
'I don't want to know how that happened, Cindy shuddered as the trio walked away, Martin cradled in Sydney's arms while the young Jacob waddled behind rubbing his baby bump. Cindy motioned for Keely to follow her and they both moved away from the place briskly. "Let's go and find your dad, sweetie," Cindy whispered- whether to reassure herself or the child, she wasn't sure- as both of them stepped into the elevator. As they descended Keely laughed to herself, saying to her stepmother, "That Jacob kid was so weird. He kept crying about somebody 'kicking' him as we played even though all of the other kids were too much of babies to come near us. He even complained when I tried to touch his belly flab- Daddy told me it's perfectly normal to have!"
"I don't know if I'd use the word 'normal', honeybun," Cindy chuckled apprehensively as she kissed Keely's cocoa-brown forehead. Let's just hope that things are unexceptional when we get back to the room, she thought as the elevator doors opened to allow an influx of new passengers inside before it continued its journey.