“Why are we at the offith?” Kaitlin asked. Anna pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car.
“Well, you two might be kids right now, but I’m an adult, and I have a job to do. You know how the vacation days system works here. I can’t just call the day of to get it off.”
“But people will recognithe uth,” Kaitlin protested. Anna chuckled.
“No, sweetie, they definitely won’t.”
“Names same,” Laura said.
“Hmm. You’re right about the name thing.” Anna paused for a moment. “All right, Laura, I’m going to call you Lauren for the day, and Kaitlin, you’ll be Katie. Remember, the two of you will need to act your current ages.” Kaitlin nodded. Laura looked away. “Now, let’s get inside.” Anna got out of the car and walked over to the side door closest to Laura’s car seat. Kaitlin got out reluctantly, but without protest. Laura, on the other hand, once she was picked up, spat her pacifier onto the ground and began to wail.
Laura knew this was an exceedingly juvenile way to get what she wanted, but she didn’t think she had a choice. She refused to let anyone at her job see her as a toddler with a poopy diaper. She didn’t want the daycare workers, mostly young women straight out of college, to change her diapers, feed her, or put her down for a nap.
Anna picked the pacifier off the ground and put it into her pocket, deciding it was too dirty to put back into Laura’s mouth right now. With a sigh, she grabbed the diaper bag, took Kaitlin’s hand, and went into the building.
Immediately, Laura’s high-pitched, siren-like sobs attracted attention. People shot sympathetic looks in Anna’s direction as Laura continued to scream her head off. By the time they reached the daycare, Laura had worn herself out. Instead of wailing, she sobbed quietly, hiccupping on occasion. Anna walked into the daycare and smiled at the person at the desk, Linda.
“Oh my gosh, Anna, who are these cuties?” Linda gushed.
“This well-behaved little girl is Katie and her very upset baby sister is Lauren,” Anna replied. “I’m fostering them right now.”
“Aw, you have such a good heart,” Linda said. She scribbled something onto a piece of paper. “Okay. Lauren and Katie. How old are they?”
“Katie is five and Lauren is two.” Linda nodded, writing that down as well.
“How are they on potty training?”
“Katie has nighttime accidents, so she wears pullups during the day, just in case, and Lauren isn’t anywhere near being ready to start, so she just wears diapers.”
“It smells like she might need a change, too,” Linda said, shooting a smile in Laura’s direction. Laura hiccupped softly and fell quiet. “Aw, did she tire herself out?”
“Probably.” Anna sighed. “She spat out her pacifier in the parking lot, so I didn’t have anything to calm her down with, and she was scared to come to daycare.”
“Not scare,” Laura managed. Linda beamed.
“Oh, she’s a talker!” Linda crossed over from behind to desk to ruffle Laura’s hair. “I’m sure you weren’t scared at all, sweetie pie. You seem like a very brave girl.” Linda took Laura from Anna. “A very brave stinky girl.”
“I poopoo,” Laura mumbled, remembering what Anna had said about acting their current ages.
“You sure did,” Linda gushed. Anna handed over the diaper bag.
“These should be enough to last her through the day. If they aren’t, you can use a cloth diaper and I’ll wash it and return it.”
“No problem!” Linda chirped. She held out her hand. “Katie, let’s get you all settled, and then I can change your baby sister.” Anna ruffled Laura and Kaitlin’s hair.
“I’ll see you two after work, okay? Be good,” Anna said firmly. Kaitlin nodded. Laura began to wail again. “Oh, it’s okay, Lauren, I’ll be back, I promise.” Laura continued to bawl. Linda quickly fished a pacifier out of her pocket and stuck it into Laura’s mouth. Laura fell silent in favor of sucking on the pacifier. Anna waved at the girls, then left the daycare.
“Lauren’th thtinky,” Kaitlin said. Linda nodded. She led Kaitlin into the main area of the daycare.
“Yep. Don’t worry, I’ll be changing her right now. Why don’t you go play with the other kids your age?”
“I’ll wait for you to bring Lauren back.”
“Oh, I won’t be doing that. She’ll have to stay in the section for babies and toddlers that aren’t potty trained.” Linda pinched Kaitlin’s cheek. “But you get to stay in the section for the big kids!”