The least of evils is being taken care of by someone she knows, but who doesn’t know the truth. Laura looks up at the man.
“I’d like to go to my brother Dan’s house. But I don’t want him to know who I really am. Can you do that?”
“Yep.” The man raises an eyebrow at her. “But can you? You’ll have to act like a regular three-year-old. And little girls your current age aren’t usually so articulate.”
“I can do it.”
“All right.” The man picks Laura up and brings her to his car, where he buckles her into a car seat. “Just tell me the address and I’ll take you there.” Laura rattles off the address quickly. As they pull out of the parking lot, she feels her eyelids droop. She’s asleep before they’ve driven a block.
“Thanks for looking after my granddaughter for the night, Dan,” a voice says. Laura opens her eyes. She’s currently in her brother’s house, being held by him. “I’ll pick her up at eight in the morning.”
“It’s no problem,” Dan says jovially. “I understand, sometimes emergencies happen.”
“Still, it means a lot. Good night!”
“Good night,” Dan replies. The man leaves. Dan closes the front door. He looks down at Laura in his arms and sees she’s awake. “Oh, you woke up?” Laura nods. “Well, no worries, your grandpa explained everything. He’ll pick you up in the morning.” Laura merely nods again. She wonders how much of what the man did to convince Dan was by being persuasive, and how much of it was magic.
“I wet,” she says. Her eyes widen. She hadn’t meant to speak like that. The man must have done something to make her talk more like a toddler. Dan checks her diaper.
“You are. Before we change you, though, we should make sure you don’t need to poopoo.” When Dan says this, Laura realizes there is a growing pressure in her bowels. She needs to go, and soon. Dan carries Laura away and down a hall. They pass by an open room where Laura’s niece Alexis is playing with her older sister. Both the girls look up and spot Laura.
“Daddy, who’s the baby?” Alexis asks. Dan comes to a stop.
“This is Laura. She’s the granddaughter of one of my friends. Something came up, so she’ll stay the night with us, okay?” Laura’s nieces nod. “The two of you better wash up for dinner.” Dan continues walking. They arrive at a closed door. Dan tries the handle.
“Occupied!” shouts the voice of Dan’s wife. Dan sets Laura on the floor.
“Sorry, sweetie, our other bathroom is out of order right now. You’ll have to wait to poopoo until- never mind.” Dan changes his sentence as he spots Laura squat down. Laura doesn’t want to mess herself in front of her brother, but she can’t hold it in anymore. Hopefully, what little control she still has can be used to make the experience end more quickly. She pushes as hard as she can, grunting loudly. A tiny fart escapes. Despite desperately needing to go, it takes effort on her part to get started, and by the time Dan’s wife emerges from the bathroom, Laura’s diaper is still only wet.
“Would you mind getting dinner ready?” Dan asks his wife. “Once Laura’s done pooping, I’ll need to change her.”
“No problem!” Dan’s wife chirps. She walks away. Dan looks back at Laura, whose face is now red with effort.
“Poor thing must be constipated,” he says quietly. Laura turns redder with embarrassment. Not only is she an incontinent toddler, she’s a constipated incontinent toddler. Finally, after what feels like years, Laura feels a log enter her diaper. She pushes harder, grunting, but nothing else comes out. Giving up, she’s about to sit on the floor when Dan swoops in and picks her up.
“Don’t want that all over your cute tushy!” Dan coos. He brings Laura into the bathroom, removes her diaper, cleans her, and changes her into a fresh one. “There! Good as new.” He pokes Laura’s nose. “But I think we’ll have to tell your grandpa that you’re having some trouble making poopoo. You didn’t fill up your diaper nearly as much as you should have!” Laura giggles in response to Dan’s playful tone and poke. But she didn’t mean to respond that way.
To her consternation, Laura realizes that the man must have also made her body act on toddler impulses, in addition to reducing her ability to speak. Her stomach rumbles.
“Hungwy,” she whines. Dan picks her up.
“Then let’s go have some dinner!” he says cheerfully. He brings Laura to the kitchen, where she is placed into a highchair and spoonfed prunes by Dan’s wife. “Smart thinking, sweetie.”
“Well, she seemed to be having some difficulty,” Dan’s wife says. She puts another spoonful of mashed prunes in Laura’s mouth. “This should help.” Laura reluctantly eats the baby food and drinks the milk she is given. Then, after dinner, she’s put into a playpen in the living room while the family watches TV.
Just as Laura is getting tired enough to fall asleep on the floor, the prunes she ate hit her system. Without any warning, her bowels rumble and let loose, thoroughly messing her diaper. When the smell hits her, Laura lets out a wail. Mentally, she scowls, knowing this to be another magicked behavior.
“Ooh, someone made a big stinky!” Dan says. He gets up and picks Laura up from the playpen. “Those prunes worked wonders, honey.” Laura continues to wail. “I think this little girl needs a change and then bed. Say good night, Laura!”
“Night,” Laura mumbles tearfully at her sister-in-law and nieces. Dan carries her to the bathroom, changes her again, and puts her into a footed onesie. Then, he brings her to her nieces’ room, which still has a crib in the corner. “I big girl,” Laura complains as they head for the crib.
“I know, but we don’t have any other options for you,” Dan says calmly. He sets Laura in the crib. “Sleep well, Laura.” The light turns off as Dan exits the room. Laura falls asleep immediately.