The droplets from the empty carton of light cream were beginning to fall less frequently and Sofia shook it with frustration upside-down over her cup of coffee.  She liked coffee but also had quite the sweet tooth.  Her sister often joked that Sofia would add more cream than coffee and the truth was not far off.  With well beyond what a normal coffee drinker would add, Sofia gave up trying to extract more cream and tossed the empty carton into the trash can.  Next was sugar.  Not one, not two…but six packets of tiny, grainy, sugary goodness dissolved into the increasingly sweet morning concoction as the wooden stirrer circled Sofia’s full cup.

Sofia stood there at the counter in the hotel breakroom sipping her sugar and cream with coffee, her swollen feet throbbing and her bottom sweaty and itchy from the full day of strenuous, back-breaking work. Oh, how she wished she could have a job where the sweet, delicious coffee was something she would only BEGIN her shifts enjoying as opposed to ending them.  For just those few moments, she reflected on the absurdity of what she was about to do.

Sofia wasn’t a fan of unpredictability or sudden changes.  She was a controlling woman with mostly conservative values and she preferred to know everything ahead of time.  She didn’t like curveballs and she didn’t like last-minute changes. This entire night and well into the morning, she remade dirty beds and swept floors…she squatted to change trash liners and clean dirty toilets…she wiped sweat from her brow with her forearm, not daring to use her hands.  Certainly not after those hands had just been used to clean from the carpet the remnants of someone’s overindulgence of alcohol.  Sofia kept her eye on the prize, looking forward to going home, getting a bath, maybe doing a crossword puzzle, and then going to sleep.  But now everything was different.

Sofia didn’t like how those silly girls from Room 1818 had stolen the control of her morning from her.

‘Had the one with the black thick-framed glasses not approached me, I might be getting this wet bra and underwear off my body at this very moment…’ she grumbled within her own mind, sipping some more of her coffee.

‘...and testing the piping hot water of the bath with my big toe’.  She wistfully speculated.

Sofia faced away from the counter and leaned back against it, allowing the undersides of her hefty cheeks to accept some of her body’s weight from her tired feet.  What on earth could these girls hope to possibly gain from putting that tiny little boy into a girl’s bottom?  Honestly, she was so blown away by seeing just how tiny he was in her hand as well as the $1,000 she was offered that she hadn’t even thought to ask.  And of all bottoms, why hers?  She remembered the shorter one with jet-black hair commenting on the size of her behind.  Okay, that made sense…if you want to keep a boy in a bottom, it would make sense that the bottom should be big…but the very foundation of the concept was foreign and silly…and she kept returning to it.  Why do they want to put him in a bottom at all? It seemed from what they were saying that it had to do with restorative justice.  She’d grown up hearing about prison conditions and fair treatment, and those conversations always caused her to roll her eyes.  Prisoners shouldn’t be having fun and they shouldn’t be comfortable…that was her thought.

‘Maybe these girls, as quirky as they may be, are actually onto something…’ Sofia thought.

The world was constantly changing in ways that made Sofia uncomfortable.  She’d seen a lot of new ideas and beliefs that made her wonder what the world would be like in ten years from now.  She never thought she’d be the kind of woman to say “back in my day”, and yet she found herself echoing the sentiment to her daughters constantly, as well as commiserating the passing of the good old days with her church friends…the days when girls were girls and men were men.  Seeing those two girls, young and beautiful and obviously very intelligent made her feel inadequate in ways that she could never admit to anyone; she could barely admit it to herself.  And in their hands was this small, fragile, helpless little naked thing.  And he was in that position because of those girls.  Was it a position of vulnerability? Almost certainly.  Was he being exploited by those pretty young ladies?  Possibly.  But he was a criminal, and Sofia had so little patience, tolerance, or compassion for criminals.  But wait….was SHE being exploited by them too?  For having a large soft bottom perfect for stuffing the little thing inside of?  So much about this situation she’d been randomly flung into confused her, and her conservative mind strongly disliked being the useful idiot for some other more powerful, more intelligent party.

Despite the frustration of this last-minute adjustment to her schedule, Sofia was already thinking of ways to spend the money that was promised to her.  Sofia downed the last sip from her cup, allowing the thick, sugary residue to slowly drip into her open mouth.  She swished the grains of sugar around on her tongue before tossing the empty cup into the waste bin with the empty cream container.

Sofia emerged from the elevator on the fourth floor of the hotel and proceeded toward Conference Room B.  She swiped her employee badge at the door and entered to see the two girls up at the front near the large wall-mounted television set.  Sofia chuckled under her breath for a moment, remembering that she had cleaned this conference room not more than a week ago.  If someone had told her then that she’d be back here on some other non-cleaning business involving her large, hospitable bottom, she might have slapped them…and yet here she was.

