Breakfast

She was plopped into a highchair big enough to hold her with a tray locked into place.

"Here comes the airplane."

Linda pouted and refused to cater to the Nanny's little game, smearing a spoonful of applesauce on her cheeks, some dripping onto the bib strapped to her neck.

Her parents, fully dressed for work, wandered into the kitchen, filling thermoses full of coffee to take with them.

"Mom! Dad!"

While not happy at the idea of her parents seeing her in this crazy predicament, she was hoping they would take one look at her and chase off this crazy Lady trying to feed her as though she were a baby.

Instead of shock and fury, her mom took one look at her and gave a toothy smile.

"Hey there sweety, look who's awake so early!"

She walked up to them, her heels clacking loudly on the kitchen tile and gave Linda a protracted kiss on the cheek.

"M-Mom, what are you doing?!"

"Oh I know, sweety. I wish I could stay too, but Mommy needs to work today, but Nanna-Carol will make sure you'll be nice and cared for today."

"'Nanna-Carol'? What the fuck mom?!"

Her mom turned to 'Nanna-Carol'. "Is she okay? She seems really grumpy this morning."

"Oh I wouldn't worry," said Carol. "I'm sure all she needs is a little nap. It has been an exciting week and a half."

"I know. Christmas Eve at my parents and Christmas with Harold's family. All that excitement might have been a lot for the poor dear."

Her parents gave her another farewell kiss on each of her cheeks and were gone from the house just like that. Linda just gave Carol a look.

"What was that? Why didn't they recognize me? They think I'm a baby! And they act like you've always been here? What the Hell did you do to them?"

"They think you're a baby because you are a baby, dear," said Carol, who started stirring her bowl of applesauce. "Its a Class-A Continuity Censor that comes with your new position. Keeps the average human-being without the right clearance from interfering with your duties. It's all in the manual."

Linda gave herself a facepalm and a defeated sigh.

"Again with the fucking manual."