Tanner seized on a sudden thought. "I can't wide in a car. We don't have a safety seat."
Derrick, still balancing his little brother on his hip, chuckled. "I would like to drive your car, but like I said, it's only a block to the store. I think we can manage on foot."
Tanner cringed. What if someone saw him during the five-minute walk to the store? He would be so humiliated!
He was beginning to feel a little better about the situation once they arrived at the store without any such incidents. His new-found optimism, however, flew out the door as soon as they entered the store and headed for the children's department. Taking great strides with his new adult confidence, Derrick scanned the shelves for the perfect solution to his brother's apparel problem. He saw what he wanted, but the store didn't offer many choices when it came to designs.
"You want Mickey Mouse or Peter Pan?" Derrick asked.
"Peter Pan!" A boyish squeal replied, surprising both Derrick and Tanner.
They turned and saw a young woman pushing a stroller holding a little boy, who had produced the enthusiastic preference for Peter Pan.
"Oh, they only have the one package," the woman said.
Tanner wanted to crawl away and hide when he recognized his English teacher, Mrs. Harrington. At least she had no idea that the tiny boy in Derrick's arms was actually one of her high school students.
"Oh, you can have it," Derrick said, presenting her with the package. "My brother likes Mickey."
"Aren't you nice?" Mrs. Harrington said, accepting the package of pull-ups with the Peter Pan pattern. "How old is your little man?"
Derrick laughed. "Oh, he's two now," he answered.
Tanner felt his face redden. "Dewwick!"
What? You want down?"
He felt Derrick lower him to the ground in front of the stroller.
"Bobby is 23 months," she said.
Bobby had also had some sort of treat, and his stubby hands and fingers were sticky. His mouth was ringed with a sticky goo, too. He squealed in delight to see another little boy introduced into his vicinity.
"Did you run out?" Tanner's teacher asked. She saw Derrick's puzzled look. "Of pull-ups," she continued. "I noticed that your little boy is au naturel, as they say."
Tanner could have groaned. Leave it to Mrs. Harrington to make being naked sound all wimpy.
"Oh yea," Derrick said. "He wet his last pair."
Tanner protested. "I did not!"
Mrs. Harrington laughed. "You may want to get him some of the nighttime pull-ups, too. Does he have accidents when he is asleep?"
Derrick shrugged. "I'm just babysitting," he said. "Our folks are out of town."
Tanner didn't like the fact Derrick was so free with details.
"Well, better safe than sorry," Mrs. Harrington said, selecting an additional package of pull-ups, this one labeled for nighttime, and giving it to Derrick.
Tanner had taken his attention away from little Bobby, who leaned out of the carriage and grabbed one of his arms with a sticky hand. "Eeew," Tanner said, seeing a sticky handprint on his chubby arm as he withdrew it from Bobby's reach.
Mrs. Harrington frowned. "He's a bit fussy, isn't he?"
Derrick grinned. "He's still getting used to being two."
"Just had his birthday?" Tanner's teacher asked.
"Something like that."
Tanner was just glad they had the boxes and could leave.
Mrs. Harrington had other ideas.
"We should go ahead and get him in a pair," she said, taking back the Mickey Mouse pull-ups. She tore open the packaging.
"Don't I need to pay for them first?" Derrick asked.
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Harrington took charge, lowering the quilted pull-ups toward Tanner.
Tanner reacted defensively, shielding himself with his tiny hands. His teacher pushed his hands aside, placing the pull-ups on the store's floor. She then reached and lifted Tanner's legs, moving them over the legholes.
"You can do the rest, sweetie," she said.
A mortified Tanner reached down and jerked the pull-ups to his waist.
"Much better!" Mrs. Harrington decided. She gave his padded butt a little whack with her hand.
Finally, none too soon for Tanner, Derrick decided it was time to go. He scooped up his little brother again and carried him and the pull-up cartons toward the cash register.
"Is that all?" Tanner asked. "What about a shirt?"
"I think that's enough for a little guy like you," Derrick said, pulling out a familiar wallet to pay for the pull-ups.
"That's mine!" Tanner exclaimed when he recognized his wallet.
Derrick ignored him and counted out enough money for the payment. For Tanner, things got even worse when the cashier turned out to be a girl from school. He didn't even remember her name, but she patted his head as she also handed Derrick the receipt.
"He's adorable," she said.
Tanner didn't, in fact, feel adorable. He felt chagrined and imposed upon. He no longer had any semblance of control, and it was getting to him.