Chapter 5

A short while later, when the two reached the downstairs hallway, Stephanie's gaze fell on the bags which were lined up on the wall, and she shook her head smiling.

"I see you really packed everything. You were thorough, sweetie."

"You know me, Mom, what I start, I finish," her daughter replied proudly, biting her lip and grinning. Her mother ran her fingers through her hair and lovingly scratched the back of her neck.

"That's true."

And there was that gleam in her eyes again, that Nattie had already noticed a moment ago. But now that they were closer, she could see what it was. It was a mixture of pride and regret, an expression she would probably also see in her father's eyes once he got home from his conference. But then her mother seemed to regain her composure, because she nodded resolutely and turned away.

"Well, come with me then. Before we can leave, I need to print something."

"And what?"

Curiously, she followed her into the living room, but her mom just shook her head.

"You'll see in a minute."

With that, she headed straight for the large main computer console, which served as the central hub of the house. The environmental controls, the security system, the family database—everything was centralized in one console and accessible at any time. She sat down in front of the large screen and began tapping away at one of the displays.

"What are you looking for, Mom?"

"Your medical records."

Nat raised an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't ask any further questions, because she felt that she would soon find out what it was about, even though a queasy feeling was slowly forming in her stomach. Instead, driven by a sudden desire to feel her mother, she stepped close to her side and placed an arm around her shoulders. In fact, she snuggled as close to her as she could, because at the moment she somehow needed her and, besides, she loved feeling her bare skin against hers.

In just over a month, she'll eat me. Pieces of me will be on her plate, roasted and seasoned, and she'll consume them with joy. Oh God, I hope she likes the taste... I want my meat to melt on her tongue.

Suddenly she was overcome by an overwhelming feeling of closeness and gratitude that she had rarely experienced before. The immense desire to tell her mother how much she meant to her grew stronger and stronger. But the right words simply wouldn't come to her; nothing seemed strong enough to adequately express how she felt at the moment. And so it became a simple:

"I love you, Mom."

With a happy glow in her eyes, her mother looked up at her and somehow she seemed to be able to read in her eyes everything for which she had been unable to find words. In her eyes, however, it seemed to be visible.

"I love you too, my darling. Much more than you can imagine. You must never forget that."

After a long and loving look, Steph eventually sighed, leaned back in her chair, and placed one bare foot on the edge of the table, just as she had just done in her study. As the computer continued to search the database, she looked up at her.

"But while we're at it, you have to do me a favor."

"Just tell me."

Nattie watched her mother, spellbound. She had one eye on the screen, still waiting impatiently for it to finally reveal the requested documents. After a while, she replied:

"I fully understand that you want to devote yourself so completely to this. And I really admire that. But..."

"But?" Nattie replied, now a little nervous, and her mom met her gaze again. A hint of seriousness had entered her eyes that hadn't been there a second ago.

"But I'm still your mother, and so it's my duty to take care of you. That's why, as much as I'd like to grant you your wish, I have to insist that you continue to wear shoes when you go outside."

"What? Mom, no...!"

The girl opened her mouth in outrage and shook her head, because that wasn't how she had imagined it. She immediately prepared to protest, but no sooner had she opened her mouth than her mother raised her hand and ordered her to stop.

"Yes, young lady, and for one simple reason. I don't want you to hurt yourself in any way."

Ouch! Young lady! I haven't heard that in while

Her mother's words told her she meant it. She could tell that not only from her tone of voice, but also from her serious expression. And so the girl shyly bit her lip and avoided her gaze in disappointment.

"What do you mean?"

Stephanie shrugged her shoulders and sighed.

"I'm talking about how it's not safe to walk around the city barefoot. You could catch God knows what. An illness, an injury, anything. And that might end up making you unable to fulfill your duty because you're no longer meeting health regulations."

"Oh sh..."

At the last moment, Nat suppressed a rude curse that her mom would surely have reprimanded her for, because suddenly she understood what her mom was trying to say. And the logic in her words even made sense to her, even though it secretly annoyed her. And her mom seemed to realize that she understood her, because she nodded and lovingly reached for her hand.

"Exactly. And that's why I'd rather you didn't take any risks."

With an indifferent shrug, she added:

"Here at home, I don't care at all; the sweeper keeps the floor clean. So feel free to be as naked as you like. But outside, you have to put on your sneakers!"

After one last annoyed eye roll, Natalie nodded, because of course her mother was right, she knew that. She definitely didn't want to risk contracting a disease that would ultimately render her unfit for human consumption.

"Okay, fine."

Her mother gently patted her bare bottom and smiled contentedly.

"See? We want this to stay as delicious as it is now, don't we?"

Her daughter blushed profusely, but didn't reply, simply watching as her mother turned back to the monitor, which now displayed several neatly listed documents. As she scrolled through the list with a frown, she murmured,

"Besides, I find the look incredibly sexy anyway. Naked in sneakers... Mmmmm... that's something."

And then, with an amused sideways glance, which her daughter returned with blushing cheeks, she added:

"Many nudists believe that wearing shoes can actually enhance the feeling of nakedness. Even more so than going barefoot. When you're naked, you're simply not dressed. But when you're naked and wearing shoes, you're acknowledging your nakedness. It's like putting an exclamation point after your statement."

