Peter and Parker noticed the instant that Marco arrived at the gate to the fenced area that served as the school's playground.
Poor Ollie, his face burning red from being dressed in a pair of toddler's pull-ups, stared at the tall fence and had to surrender his unrealistic fantasy of scaling the walls and escaping back to the home he shared with David.
The twins rushed over, but oddly restrained themselves to gawking at Ollie as if he was a stranger to them.
Marco forestalled any teasing the twins might have in mind. "Now, you boys play nice," he said. "I remember when both of you have had accidents, so I know that you're not going to make Ollie feel bad over his. Am I right?"
Peter nodded, but Parker's eyes hadn't deviated from the Superman figures on Ollie's pull-ups. "Why's he wearing those?" Parker demanded.
Marco frowned, but decided to satisfy the boy's curiosity. "His daddy forgot to pack him a change of clothes," Marco explained.
"So he has to wear a diaper!" Parker exclaimed.
"It's pull-ups!" Ollie snapped. "Not a stupid diaper."
"Right, doofus," Peter said and smacked the back of his twin's head. "What you want him to do? Go nakie?"
"Nakie," Parker repeated and giggled.
Marco pulled away from Ollie and told him to enjoy playtime. "I have to do some other work, buddy."
Ollie watched Marco walk off. He turned with dread to the dynamic duo.
"At least Superman is cool," Peter decided and invited Ollie to play with them.
Surprised, Ollie accepted the invitation with immediate gratitude. Over the next half hour, he let go of his recent humiliation and embraced the spirit of play to such a degree he lost all track of time. Before he knew it, all the kids were being called back into the building for the last part of the day.
Ollie realized happily what that meant. "My daddy will be here to take me home soon," he reminded himself, without bothering to correct himself to the fact that David was not his daddy, but his partner.