Crystal put a hand to her mouth and laughed. “Oh, silly me! Here you go, baby.” She gave it a few expert twists and it fell out of Carley’s mouth and onto the ground.

She reached down, picked it up, and handed it back to Crystal. For a few seconds, she just stood flexing her jaw happy that nothing was going to hold it open and try to crush it. “Well, do you have any questions for me?” Crystal asked.

Carley stood there dumbfounded and a little afraid to speak. After the store, she was beginning to feel like she and her partner weren’t even close to on even footing. All it took was a pacifier and some baby treatment and the people in the store were quite willing to treat her differently, like a dumb little baby doll.