“…head to the mall.” Anna quickly and efficiently puts both Laura and Kaitlin in dresses and shoes. “We can have breakfast on the way.”
“Why are you moving tho fath?” Kaitlin asks.
“Look, I love kids, but I’m done raising them. I don’t want you on my hands any longer than you want it. So we’re going to get going, find those dice, and figure out a way to make you both adults again.” Anna picks Laura up, grabs Kaitlin’s hand, and then heads outside.
Kaitlin climbs into Anna’s car while Anna buckles Laura into a car seat. She notices a diaper bag already sitting at her feet. Anna was likely getting ready to go while they were still sleeping.
“And here’s your breakfast.” Anna hands Kaitlin a kid’s granola bar and pops a bottle of milk into Laura’s mouth. Laura sucks down the milk hungrily. “Let’s go.”
By the time they arrive at the mall, Laura has finished her bottle of milk and Kaitlin has eaten a second granola bar in addition to her first. Anna opens the car door, unbuckles Laura, and then checks her diaper.
“Hmm. A bit wet, but not too much. I’ll change you after you pee more or mess yourself,” Anna says in a clinical voice. Laura turns red at the thought of messing herself yet again. She’s come to terms with her lack of bladder control, but has yet to not be embarrassed by her struggle to hold her bowels. Anna takes Laura and the diaper bag out of the car, waits for Kaitlin to come out, and the three of them head into the mall.
Once inside, Anna grabs one of the strollers that can be rented and buckles Laura in.
“No stroller!” Laura whines. Anna pops her pacifier into her mouth again.
“I’m not going to carry you the whole way, and your legs aren’t strong enough to walk. We want this done fast, so you’re going in the stroller,” Anna says firmly. Laura sucks on her pacifier, sulking at the continuing humiliation. “Now, Kaitlin, where was the store you lost the dice?”
“Um, it wath over here, I think…” Kaitlin leads the way. They find the store in a few minutes. “Thith one!” Without another word, Anna walks into the store, still pushing Laura in the stroller. Kaitlin follows her. All three look around for any hint of the dice, though Laura’s view is somewhat obscured by her stroller.
“Are those it?” Anna asks, pointing. Kaitlin looks over. She beams.
“Yeth!”