Kaitlin pulls into the parking lot of a baby supply store.
“Why here?” Laura asks.
“Well, I have a lot of stuff from my niece staying with me, but not enough. Mostly, we need to get you some more clothes. And some extra diapers. Kids your age go through a lot of diapers.”
“No need diapy!” Laura protests. Kaitlin looks over at her.
“I think I’d disagree.” Laura looks down. Her diaper, visible under her dress, has turned yellow. She gapes. “See?” Laura turns red. “Come on, don’t be embarrassed. That’ll make this worse on both of us.” Kaitlin comes around to unbuckle Laura from the car seat. As she does so, she squeezes Laura’s diaper. “Hmm. It looks a lot worse than it is. I don’t need to change you quite yet.”
“Wet,” Laura whines, shifting in her seat. Now that she’s realized she wet herself, it’s uncomfortable.
“Do you want me to change you in public?” Kaitlin asks. Laura shakes her head. “Okay. Then, unless you soak your diaper or poop, we’ll wait to change you until we get to my place.” Kaitlin grabs a cart, places Laura in the seat of the cart, and heads into the store.
In the store, Kaitlin makes a beeline for the section reserved for clothes. Laura watches with horror as Kaitlin tosses in the cutest, girliest, most infantile clothing options available. She cringes at the shirt that reads “Little Stinker” on it.
“No want,” Laura whines. Kaitlin looks at her.
“Well, I’m the one paying, so I choose the clothes. And I’m choosing the stuff that I like. It’s not like you’ll be stuck this young anyways, right?”
“Wite,” Laura mumbles. Satisfied with the clothing she’s selected, Kaitlin moves on to the diaper aisle, where she tosses a large pack into the cart. Next, they visit the food aisle. When Kaitlin grabs some baby formula, Laura stares at her, openmouthed.
“Kids your age need milk still. I’m not producing breastmilk, and even if I was, you probably wouldn’t want it, so I’m getting formula. Don’t worry, I’ll grab real food, too.”
Unfortunately, the “real food” is baby food. For this, Kaitlin does ask Laura’s opinion, holding up the jars so Laura can read them. They quickly realize that Laura can no longer read, and instead Kaitlin tells Laura what is in them. Laura tries to avoid getting any baby food, but caves and selects a few when Kaitlin threatens to get her the worst flavors she can find.
With a full cart, they head for checkout. The cashier coos over Laura, who is not amused by the baby talk. Just as Kaitlin is handing over her credit card to pay, Laura feels her cold and clammy diaper suddenly filled with warmth. She lets out a soft sigh. Kaitlin looks over and sighs as well. She pays, puts the items in the cart, and then heads for the car.
Laura sits in the cart while Kaitlin unloads. She blinks in surprise when she sees Kaitlin open the new pack of diapers.
“Why do that?” Laura asks. Kaitlin removes Laura from the cart and lays her on her back in the trunk of the car.
“You peed again while we were checking out.”
“I pee?”
“Yes. I heard you make the sound my niece makes when she pees, looked over, and saw that – yep.” Kaitlin undoes Laura’s diaper. “You are soaked.”
“No here.”
“I know you didn’t want to be changed here, but I don’t have a choice anymore. A diaper that dirty isn’t good for you. You could get a diaper rash.” At that, Laura gulps and silently allows Kaitlin to change her. “There. All done.”
Laura is buckled into the car seat, Kaitlin returns the cart, and they drive off again. Laura feels her eyes drift shut, lulled by the motion of the car. Eventually, she falls asleep.