143.
They didn’t run this time, but walked as fast as they could, careful not to spill a drop. They climbed the front steps to where the babies were still tethered, and ran into Yulya, holding a big plastic feeding bottle half full of milk, and a length of transparent rubber tubing.
“Girls. I give up on you. Have to feed boys now…” She stared at the bucket. “What in bucket?”
“More milk, miss. Like we said,” explained Marlene.
Yulya looked from the bucket to their smirking faces and back again.
“Boy-cow milk!” cried Janice, jubilantly. “See? Lots of it, lovely and gloopy!”
Yulya’s eyes widened, but she quickly recovered herself.
“Yes…boy-cow milk. Very…very good. I have sweetened milk in bottle. If we mix together we make very nice baby milk, I think.”
“Yes! Yes, let’s do it!”
Yulya unscrewed the cap, which had a built-in nipple matching the ones of the boys’ sissifiers. The bottle had a wide neck, and Janice carefully tipped the bucket over it. The boy-cow milk began to flow in, then all at once the whole bucketful slid in with a satisfying plop. Yulya screwed the cap back on tight, and attached the rubber tube.
“Could you feed babies, girls? I have to help Miss Mandy.”
“Yes. We’ll do it, we’ll do it!” they cried.
She handed the bottle, now nearly full, to Maisy. “Make sure they finish all up, please.”
Maisy shook the bottle until the creamy, foaming milk was well mixed. The girls were very excited that not only were they getting to feed the babies as well as change them.
“Max first,” said Marlene.
“Mmm! Mmm!” Max protested, shaking his head violently in an attempt to prevent them attaching the tube. But Marlene had it covered.
“Hold his head still while I fix the tube, girls.” She flipped open the cap of his sissifier. “That’s it. Keep still, Max! You need to have your feed. You’re not getting out of it.”
She pushed the other end of the tube over the nipple.
“There. It’s on. It’s no good shaking your head now, baby. It’s on tight and it’s not going to come off. Maisy, go ahead.”
Maisy held the bottle up and gave it a squeeze. While Max struggled and whined, the milk flowed down the tube and into his sissifier. Maisy squeezed until his eyes widened and his cheeks bulged, then stopped to see what he would do next.
“He’s got a good mouthful there,” said Janice. “He’s going to have to swallow soon… Yes! There it goes! Yay!”
The girls jumped up and down in delight.
“Was that nice, Max?” asked Patricia in mock solicitude. “Not too sweet, I hope. We worked so hard to get that. So did Sean and Tyler for that matter. They gave their all, in fact,” she added, with a rather cruel laugh. “Would you like some more? There’s oodles. Plenty for both of you.”
The girls were in hysterics. Tears were forming in Max’s eyes, and Luke looked horrified.
“Let’s take our time,” said Janice. “Feed them slowly. Let them enjoy every mouthful.”
It took another ten minutes feed Max his half of the bottle. Several of the ladies watched with expressions of motherly tenderness. Miriam noticed the girls feeding the babies and came out to join them.
“That’s nice, girls. Giving the thirsty babies their milk. They certainly deserve a reward for volunteering to dress up like this.”
“Hello, miss. We didn’t realise you were here. Sorry, what did you say?” asked Marlene.
“I was just saying it must have taken some courage for the boys to agree to be the babies today.”
Marlene fell in. “Oh, er, yes, absolutely. Miss Dearman must have told you… It’s great, isn’t it? But they’re really nice guys… They'd do anything for Miss Shirley...”
Janice smothered a grin. “They really are. They were the first to put their hands up when miss asked. I think secretly they enjoy those cute dresses and little rubber pants… Don’t you, boys?”
The boys glared, but Miriam didn’t notice.
“What are you feeding them?”
“Ooh…what are we feeding them…” Maisy hesitated. “It’s, er, really special milk, with honey and, er, extra protein. It tastes really nice.”
“Yes, really nice, miss,” said Patricia. “Max has had his feed, now it’s Luke’s turn. I’ll just disconnect the tube…”
“That’s quite a clever system.”
“It is. It saves having to take out their pacifiers.”
“Yes. Miss Dearman told me they wanted to keep them in.”
“And now I can plug it into Luke’s one…”
Janice caught hold of Patricia’s arm.
“Before you feed Luke, Pat, why don’t you let miss taste the milk?”
“Oh, no… That’s all right… I wouldn’t want to deprive Luke of his feed…”
“Oh, no, there’s loads here,” cried Pat, excitedly. “Please do, miss. Tell us if you like it. We worked so hard to make it. Please. We’d love to have your opinion…”
Miriam hesitated. She found it difficult to say no to anyone, let alone these bossy senior girls she wasn’t used to.
“Please…” they begged in unison.
“Well, all right… How am I going to…? Shall I get a cup?”
“Oh, just suc-k on the tube. It’s quite clean. I’ll give the bottle a little squeeze,” said Patricia.
“Okay...,” said Miriam, doubtfully. “Just a tiny bit, though.”
She took the tube cautiously, and holding it a few inches from the end, placed it between her lips.
“Ready, miss?”
“Yes. Go ahead…”
Patricia smiled. She gave the bottle a squeeze.
“Mmmm…mmff!”
“Pat! Too much!”
Miss Mitchell spat out the tube. Her mouth was full, and the slightly sticky fluid was dripping from her chin onto her clean blouse.
“Miss… I’m so sorry. It came out with a rush…”
Miriam shook her head to indicate it was fine. It was probably her own fault, she thought. She hadn’t been ready…
Marlene handed her a tissue. She dabbed her lips, and gulped down the milk. It had an interesting flavour – she could taste honey, and something else – and it slid down easily. She tried to wipe it off her blouse, but it was rather sticky. It had an unfamiliar odour.
“We’re really sorry, Miss Mitchell,” said Maisy. She took a clean tissue and helped her clean her blouse.
“It’s fine, girls. Don’t worry.”
“It just came out so fast…”
“What do you think…” ventured Maisy. “Did you like it?”
“Yes…quite nice. I could taste the honey…and something else. I suppose that’s the protein.”
The girls exchanged ecstatic glances.
“Yes, miss, we used flavoured protein,” said Patricia. “Maisy wanted to add strawberry syrup too. What do you think?”
“Well, you could… But I think it’s very nice just as it is.”
“It’s very good for you, miss. Better than ordinary milk. We’ll make some specially for you, to put on your cereal.”
“No, really girls, that’s very kind, but…”
“It's no problem, miss,” said Marlene. “Would you like to feed Luke? We’re supposed to be helping out inside.”
“Well, I suppose…I mean, if that’s okay with you…”
“Course. Plug him in, Pat. Miss, all you have to do is to hold up the bottle and squeeze it gently, till he’s drunk it all.”
“All right, then.”
“There’s still ten minutes before the tours get started, so there’s plenty of time.”
The idea of feeding this big helpless baby somehow appealed to Miriam. Maybe it was the novelty, because he was the boy baby and she knew nothing about either boys or babies. She was normally rather shy, but the idea of being in charge of this big sissy boy and making him drink up his milk felt strangely exciting. The taste and texture of the baby milk – moreish and pleasingly glutinous – lingered in her mouth.
“You go and do what you have to do, girls. Leave him to me. I’ll see you later.”
“Er…will you be staying then miss?” asked Janice.
“I wasn’t going to… But it would be silly to leave without looking round. And Shirley seems so nice. So after I’ve fed little Luke here, I’ll probably join a tour.”
“Great! We’ll see you later, then.”