The conference room was not unlike any other hotel conference room of the time.  The walls were an undistracting plain white, and in fact the only obstruction adorning the uninteresting walls was a large screen TV in the corner furthest from the door.  Between the TV and the door was a large rectangular table. Tucked in on either long-side of the table were three corporate-comfy black cushioned chairs. There were two more, one on either short-end of the table for a total of eight.  The girls she’d met earlier were gathered up toward the front of the conference room where the TV was mounted.  There were a few other items in the conference room that Sofia had not recognized since the last time she was here.  There was a wooden bar stool borrowed from the hotel bar.  In the far corner was a treadmill and an exercise bike borrowed from the hotel gym. Up toward the front, closer to the girls, was a small corner desk with a stack of loose papers, stapled packets, manilla folders, and the Dearforms box she’d held in her lap just a few moments earlier.

They were both dressed very professionally but also showed a bit more skin than Sofia thought was appropriate.  She remembered being as young as them though.  At that age, rebellion is baked into femininity..and these girls were beautiful so she could see why they would use it to their advantage.  The brunette teenager with the glasses was pretty enough of course, but in a plain, everyday kind of way…at least from a 41-year old woman’s perspective.  Sofia was sure the brunette had learned young how to wield her femininity to her advantage.

The raven-haired one…the one named Alex, she was in a different class entirely.  She had an adorable face and a very disarming smile.  Despite her better looks, Sofia didn’t quite care for her and the unfiltered thoughts that seemed to leak from her mouth.  The brunette…..Katie..that was her name…Katie was much more professional.

The two had looked up with deep concern on their faces when Sofia entered, but when they realized it was her, the concern melted away.

“Oh, hi Mrs. Romero.” Alex said.  Katie checked her wristwatch and then looked back up at Sofia and smiled.

“We’re just getting the last few things set up here.  We’re expecting the board any minute now.” Katie said, a small quiver of nervousness in her voice.  Alex patted Katie on her shoulder and smiled with a big, toothy grin and Katie chuckled.  It was cute how well they seemed to get along.  Sofia sensed that there must have been a deeper friendship there apart from the professional relationship they were forging.  They must have been friends long before today.

“Okay, is there anything you need me to do?” Sofia asked.

“Do you know anything about computers?” Alex asked hopefully.

The two were busy staring at a pink laptop computer screen.  She guessed from their eyes turning regularly from the laptop screen to the static of the TV behind them that they were trying to show the contents of the laptop screen on the TV screen.

“Oh, I’m sorry dear but not at all. I’ve lost count of how many times my daughter has had to come over and fix my America Online.”

“It’s okay, Mrs. Romero.”  Katie grabbed the black chair from the short-end of the table and rolled it up toward the front, right next to the small corner desk, “You can just have a seat up here at the front with us.”

“Thanks, dear.” Sofia said, parking her bottom in the cushioned chair.  It was quite soft and very comfy…much more comfortable than the chairs provided in the staff break room.

Sofia took a look at the contents of the small corner desk, and her eyes naturally pulled curiously to the closed Dearforms box. It was the one that Katie had shown her only a few minutes ago in Room 1818.  Sofia carefully opened the lid and the little man inside covered his eyes, momentarily overwhelmed by the light.

“Alex, does the TV have a VGA port or RCA connectors?” Katie asked, untangling wires from the laptop bag.

“What do those look like?” Alex replied, her head stuffed back behind the TV.

Sofia let the girls’ technical talk turn fuzzy in her ears as she slowly opened the Dearforms box.

“Hello young man.” Sofia said down to the nude inmate in the shoe box.

He covered himself respectfully in her presence.

‘As he should…’, Sofia thought, ‘..we’ve only just met.’

“What’s your name?” Sofia asked.

“My name’s Dante.” The tiny naked man replied.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dante. You can call me Mrs. Romero. ”

She was doing her best to be polite to the little person, which felt strange since in a few moments he was going to be wedged between her cheeks.  That was not the hardest part though, the hardest part was being polite to a convicted criminal.  Part of her didn’t even want to speak with him at all, but what would her mother think about that?  Sofia’s mother didn’t raise her to be rude, and that even extended to delinquents.  Still, she was interested in knowing more.

“Why did you do it?” Sofia asked.

“Do what?” Dante replied.

“Whatever you did to land yourself in jail and ultimately in this conference room?” Sofia specified.

The tiny boy looked down at his feet, which Sofia immediately interpreted as weakness.

“I…ummm….it was…” He looked up for a moment in the direction of the girls who were still busy with the television, although Sofia was sure he couldn’t see over the box’s tall edge.  She followed the direction of his gaze and Sofia caught a quick glimpse of two sets of eyes…one brown and one green, training in on Dante but only for a moment.

They wanted to listen, but he was so small and they appeared to be a bit too far away.  They wouldn't be able to hear something as little as him, would they?  She barely could!

