Laura tries to think, but comes up short. She shakes her head.
“No.”
“Me neither,” Mason says. He sits next to Laura on the floor. “I was able to get on alone, but I’m too young to be allowed to disembark without an adult waiting at the station for me.” He looks at Laura. “You’re definitely too young. How old are you?”
“Two.”
“How old are you supposed to be?”
“Fowty-fwee.”
“Forty-three?” Mason lets out a low whistle. “Wow, you got screwed by the dice.” Laura nods sadly. “Well, I guess all we can do is hope that an opportunity shows itself when we arrive at the station.”
“Yeah.” An awkward silence falls. Laura takes out her phone to play on it a bit. Mason goes back to where he had been sitting before, grabs a small bag, and comes back to Laura’s corner. He sits next to her and resumes reading his book.
Laura’s not sure how much time has passed when she feels a pressure in her bowels. She opens her mouth to tell Mason to grab the attendant, but before she can say a word, her bowels are emptied into her diaper. The smell is terrible. Mason looks up from his book.
“Laura, did you just…” he begins. Laura bursts into tears. “Oh, that’s gross!” Laura sobs harder. “No, I- I mean- it really sucks that you- you can’t-” Mason gives up. He stands. “I’ll go get the attendant.” Laura cries the entire time that Mason is gone, as well as when he returns with the attendant, the attendant picks her up, and she is changed. Midway through the change, the attendant pops something into Laura’s mouth. She sucks on it instinctively, quieting down.
“There!” the attendant says, relieved. “I don’t usually give kids a pacifier, but you seemed like you needed one, honey.” The attendant wipes Laura down, tapes a new diaper on, and redresses her. Laura is brought out of the bathroom and deposited by the toddler toys yet again.
“Why’d you give her a pacifier?” Mason asks.
“Sometimes, the only thing that can get a baby to stop crying is to give them a pacifier,” the attendant says. “When we get to our destination, I’ll take it back after she’s handed over to her daddy.” The train begins to slow. “Oh, looks like we’ve arrived!” The attendant walks around, gathering the children in the car. “Come on, kiddies. Time to disembark!”