“…any minute!” As if on cue, the doorbell rang. “Oh, that must be them!” The woman propped Laura on her hip and walked over to the door, then opened it. Two policemen stood on the doorstep, looking bored.
“I’m told there is an abandoned child here for me to pick up?” one asked. The woman nodded brightly.
“Yes. She’s right here. She said her name is Laura.” The policemen look Laura over with a clinical gaze that fills her with dread.
“Hmm. Okay.” One policeman holds out his hands. “I guess I’ll take her.” The woman hands Laura over. The position he holds her in is decidedly uncomfortable. She wiggles around until she feels more secure.
“When I found her, her diaper was dry, and it still seems to be, so she’ll probably have to go soon,” the woman says. Laura flushes with embarrassment. “I also found this bag with her.” The woman hands over the teddy bear backpack containing the dice. “The funniest thing, in the bag, there was a little box with some dice in it. Dice aren’t safe with someone her age, they’re a choking hazard.”
“Dice, huh?” The other policeman takes the bag and opens it, then removes the box containing the dice. He opens the box. “Maybe we can use it to help track down her parents.” His partner, still holding Laura, looks at him in disbelief.
“How exactly would we do that?”
“I dunno. But it’s better than nothing.” The policeman touches the dice. As he does so, Laura hears a voice.
“Laura Peters. The spirit of youth is no longer bonded with you. Enjoy what has been returned to you.” Laura freezes, terrified that it might mean she’s stuck like this. However, a feeling of relief fills her, knowing that she won't get any younger. The policeman holding her lets out a noise of disgust.
“Um, is she-”
“Babies pee,” the woman scolds. “You don’t have to react like that.” Laura abruptly realizes the feeling of relief is in part due to her releasing the contents of her bladder. A different feeling goes through her stomach. She begins to grunt and strain instinctively.
“Son of a-” The policeman quickly set Laura on the ground. The woman frowns at him. “Look, when I signed up to be a police officer, I didn’t plan on holding a little girl while she poops, okay?” The policeman gestures at Laura, who is now squatting, her face red with effort as she evacuates her bowels.
“Give her a second,” the woman says. “When she’s finished, I’ll change her and you can take her.”
After a few minutes, Laura lets out a sigh of relief and stands up straight again. Her balance fails her and stumbles back, falling onto her butt, smearing the load in her diaper. She immediately begins to bawl. Not only has she peed herself multiple times, but now she can’t even control when she poops.
“Aw, it’s okay, Laura,” the woman coos. She brings Laura over to the couch, lays down a changing mat, and removes Laura’s soiled diaper. The policemen follow, one watching the diaper change with minor interest and the other with disgust. Laura feels herself turn bright red at the indignity of having not just her diaper changed by someone, but having it happen right in front of someone else. She begins to squirm, upset.
“Shush, shush,” the woman says. She pops a pacifier in Laura’s mouth. As she wipes Laura down, she speaks again. “So, where will you be taking this cutie pie?” she asks the policemen.