“It was the biggest mistake of my life and I think about it constantly…I wish I could take it back…go back to before I made it…and start over.”

“Mmhmm…” Sofia said with little sympathy. “We all wish we could go back and change things, don’t we?  But unfortunately we can’t.  When we make our bed, we have to lay in it.”

“He was sentenced to 14 years in jail for breaking and entering, robbery, and also violent assault.” Katie said.

Sofia clutched her chest in disgust and she could see Dante cringe at the revealing of his secrets.

“Goodness…” Sofia gasped in disbelief, staring judgmentally down at him.

“Since he is helping us, his sentence will effectively be cut in half to 7 years....” Alex said.

“...with good behavior.” Katie added, to which Alex replied, “Oh, of course.”

“Well, I might be too old and jaded of a woman these days, but I no longer believe that everyone deserves a second chance.” Sofia said down to Dante.  She then looked up at Katie and Alex, who were now quietly celebrating that they’d successfully projected the contents of the laptop screen up onto the TV.  Sofia looked back down at Dante and continued.

“...but it sounds like these girls believe that you do.  I’m not sure what it is, but they must see something in you.  It sounds like a pretty good deal you’ve stumbled across.” Sofia remarked.  “I think you’re very lucky to have been found by these nice young ladies, don’t you think?” Sofia asked.

“...yeah…” Dante said with a strange reluctance.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Sofia annunciated, correcting Dante politely yet sharply.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Dante echoed the 41-year old maid.

Sofia smiled ever-so-slightly, and the correction seemed to garner some amusement from the girls as well.

“I have to be honest with you, Dante.  I despise criminals…I assure you that I have my reasons.  They are reasons you will likely never hear after we go our separate ways at the end of this meeting, but I assure you they are good reasons.  That being said, I do appreciate that you are trying to make things right…that you are doing your best to put back together the pieces of your life that you’ve carelessly destroyed..and that you’re helping these nice young ladies in the process.”

“....thanks, Mrs. Romero.” Dante replied briefly and quietly.  He was looking into her eyes as he spoke, but then his gaze seemed to rip from her and stick strongly to the large television.  Sofia was thoroughly confused by the expression on Dante’s face.  It had hints of shock, confusion, and even a strange sense of longing.  Sofia followed his gaze to the television and saw what had caught his eye.

It was a photograph of a young blonde girl, perhaps 18 or 19-years old.  She was very pretty and looked to be a nice girl.  She was posing among peers, perhaps it was a school club photo, but considering the strange, silly purpose that had brought all of them together here in Conference Room B, Sofia’s eyes drifted down.  The pretty blonde girl was smiling brightly for the camera but she was turned slightly away from it.  Her immaculately braided blonde hair draped conveniently over her far-side shoulder so as not to obstruct what Sofia heard some of the younger generation refer to as a “shelf-booty”.

The girls were talking about the photo. Sofia heard Alex say, “Okay, but how do I delete it then?”

Sofia looked away from Katie who was taking control of the laptop’s trackpad and down at Dante.  It was kind of cute, actually.  He was staring longingly at the photo on the giant TV.

“I’m assuming that is the girl who should have been here?” Sofia asked.

“Yeah…” Dante said, and all it took was a raised eyebrow from Sofia for him to quickly revise his answer.

“I mean…yes, Ma’am.”

“What’s her name?” Sofia asked.

“Got it.” Katie said, clicking the trackpad and then the photo on the TV permanently disappeared.  Sofia swore she heard Dante whimper.

“Sabrina…” Dante said quietly.

“She looks like a sweet girl.” Sofia said.

Sofia never had issues with self-confidence or self-worth, but seeing the longing expression on Dante’s face reminded her that he was about to get a VERY different experience than he’d signed up for. The sweet, friendly blonde teenager gracing the screen probably had far less cellulite on her young, in-shape bottom…although Sofia could assert that her own rear was much larger than Sabrina’s and therefore a better location for Dante.

Sabrina looked to be a bit athletic as well, meaning that there was probably a hardened muscle underneath a thin layer of fat.  This was another victorious check in the box for Sofia.  She wasn’t very physically active at all except when working.  She ate to enjoy life, not to watch her weight.  That meant unlike Sabrina, Sofia’s behind consisted almost entirely of fat, which was probably perfect for keeping a tiny quarter-inch tall man safe and sound.

Sofia was a realist though, she knew that he probably would have preferred Sabrina’s young, tight bottom over her own large, flabby, pale cheeks.  It was okay for him to want that instead.  Like Alex said, he wasn’t getting that choice.

Things probably would have been so different for Dante had Sabrina showed up instead of Sofia.  She almost certainly would NOT have just spent over 12 hours working and sweating into her underwear and bra.  This wasn’t Sofia’s fault though so she didn’t allow herself to feel guilty about this abrupt change in what Dante expected.  He was a criminal…he should be taking what he can get and be grateful.

~