With an amused grin, she looked up at her child.

"And who knows, maybe you’ll even end up liking it. After all, you definitely take after me, and I always thought there was something very naughty about it."

But Nattie just shrugged and bit her lip. While she could certainly understand her mother's point, she hadn't considered it. And if she was honest with herself, that wasn't what she was interested in.

"That's not why I'm doing it."

At her words, her mother looked up from the paperwork. She placed her hands lovingly on her daughters’ hips and pulled her closer.

“I know, darling, believe me, I understand you and I admire your sense of duty, and yet I imagine that in the coming weeks you will enjoy this aspect of your new life even more than you realize right now.”

With that, she winked lovingly at her and reached out for a small kiss. Immediately, Natalie pressed her lips to hers, and for a moment she surrendered to the intimate caress. As always, her mother's skilled tongue gave her a thousand butterflies in her stomach, even if her thoughts wandered for a moment.

My new life... It won't last long

Unfortunately, the kiss ended as quickly as it had begun, because suddenly a signal reminded the two lovers that they had been looking for something specific. And as Steph turned to the computer, she made a sound of relief, albeit a little annoyed.

"Finally! That system could really use an overhaul."

Nattie nodded in agreement, and crossed her arms with an exasperated expression.

"I've been saying this for months. My Sims always begin to terribly stutter whenever I throw a Dolcett party in the neighborhood."

"I'm surprised you still have a neighborhood, considering how often you put your Sims on the spit."

Her mother's response made her chuckle, but the words had barely been spoken when she realized that this game, which had once consumed so much of her time, suddenly seemed to have no meaning for her anymore. By now, it had been replaced in her mind by a longing for real life.

The sudden hum of the printer brought Natties attention back to the here and now. With a hand on her mother's bare shoulder, she watched as a blue, semi-transparent plastic sheet appeared in the dispensing slot, which she immediately took. Nat gave her a puzzled look.

"What is that?"

With a satisfied smile, Steph waved the small plastic card in front of her nose.

"These, my dear, are your last pediatric checkups, including your current meat quality assessment. You remember your last visit with Dr. Cutler, almost two years ago, right?"

A broad smile spread across her daughter's face, and Nattie immediately nodded eagerly. Of course, she still remembered. Dr. Cutler was her pediatrician, who had examined her regularly since birth, and as was customary in her world, assessing a girl's meat quality was as much a part of her annual checkups as the usual vaccinations. All of this was offered free of charge, and hardly any parent would voluntarily forgo it. After all, it was not impractical to always be aware of the taste quality of one's own offspring in case they unexpectedly ended up on the grill somewhere, or one planned to spontaneously put them on the menu.

As for Natalie, she had always enjoyed her visits with Dr. Cutler. Especially because he never missed the opportunity to give her little clitoris a little attention, every time she lay with her legs spread in front of him and he examined her fillet. He had taken it so far last time that she ended up squirting all over his coat. She also had to admit that the rating of “A+, Excellent Quality – Immediate Slaughter Strongly Recommended” made her extremely proud.

Nevertheless, she frowned in confusion as her mother stood up and prepared to leave the room with the small card between her fingers. And so, tilting her head questioningly as she followed her into her parents' bedroom, she asked:

"But why do you need my meat rating? I thought I didn't have to register to be grilled at Uncle George's wedding. It's not an official event. I'm not going to Sidney's."

Even though she couldn't see her mother's face right now, she could hear the chuckle in her voice as she replied.

"I suppose that's true, but I thought to celebrate, after we've been to the welfare office, we could visit La Bella Fiorentina."

With a mischievous smile, Stephanie opened her closet and began rummaging through it. She deliberately ignored the shocked expression on her child's face, who stood in the doorway with her mouth open, seemingly unable to believe what she had just heard. And indeed, Nat was having great difficulty processing what she had just heard.

"Wait, hold on, what? La Bella Fiorentina? Isn't that that fancy place near Trinity Chapel? Right in the middle of the city?"

In fact, the Italian restaurant was one of the finest in all of Meeker. When her mother had suggested earlier that they could have ice cream together, she had expected a visit to one of the numerous ice cream parlors in the pedestrian zone, not a posh three-star restaurant, which, moreover, wasn't even located in one of the city's designated clothing-optional zones.

But her mom seemed secretly amused by her shock, or at least thoroughly enjoyed testing her resolve in this way, because she just shrugged and grinned as she stepped into a pair of tight black panties and then began putting on a bra.

"I thought we'd treat ourselves a little. I'm so proud of my little daughter that I think she deserves to be taken out for a bit."

As she spoke, she didn't take her eyes off her once. And Natalie, who already had trouble concentrating, now had great difficulty deciding where to look first: at her mother's beautiful figure, which now looked even hotter than before in the enchanting black lingerie, or at her eyes, which still sparkled with amusement.

"But they won't let me in. Not in this outfit, at least," she murmured dejectedly, but her scantily clad counterpart simply pointed to the small card she had just printed out, which was now lying on the bed.

"That's why we need these. Before we go into town, we're going to visit an old friend of mine."

And then, as she sat down at her vanity and began brushing her shoulder-length blond hair, she gave her child an encouraging look.

"Now freshen up a bit and put on your shoes. After all, we're about to leave."