Laura’s crying echoes in the bathroom stall. She can’t seem to calm herself down. In contrast, she gets progressively more and more upset the longer she sobs. The door opens. Over her wails, Laura hears footsteps.
“Hello?” Someone peers under the door of the stall. “Sweetie, do you need some help?” Laura considers her options. It’s unlikely that this stranger will believe her if she says she doesn’t need any help. She nods reluctantly. “Did you lock yourself in the stall?” Laura nods again. “Okay, I can’t open the door. Think you can crawl over to me?”
Laura reluctantly does as she’s told, crawling under the door of the stall, to the woman crouching at the other side. The woman beams at her.
“What a smart, brave girl!” she coos. She wrinkles her nose. “Smells like someone made a poopy.”
“Yes,” Laura mumbles.
“We’ll just clean you right up, then.” The woman picks Laura up. “Ooh, you are big stinky.” She brings Laura outside.
“What do?” Laura asks.
“Well, I don’t have any diaper supplies. Your parents should. Do you know where they are?” the woman asks. Laura shakes her head. “Hmm. I guess I can go talk to the staff. They might be able to help.” The woman walks over to the front desk at the pool’s entrance. She rings the bell. An employee emerges from a back room.
“How can I help you?” the employee asks.
“This little stinker needs a change, and since she doesn’t know where her parents are, I’m more than happy to change her. But I don’t have any supplies.”
“One second.” The employee goes into the back room again, then comes out a few moments later with a diaper, baby powder, a changing pad, and even a onesie.
“You’re well-stocked,” the woman says. The employee shrugs.
“We like to be prepared. You’d be surprised by how often parents don’t bring enough diapers for their kids. You can change her right here if you want.”
“Sounds perfect.” The woman lays Laura on the changing mat and removes her swimsuit, then her soiled swim diaper. Laura fusses. She’d come to terms with having a messy diaper and even being changed by someone, but being changed in public? That was a level she didn’t want to have sunk to. A family walked in as Laura was being changed, and the youngest child in the family pointed at Laura.
“Her butt is showing!”
“Hush,” said the mom. “Babies’ butts show when they get changed.” Laura turned beet red. The woman taped a new, thick diaper onto Laura and began to put her into the onesie. She paused and turned to the employee.
“You might want to make an announcement. We’ll need to find this little one’s parents.” The employee nodded. “Laura, do you know how old you are?” the woman asked sweetly.
“Two,” Laura says softly. The employee went into the back room again.
“Attention, attention,” sounds a voice over the pool’s speaker system. “A lost child is currently waiting at the front desk for her parents. She is a two-year-old named Laura. If she is your child or charge, please come to the front desk.” The employee returns to the desk.
“I think I’ll just wait with this little cutie until her parents come back,” the woman says, zipping up Laura’s new onesie. Laura sits on the counter, filled with dread. She was stuck until someone came to claim her, and since she had no parents at the pool, no one would do that. And she didn’t even have access to the bag with the dice anymore.