To Kaitlin’s shock, Laura is still asleep when they arrive at the mall. She sleeps through being unloaded from the car, being brought into the mall, and being buckled into a stroller. They stop at the food court to pick up some breakfast, and as they are sitting down to eat, Laura finally wakes up. She stirs and begins to fuss loudly. Anna promptly pops a bottle of milk into Laura’s mouth. Laura sucks the milk down eagerly.
“Where we?” Laura asks once she finishes her milk.
“The mall,” Anna replies. She checks her watch. “Kaitlin, are you done?”
“Yeth.”
“Good. We’re cutting it close. Come on.” Anna gets up and begins to push Laura’s stroller along. Kaitlin quickly follows.
“We’re going to the thore the dithe were in, right?” Kaitlin asks.
“Not quite, sweetie. I don’t want the two of you to be recognized, and I can find the dice more quickly if I’m not watching the two of you.”
“Where go?” Laura asks. Anna smiles.
“You’ll see,” she says in a singsong voice. Kaitlin and Laura exchange a nervous look. After a few minutes, they come to a stop in front of a ballet studio. “Here we are!”
“Ballet?” Kaitlin asks.
“Yes. My daughter runs the place. I told her that I was fostering you two for a while, and she immediately offered to have both of you attend her classes for free.”
“We don’t have the clothe we need,” Kaitlin protests. Anna pats the diaper bag she’s carrying.
“You do, actually. Come on.” Anna heads inside. Reluctantly, Kaitlin follows. Anna walks up to a young woman at the front desk. “Caroline, good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too, Anna!” Caroline chirps.
“I’m fostering these little girls for the foreseeable future, and my daughter was generous enough to sign them up for classes.”
“And do you have their outfits packed?” Caroline asks.
“Yes, I do.” Anna hands the diaper bag over. “There’s also some training pants and diapers, as well as some formula for the younger one.”
“You’re always so well-prepared, Anna.”
“I try.” Anna rests a hand on Kaitlin’s head. “This is Kaitlin. Her little sister Laura is in the stroller. I have to go run some errands during Kaitlin’s lesson. Do you think someone will be able to watch Laura while I’m gone?”
“Of course!”
“Excellent.” Anna smiles at Kaitlin and Laura. “Be good, girls. I’ll be back after Laura’s lesson.” Anna leaves. Caroline comes from around the counter and grabs Laura’s stroller.
“Follow me, girls!” she chirps. Kaitlin follows Caroline into the main area of the ballet studio. Caroline comes to a stop and digs through the diaper bag. “And…here!” Caroline pulls out a leotard, tights, and ballet flats. She hands the outfit to Kaitlin. “Go ahead and get dressed. The changing room is right there.” Caroline smiles at Laura. “I’ll get your sister settled.”
“Okay,” Kaitlin mumbles, taking the outfit. She goes into the room that Caroline indicated and quickly puts on the clothes. The leotard covers most of her training pants, but the edges of it stick out. Blushing fiercely, Kaitlin exits the changing room. She looks around for Laura and spots a playpen set up near the wall of benches, where parents watch their children practicing. Kaitlin makes a beeline for the playpen. Sure enough, Laura is sitting inside, sucking on a pacifier. Kaitlin opens her mouth to talk to Laura.
“You’re Katie, right?” a voice asks. Kaitlin spins around. The middle-aged woman in front of her smiles.
“Kaitlin,” Kaitlin corrects.
“Right. Sorry. I’m Louisa Chen, Anna’s daughter. My mom told me she’s fostering you two for a while.” Kaitlin nods. “Come on over, we’ll get your lesson started.” Kaitlin follows Louisa over to the bars, where a few girls are already gathered. “This is the introductory class for your age group, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to keep up.”
“Okay.”
“All right, girls, we have a new student today!” Louisa says, clapping her hands, attracting the attention of the other girls. “This is Kaitlin! Be nice to her and her baby sister Laura, okay?” The girls nod. “Good! Let’s get started, then!”
To her surprise, Kaitlin enjoys the ballet lesson immensely. Louisa and her new classmates help her when she struggles, offering her endless support. She’s actually disappointed when the lesson ends. Kaitlin goes back to the playpen, only to realize that it is empty. She spins around in a panic and spots Laura being led onto the dancefloor by Caroline, dressed in a tutu and tights. Kaitlin lets out a sigh of relief. Laura’s lesson is starting now, so she had to be changed into her outfit.
Kaitlin takes a seat on the bench next to the playpen to watch Laura’s lesson. Her class is much smaller than Kaitlin’s, and the moves are excruciatingly simple to Kaitlin, though Laura still seems to struggle with it. While Kaitlin was the only one in her class visibly in training pants, all the members of Laura’s class are evidently wearing diapers. One girl stops to squat, and the lesson pauses until her diaper is checked. Her diaper is deemed wet, but not wet enough for an immediate change, and after the other toddlers’ diapers are checked, the lesson resumes.
As the lesson nears its end, Laura squats and grunts loudly. Kaitlin watches in horror as her friend messes herself in front of the other toddlers, Anna’s daughter, the students waiting for their lesson, and all the parents of the students. When Laura finishes, she stands up again, her diaper visibly sagging under her. The weight in her diaper appears to offset her balance, and she falls backwards onto her butt.
Caroline swoops in and picks Laura up, then brings her over to the diaper bag, sitting near the playpen. Quickly and efficiently, Caroline removes a changing pad, wipes, and a diaper, and changes Laura’s soiled diaper right there. Once in a fresh diaper, Laura is brought back onto the dancefloor, and the lesson continues.
“Good work, ladybugs!” Louisa cheers, clapping her hands. The toddlers, knowing this is their cue to leave, all walk over to their parents. Laura toddles over to Kaitlin. She sits on the ground heavily.
“Tired,” she says. Kaitlin nods. Footsteps sound. Laura and Kaitlin look over. It’s Anna.
“Hello, girls,” Anna says cheerfully. Once she arrives at their sides, she checks Laura’s diaper. “Clean!”
“The got changed a little bit ago,” Kaitlin explains. “After the pooped.”
“Oh, I’m sorry you made a poopoo during your lesson, that couldn’t have been fun,” Anna says. Laura looks away. “Anyways, I went to the store you lost the dice in.” Kaitlin leans forward eagerly.
“And?”