Laura’s messy diaper is thoroughly uncomfortable. She won’t be able to stand walking in it all the way back to the daycare. So Laura emerges from behind the bush, locates the grownup who bathed her before, and tugs on the woman’s pant leg. The grownup looks down.
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I poopoo,” Laura says softly. The woman wrinkles her nose.
“You certainly did! Come here with me.” The woman picks Laura up and brings her inside. Laura expects to be changed in the bathroom like before, but instead, she is laid on her back on a changing mat in a living room, while a young boy about eight or nine watches TV in the same room. She turns red as the grownup removes Laura’s diaper and wipes her down in front of the boy, but luckily, the boy doesn’t look her way once.
“All clean!” the grownup chirps as she tapes on a fresh diaper. She looks Laura over thoughtfully. “Hmm. You’ve had a couple of incidents where you needed help, sweetheart. I wonder if you need supervision.”
“I fine!” Laura says quickly. The grownup continues to look at Laura with a clinical gaze. After a moment, she nods, having made her decision.